The majority of APAC medtech firms setting ESG targets: report

A recent Bain study showed that 70% of companies established ESG goals.

Seven in 10 medtech customers from Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam said their companies set clear ESG strategies, including objectives, precise metrics, and quantifiable targets.

In a study by APACMed and Bain, 53% of consumers polled in APAC expect that the ESG criteria importance within their organisation’s supplier selection will increase over the next two years, with almost 70% expecting further growth in importance over the next five years.

Australia and China are leading the way with 85% and 60% of customer respondents, respectively, forecasting that their organisations will focus on ESG factors in their key purchasing criteria within two years. More than nine in 10 surveyed customers in the two markets possess well-defined ESG strategies.

Amongst the APAC markets, Australia is king in ESG maturity, with its stakeholders implementing comprehensive regulations and “a wide range of policies related to environmental matters at both state and national levels.”

“The country’s National Reconstruction Fund supports sustainable projects in priority sectors such as medical science and devices through equity, loans, or guarantees,” read the report.

Countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea also created environmental policies, emphasising the reduction of energy intensity and the pursuit of carbon neutrality. 

The poll was completed in May 2023 and used responses from 120 customers and over 800 employees and executives from medtech companies in six Asia Pacific markets. The goal is to better understand how the changing expectations of stakeholders are reinforcing the importance of ESG as a strategic priority for the medtech industry.