Sustainable Business Futures: Youth-Led Human Rights Action for Corporate Change

Sustainable Business Futures: Youth-Led Rights Action for Corporate Change

11:00 ICT | 19 March 2025

Overview

Youth-led movements are contributing to reshaping corporate accountability across Asia, driving shifts in social justice, climate action, and human rights practices. From grassroots campaigns to digital advocacy, these efforts are sparking business model transformations and influencing sustainable practices. In Indonesia advocacy for plastic reduction has pressured companies to adopt more sustainable practices. In South Korea, climate litigation has raised the bar for corporate accountability on emissions. Meanwhile, advocacy in the Philippines is spotlighting environmental impacts and pushing companies toward greater transparency.

Young changemakers are driving impact from multiple entry points—through policy spaces, within corporations, and via activism. Engaging in multi-stakeholder dialogues, they advise on sustainability strategies, champion human rights standards in boardrooms, and mobilize communities through grassroots action. Bridging corporate and civil society perspectives, these advocates advance sustainable business practices while holding companies accountable for their impacts on people and the planet. Notably, youth voices have often been the tipping point for corporate action on environmental challenges—whether by exposing transboundary pollution, driving commitments to biodiversity protection, or pushing industries to address human rights impacts linked to resource-intensive operations.

Far from being peripheral voices, youth-led efforts are redefining business performance metrics, using digital platforms to elevate accountability and shape consumer expectations. Their influence presents businesses with a strategic opportunity—those that engage meaningfully can strengthen human rights due diligence (HRDD), mitigate climate and environmental risks, and align with the values of a socially conscious generation.

Why does it matter for business? Youth across Asia are driving transformative shifts in business practices and policies, ensuring no industry is left untouched. Their leadership is not only shaping corporate accountability today but also setting the foundation for a more sustainable and equitable future.

Format

This session will explore the power of youth influence in driving corporate change and transforming industries, highlighting how their advocacy shapes business strategies and responses to environmental challenges. It will showcase real-world examples where youth-led action has been the tipping point for corporate accountability, offering businesses practical roadmaps to engage youth in stakeholder strategies as agents of change to drive sustainable practices and industry transformation.

LEARN:

Youth in Corporate Accountability: How are youth-led movements driving business and human rights (BHR) advocacy in Asia?
Engagement of Youth in Due Diligence: How can businesses integrate youth perspectives into their due diligence processes to enhance accountability?
Partnership Models: What are successful examples of collaboration between businesses and youth organizations for human rights and climate impacts?

ENGAGE:

Empowering Youth Voices: How can companies create platforms for meaningful youth engagement in sustainability strategies?
Youth-Led Monitoring and Reporting: What role can youth play in identifying and addressing human rights and environmental risks in supply chains?
Collaboration for Impact: How can businesses, investors, and civil society work with youth to drive systemic change in corporate practices?

CONNECT:

Youth-Business Partnerships: What mechanisms can support long-term collaboration between youth organizations, industry leaders, and investors?
Scaling Solutions: How can successful youth-led initiatives be scaled across industries to maximize impact?

SESSION SPEAKERS

AMIRA BILQIS

Co-founder, Youth for Energy Southeast Asia (Y4E-SEA)

Amira Bilqis is a co-founder of Youth for Energy Southeast Asia (Y4E-SEA), a youth-led organisation driving the region's energy transition. Y4E-SEA is currently lead the study "Youth as Partners in Achieving SDG7: A Guide for Youth Engagement in Asia-Pacific's Just Energy Transition" in collaboration with various youth-led organisation and UN ESCAP. She is currently studying at the University of Melbourne and is a member of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Youth Council. Amira has advocated for meaningful youth inclusion and provided insights at high-level engagements, including ASEAN, Asia-Pacific, BRICS, G7, and G20 just energy transition policymaking processes and youth empowerment.

RAYHAN DUDAYEV

Senior Regional Campaign Strategist (Legal and Political), Greenpeace

Rayhan Dudayev is a Senior Regional Campaign Strategist (Legal and Political) focusing on environmental governance in Southeast Asia (SEA). With a background in law and marine policy, he engages with SEA states and global stakeholders in various multilateral processes, including the Plastic Treaty and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Rayhan collaborates with CSOs, policymakers, and interest groups to strengthen environmental and human rights legal frameworks. His work centers on justice-driven approaches to addressing the triple planetary crisis; climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, while ensuring the protection of community rights

MEENAL TATPATI

Member of the IUCN WCPA

Meenal Tatpati is a lawyer and researcher with a decade of experience documenting and advocating for laws and policies that democratise forest governance in India. Her work covers the aspect of integrating Free, Prior, Informed Consent provisions for Indigenous People and local communities across laws dealing with Protected Area creation and expansion, diversion of forest land for non-forest uses and generation of carbon and biodiversity credits and implementation of nature-based solutions. She is actively engaged in advocacy for gender responsive commitments in the Convention on Biological Diversity as a Research and Policy Associate with Women4Biodiversity. She is also working with local communities on advancing their human rights across two protected areas in India. She is a member of the IUCN WCPA as well as the IUCN WCEL.

TOMO HAMAKAWA

Co-Founder and Chief Exploration Officer, Earth Company

Tomo is the co-founder and Chief Exploration Officer of the award-winning social enterprise Earth Company, as well as a next generation hotel in Bali called Mana Earthly Paradise, the first B corp certified hotel in Southeast Asia.
He has extensive field experience working for international and local development NGOs across Asia and Africa, including the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the World Bank, and Kopernik.
Tomo holds a BA in Social Anthropology from Harvard College, a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. He currently lives in Bali, Indonesia with his wife and four children.

SHAAN GOMM

Indigenous Youth Engagement and Empowerment Coordinator, UNDP

Shaan is an Indigenous Kadazan from Sabah, Malaysia and serves as the Indigenous Youth Engagement & Empowerment Coordinator at UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub with a focus on advancing meaningful Indigenous youth participation in climate action through the Youth Empowerment in Climate Action Platform (YECAP).
Previously, he led grassroot AgriTech projects aimed at increasing the livelihood of Indigenous farmers through sustainable technologies. He had also co-founded youth-led CSOs that advances and empower Indigenous youth political participation in Sabah.

Sustainable Business Futures: Youth-Led Rights Action for Corporate Change

11:00 ICT | 19 March 2025

Overview

Format

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