Singapore-headquartered UOB Asset Management has launched a “sustainability academy” to offer a series of training and development programmes on sustainable investing to at least 400 employees across the region, according to a statement from the firm.

Besides Singapore, the firm has operations in Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan.

The in-house academy will equip staff in both investment and non-investment roles with the fundamentals of sustainable investing and help embed ESG considerations within the organizational culture.

The programme will kick off in the fourth quarter and is a collaboration with Robeco, which designed the training modules.

The Robeco programme comprises two modules, namely Sustainable Investing and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Investing, and will cover key topics such as ESG integration, active ownership and measuring the contribution of companies to the UN SDGs.

The two modules are accredited by The Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore’s Financial Training Scheme (FTS) and the CFA Institute. Time spent by UOB AM employees on these modules will also count as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours, as part of the requirements financial practitioners have to meet.

This is not the first time that the two firms have partnered to promote ESG. In March, UOB AM launched in Singapore the United Sustainable Credit Income Fund, which invests in the RobecoSAM SDG Credit Income Fund, according to the statement. In August, UOB AM launched a feeder fund in Thailand that invests in Robeco’s Sustainable Global Stars Equities Fund.