IR for Business Academy 3.0: Climate and Sustainability Investments in Today’s World with Avina Sugiarto*
- Foreign Policy Talks
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
The third session of the International Relations for Business Academy 3.0, titled “Are Climate and Sustainability Investments Still Relevant in Today’s World?”, featured an engaging and insightful discussion with Avina Sugiarto, Partner at East Ventures, hosted by Rafliansyah, Founder of SiPalingHI Media.
The session began with a direct question to participants on whether climate and sustainability investments still hold relevance amid today’s geopolitical uncertainty and shifting global priorities. The opening set the tone for a discussion that moved between debate and reflection on how sustainability is understood in investment practice.
Avina Sugiarto, Partner at East Ventures, shared her personal journey from growing up in Balikpapan to entering the investment world, reflecting on how early exposure to markets gradually shaped her interest in investing and risk taking. She noted that investment learning often comes from experience, including both gains and losses, and from understanding how risk tolerance evolves over time.
Beyond personal experience, the session highlighted how sustainability in investment is broadly defined through environmental, social, and governance principles. Avina emphasized governance and integrity as central filters in evaluating founders and long term business viability, particularly in early stage investing where trust and execution matter most.
The discussion also explored how sustainability can align with business performance through real sector applications. Examples from East Ventures’ portfolio, including digital platforms, education, financial inclusion, and climate related ventures, were used to illustrate how impact driven models can also generate scalable and sustainable returns.
The session concluded with a key takeaway that sustainability remains relevant not as a standalone theme, but as part of long term value creation in investment decisions. The discussion also reinforced the importance for young professionals to combine specialization with cross disciplinary understanding in order to remain relevant in evolving global markets.
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