Having flagged its intention to set up in Singapore upon its formation in 2019, Australian-origin climate consultancy Pollination has now fulfilled that goal with the establishment of a new local office.

International climate advisory and investment firm Pollination has officially expanded into Asia through the launch of a permanent office in Singapore.

The new base joins existing outlets in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Washington and Chicago, and will be led by newly-recruited managing directors Heng Dean Law and Diego de Sartiges.

“In recent years we have seen our business expanding rapidly across Asia, and Singapore made perfect sense for us as we looked to establish a permanent presence,” stated Martijn Wilder, who co-founded the firm alongside Tony O’Sullivan in November of 2019. “We are delighted to be making this move and the leaders we have chosen to run this new office show how serious we are about deepening our already-strong links with Singapore and the region.”

In a press release, Pollination stated that its Singapore co-leaders bring “deep and complementary experience” to their new roles.

Previously a senior diplomat in Singapore’s embassy in Jakarta, Heng Dean Law joins after most recently spending more than a decade at state-owned investment company Temasek, where he led development of a carbon markets platform and helped drive investment strategy with a focus on nature-based solutions.

Diego de Sartiges meanwhile crosses from a sustainability-focused Vice President role with the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX), before which he was a partner at Boston Consulting Group in Singapore, altogether spending seven and a half years with the strategy giant after originally joining in Kuala Lumpur in 2013. Earlier, de Sartiges spent time with L.E.K. Consulting in Paris and Chicago.

“Whether it’s in the financial services industry or major corporates in many sectors we are seeing huge interest from Singaporean companies, and those across Asia, in successfully identifying the risks and opportunities involved with transitioning to net zero business models and a sustainable global economy,” de Sartiges stated. “I have long admired the work that Pollination does around the world and it is truly an exciting time to be joining the company.”

Pollination also described to move into Singapore as a strong endorsement of the city-state’s status as a regional centre for carbon trading and leader in decarbonisation strategy, green financing and sustainable business. In less than four years in business, the firm has amassed $650 million in assets under management toward nature-based projects through a partnership with HSBC, and last year secured a $50 million investment from ANZ.

The move follows the recent appointment of Wilder as chair of Australia’s $15 billion flagship National Reconstruction Fund, which aims to finance manufacturing and research innovation in areas such as renewables, medical science, transport, agriculture, resources and defence.