Sharmel Ali

Sharmel Ali’s career experiences and life objectives are essentially a reflection and driven by the perspectives and aspiration of making the world a better place, however small the difference (as cliched as it may be). The concept and perspectives of sustainability, the need to protect the planet and to live a responsible way of life has always resonated and been deeply ingrained in my ‘make-up’ from an early age.

Following a degree in Environmental Technology at Imperial College London, he embarked in a career in Sustainability. He is particularly driven by the interest of assisting organisations integrate responsible practices with business objectives/decisions through a strategic approach, applying change management thinking/processes and prove that there doesn’t need to be a disconnect between planet, people and profit. 

Sharmel Ali has over 15 years’ experience as a corporate sustainability practitioner, through his capacity as a specialist consultant and sustainability lead for large listed organisations. He has led on projects that have been featured and attained recognition in national and international platforms including FTSE4Good, ACCA, Sustainability Business Awards (SBA), Bursa Malaysia (one of the largest bourses in ASEAN).

He has the experience of working in the UK and in S.E Asia, for organisations across sectors and of different profiles where he was involved in various projects. His expertise and interests lie in embedding and integrating sustainability/ESG as part of organisational DNA, creating impact and adding value – through a strategic approach based on strong sustainability governance framework, applying various methodologies and processes to ensure an effective and efficient direction and process of sustainability management.

Sharmel Ali’s initial corporate sustainability experience began as a Sustainability Lead at MISC (a leading provider of international energy-related maritime solutions and services) – where he was tasked to set up and formalise MISC’s sustainability functions, processes, systems and ambitions from scratch. His work culminated in MISC being recognised as one of the leading sustainability practicing organisations in Malaysia.

Currently he is the Head of Group ESG for STT Global Data Centres (Singapore), where he is steering and directing the approach, development and delivery of STT GDC’s ESG strategy and related programmes across the Group. 

The principles of strong values, standards, ethics/integrity and trust – has always been his base and compass in all endeavours.