Photo 1. Group photo of ACE staff at the signing of the ACE Inclusivity Pledge.
Bandung, 18 December 2025 — Following the endorsement of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2026–2030 and its new theme, “Advancing Regional Cooperation in Ensuring Energy Security and Accelerating Decarbonisation for a Just and Inclusive Energy Transition,” the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) reaffirmed its commitment to ensure that inclusivity is reflected not only in ASEAN’s regional energy agenda, but also in ACE’s own organisational culture.
On 18 December 2025, in Bandung, Indonesia, ACE marked this commitment through the signing of the ACE Inclusivity Pledge by the Executive Director, Heads of Departments, and all ACE staff. The signing was complemented by an organisation-wide learning session on Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI), supported under the World Bank’s Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach Accelerating Sustainable Energy Transition (MPA ASET), to build a shared understanding of inclusive and respectful workplace practice across the Centre. The pledge reflects ACE’s collective commitment to foster a culture grounded in respect, fairness, and professionalism, where every individual feels valued, supported, and able to contribute meaningfully.
Importantly, the pledge also strengthens ACE’s commitment to GEDSI. In this context, inclusivity means ensuring that people of different genders, abilities, backgrounds, and lived experiences are treated with dignity and fairness, and that ACE’s workplace and engagement spaces remain accessible, respectful, and supportive. By strengthening GEDSI within the organisation, ACE aims to reinforce the credibility of its broader role in supporting an energy transition that is not only technically sound, but also socially just and people-centred.
Photo 2. ACE Inclusivity Pledge by the management. (From left to right) Aldilla Noor Rakhiemah, Project Manager of ACCEPT II; Naing Naing Linn, Manager of Energy Efficiency and Conservation (CEE) Department; Dr Tharinya Supasa, Manager Sustainable and Renewable Energy (SRE) Department; Dr Andy Tirta, Manager of Corporate Affairs; Dato' Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director; Beni Suryadi, Senior Manager of ASEAN Plan of Action on Energy Cooperation (APAEC) Department; Nadhilah Shani, Power Generation and Interconnection (PIN) Department; Suwanto, Fossil Fuels, Hydrocarbon, and Minerals (FOM) Department
While ACE has advanced inclusivity through selected initiatives in recent years, including through project-based efforts such as the ASEAN Climate Change and Energy Project (ACCEPT), ASEAN-UK GTF PEARL (Programme on Energy Advancement for Resilience), and the MPA ASET, the signing of the pledge represents a shift towards a more consistent, organisation-wide approach.
Inclusivity is not viewed as a one-off activity or limited to selected initiatives, but as a principle that should inform how ACE builds its culture, designs programmes, convenes stakeholders, and represents ASEAN’s energy cooperation agenda. At a time when the energy transition is increasingly recognised as both a technical and social transformation, ACE believes that institutional culture matters. A people-centred transition requires environments where diverse perspectives are welcomed, where professional conduct is upheld, and where opportunities are accessible to all.
Photo 3. ACE staff signing the ACE Inclusivity Pledge
Looking ahead to 2026, ACE will follow up the pledge with practical steps to translate commitment into action. This includes strengthening staff capacity through organisation-wide learning on inclusivity and GEDSI; improving practices that encourage equitable behaviour and respectful working relationships; and ensuring that inclusivity and gender equality are reflected more consistently in organisational planning for 2026–2030.
ACE will also work to ensure that these values are visible in how the Centre engages externally. In particular, ACE aims to improve balanced representation in its convening role: working towards more gender-balanced participation across speakers, moderators, and panellists in ACE-organised events. The Centre will continue to integrate GEDSI considerations across projects and regional platforms, using its convening power to widen participation and highlight leadership that supports a more inclusive energy sector.
Through these efforts, ACE continues to affirm that the energy transition must be people-centred and must create space for everyone, especially women, persons with disabilities, and other marginalised groups that are too often left out of decision-making, to be seen, heard, and meaningfully included.
Full text of the ACE Inclusivity Pledge: Read here
