A green planet is good for business

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: What challenges - and opportunities - are there for businesses as they decarbonise their operations?

Deborah Ho Head, SEAsia and Country Head, Singapore BlackRock

We need to think long-term - a successful transition to net zero will need new technologies to generate, store, and distribute clean energy; to decarbonise manufacturing, agriculture and transport; and to capture carbon emissions. The opportunities are immense - and a successful net-zero transition could drive as much as 25 per cent higher GDP growth over the next 2 decades for Asean. The net-zero transition represents an investment opportunity of about US$50 trillion globally, and Asia will require at least US$1.7 trillion a year of investments in sustainable infrastructure through 2030. While investors today are still more used to sustainable investment strategies based on global exposures, localisation and commitment to individual markets is increasingly likely from larger investors. In Asia, there's a clear trend towards sustainable infrastructure, and those flows are rapidly coming through.

The pace and precise nature of the net-zero transition will be guided by government policy. Clarity on climate policies will help encourage the private sector to invest in clean energy and related technologies.

George Nassaouati Head of Natural Resources, Asia Willis Towers Watson

With fossil fuels still being used to produce about 60 per cent of power globally, energy transition is not a simple matter of an immediate and irreversible switch to renewables. The transition needs to be managed in an orderly and just manner, while being aligned with conventional energy development due to increasing energy demands. Many of the current solutions across industries and governments rely on the power sector to lead the way in decarbonisation. Innovative methods such as carbon capture and green hydrogen are vital energy solutions that need to continue to develop through technology to render them emission-friendly. If governed well, with a robust strategy and performance measurements, tackling climate change presents opportunities for energy sector companies to attract investments - whether in the form of debt, equity or insurance coverage.

Anderson Tanoto Managing Director RGE

As COP26 gets underway, some may ask what has been achieved since COP21 in 2015? I have witnessed many Asia businesses delivering positive change, even amidst the pandemic. We are on the ground where the action happens. At RGE, under the APRIL Group, we have been working with our partners in Indonesia on Restorasi Ekosistem Riau - one of the world's largest peatland restoration projects. We are protecting and restoring natural forests twice the size of Singapore. Through this, we achieve hundreds of millions of tonnes of avoided carbon emissions over time and provide nature-based climate solutions for the region. I am a firm believer that plantation companies can produce, but also must protect. We need to start putting sustainability and business on the same side of the equation, not on the opposite ends. The time to act is now; we must work together for a more sustainable future.

Ariel Muller Managing Director, Asia Forum for the Future

As we undertake the necessary and urgent transition to clean energy systems in Asia, public policymakers, financiers and procurers need to enable and incentivise renewable energy developers to produce and deploy renewable energy in ways that are ecologically safe and rights-respecting.

Attending to this imperative is critical if we are to secure energy systems of our future that not just come from renewable sources, but are also responsible, inclusive, resilient and regenerative for generations to come.

Joanne Flinn Chair of the Sustainability Peer Group EGN Singapore

As businesses decarbonise, decision-making today has shifted to integrate sustainability with risk management, opportunity maximisation and capital investments. This can be challenging when businesses are focused on short-term profits. However, it is critical for them to act now and avoid the use of coal, oil, and gas to reduce the risk of contingent liabilities and jeopardise future funds-raising. In proactively developing new solutions, business leaders need to find a new way of thinking about profits to one that extends beyond cash, to the value generated for the community and the climate. It's an elegant transition to profit that wins deep.

David Kuo Co-founder The Smart Investor

We can't make omelettes without breaking eggs. Similarly, we can't switch from fossil fuels to clean energy without painful choices. The challenge is massive, as the UN Environment Programme has highlighted. The updated pledges to the Paris accord would still mean global temperatures rising 2.5 deg C by 2030. Some countries seem happy to procrastinate, leaving others to do the heavy lifting. Decarbonisation must start immediately. But whilst the supply of fossil fuel remains abundant, there is scant incentive to switch. The supply of fossil fuels should be restricted immediately, even if it means higher bills. When we find ourselves in a hole, just stop digging.

Jonathan Tiu Singapore CEO MFS Investment Management

Climate change is arguably the biggest challenge facing humanity today. Finance will play a pivotal role in the fight against it.

Different actors within the financial system have different roles. Lenders have the power to withhold capital from projects and companies that clearly exacerbate climate change, and make it accessible to those developing solutions. Similarly, insurers can reflect the risks of climate change in the cost and availability of their products. Investors and asset managers have a responsibility to engage with issuers on effectively managing climate-related opportunities and threats, including transitioning businesses to succeed in a low-carbon world. Finance cannot succeed alone, however. Central banks will need to build resilient systems able to cope with novel shocks. And national governments will need to enact new regulation to steer us towards a more sustainable future.

Ben King Country Director Google Singapore

The opportunities for carbon-free operations are endless in terms of innovation, culture transformation, job creation, and leaving a more sustainable world for future generations. Yet we do not fully have all the answers to get there, including energy sources and technologies that do not exist today.

We believe that our impact is far greater when we share technology, methods and funding to help organisations everywhere transition to resilient carbon-free systems. At Google, we operate the cleanest global cloud industry today and a target to operate on carbon-free energy, everywhere, 24/7 by 2030. As we continue to learn more and collaborate on ways to achieve our goals - such as harnessing next-generation geothermal energy or implementing carbon-intelligent computing - we hope to demonstrate that a fully decarbonised future is achievable for everyone.

Max Loh Managing Partner, Singapore and Brunei EY

Decarbonisation creates a more energy-resilient global ecosystem for businesses to thrive. For example, the push for renewables not only brings cleaner energy; projects that drive its developments can spur innovation and generate economic payoffs and high-value jobs. While collective efforts in decarbonisation are growing, transition nonetheless remains uneven across geographies and sectors. Additionally, the climate emergency has precipitated a diverse and rapidly evolving landscape of frameworks, pledges and initiatives, resulting in the journey to sustainability being riddled with jargons, creating barriers for smaller firms and new entrants. Even as companies and individuals each endeavour to lower their emissions, no organisation can be truly net-zero until everyone is net-zero. It is imperative for the entire ecosystem and public-private players to step up and make decarbonisation a reality beyond aspiration.

Joanne Wong VP, International Markets LogRhythm

We are fast reaching a tipping point, and it is now or never in our push for net-zero and to reverse climate change. It will be no easy feat for businesses, who must undergo a fundamental mindset shift and overhaul their operations to pursue renewable alternatives and improve efficiency.

Promisingly, advancements in 5G and technology will go a long way to catalyse these efforts. The increased connectivity will not only drive improvements in the Internet of Things - to expand electricity networks - but also sharpen AI capabilities for more precise forecasting of renewable energies. That said, as businesses decarbonise and turn to new power grids, it is imperative that they remain vigilant and implement robust cyber standards. Only then can they fend against evolving threats in the digital, connected era, and sustain these green efforts in the long run.

Wendy Johnstone SVP & COO APAC Zendesk

Over a couple of probably the most challenging years for any business, many were forced to examine purpose and focus on core issues like business stability. It's at times like these that our broader commitments as corporate citizens can be tested, and the long-term view compromised. We seized the moment to raise our sustainability standards. From 2021 we are aiming to have our workplaces globally be carbon-negative, rather than just carbon-neutral. We plan to do this by removing more emissions from the atmosphere than we generate, while also working towards reducing our indirect emissions. The opportunity, by making similar commitments, is for businesses to do nothing short of helping to save our planet. There is no ideal time to make these decisions; there is only now.

Ng Tian Chong Managing Director, Greater Asia HP Inc

We're in the decisive decade where we can overturn the tide of climate change. From governments to businesses to individuals, we all need to commit to aggressive goals. At HP we're committed to achieving Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Through our HP Amplify Impact programme, we rally our partners to integrate sustainability in every business decision they make. Sustainability can no longer be an auxiliary to the business, it must be an intrinsic part of every company's strategy.

Eileen Chua Managing Director SAP Singapore

Sustainability goals and the commitment to restoring our planet are critical metrics to any business's long-term, purpose-driven growth. Like any other core business function, environmental sustainability must be managed in real time and tracked to create transparency and drive impact at scale. No company can achieve this in a silo; SAP is taking bold steps alongside our partners to empower Singapore enterprises to integrate sustainability data into their business processes across the whole value chain. In doing so, we can facilitate the energy transition, reduce carbon footprint, accelerate greener operations, and restore the health of our planet together.

Leong Yee May Managing Director, South Asia Equinix

Sustainability has now become a priority for many organisations. Firms that integrate sustainability principles into their business values have the power to better engage customers, enhance operations and enrich our work, life and planet. It's also important to ensure that the advantages of our increasingly interconnected world come at the lowest possible impact to our environment. Equinix's Future First sustainability strategy and our 100 per cent renewable energy goal are aligned with Singapore's sustainable agenda. We aim to become climate-neutral across our global operation by 2030 as part of our science-based target initiative, which promotes best practice in emissions reductions and net-zero targets.

Avishek Kumar Co-founder and CEO VFlowTech

Energy storage is a key enabler for the energy transition to renewables, due to the intermittent nature of solar or wind power generation. There is a huge need for low-cost reliable long duration energy storage solutions which can enable a 24/7 shift to renewables. Currently, the cost of grid electricity is high in most countries across Southeast Asia, and the falling cost of energy storage is making renewable energy microgrids economically viable and a reliable alternative to diesel. We hope that collectively, someday we can achieve energy equity where everyone can access clean energy at affordable pricing.

Tonny Loh Partner , Singapore office Heidrick & Struggles

As we come together to address the effects of climate change, the role of businesses can't be diminished. Communities are paying increased attention to critical issues like carbon emissions and rising sea levels. With changing stakeholder expectations, businesses should not and cannot only prioritise financial returns. At Heidrick & Struggles, we help clients build sustainability into their corporate agenda. And we ourselves are committed to driving change. Earlier this year, we issued a comprehensive ESG report - the first in the industry to do so. From decreasing our office spaces globally, choosing buildings with sustainable features, to working with environmentally-responsible partners, we are making progress towards reducing our carbon footprint. Only by protecting the environment we live and work in, will companies be able to build and secure a sustainable business model for the future.

Dharmesh Arora Regional CEO (APAC) Schaeffler

Switching to low-carbon processes will require significant short- to mid-term investments. However, businesses that successfully decarbonise their operations will see better outcomes in the long run. Companies must ensure that decarbonisation efforts are prioritised through defined targets and specific measures for the equivalent carbon impact to be visible.

Schaeffler's products have always contributed to efficiency improvement and in reducing carbon intensity. We are now working with stakeholders across the value chain for sustainable innovations to meet our self-imposed climate-neutral targets throughout the supply chain and production processes by 2040. The approach extends to the procurement of sustainably produced raw materials to minimise carbon footprint.

Angie Stephen VP and MD, Asia Pacific Royal Caribbean International

Decarbonisation is the key factor in alleviating climate change and requires businesses, industries and governments to work collectively to lower carbon emissions and help manage the realities of environmental degradation. We have a critical responsibility to identify solutions that will ensure the sustainable future of cruising. That naturally includes a robust strategy to help reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. At Royal Caribbean, the very essence of our business depends on the health and vibrancy of the oceans and our overall environment. Hence we are diligently partnering with governments, suppliers and innovators to develop alternative and accessible fuels and technology to ensure the viability of our business and the hundreds of destinations we visit.

Andy Thompson Managing Director Go-Ahead Singapore

Being green is a catalyst for innovation. We have seen innovations in Singapore's public transport sector as it moves towards a smarter, greener, and more inclusive system. Apart from buses running on cleaner energy options, the nation is also looking into autonomous vehicles to overcome challenges such as land and manpower constraints. Go-Ahead Singapore contributes to a greener commute, trialling in 2017 Singapore's first electric bus on the road in collaboration with the LTA and piloting the use of solar panels on buses to improve vehicle efficiency. Through innovations like driver telematics and a real-time preventive maintenance system using IoT technology with our proprietary solution, Vehicle Health Telematics, we make our operations more productive and fuel-efficient as well as safer.

Helman Sitohang CEO, Asia Pacific Credit Suisse

Sustainability is critical to a good business strategy and ESG efforts, such as decarbonisation, are one such approach. At Credit Suisse, we have observed companies becoming more crisis-resilient when they prioritise ESG principles. We also see consumers, clients and investors calling on businesses to preserve finite resources to address climate risks and support communities transitioning towards clean power usage. Our bank has set a goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 from our operations, supply chain and financing activities. We have also committed to providing at least 300 billion Swiss francs (S$443 billion) of sustainable financing over 10 years to support renewables, green/blue/transition bonds and low-carbon energy solutions to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. By backing strategies that invest in disruptive technologies to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change, Credit Suisse also enables our clients to take up opportunities to do their part. We believe that with increased regulatory clarity and better adoption of sustainable investments, the demand for sustainable investing will only continue to accelerate. And this is the start of supporting the region's transition to a low-carbon future.

Alexander Berkovskiy Regional Director , APAC Syngenta

Asia is the world's hungriest region. COP26 must prioritise food security, climate change and biodiversity loss, because we cannot overcome one without addressing the others.

Through our Good Growth Plan, we are driving agricultural sustainability and are committed to reducing the carbon intensity of our operations by 50 per cent by 2030. Additionally, it's our opportunity to strive for carbon-neutral agriculture by measuring and enabling carbon capture and mitigation, and enhancing soil health and biodiversity. We are working with farmers to equip them with the knowledge and technologies to secure a low-carbon, food-secure future.

Andy Sim VP and MD, Singapore Dell Technologies

Firms striving towards net-zero goals often fall into the trap of balancing continued carbon emissions with offset activities. To make actual progress and achieve long-term impact, however, they must focus on dramatically reducing emissions where possible across their entire value chain. This requires a company to look inward across its supply chain and innovate, leveraging digital transformation.

As a technology firm with a global network of operations, the climate risks threatening our planet today will ultimately impact our business, from suppliers to customers. Working towards net-zero goals, we - along with companies worldwide - must seize the opportunity to integrate sustainability considerations across the entire value chain, by reinventing approaches to product design, relooking materials used, and rethinking how products are delivered to customers with minimal carbon emissions. By engineering solutions that promote energy efficiency, promoting a closed-loop supply chain, and working with suppliers to decarbonise, businesses can take strides towards meaningful and impactful decarbonisation.

Alvin Ng VP &GM, Digital Solutions, APAC Johnson Controls

Lack of expertise and uncertainty around savings or performance benefits are some challenges businesses face as they look to decarbonise their operations. Businesses can overcome these challenges by leveraging data and analytics to guide decision-making as well as working with trusted partners. However, to even begin the decarbonisation journey, business leaders' commitment is pivotal.

At Johnson Controls, our CEO, who also serves as the energy and environment committee chair for the Business Roundtable, is clearly steering the company to more resolutely address climate concerns through setting science-based targets and helping our customers decarbonise with solutions such as our OpenBlue digital platform and net zero as a service offering. This year, we have become the first S&P500 industrial company to publish an integrated sustainable finance framework and issue a sustainability-linked bond. We hope to inspire and encourage other businesses to take the step towards adopting sustainability practices. Many opportunities are emerging as policymakers and financiers incentivise decarbonisation efforts.

Sandy Gwee Principal Consultant (Energy and Smart Cities) Nomura Research Institute Singapore

Companies that are developing a decarbonisation strategy can start by embedding the principles of a circular economy across all aspects of their operations. A key pillar of a circular economy will involve the use of constrained resources to achieve optimal results based on the 3Rs principle - reduce, reuse and recycle. The effectiveness of decarbonising efforts takes into account scenario planning which provides clarity on the tangible possibilities and constraints. Strategies developed under the guiding principles of circular economy will facilitate the effective re-allocation of resources to deliver actionable outcome over the short term and long term. Aside from decarbonising existing core businesses, circular economic models also open up new business segments - this two-pronged approach enables futureproof cashflow generation while achieving carbon neutrality in the long term.

Shaun Hon General Partner Motion Ventures

The climate crisis has exposed the fact that our current global carbon trajectory is untenable. It has also revealed woefully large yet entirely solvable technology gaps. Digital emission tracking, accounting and data optimisation, are solutions that businesses can already tap into today. What's now needed to move the needle is a consortium of industry first-movers to drive adoption - only then will we see meaningful impact unfold.

Darren Rogers Country Manager, Singapore IWG plc

After a prolonged period of work from home, IWG believes that we have now reached a tipping point in which the hybrid working model has the potential to promote sustainability and transform the world for the better as we move towards a post-pandemic future. By adopting a hybrid work model, companies can significantly reduce their carbon footprint and those of their employees through reduced commuting and potentially downsizing offices. This is a huge opportunity for Singapore as 61 per cent of employers intend to continue flexible work beyond the pandemic and 8 in 10 workers prefer a flexible work arrangement. While hybrid working on its own isn't the answer to the climate emergency, nevertheless, it is a step that can clearly bring positive results.

Koji Nagatomi Chief Executive Officer Mitsui & Co (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd

Balancing the energy needs of today while preparing for the low-carbon society of the future is a major challenge. Mitsui aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and reduce our GHG impact to half of our 2020 levels by 2030. To get there we are taking a multi-faceted and long-term approach. In our energy business we are investing more in cleaner-burning LNG, renewable energy, and even next-generation fuels such as bioethanol from waste gas and green hydrogen and ammonia from renewables. By turning challenge into opportunity we strive to enable a smooth transition to a clean energy future.

Khoo Teng Chye Asia Pacific Chair Urban Land Institute

The built environment sector currently contributes nearly 40 per cent of carbon emissions globally and nearly 70 per cent of emissions in urban areas. More real estate firms globally are assessing their portfolios critically and partnering with local policymakers on decarbonisation and other climate resilient solutions. The ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance is a worldwide alliance of leading real estate owners, investors, and policymakers committed to improving the environmental performance of the global built environment industry. Through measurement, benchmarking, knowledge sharing, and implementation of best practices, Greenprint and its members strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon operations by 2050. More information can be found at uli.org/netzerogoal.

Osamu Ono Managing Director & CEO Mitsubishi Power Asia Pacific

Businesses across all industries will need to balance their pursuit of growth with the urgent need to decarbonise. We in the power generation sector must reduce emissions from existing power plants while we also innovate to ramp up utilisation of cleaner energy sources like hydrogen. While countries in Asia Pacific are seeking ways to move away from coal, there is immense potential to continue developing natural gas as a critical source of power that can pave the way for low and zero-carbon energy, and Mitsubishi Power is supporting this transition by engineering industry-leading gas power technologies such as hydrogen-ready heavy-duty gas turbines.

Tong Hsien-Hui Executive Director - Investments SGInnovate

Our economy today has been optimised for the distribution and use of fossil fuels, and companies looking to decarbonise operations face the daunting challenge of reversing decades' worth of accepted practices. To succeed, any action needs to be guided by strong leadership and a clear long-term vision. Trends in government policy and investor focus indicate that companies that ignore this are likely to face an existential threat when either regulation restricting carbon emissions is passed, or financing for carbon-intensive operations becomes more expensive. On the flip side, early adopters will have access to more pools of liquidity from which to finance their decarbonisation efforts and leverage new emerging technologies to accelerate the process.

Remco den Heijer Vice President, Asean SAS

Companies can use data analytics to streamline goals and to assess multiple possible scenarios that can help them adjust their operations to achieve carbon neutrality. They can implement mitigation strategies to minimise disruption and losses. Business can also identify opportunities, to transition towards new business models ahead of competitors. Taking effective action on climate change will require analytically-driven decision-making on an unprecedented scale to protect the environment. We see this as an opportunity for curious problem solvers and for innovation fuelled by data and analytics. SAS is committed to supporting the aim of the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 deg C above pre-industrial levels and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Katherina-Olivia Lacey Co-founder & Chief Product Officer Quincus

The key drivers for today's increased greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain could be attributed to the shifting of trade patterns and the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom.

As global awareness of decarbonisation grows, supply chain innovation is the key for businesses to create a more cost-effective and greener logistics operation process. Technology can help create a more unified service fleet platform while offering transparency and real-time tracking across the supply chain. With the necessary processes in place, companies can use the information to optimise their supply chain, achieving more cost-effective and sustainable measures, enabling greater carbon footprint accountability.

Chua Hock Leng VP, Asean & Greater China Pure Storage

The tug-of-war between growth and sustainability is one that business leaders are all too familiar with. This struggle is acutely felt in IT departments, as CIOs seek to cater to increased data and compute power needs while reducing emissions and carbon footprint. The challenge that most companies face is extricating themselves from legacy technologies which often consume more power. The companies brave enough to make the move to newer, more energy-efficient technologies such as flash storage, will reap the rewards of staying relevant in the digital economy while also meeting sustainability goals. This will in turn loop back into the bottomline as end-users start to favour green companies.

Samer Halabi Executive Vice President KONE Asia Pacific

Carbon neutrality as a sustainable business practice is a requirement for long-term success. However, businesses can face challenges in setting appropriate boundaries that delineate owner and tenant responsibilities while ensuring the credibility and transparency of the data collected. Yet, if carried out successfully, sustainable business practices can grant businesses a competitive advantage in the areas of safety, quality, and ethics and compliance. Working together with suppliers to reduce carbon footprint from operations and manufacturing is key to conducting business in a responsible and sustainable manner, leading to a future-proof supply chain as a whole.

Justin Gabbani Chief Executive Officer, Asia Lendlease

Lendlease is committed to creating communities that thrive. We recently released our Mission Zero roadmap for Asia setting out how we are going to achieve our ambition to see a world warmed by no more than 1.5 degrees, with targets to be Net Zero by 2025 (Scope 1 & 2) and Absolute Zero by 2040 (including Scope 3 emissions). We are taking immediate action by progressively replacing diesel with biofuels, electrifying construction activities, ensuring our developments include high performance buildings supported by renewable energy infrastructure, and integrating decarbonisation into our asset investment business planning.

However, there are longer-term challenges such as eliminating carbon in construction materials and supporting tenants in their transition to renewable electricity. Our roadmap measures help us create more resilient communities, driving us to be more innovative in design, closing the loop on our use of resources and increasing collaboration across industry and supply chain partners. Above all else, it's just the right thing to do.

Luke Lim Managing Director Phillip Securities Pte Ltd

Decarbonisation is one of the four main goals of COP26. As a financial institution, we play a pivotal role in mobilising funds to power the scaling and speeding up of change needed to hit net-zero by 2050.

The greatest risk is not hitting our climate targets, where irreversible environmental damage will change the way we live and do business. The opportunities lay in infrastructure solutions, innovations that propel net-zero transition and nature-positive production alternatives. Our priority lies in what we can do now - to shape a low-carbon economy within a living planet.

Daniel Gafke APAC Director BayWa r.e

There are many opportunities in the adoption of renewable energy for businesses looking to decarbonise, disassociating from increasingly price-volatile fossil fuels to elevate business resilience. This will be highly relevant amidst a growing requirement for ESG among customers and investors. While a lack of harmonised standards across South-east Asia could present challenges to the pace and scale of adoption, policymakers here have elevated climate change to the top of national agendas. This opens the right doors for industry players such as BayWa r.e. to bring global expertise to local markets, collaborating with academia and governments on hugely productive partnerships that deliver a boost to sustainable development goals.

Dileep Nair Independent Director Thakral Corporation Limited

There is no Plan B for decarbonisation. Companies must look at it as a major business opportunity. Doing so, they can save energy, lower material costs, serve new customers and even better attract and retain talent. Green operations are often lean operations. Higher productivity is achieved when companies adopt a ''circular'' or sharing business model to squeeze out carbon emissions from their operations and value chains. Companies could even adopt shadow internal carbon pricing to ''future proof'' their investments. All this requires companies to understand and measure their true carbon footprint. No doubt, today, management in many companies is busy with operational issues of survival. It is difficult for companies ''in the red to be green''. The challenge then is for the company board to look at strategic questions that point to low-carbon opportunities.

Thomas Knudsen Managing Director Toll Group

As sustainability gains importance, we are seeing an increasing focus on the carbon footprint of supply chains. Decarbonisation requires a multi-pronged effort. This includes vehicle innovation such as electric battery and hydrogen fuel technology, and adopting sustainable practices such as warehouse automation and electricity from renewable sources.

While lower emissions can reduce costs in the long term, this requires supporting infrastructure for zero emission freight and logistics so as to enable widespread adoption. Key to success will be close collaboration at both industry and organisational levels. Toll is working in close partnership with our customers and the industry to tackle this important issue.

Rangu Salgame Chairman & CEO Princeton Digital Group

As more businesses digitalise their operations, there will be accelerated energy use in the data centres. Given the diversity across Asia where green regulations may vary and different climate features are found, finding a sustainable way forward is not as easy as simply imposing a single set of practices and attempting to apply them across the board. In some markets, efforts to go green may occur at an uneven pace. In others, a lack of renewable energy sources or a hot tropical climate that requires more cooling, means we need to find creative ways to reduce our environmental impact, build sustainability into our business operations and be a part of the industry's effort in sustainability.

Choe Peng Sum Chief Executive Officer Pan Pacific Hotels Group

The key challenge of decarbonisation lies in financial considerations that impact companies' commercial goals and optimisation of short-term shareholders returns.

However, with the climate change crisis, companies today must adopt decarbonisation as a business imperative and innovation opportunity. This involves investment in solutions that will create long-term value and social impact.

For the hospitality industry, radical change opportunities include innovative building design such as adopting alternative energy sources with the installation of solar panels, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through biophilic design, use of low emissivity glazed glass, incorporating natural air and lighting.

Opportunity also lies in the creation of a ''domino decarbonisation effect'', through downstream and upstream supply chains management, ranging from use of electric vehicles, purchasing from sustainable sources to responsible waste management.

Kumail Rashid E-mobility Division Lead, Asia Pacific ABB

As world governments rewrite the playbook on sustainable development, e-mobility has emerged as a key pillar in securing a low-carbon future. Technological advancements are rapidly changing the perception of EV charging as slow and inconvenient, making EVs a real business opportunity.

From e-commerce delivery firms to car-sharing services, electrifying vehicle fleets in the transport and logistics sector can not only enable significant cost savings, but also create new revenue streams through surplus power from idle EV fleets that are returned to the grid. With growing eco-consciousness and the accelerated adoption of EVs, unmet demand for high-powered charging points is an opportunity for real estate developers and other industries to put their business on the map as a first mover in this space.

Yoshiyuki Hanasawa EVP, Chief Regional Officer, APAC and India Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

As countries in the region work to reduce their reliance on coal, businesses have an opportunity to scale up innovations to decarbonise existing infrastructure through carbon capture, storage and utilisation solutions, and establish robust hydrogen and CO2 ecosystems. These will help offset the impact of existing viable technology and infrastructure while we develop new solutions to deliver on net-zero targets. At the Singapore Energy Summit, I shared that we must, however, ensure that decarbonisation solutions are accessible, reliable and affordable for adoption to be scaled, which will require significant collaboration across sectors. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group will continue to work closely with our partners worldwide to support countries in their race to net-zero.

Catherine Loh Chief Executive Officer Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS).

With a sense of urgency for climate change reformation, there presents potential between the NFP (Not for Profit) sector and private organisations to collaborate further, to provide donors with opportunities to conserve the environment and reform the climate through Green Philanthropy. The Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) can combine philanthropy to do social good together with climate change goals. As strategic philanthropy advisers, we are committed to seeing through real climate change action, such as through donor sponsorships of edible community gardens in charitable organisations that support Singapore's vision to produce 30 per cent of our own food by 2030.

Toby Koh Group MD Ademco Security Group

The COP26 climate summit will provide more insights into the opportunities and gaps that businesses can address. From financing to technology, this push for greener energy has already opened up a multitude of potential trade and deals. Alternative energy requires financing which poorer countries will struggle with; even rich countries will battle priorities locally with political posturing. New technology can increase the speed of adoption and viability in sustainable models. Governments will be unable to move the needle without private commercial sector support. Challenges abound but that will also see new giants in the green space rise up over the next few decades.

John Ng Chief Executive Officer YTL PowerSeraya

As a power generation company, we will have to mitigate the transition risks in order to decarbonise. This can be complex as it involves the entire value chain right down to our consumers, which include households. Unanticipated events, such as the current global energy crunch, can create momentary imbalances in the energy equation and result in price volatilities.

To reduce supply disruptions, we are adopting a balanced and progressive approach as we decarbonise. I believe natural gas - one of our four energy 'switches' in Singapore - can still be a viable option for the near future. As the cleanest fossil fuel, natural gas is best placed as baseload fuel, to inject system reliability as renewables phase in, thereby managing price volatilities. At the same time, we are seizing decarbonisation opportunities by partnering our Asean neighbours to potentially import renewable energy, as well as exploring and investing in lower-carbon technologies.

Brooks Entwistle Managing Director, Asia Pacific Ripple

Addressing sustainability in the global finance sector is more important than ever, and fintech companies are well-positioned to lead the transition to a more sustainable future. As cryptocurrencies become more mainstream, it is not only vital to avoid the potential negative environmental impact of these technologies at scale, but also to capitalise on the unique properties of blockchain and cryptocurrencies to help decarbonise all sectors of the global economy.

At Ripple, we leverage the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and the digital asset XRP for their inherently green nature - the XRPL became the first major global blockchain to reach carbon-zero in 2020. Ripple is also partnering with leading technology and climate organisations, and is a founding member of the Crypto Climate Accord which includes nearly 200 fintech firms committed to achieving zero emissions and 100 per cent renewable energy. Across industries, adopting sustainable measures like these can save the global economy an estimated US$26 trillion by 2030. More importantly, these will also help save the planet.

Ling Fang President Asia Pacific Alstom

Transportation of all types is a major contributor to pollution, but it has been recognised for years that rail is the cleanest form of transport. The transition from coal to diesel-powered trains took place long ago, and the opportunity now is to complete the move to fully electric rail. Looking further ahead, Alstom is actively engaged in the development of hydrogen-powered rail transport, which will be the cleanest of all. Emissions from a hydrogen-powered train are just water. Alstom's over-arching mission is to provide sustainable mobility solutions that help decrease carbon emissions, congestion and pollution and improve public health for years to come.

Byron Fuller Managing Director WeMaintain

The global energy transition from fossil-based to zero-carbon is putting pressure on businesses worldwide to tackle climate change. In the property sector, decarbonisation efforts are deeply connected with the notion of maximum efficiency, with no waste of resources. For the property sector, in the medium- to long-term, this indicates reusing or repurposing already existing infrastructure, with retrofitting older buildings as an affordable transition to decarbonisation.

As an advocate for the repair economy, WeMaintain believes in setting up an ecosystem that uses technology to detect and track existing issues in older built environments, before offering retrofitting solutions that ultimately reduce carbon footprint by at least 50 per cent. The construction of new buildings will result in a greater carbon footprint than to retrofit existing buildings, which is not only an effective green action towards environmental sustainability, but also offers greater savings for asset owners.

David R Hardoon Managing Director Aboitiz Data Innovation

The beauty of technology is that it's constantly advancing, opening up new opportunities and solutions powered by data science for problems like carbon emissions. As businesses commit to decarbonising their operations, they will face challenges such as the need to maximise the efficiency of existing machinery or find ways to improve the reliability of renewable energy generation and transmission. Data science and AI solutions can not only improve on revenue opportunities but concurrently test the capabilities of businesses with a focus on emissions reduction, operational efficiency and safety. This helps us develop decarbonisation technology that can, for example, conduct conditional and predictive analytics on machinery to increase efficiency.

Hoe Boon Chye Chief Executive Officer Barghest Building Performance (BBP)

Many businesses are concerned about costs associated with decarbonisation, leading to a lack of clarity on suitable mechanisms and roadmap to decarbonise their operations. There are already proven solutions out there that could deliver both cost savings and carbon footprint reduction at zero investment cost and minimum risks to existing operations. Businesses could ultimately reap better returns on financial performance and create increased customer stickiness and employee value proposition by embarking on a decarbonisation journey sooner rather than later. Other benefits include the uplifting of the existing workforce, resulting in increased productivity, innovations, efficiency, and collaborations.

Andrew Wong VP, Airlines, Asia Pacific Honeywell Aerospace

The aerospace industry has huge opportunities to decarbonise. There are turbulences to navigate but the pandemic has accelerated the sustainability agenda. Many players have pledged and committed to achieving climate goals, but how do we get there? There is immense potential in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) like hydrogen and electricity, but scalability, cost and heavy reliance on traditional fuels are key obstacles to decarbonisation. That's just one facet; there needs to be a holistic approach. For instance, optimising flight paths can save up to 5 percent of fuel usage. Airlines can also start by adopting hybrid fuel models to help introduce SAF into their mix, with an end-goal to transition to SAF-only model. What will also be crucial is constant research, innovation and using technology to further aviation's green agenda, which can democratise these new solutions to enable wider industry adoption.

Mark Billington Managing Director International ICAEW

The transition to net-zero will require wide-ranging changes and serious investment from businesses. New technologies and infrastructure required to engineer emissions out of a business' operations could be expensive, and making changes to decarbonise will require getting buy-in from staff across an organisation to change their behaviour.

However, as new regulations emerge and countries pass laws to require businesses to decarbonise, the challenges are likely to be far outweighed by the costs of doing nothing. Businesses who choose to be proactive in their journey to net-zero can better protect themselves against climate-related risks and build more resilient and sustainable supply chains that will help reduce costs in the long run and build a sustainable new future.

Ivy Lai Country Manager Philips Singapore

There is an urgent need to combat climate change despite existing progress. One way businesses can contribute to greater environmental impact is by scaling their decarbonisation success with their supply chain partners. To this end, we have been working with our suppliers to reduce their carbon emissions by supporting capability building and contributing to transparency and efficiency in the supply chain. We recently announced additional actions, as part of our supplier sustainability programme, which aims for at least 50 per cent of our suppliers committing to science-based targets (SBTs) for CO2 emissions reduction by 2025. By supporting our suppliers and incentivising them to adopt and meet such targets, we hope to achieve a 7 times greater impact than lowering CO2 emissions from our own operations.

Chia Ngiang Hong President Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS)

Decarbonisation is a long haul requiring substantial financial resources, human capital and relevant expertise. Businesses need deep understanding of carbon footprint to realign their growth strategy with net-zero ESG goals and adapt their operations to support the transformation. The built environment industry plays a critical role to promote low carbon, sustainable green real estate development given the high embodied carbon in construction process. Though a huge challenge, decarbonisation for businesses also offers tremendous potential for the real estate industry to advance towards low carbon emission development path and green growth opportunities, creating an environment to improve capital market attractiveness, boost investor confidence as well as strengthen brand and develop the requisite human capital.

Maren Schweizer Chief Executive Officer Schweizer World Group

Emission-reduction plans tend to be mapped in the form of abatement curves, which provide the boardroom with a top-down view of the potential capital investments (often significant) in known technologies that could trim the organisation's emissions.

The number one challenge and imperative for today's leaders are to find ways to break this deadlock.

Contrary to what cost curves suggest, we can achieve big cuts in emissions without large-scale value destruction. I believe that resource-productivity strategies should be based on lean principles, using existing lean expertise, as operational excellence and environmental sustainability are closely aligned.

The climate transition will create historic opportunities for environmentally sustainable businesses to build new markets, reinvent old categories with ESG principles becoming a prerequisite for supplier selection and evaluation, and access to capital markets. Most importantly, it's about becoming a magnet for top talents.

Azman Jaafar Managing Partner RHTLaw Asia LLP

To integrate sustainability and reduce carbon intensity across all operations, it is imperative to first engage stakeholders and secure their support. Decarbonisation can have a wide impact across the value chain, impacting not just employees but also suppliers. Leadership, through sustainability as a corporate function, and training will be necessary to guide any business through the transition.

Decarbonisation is also an opportunity to build new capabilities in energy transitions and efficiency, as well as explore greener ways of working. Through our own commitment to achieve net-zero carbon by 2030, we have been able to walk the talk and help our clients on their own sustainability journey.

Jayaprakash Jagateesan Chief Executive Officer RHT AlDigi Financial Holdings

We need to look beyond the organisation and encourage partners across the value chain to work together towards sustainability goals. By putting a price on carbon through tokenisation, together with detailed carbon footprint measurements, partners across the ecosystem can be incentivised to go green. Decarbonisation also opens opportunities to collaborate and co-create while attracting impact investors. ESG-centric funds can be tokenised and listed on a regulated digital asset exchange to support qualifying green projects.

Ultimately, the challenge lies in creating the conditions which will catalyse green growth and innovation towards decarbonisation. The dynamism of digital finance technology could be the key to unlock the value of sustainability-linked outcomes.

Mario Singh Chief Executive Officer Fullerton Markets

The rich nations are not following through on their promises made at earlier climate summits. That's the biggest challenge thus far. Limiting global average temperature increases to 1.5 deg C requires a 45 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. We are nowhere close to this goal.

Current solutions for clean energy exist but the scale and speed of implementation need to increase sharply if the deadlines are to be taken seriously. There needs to be greater international collaboration for rapid deployment of such solutions across all sectors of the global economy.

Chia Tek Yew Vice-Chairman of Singapore Oliver Wyman

The required global decarbonisation will need large-scale structural changes in many sectors, especially those in harder-to-abate areas. This can result in businesses being exposed to transition risks, which can include risks of higher costs of capital or being excluded by green supply chains. Customer preferences in a heightened ''environmentally aware'' world can also dictate the need for businesses to quickly transition or lose their ''green'' customers.

Recognising the need for structural changes, governments across the world have come together to push hard at solving a ''common global problem'' and committed to getting to a net-zero position within their own timeframes. These commitments are backed by significant funding from both the public and private sectors as well as enforcement through new legislation in many countries. This in turn will provide opportunities for businesses as new ecosystems are built around renewable energy, green supply chains, sustainable food and so on. With each new ecosystem, there will be opportunities for new players to provide advice, create new data capture and monitoring systems, build new green products and with room for much more collaborative efforts to develop solutions within a compressed time period.

Indeed, I would say that post-Covid, ESG will be the much needed remedy to drive the world into a green and sustainable recovery, both environmentally and economically.

Dean Collins Managing Partner, Singapore Dechert LLP

One of the more complex challenges in decarbonising business operations will be to understand the impact that a supply chain has. Understanding issues such as the carbon impact of IT or the embodied carbon associated with an office fit out will become a normal part of business.

Clients are increasingly conscious of carbon impact. As part of the procurement process, law firms are seeing much stronger interest in decarbonisation plans from their clients at a tender stage. It presents an opportunity to stand out.

Naveen Menon President Asean Cisco

As the world transitions towards a low-carbon future, businesses are incorporating climate action into their overall business strategy, to unlock new opportunities and capture the growing value that decarbonisation and sustainability presents. However, the complex nature of this transition requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders in the ecosystem and the right balance between regulation and innovation. This will go a long way in facilitating the development of nascent green solutions and ensuring that any gaps in expertise are addressed.

At Cisco, we recognise the power of technology in powering an inclusive, sustainable future, and are committed to supporting the climate movement. Recently, we pledged to achieve net-zero emissions across our global operations and supply chain by 2040.

Russell Higginbotham Regional President & CEO Asia Swiss Re

Climate change continues to be one of the most pervasive threats of our time. The re/insurance industry plays an important role in facilitating sustainable risk transfer when it comes to mitigating weather risks and facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy - and it starts at home. Swiss Re advocates for emissions reduction first, then removal - what we call, ''do our best, remove the rest''. This means increasing our efforts to reduce emissions through our underwriting, investments, and the way we operate - and supporting the emerging carbon removal industry. As an industry, our challenge (and opportunity) remains to continually improve our understanding of the ongoing risks and bring more people under the shelter of insurance, supporting societal efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Frederic Carron VP, Middle East & Asia, Energy Business Wartsila

A global transition to 100 per cent renewable energy systems is currently underway. Businesses will need to have clear transition planning to ensure investments in the right technologies. Energy sector and power producers are expected to deliver the lion's share of emissions cuts that are vital for meeting national decarbonisation goals. Technologies required to decarbonise are available today, and businesses should start frontloading change and acting now. Wartsila's research shows it is technically and commercially feasible to make good headway with decarbonisation using technologies that are already available at scale. However, it is also important to invest in flexible and future-proof systems that can be adaptable in the delivery of a managed energy transition. Building in flexibility now means businesses, and power companies, can act with confidence today about achieving decarbonisation tomorrow.

Moray Armstrong Managing Director CBRE Singapore

The key challenges would be in the tracking, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from company operations, activities and supply chains. Proactive measures are paramount in order to identify and mitigate the risks and translate business goals into company-wide strategic solutions. The transition to renewable energy sources is an opportunity for companies to transform themselves over the next 10 to 20 years. Renewable energy plays an important role in energy security and it opens up opportunities and potential partnerships to work with our clients, business partners and across our vast global supply chain to help achieve net zero emissions as quickly as possible. As decarbonisation is now a global imperative and plays a significant role in limiting global warming, it would require robust measures implemented efficiently. Businesses should gain visibility into their Tier-1 and downstream suppliers of facilities management, and seek to decarbonise the operational supply chain. Engage, measure and monitor current and future suppliers on environmental sustainability initiatives - unity goals through vendor selection criteria and/or by instituting a code of conduct.

David Leong Managing Director Worldwide Consulting Pte Ltd

Decarbonisation is the ideal goal for building a sustainable environment. Governments and major corporations are beginning to look into the green pivot. The realities of implementation pose a different set of problems. While aspirational goals are set to transit to green power, the persistent energy crisis has China scrabbling to roll back its plans temporarily. Transitioning to clean energy has challenges where the entire power infrastructure is built upon fossil fuel.

The opportunity is to be part of the paradigmatic shift to renewable energy and be involved from the stage of energy producer, contractors for grids, manufacturers of solar/ hydro/ wind/ thermal devices and infrastructures. Singapore is jumping onto the bandwagon early and dedicating resources to renewable energy research. A whole-of-nation movement advancing Singapore's national agenda of building a sustainable environment with a green energy pivot opens new doors for us. This includes developing know-how in infrastructure and developing financial exchanges in carbon-credit trading. Such activities will make Singapore an integral green hub.

This is Part 2 of the responses.

Part 1 was published on Nov 1.