In the previous two editions of this three-part series, I’ve outlined the climate actions that businesses can take right now to decarbonise and identified some ways to develop/increase the adoption of existing solutions to aid industry transitions toward net zero.

In this final part, I’ll propose actions that can be taken to instigate a systematic shift on a larger scale.

Collaborating at scale

It’s generally recognised that no single player can solve a challenge this big on their own. We need more than just cleaner solutions or alternatives – we need to change entire supply chains and economic systems so that we can continue to pursue progress and enable human development (which consumes energy and materials) while respecting planetary boundaries.

To arrive at the technical, political, economic, behavioural, and natural solutions required, collaboration is absolutely key.

What does meaningful collaboration look like, though, beyond signing industry-wide commitments and joining consortiums? Who should play what role, so we make the most of everyone’s unique strengths without wasting effort or resources? And is this even something to consider if you’re not an influential player?

Also Read: Climate conferences won’t save us: How to start taking action all year round (Part 1)

Spoiler alert: Everyone can and should play a part. Both multi-billion dollar businesses and small enterprises, CEOs and employees, policymakers from large and small nations alike – there is a unique and valuable part each one can play in advancing the climate fight.

Solutions that reduce emissions need to move beyond just selling themselves towards building or being part of total solutions. Your product alone rarely covers the full picture for your client; understand the bigger problem you help your customer solve, and partner with other solutions that make this easier, which will increase your conversion rates and set a model for others to follow because it increases industry adoption/transformation. For example, we helped one waste management company double its revenue and access corporate offtake agreements by partnering with a traceability solution. We paired up two solutions – one incentivising households to better clean and sort their waste, the other separating multi-layer packaging into its separate components for easier recycling – which strengthened recycling feedstock far better together than they did working separately.

Large corporations have the purchasing power to influence suppliers, normalise higher environmental and social standards, and therefore drive switches to a sustainable supply chain at a scale that many smaller businesses cannot. As early adopters, they must send demand signals and be the tide that lifts all ships across their industry; it’s time to break from a CSR lens and integrate sustainability into the core business. For many parts of the process, there is no need to reinvent the wheel – reducing waste, weeding out inefficiencies, and embracing circular practices in the supply chain make a triple win for the environment, productivity, and the bottom line.

Small and medium enterprises with lower budgets or buy-in for green solutions can still make their needs (e.g. price thresholds, operational constraints) known and aggregate demand amongst similar peers. Though one business alone may be too small to be designed for, engaging green solutions as the archetype of SMEs in your sector can bring down the green premium and enable adoption amongst the smaller businesses which make up the majority of any industry.

The public sector can create an enabling environment for innovation and investment by reducing uncertainty, ring-fencing risk, being inclusive by design, and knowing what role they play in the bigger picture. Laying out clear priorities, targets, and prices (on carbon, plastic, and other environmental externalities that need to be properly costed); funding and encouraging timeboxed experimentation in areas where opportunity is clear but little is known about the right path forward; de-risking nimble policy choices by involving the relevant stakeholders from design to delivery, getting the most informed inputs to maximise chances of success and community integration – all of these are relatively inexpensive, politically safe ways for governments to speed up instead of slow down change. Singapore excels at incentivising and de-risking innovation via Enterprise Singapore and EDB’s many funding schemes. At the same time, the small population generally prevents it from influencing world decisions with market volume, and it can lead the way through forward-thinking, flexible policymaking.

Also Read: Preference for green jobs is the “most exciting” climate tech development: Lightspeed

These are just some of the many ways different types of organisations can contribute to making an outsize impact on driving us to our goal. To lean into making these changes, we need more meaningful and intentional collaboration across the board that encourages learning and action taken on those lessons.

Projects may be started in siloes and decided in small groups to get momentum going, but as these take shape and begin to see results, we need to fight the urge to share only our successes. We must be open and share learnings about our failures, too; only when we look at the tasks ahead as a global drawing board, not a leaderboard, can we iterate effectively, deploy new investments into the right places, and truly progress toward our goals.

How do we move forward together?

The scale of the climate crisis can be overwhelming, and it might seem that any action short of becoming a climate startup is futile. Instead of looking for a silver bullet solution (which doesn’t exist), we need to embrace a portfolio approach that leverages each one’s strengths and helps one another bridge weaknesses.

There is plenty that we can do, individually and as entrepreneurs, to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals beyond the confines of the COP summit.

There are no more excuses to delay taking action. We know the goals, the tools are at hand, and there are enough energetic advocates to kickstart the process. The “why” is also clear: besides our moral and survival imperative, there are multiple advantages to becoming the sustainability leader in your respective industry, like becoming preferred suppliers to large organisations with climate commitments, accessing cheaper financing products, attracting better talent, and increasing consumer interest in responsible businesses.

So while governments decide on big-picture programmes to enable a global green transition, businesses and individuals in Southeast Asia do not need to wait for their go-ahead. We can do something immediately.

The only hurdle is our own willingness to translate our hopes for the future into actions today.

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