The Pantas co-founders (left to right): Eong Tat Ooi, Nurul Syaheedah Jes Izman, and Max Lee
As businesses receive stronger pressure to focus on their environmental impact, startups across Southeast Asia (SEA) offer their expertise to help businesses achieve their sustainability goals. In Malaysia, one example of such a startup is Pantas.
Co-founded by Eong Tat Ooi, Nurul Syaheedah Jes Izman, and Max Lee, Pantas enables businesses to track, manage, and disclose their ESG metrics, with a particular focus on carbon emissions. It aims to address inherent pain points in the traditional process of managing ESG metrics, such as manual data handling and the scarcity of specialised climate expertise.
In March 2023, Pantas became the main software partner and coordinator of the Central Bank of Malaysia’s Greening Value Chain (GVC) Programme, an initiative to assist SMEs in implementing impactful long-term change to green their operations. It serves as a customised solution to enable large corporate buyers (“anchors”) to measure and manage their supply chain emissions (known as Scope 3), facilitating anchors to address regulations such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
Starting from its Kuala Lumpur headquarters, Pantas has expanded to Thailand and Indonesia with a team of over 20 employees. The company has raised a US$2.5 million seed funding round from VCs and angel investors.
Serving clients from a wide range of industries, from healthcare to aviation, Pantas collaborates with both local and international partners such as Huawei, Solarvest, Safetruck, SOLS Energy and more, to offer smart bespoke decarbonisation solutions to businesses looking to manage their emissions.
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The following is an edited excerpt of our interview with it.
Please tell us about your product development process and how you developed this solution.
In developing our solution at Pantas, we recognised a significant gap in the market, particularly in SEA, where businesses grappled with the challenges of carbon emission management and disclosure. The prevalent reliance on manual processes not only introduced risks of human error, misreporting, and potential greenwashing but also hindered companies’ ability to manage and communicate their decarbonisation efforts effectively.
Motivated by the urgent need for a more efficient, accurate, and user-friendly approach, we set out to innovate a solution that would alleviate these pain points. Our product development was driven by a deep understanding of the complexities involved in carbon management and a commitment to empowering businesses to meet and exceed regulatory and stakeholder expectations.
Through leveraging advanced technology, Pantas developed a platform that transforms the arduous task of measuring carbon emissions, recommends smart decarbonisation strategies from ecosystem partners, and facilitates access to specialised financing options through its network of banking partners. This end-to-end experience enables our clients to lead with confidence in their sustainability initiatives whilst promoting operational efficiency and building long-term resilience.
Who are your users? How do you acquire them?
Our clients are large enterprises/listed companies whose regulators or customers mandate disclosure and reduction of their carbon footprint. With the rise of global climate regulations like the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) under IFRS and stringent EU regulations (such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjust Mechanism), the number of disclosures impacting these companies is growing.
At Pantas, we respond to this need by offering a customised carbon management and ESG platform designed to streamline the tracking, management, and reporting process, ensuring our clients comply with these regulations and lead in corporate environmental responsibility.
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What is your revenue model? How do you balance between creating an impact and making a profit?
Pantas operates on a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, where clients subscribe to our solutions on a yearly basis. The subscription includes our cutting-edge management platform and includes added features/services such as API integration with ERP systems, tailored decarbonisation strategies, and access to financing through its network of banking partners.
As part of the offering, Pantas provides its clients with a white-glove service where the solution will be customised to meet each client’s unique needs.
Our revenue model is designed to align our success with that of our clients; we view ourselves as a software provider and a committed partner in their sustainability journey.
Can you tell us about how the Central Bank of Malaysia partnership came to be?
The partnership between Pantas and BNM for the GVC Programme was initiated at a crucial time when global awareness and regulations focusing on supply chain emissions (such as EU’s CBAM) were on the rise.
Given the complexity of measuring and managing supply chain emissions, an end-to-end solution was needed to achieve GVC’s goal effectively. As a result, the programme includes the relevant capacity building, technical advisories, a simplified carbon management and ESG platform from Pantas, and sustainability-linked financing for SMEs, where SMEs benefit from reduced financing rates upon achieving carbon reduction targets.
What is your major plan for 2024?
In 2024, we are focusing on expanding our business with a strong emphasis on international growth, particularly in Thailand, where we have hired local expertise to serve the Thai market better.
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In addition, we are deepening our collaborations with new and existing decarbonisation partners, especially in renewable energy, waste management, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
Furthermore, we are strengthening our engagement with financial institutions to promote and facilitate sustainable finance across the region more effectively.
For Pantas, 2024 is poised to be a year of leveraging strategic partnerships, fostering innovation, and championing sustainable practices as we aim to expand our footprint both locally and internationally.
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Image Credit: Pantas
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