At the sixth edition of Unlocking Capital for Sustainability 2023 in Singapore on Thursday, Google Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt spoke about how technology and public-private partnerships can overcome the challenges of energy procurement in Asia.

“Carbon-free energy contracting can be very challenging given the local market dynamics and resource availability in the Asia Pacific region. Transitioning to a carbon-free future will require stronger government policies and partnerships with many organisations, new technologies and structural changes to the broader system that serves the operations in our value chains and those of other companies,” she stressed.

She also spoke about the tech giant’s experience in using AI to help reduce the impact of environmental crises by providing early warnings of natural disasters and improving emergency response times.

“I truly believe that AI can also be a transformational technology that provides compelling as well as helpful benefits to people in society when developed. It can also help accelerate solutions by providing better information, integrated individuals, operational optimization for organisations, and improved prediction and forecasting,” she says.

“For example, in 2022, we launched Flood, which allows local governments and organisations to identify when riverine floods will occur up to seven days in advance, and we’ve been able to use this tool to identify in advance who needs to be warned of the danger and more importantly, where they can go and be safe. We now work with local governments, including in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, to deliver emergency flood alerts, which are protecting nearly 500 million people living in affected areas.”

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Google is working with companies like L’Oreal and Pepsi to reduce emissions through carbon footprint tools.

Bringing environment agenda to the board room

Organised by Eco-Business in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), this annual flagship event on sustainable finance for Asia Pacific brought together high-level decision-makers to discuss and commit to actionable initiatives that can mobilise capital markets for sustainable development.

One session at the event discusses the role of the board of a company in bringing change, starting with bringing in directors who possess the necessary skills to champion sustainable development initiatives, particularly in the areas of ESG and climate governance.

Shai Ganu, Managing Director, Willis Tower Watson, stressed the need for directors to upskill themselves in areas such as climate literacy and human rights.

“Boards make decisions collectively. And the more connected ecosystems are, the better we can learn from each other to make more considered decisions,” he explained.

“Directors need to upskill themselves around issues on our planet with [knowledge of] science, human rights, and the entire spectrum of the ESG. Directors are not supposed to be climate scientists … but you need to be at least climate literate so that you know what questions to ask.”

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Goh Swee Chen, Chairman of the National Arts Council, and former Chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore, reflects on her experience as a director on an energy board.

“Do realise that businesses cannot prosper when communities and society are under severe strain, and we’ve seen that through the COVID-19 pandemic. I find that, in the past, when I was actively employed full-time, crises tended to come one at a time. But I feel like today crises do not take turns; they all lump together.”

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Image Credit: Eco-Business

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