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Accelerating Climate Action Through Simple and Cost-Effective Innovations, Experts Suggest

“I can assure you from my own experience that the most significant (solutions) are often the least exciting ones, and these don’t frequently make headlines,” mentioned Vinamra Srivastava, head of sustainability at the real estate company CapitaLand Investment Limited. He made this comment during the Cities: Possibilities event on Friday, organised by Eco-Business.

Srivastava provided the example of CapitaLand enhancing the performance of its building’s cooling systems, which led to a 10 per cent reduction in (energy) usage. “This might not make front-page news (but) it’s definitely making a difference. Replicating this (sort of initiative) multiple times — that’s the kind of approach the private sector needs to adopt,” he elaborated.

Initiatives based on scalability and efficiency do not have to be confined to the energy industry, as they can also help bolster food security.

“In the realm of food innovation… some concepts are superior to others,” as they are more effective and address issues more swiftly, said Xiuling Guo, the recently appointed chief executive officer of the sustainable food platform Nurasa. “Complexity isn’t essential. Many food innovations actually demand a significant amount of discipline.”

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In 2021, Milan received the Earthshot Prize for its strategy to combat food waste, according to Hannah Jones, the prize’s chief executive officer (left). Image: Eco-Business

Guo urged business leaders and investors to embrace a “frugal innovation” approach. “Think about how to achieve maximum impact with minimum effort,” she advised, highlighting that Singapore already has a robust infrastructure that entrepreneurs can utilize instead of making unnecessary investments. “Being a responsible innovator means using more shared infrastructure,” she stated.

Hannah Jones, CEO of The Earthshot Prize, expressed a love for modest yet scalable solutions. “I adore boring; boring is fantastic,” she related. “Sometimes it involves chipping away at a seemingly dull 10 per cent (solution) that can be easily scaled and duplicated across an organization or city.”

The Earthshot Prize, created by Britain’s Prince William to support innovative climate change solutions, has also honored a seemingly straightforward solution: a strategy to address food waste in Milan. “We believed they deserved to win because food waste is seldom discussed, yet it is a major contributor to carbon emissions and a significant issue of poverty and inequality,” she explained.

Jones, who was formerly Nike’s chief sustainability officer and later a vice president in its Innovation Labs, also revealed that her dogged focus on waste at the apparel company shifted the perspective to view waste as a resource. The CFO at the time remarked, “This (waste) represents money coming right back to the company. It’s incredible,” she recalled. Since the 1990s, Nike has utilized discarded or donated materials in its apparel and footwear production through initiatives like Nike Grind.

Private sector wisdom

But what methods can organizations use to identify the key solutions to prioritize? Srivastava suggested that companies should handle potential decarbonization strategies as a “portfolio management task,” evaluating which investments or high-emissions activities to phase out first and calculating which actions would yield the most immediate impact. This approach implies experimenting with various solutions, some of which might not produce short-term results but could offer long-term benefits.

“If private businesses consider this, their investments in technology and innovation will be more strategic for addressing long-term issues,” Srivastava added. For instance, CapitaLand managed to lower its utility expenses and ultimately boost financial performance by improving its buildings’ energy efficiency.

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In food innovation, certain ideas surpass others because they are more efficient and solve issues quicker, noted Xiuling Guo, CEO of sustainable food platform Nurasa. Image: Eco-Business

“If [a specific solution] results in a swift, short-term benefit to the bottom-line — great; pursue it. And use that as leverage to develop something that might be more expensive and riskier, but potentially beneficial in the long-term,” Jones recommended.

Failing to address climate change and emissions will ultimately be costlier for companies, Srivastava advised. Beyond “forceful measures” like policy-driven carbon taxes and bans on petrol-powered vehicles, businesses will increasingly suffer losses if they don’t act promptly, he stressed.

“Customers might not always pay more for energy-efficient buildings, but there will undoubtedly be those who’ll penalize you by avoiding your building,” Srivastava stated. “Companies must convert these costs into opportunities that generate topline [revenue] benefits for the business.”

The greater the number of companies adopting this approach, the more we can raise discussions about climate change from “theoretical, vague, and abstract” to actually addressing everyone’s concerns, Srivastava asserted.

Energy efficiency was a key theme among event participants, with breakout groups for roundtable discussions mainly focusing on energy-related issues. Attendees also engaged in conversations on topics such as limited access to clean and affordable water, and factors that would encourage local food production. Common challenges identified across all themes included insufficient project-level funding for climate solutions and the necessity for better policy support to help climate innovations achieve commercial success.

Nudging behavioral shifts

On the topic of consumer behavior, other speakers stressed the importance of behavioral changes in driving climate solutions. Tracking urban behavioral data will gain significance over time, with “urban tech stacks” becoming essential for gathering such data, noted Joe Hopper, director at the United Nations Development Programme’s Global Centre for Technology. These data points could then be made available to the public to foster the development of solutions by both the private and non-profit sectors, he mentioned.

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Participants at the Cities:Possibilities 2023 event engaged in roundtable conversations about energy efficiency, food security, water access, and public transportation

can be enhanced to render cities more sustainable. Image: Eco-Business

The habits of urban Southeast Asians should also be considered in sustainable cooling initiatives, mentioned Lee Poh Seng, associate professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and executive director at the Energy Studies Institute. Though it has historically been effortless to simply activate air-conditioning, which has also symbolized increased affluence, this ultimately results in greater energy consumption and exacerbates urban heat, he highlighted.

“However, individuals have been residing in this region for centuries, so we can indeed endure higher temperatures. Rather than depending on mechanical cooling, we can explore incorporating passive cooling designs or tactics,” Lee stated. Illustrations include planning for adequate shading and greenery, along with improved ventilation to facilitate cooling without employing mechanical devices.

Lee is endeavoring to lead by example. “Since the previous year, I set my office temperature to 27 degrees Celsius, 2 degrees above the NUS recommendations,” he shared. “Initially, it felt slightly uncomfortable, but within two to three months, my body adjusted to the elevated temperature.”

To be accountable as an innovator involves utilizing more shared infrastructure.

Xiuling Guo, chief executive officer, Nurasa

Higher academia must also enhance its involvement in implementing climate solutions, Lee remarked. “We can do more to transition research results and innovation discoveries out of universities, which are commonly only documented in journals or debated at academic symposiums,” he noted.

One method to achieve this is by establishing sandboxes within existing production frameworks, Lee suggested. He is part of an academic team partnering with tech firms to explore sustainable cooling solutions for data centres in the tropics. Singapore’s data centres consume nearly seven percent of the nation’s global energy yield, an amount forecasted to hit 12 percent by 2030.

“What is crucial in tackling the significant challenges of sustainability and decarbonization is adopting a problem-driven perspective,” Lee expressed. “It should involve the industry or government presenting their issues, with academics collaborating with them to undertake use-inspired research that can be converted into actionable solutions.”

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