MoneyFM Interview on Industry Insight: Accelerating green technology to tackle climate change

Lynlee: Thank you for joining me on Money FM 89.3. I am LynLee on this afternoon’s update. 

As the world accelerates to a more sustainable future, technology is playing a crucial role in addressing climate change and reducing environmental impact. We’ve seen an increase in corporate commitment to subcine base targets with leaders outlining ambitious multibillion dollar investment programme to decarbonise businesses as well as encouraging support in terms of funding for research projects and technology development which will help foster innovation in Greentech.

Indeed, technology is driving the transition to a more sustainable future with Greentech innovations at the forefront of the global sustainability push, offering practical solutions to some of the most pressing environmental challenges.

An industry insight we will be talking about is exciting trends and developments in the Greentech space in Southeast Asia.

I’m really excited to introduce my guests, Marianne tan, Programme Director at UOB FinLab which is the bank’s innovation accelerator working to catalyst business growth and transformation in south east Asia and Emmanual Tay, CEO and Co-Founder at Circular Unite, the waste data company and he will be sharing his insights as well. Welcome to the show 

Emmanual Tay: Hi 

Marianne Tan: Hi, Lynlee

Lynlee: Great to have you join me. Now, let’s start with the current state of the green technology market, there seems to be immense opportunities for green investments initiatives and innovative technologies in Southeast Asia, Marianne, what can you tell us about current trends in this space.

Marianne Tan: There are a few trends that we have noticed. The first is that some businesses in ASEAN are part of the supply chains of larger companies in the Western countries. These companies require emissions data from their suppliers, which means businesses in ASEAN need to be equipped with green technologies to help them with the disclosure and reporting.

Another trend is that for end consumers, they are increasingly demanding sustainable products and businesses, so that also puts pressure on businesses to adopt some of these eco-friendly practices.

Lynlee: I see, Marianne. You oversee a regional programme called the Greentech Accelerator that enables ASEAN Greentech firms to grow and transform as well as to address sustainability challenges. So, what are some of the innovative ideas or solutions across sectors such as waste management, energy efficiency, sustainability reporting among others that can potentially be impactful?

Marianne Tan: In terms of the sectors or rather the thematics that we are looking at, it cuts across five themes, the first one is Energy Efficiency, second is Circular Economy, third is Food and Agriculture and we have Sustainable Cities and Livings, and of course, Carbon Management and Reporting. There is a mix of technologies that spreads across these five thematics and that’s also the reason why we selected these five to be the ones that are chosen for the Greentech Accelerator programme.

Lynlee: Ok, maybe let’s back track a little bit and talk about UOB FinLab. I understand that this is the second time that this accelerator programme is being implemented, so tell us more about it in the context of UOB’s role in environmental sustainability and accelerating sustainable inclusive growth.

Marianne Tan: Sustainability is a key pillar for UOB FinLab and the bank, our role in sustainability is to help the SMEs to accelerate sustainablitiy adoption.

At the same time, that’s where we also work with greentechs to drive innovation and business opportunities for them, leveraging on our network of 27,000 partners. These partners also includes your government agencies, technology solution providers, your institute of higher learnings and also the SMEs through programmes like our Greentech accelerator. 

That’s where we provide the greentechs with the mentorships, the business masterclass and also the opportunity to tackle more than 50 sustainability related challenge statements from our 20 partners in order to drive some of these business outcomes, partnerships and pilots. 

Lynlee: Speaking of which, can you share more about those 50 over statements contributed by businesses in the region?

Marianne Tan: Yes of course. The 50 challenge statements are contributed by about 20 challenge partners. These include UOB, as well as our external partners like Marina Bay Sands, DKSH Healthcare, Ngee Ann Polytecnic and partners from across the region from Malaysia and Thailand. All these challenge statements are real challenges that these companies are facing right now. 

To give an example, one challenge UOB is facing is how to leverage data to reduce waste, and to solve this issue, we actually have Circular Unite that propose a solution which I believe Emmanual will be sharing more about later.

Lynlee: I understand that Circular Unite is one of the 15 pilots selected for funding by UOB FinLab and here’s where we bring in Emmanaul. Thanks for waiting so patiently Emmanual and as I mentioned earlier, Emmanual is the CEO and Co-Founder at Circular Unite which is a waste data management company. Emmanual, would you like to tell us more about your company?

Emmanual Tay: Thank you, LynLee. At Circular Unite, we basically accelerate businesses transition towards profitable sustainability, so we have powered them with a data driven solution that basically transform their waste and recycling activity into profitable and sustainable practices.What we do with our clients is to help them identify their key challenges within their waste and recycling processes and from there, help them with identifying which areas are they able to work on to increase visibility and optimisation.

Lynlee: What kind of businesses do you work with?

Emmanual Tay: For us, we focus very much on the hospitality, retail shopping malls as well as the manufactures, not only in Singapore but across the South East Asia region. We do have pilots deployments running in Malaysia and Thailand, besides our base which is in Singapore. 

Lynlee: So looking at the press release, which all of us would have a copy of at the media. Circular Unite is deploying waste audit and profiling blueprint at UOB that allows for detailed measurements of waste generated at tenant level at UOB plaza, could you tell us more about this particular pilot.

Emmanual Tay: Sure. For this pilot, our goal is to basically use our solutions and data analytics to automate and track waste management process within UOB plaza. 

By collecting and analysing this data, we provide actionable insights that supports sustainable practices in what we call high-traffic areas to reduce waste contribution and improve recycling rates. At the same time, our solution also helps them in their reporting of their waste data, which is crucial for the ESG reporting. 

So with that, we basically align with Singapore’s Zero Waste Masterplan and the various sustainability objectives, offering a scalable model that can be implemented across Singapore and the region.

Lynlee: Thank you, Emmanuel. Marianne, out of the 15 pilots we were discussing, 6 will be deployed with corporate partners in Singapore, 3 in Malaysia, and another 6 in Thailand. How is UOB FinLab involved in these pilots beyond funding the GreenTech Accelerator Programme?

Marianne Tan: Through this 6-month GreenTech Accelerator Programme, we have established over 280 business connections and facilitated 15 pilot projects for these GreenTechs. Beyond funding, we also want to bridge the gap between ideas and impact, aligning the demand from corporates and SMEs with the solutions provided by our GreenTechs, helping everyone move closer to achieving net-zero goals.

Even after the programme, we will maintain regular contact with all our GreenTechs, and we hope they will also continue engaging with their mentors to strengthen those relationships and explore opportunities that support their business growth.

Lynlee: How long will these pilots go for? 

Marianne Tan: The pilots actually range, depending on the solutions, so some pilots can be from one month, all the way to one year.

Lynlee: And if I may ask, how will these 15 pilots selected?

Marianne Tan: These 15 pilots were selected based on their ability to address the challenge statements from our challenge partners, as well as the partners’ willingness and capability to adopt the solutions within their own companies.

Lynlee: From a start-up perspective, Emmanuel, how do you see technology playing a role in accelerating the energy transition?

Emmanual Tay: Okay so for a start up perspective, we look very closely into waste and recycling. One trend that I am observing across the region in Malaysia and Thailand is the adoption of what we call waste to energy technology. 

Essentially with our technology, we help organisations divert their recyclables away from their waste streams and with these waste to energy technologies, it also helped to divert these waste streams away from the landfill that helps in environmental sustainability. 

At the same time, these organisations and businesses generate revenue streams because they are able to convert their waste into energy that can be consumed internally or flow into the grid. 

Lynlee: Talking about revenue streams, I’d like to discuss some of the challenges that may limit or restrict the adoption of green technology in this region. Any thoughts, Marianne, maybe you want to start? 

Marianne Tan: Yeah, one challenge that we have seen throughout the years is that SMEs have a limited understanding on how to begin their sustainability journey or what Greentech solutions there are. They should actually go about implementing how and also what are some of the best sustainability related practices are for their business. 

Lynlee: Emmanuel or about yourself? 

Emmanual: One point I would like to add is again touching on this knowledge gap. So when we work with our clients, one thing that I notice is that there are not a lot of opportunities for sharing of best practices, knowledge and even benchmarks that basically is essential for the growth of green technologies. 

For example, we can identify a very good waste management practice from a particular client, but I don’t see this basically anywhere else. Hence, one of the capabilities that we are building in our platform is that we emphasise on the ability to aggregate all these best practices, benchmarks and data into what we call knowledge library. 

Our AI copilot can then harness information and provide personalised recommendations on how they can improve their waste and recycling processes. I believe that this knowledge gap is basically something that needs to be solved, and I think technology is there to help bridge this gap. 

Lynlee: Ok, you know, I read about a joint report by Singapore’s EDB and McKinsey, which estimated that to achieve net 0 by 2050, the region must increase renewable capacity by 7 to 12 times. The levels seen during the period between 2018 and 2021, currently it appears only 3% of this is under construction, which is far behind the necessary pace. 

So when it comes to efficiency for project delivery, is there more that people should be doing? 

Marianne Tan: When we look at efficiency, I mean, there’s always room for improvements and room for people to do more. Additionally, if you look at technologies as enablers themselves, technologies can empower these SMEs towards being more sustainable. 

For example, we have one of the pilots that we’ve established through the GreenTech Accelerator is between the greentech called GreenFi and UOB. This actually involves the development of a white label data platform by GreenFi that will enable the bank subsidiaries to manage and analyse the greenhouse gas data emissions office properties, which will validate emissions reporting more efficiently by eliminating manual collation of UOB data and also ensure consistency and accuracy of the data sets. 

Lynlee: Interesting point Marianne. Now Emmanual, your pilot with UOB could potentially improve operational efficiency of waste data collection. Would you like to touch more about efficiency and how you see things? 

Emmanual Tay: That’s a very good question. So for waste management recycling, it is a very traditional and manual space. What we provide our clients is the reporting becomes automated and with that in place, we are able to then you know develop a process flow that helps in analysis and generate and helps insights and recommendations as well as all the various knowledge on how to tackle these problems. 

Lynlee: Marianne, UOB FinLab has been supporting businesses to be more innovative and sustainable. What advice would you give SMEs as well as corporate leaders who are seeking to create and perhaps scale new businesses that address the climate crisis? 

Marianne Tan: We look at transitioning to sustainable practices, which may incur some initial expenses for businesses. However, it’s always about weighting the short-term costs against the long-term gains, as well as considering the risks versus the opportunities. 

For SMES aiming to create and scale new businesses, we believe it’s crucial to embed sustainability into their business models rather than treating it as a standalone initiative. This could involve integrating sustainable practices across the supply chain, developing low-carbon products, or using renewable resources. Ultimately, we see innovation as a key driver for sustainability. 

Lynlee: And Emmanual from your perspective what are some of the key learnings you’ve experienced that others who are starting this green tech journey might find helpful. 

Emmanual Tay: The key learning I would like to share is the importance of adaptability. In the green tech space, especially with the evolving technology and rapid changes within the various regulatory or even different spaces that we operate in, we need to be flexible and to be open to feedback. It’s also vital to establish partnerships early as these collaborations open up doors to resources and knowledge, as well as the different markets. 

Take UOB GreenTech accelerator for example, we’re given access to mentors who provided us with very good feedback and advice on our solutions and business model, because this helps us in avoiding building a solution that no one actually needs. So with that, we are able to then adapt our solution to help our partners solve their pain points and identify these gaps that they basically have with their waste and recycling process. 

Lynlee: Marianne and Emmanual, thank you both for sharing your insights into green technology initiatives and innovation. Thank you very much. 

Marianne Tan: Thank you so much for having us 

Emmanual Tay: Thank you. 

Lynlee: Pleasure is all mine. Appreciate your time and for showing us that green technology is a beacon of hope in the fight against climate change. She is Marianne Tan, Programme Director at UOB Finlab, which is the bank’s innovation accelerator and along with her Emmanual Tay, the CEO and co-founder at Circular Unite, a Waste Data Management company and one of the 15 pilots selected for funding by UOB Finlab. I’m Lynlyee and you’ve been listening to industry insight on Money FM, 89.3.