The « sustainability journey » may feel overwhelming sometimes, but you are not alone.
Our Buddies have tried, succeeded, failed to implement change in their companies. They share their experience so you can learn, take shortcuts, get inspired and ask questions.
Everybody can become a Buddy and give back to the community; if you are keen, get in touch with us.
With a background in sustainability consulting and audit, Ivona supports businesses in their sustainability journey by building an impactful strategy, embedding sustainable practices across operations, and reporting performance to stakeholders.
She is the founder of Sustainao, a Singapore-based company specialized in sustainability consulting. Previously, Ivona worked as a sustainability auditor at KPMG France. She holds an MBA in CSR & Sustainability and a Master’s degree in Environmental Management.
On a mission to create positive impact in the world, I consider myself an accidental entrepreneur. I discovered this during the 2009 economic crisis and in 2010, embarked on my first people, planet, profit venture; at the time challenging the negative perception of plant-based diets; enabling reduced-carbon and responsible consumption through a (then) pioneering circularity, systems-thinking, and purpose-led business.
In 2015, relocating to Singapore with a more intentional move back to my innovation roots, I found few to no organisations combining both sustainability and innovation. It was this that seeded my vision for The Inceptery.
Mun Wei is the founder and principal consultant of SustainableSG, which provides advisory and training services in sustainability, strategy, risk and entrepreneurship.
He has worked with corporate, government and non-profit clients on strategy and implementation, reviewing organizational programmes and targets related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, benchmarking and communicating sustainability and other corporate programmes and achievements, promoting inclusive hiring, developing compliance policies and reports, and formulating innovative business models.
He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
Radhika is the Co-founder of Tulyā, A Sustainability Management Accounting (SMA) Services company. Her work includes measurement and understanding of the impact environmental and social factors will have on the value creation for SMEs. She develops tailored tools and practices that integrate material topics (ESG & Business) with accounting statements line items to demonstrate financial impact of action vs inaction.
She has worked with Lehman Brothers, Barclays and IT services companies before starting her entrepreneurial journey in sustainability.
She is a graduate in Chemical Engineering and has been certified in SASB , PMP, CSM & Design Thinking-MIT.
Duncan, originally from the UK, has been living & working in Asia for the last 16 years. He runs a creative interior design & project management company delivering projects across the Asia Pacific Region; specialised in retail, F&B and commercial sectors. Duncan is passionate about creating interiors that excite and engage Clients and Customers alike, all through the lens of sustainability.
Passionate about sustainability and technology, I have spent the last 12 years in Asia-Pacific working on Energy and Sustainability. I am passionate about both of those areas and dedicate some of my time to conducting trainings.
After working for several MNCs and startups, I have founded Qanopy Consulting, a Singapore-based company providing a suite of sustainability services. We use a tailored approach to assist companies at various stages of their sustainability journey.
Carolin is a passionate and driven entrepreneur and sustainability advocate. She is involved in many projects and initiatives that contribute to reducing our environmental impact.
In 2020, Carolin founded the social enterprise susGain. susGain is a rewards-based engagement app that focuses on driving behavioural change within communities (corporates, schools, NGOs etc.) whilst measuring ESG reportable data on the impact created. By better connecting the environmentally and socially conscious stakeholders, susGain hopes to accelerate the change towards more sustainable communities.
Prior to susGain, Carolin worked as Account & Project Manager in an HR consulting and change management firm, where she was responsible for business development and end-to-end project management of training and consulting projects across APAC.
I'm an experienced C-Level professional with 12+ years of experience working in various industries who has developed a strong interest for climate change and sustainable development. Passionate about climate change issues, I'm now fully dedicated to supporting organizations and individuals in their transition towards a low-carbon future.
I hold a MBA degree from ESSEC Business School in France, an Executive Master from INSEAD, and a Cambridge Certificate in Sustainability Leadership.
I'm a trained facilitator of a successful climate change education workshops named The Climate Fresk. I'm facilitating it in public, with companies, schools or universities. I’m also facilitating other workshops of the same kind such as Digital Collage, MobilityCollage or MyCO2.
Li Seng is the founder of Green Nudge, a social enterprise that supports businesses and communities to achieve positive environmental impact through activities such as coastal cleanups and workshops, outreach talks and sustainability consulting. By raising awareness and co-creating call-to-actions with various stakeholders on sustainability efforts, Green Nudge aims to create a normative shift in the way we create and deal with waste to achieve a low carbon, zero waste future for Singapore.
Li Seng’s previous experience in the public sector in the central bank of Singapore dealing with financial regulations, combined with his current roles in the community and social enterprise sector reinforced his belief that effective public policies need to be supported by ground-up actions and engagement. Playing an interfacing role within the tri-sector, Li Seng is able to provide sectoral knowledge through a system thinking lens to make informed decisions and strategies. He is happy to discuss disposables, sustainability of events, public education, and is familiar with corporate social responsibility and community / youth engagement.
Ching Hu is currently head of the Net Zero Transition Department at Singapore Business Federation, which objective is to drive initiatives to decarbonise Singapore and enterprises, including publishing the Singapore Emission Factors Registry and sector-specific decarbonisation programme for SMEs.
Previously, he worked at Terrascope, which offers an end-to-end decarbonisation SaaS platform enabling enterprises to measure and manage their emissions across operations, supply chains, and portfolios. Prior to Terrascope, he launched the Singapore office of EcoVadis - a global ESG ratings company - which served more than 800 companies within its first year of operations. The ratings include environmental, social, ethics and sustainable procurement metrics.
He started his career with the Singapore Government, spanning portfolios including manpower, education, transport and decarbonisation. Ching Hu graduated from the London School of Economics, SciencesPo Paris, and Oxford University. As an undergraduate at Oxford, he helped launch the inaugural Oxford Climate Forum - the UK's largest student-run climate change event.
I enjoy improving processes and creating data-driven insights. My background is in process development and operations as Quality Manager and COO. A few years back, I decided to re-purpose my career and have since then studied different aspects of Sustainable Business Development at the University in Sweden as well as the Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI, SASB, TCFD and ISSB work in progress).
Now, I am here to help SMEs integrate sustainability into their business strategy and operations, focusing on the impact that environmental and social aspects will have on the organisation's ability to create value. By reducing the scope to the most relevant materiality topics, even SMEs with limited resources have a chance to start their transition to more sustainable practices.
Of French, Swiss and Filipino descent, I am a versatile purpose-driven leader with experience across a range of industry sectors. I have built a global career as a Marketing & Communications specialist and Social Entrepreneur intent on solving some of the world's most pressing issues.
Today, I run my own consultancy business helping clients define their purpose, develop their marketing, communications, CSR and sustainability strategies and I am also a Board Member and Advisor to several purpose-led organisations in the Social Impact, ESG, Fintech and Cellular Agriculture spaces.
Camille is currently Chief of Staff to ENGIE's EVP in charge of Digital & IT. When working in Singapore, as a Manager at sustainability consultancy ENGIE Impact (subsidiary of French-based energy company ENGIE), she helped large multinational organisations in their decarbonisation journeys, from greenhouse gases emission inventory to target setting, strategy design and roadmap development. She has developed expertise in renewable energy procurement, Scope 3 and stakeholder engagement, avoided emissions (aka Scope 4), and ESG strategy design.
Originally from France where she graduated from a top Business School, Camille helds an MBA from Bentley University (Boston, USA) and has worked in Paris, Boston, New York and Singapore. She is passionate about the interconnections between climate and nature conservation, and enjoy meeting sustainability enthusiasts.
My aspiration is to guide organisations through purpose driven systematic change, towards sustainable and prosperous future. During my career I have helped number of organisations to change their ways of working and adopt agile mindset, principles and practices.
I am supporting managers to embrace change and build productive workplace, while fostering caring, empathetic, and inclusive work culture.
Founder of Cultivating Wholeness, a network-based global coaching and advisory firm, Sarah is a PCC ICF certified Executive Coach and acts as a catalyst for personal, cultural and organizational transformation.
She supports leaders of purpose-led start-ups or organisations to bring forth a profound shift in their strategy through regenerative principles and empower them to role model the behaviors driven by their values and purpose. Enabling their business to be a life-affirming positive force in stewarding our planet on a regenerative path.
To do so, she leverages more than 10 years of experience coaching senior leaders in MNCs through their cultural transformations across Asia, Europe, and North America combined by her rich personal development through adversity.
As a seasoned designer and creative leader with over 17 years of experience across Europe and Asia, I have worked as a strategic consultant here in South East Asia and led a strategic design consultancy (Chemistryteam.com) for over a decade. I believe in a planet-centred approach to design, where we think and act on a systems level to ensure the long-term thriving of organisations, communities, and the planet. I have been in charge of a diverse range of innovation projects and long-term client engagements in the field of impact-driven and participatory user experience, service, and circular design.
I have worked with leading organisations on local, regional, and international levels, such as Konica Minolta, HP, Visa, GE Healthcare, Singtel, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), Changi Airport, as well as UNICEF and UNHCR, to guide their transformation towards human-centricity and circularity. Next to private sector clients, I have extensive experience working with public service agencies, applying a citizen-centric and fundamentally participatory design process. I have helped to transform policies and service delivery as well as envision new concepts in Healthcare, Arts and Culture, as well as Tourism and Sustainability.
As a sustainability communicator and content writer, I believe in the power of words to drive real change. With my background in corporate operations, I understand how to optimize from the inside out. Since pivoting to sustainability, I've become versed in ESG standards such as the PRCA and GRI to cut through greenwashing and foster transparency.
Now I apply my technical knowledge and passion for authentic messaging to help companies communicate their sustainability efforts in a strategic, materiality-focused way, both internally and externally. I help organizations to begin their sustainability transition and communicate this to their various stakeholders. I aim to prove that incremental changes, paired with purposeful communications, can transform businesses and communities.
Marita has over 25 years of experience in transforming businesses in the Asia Pacific and internationally, across multiple industries. She combines her experience of starting, growing and running businesses with a passion for sustainability and technology solutions. Her approach to sustainability is a balanced blend of professional methodologies, cultural perspectives, and individual values that drive an organisation to its highest potential, all the while fostering sustainable outcomes for growing businesses.
Most recently, Marita has been helping business start their sustainability journey by understanding their existing carbon footprint and policy settings, and identifying the material categories of emissions and governance gaps. Accurately knowing where you are starting from helps map out an achievable way forward.
Leading business expansion across Australia and Asia has honed her 'startup' skills and further heightened her interest in boosting team capabilities for growth and sustainability. Marita’s technical background and passion for innovations can be leveraged to find new ways of working to generate sustainable outcomes.
Patchareeboon Mam has more than 16 years of experience on international development and sustainability projects, especially relating to business and human rights and corporate sustainability
I am a Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) humanitarian and development professional who worked for more than 20 years in Indonesia for International NGOs and UNICEF. I founded my consultancy firm 7 years ago to support private sector to develop their strategy, engage stakeholders and implement in the field their sustainability projects/programs. I have a extensive network in Indonesia, from the local community/NGOs to several ministries. I am also GRI copywriter.
Graduated in IT and marketing, Nicolas started his career at SAUTER, a Swiss BMS Supplier, in the HQ in 2008 and has been a product manager for several years. After the successful launch of the first BMS Cloud in Europe, he became business developer in the APAC region in 2015. He relocated to Shanghai for 20 months to be closer to the markets, before moving to Singapore in 2018 where he created and directed the SAUTER APAC Competence Centre until June 2022. Since then, he has taken on the role of CEO at beez-fm, a green tech startup he founded in December 2019.
I am a seasoned consultant, brand strategist and user research specialist. I've run strategic consultancies in Singapore that focus on designing for futures, and ensuring that cultural insights and emerging planetary and human needs input into product, communication and brand decisions. Partnering with bluechip companies like Unilever, P&G, Ford, Microsoft to help innovate, design, communicate the brand, my experience spans diverse categories.
I can run projects about user research, design research, cultural strategy, and off late applying all these skills towards regenerative practices.
I have an academic background in Psychology, English Literature and have recently done courses on Circular Economy and Regenerative Economics.
I am an expert in Global Sustainability. I have quit a successful corporate career to dedicate my life to addressing our era's increasingly pressing sustainability challenges. Using a systemic and transdisciplinary approach, I have notably unearthed breakthrough insights that directly tackle the issue's root causes.
With New World Together, I'm committed to sharing my understanding through conferences, workshops, and training programs. My aim is to empower people and organizations to contribute meaningfully to shaping the way toward a future that is desirable and sustainable.
With over 6 years of expertise in global markets, particularly in Asia, I am a dedicated professional in business development and project management, passionate about driving impactful initiatives to tackle environmental and social challenges.
I am the Business Development Director at Second Life, a leading social enterprise dedicated to ocean plastic collection and recycling in South-East Asia. We've recycled over 4,000 tons of ocean-bound plastic since 2020, working closely with local collectors.
My current focus lies in plastic footprint reduction, circularity, plastic-credits mechanisms, ocean-bound plastic waste management, and the associated environmental and societal considerations.
I have over 15 years experience working in different areas of the fashion industry, both in Europe and Asia. From my first graduate role working in the buying office at Marks & Spencers Headquarters in London, to starting a fashion & lifestyle brand supplying multi-chain stores like Topshop and boutiques such as Graham & Green in the UK and others in Europe.
My knowledge of European & Asian markets has given me a unique combination of experience and perspective. From sourcing high volume production in China, which led me to understand the impact the fashion industry has on the planet; to my passion for inculcating sustainable fashion into the teaching curriculum.
Currently, I mentor sustainable brands, give my time to organize events during Fashion Revolution week and support sustainable knowledge and capacity-building in the wider fashion eco-system.
I am a change management practitioner with more than 12 years of experience in this field. In this context I have accompanied various initiatives to drive operational excellence, to improve cross-silo collaboration, and strengthen leadership qualities. In addition, I accompanied companies to establish new strategies, values and behaviours with the result to nudge cultures.
With Hive17, I focus on supporting companies along their sustainability journey. Key questions are how are the targets & strategies implemented across the organisation? And how can we create a culture that leads to success in sustainability.
I'm an experienced business professional with 17 years of commercial experience across various industries in developed and developing Asian markets. I have held senior positions in multinational corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, and startups, with a strong focus on GTM, B2B sales and expertise in venture building.
In one of my recent circular economy startup roles, I helped Nextevo launch the world's first pineapple leaf fiber denim jacket and jeans with Bershka (Inditex Group) in October 2022 and developed successful partnerships/showcases with the Singapore Design Council and the Singapore Fashion Council. Earlier in my career, I was part of the pioneer team in Singapore at one of the world's largest vertically integrated solar manufacturers, REC ASA, and separately at EPURON, where I supported the management team to launch the first Renewable Energy Trust in Asia with GE Energy Financial Services in 2008.
On the side, I am actively engaged in mentoring startup founders and young changemakers in Asia, participating in programs such as Bridge For Billions, the Singapore International Foundation's Young Social Entrepreneurs, and the National Youth Council Singapore’s Youth Action Challenge.
I leverage my entrepreneurial knowledge and extensive network to empower the next generation of impact-driven entrepreneurs in the region.
Raised in the Middle East by Eastern European parents, I was surrounded by layers of diversity. Extensive traveling throughout my childhood stimulated a fascination for cultures, languages and geopolitics, and I continued living a pseudo-nomadic life as an adult. While I began my career on the trading floor in NYC, I later worked in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America in diverse roles (investments, micro-finance, communications, and business development). Fluent in five languages, I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and later completed a Masters in International Affairs from Fletcher (Tufts), and have a number of Sustainability related certificates.
I am the Managing Director and also lead the Strategy and Sustainability Communications offer at DIA Brands. I have been a brand consultant and a communications expert for over two decades. My role enables me to see how brands drive their sustainability efforts, and if they view it as an investment or a cost. I work closely with several organisations to infuse purpose led branding and ESG focused brand messaging and communications into their strategic agenda.
My personal interest in Sustainability has only grown in the past few years and I am committed to collaborating with both the corporate sector and the larger community to create better awareness around Sustainability and make knowledge around it easy, accessible and actionable.
With 9+ years of experience at Procter & Gamble, I am a leader with a proven track record of working with C-suite and upper management to create and execute sustainability strategies for multimillion-dollar & billion-dollar business. I have experience in cross-cultural collaboration with people in different countries, with internal as well as external (vendors, retailers, etc) partners.
I have been recognised for identifying projects, creating, and leading teams to execute and enable value creation while continuing to decarbonise.
I have certification in SCR (Sustainability and Climate Risk) and GRI standards. I studied my Masters in Conservation Biology.