Asia Pacific Green Alliance webinar for SMEs sustainability presented 23 May 2024
CACCI and Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) presented the webinar on the “Green Alliance Initiative” on May 23, 2024.
Moderated by Peter McMullin AM, CACCI President, with Lennon Tan, SMF President and CACCI Vice President for Sustainability as panelist, the one-hour session featured Clement Teo, SMF Chief Sustainability Officer and Assistant Chief Executive as main presenter, sharing information on the newly launched Asia Pacific Green Alliance Initiative to empower Asia Pacific SMEs on their journey to sustainability.
SUMMARY
Mr. McMullin initiated the webinar by thanking his good friend Mr. Tan for inviting CACCI to be a founding member of the Asia Pacific Green Alliance (APAC GA).
The CACCI President also said that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) need a project such as APAC GA to address the sustainability requirements being imposed on international trade.
On his part, Mr. Tan said that since the launching of the APAC GA in January 2024, the journey of many CACCI members has been directed towards a net 0 goal. He reiterated that his goal at the helm SMF is to lead Singapore manufacturers towards Industry 5.0 which in simple terms is “putting sustainability at the center” while simultaneously implementing digitalization and automation of industries.
Indeed, both Presidents expressed their goal of helping CACCI members on their sustainability journey to learn through good practices, guidance and collaboration, so that SMEs have resources to be successful in a greener world.
During his presentation, Mr. Teo argued for the necessity of embarking on the sustainability transformation. He said that Singapore’s focus on environmental issues is well known and as such, SMF took the lead in creating APAC GA to help Asian SMEs becoming more green.
He added that some policies on carbon tax are already in place and informed that SMEs will also need to monitor their own cost of energy consumption, thus SMEs need to consider electrical and waste management procedures, too.
He mentioned that the Singapore Exchange has implemented a mandatory rule on climate reporting by 2025 onwards. Such measures imply that companies supplying Multinational Corporations (MNCs) or listed companies will have to embark in some sort of reporting as well.
On the positive side, Clement said that it is possible to gain competitive advantage by embracing sustainability early and smartly. The plan is to find a cost effective solution that is scalable and based on expert advise.
Clement said that one building block on the APAC GA is the position of Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) leading inside the organization. The CSO’s objective is to continue the corporate business in a sustainable way through training and good policing.
APAC GA wants to guide companies on their sustainability transformation, help them overcome the inertia, and then support them in the allocation of resources and usage of expertise to develop a comprehensive sustainability strategy.
One important aspect of the APAC GA is to help SMEs keep up with regulatory requirements that affect customers’ performance, market access and stakeholders’ demands.
Clement added that there are 3 key objectives. First is to future-proof the businesses of SMEs by helping them meet regulatory and customer requirements.
Second is to help business owners on their triple bottom lines: profitability, people welfare and planet conditions. Third is to help SME’s visualize their future in innovative and green ways through better products and/or services so that they can reach new and better markets and customers.
Clement recommended that the first practical step after the launching of the Asia Pacific Green Alliance in January of 2024 is to build talent and standards.
APAC GA is currently preparing two certification standards: Green Manufacturing (GM) and Green Business (GB) which will provide seal of approval based on trained assessors and auditors from recognized international companies.
The APAC GA plans to create training programs to establish a cadre of green consultants working with national chambers of commerce in the Asia Pacific region.
Building professional capabilities at the national chamber level will facilitate the SME’s path towards sustainability.
The copy of the presentation can be downloaded HERE.
The video recording of the presentation can be viewed at the CACCI YouTube channel below.
