Six months into the job, WWF-Singapore’s CEO Vivek Kumar hopes his work leaves behind a better world for his children. “The bigger emerging crisis for us is the dual challenge of climate change and rapid loss of biodiversity. I have often watched documentaries on these challenges with my two young children, including shows like Our Planet, a groundbreaking collaboration between WWF, Netflix and Silverback Films. It became very clear that the rate of change is a lot faster than what most of us envisage, and that’s one thing I must do to prevent its worst effects for my children and for our future generations.”
Kumar joined the local chapter of the nonprofit in 2021 as chief marketing officer. He took on the top job at the start of the year, replacing R. Raghunathan, who had helmed WWF-SG for three and a half years.
Before joining WWF-SG, Kumar was an Assistant Director-General at NTUC and a member of the boards at Enterprise Singapore, IMDA and Assurity Trusted Solutions. He was formerly Asia Pacific and Middle East head of retail marketing at Shell, based in Kuala Lumpur; and regional director at advertising firm WPP.
Formed in 2006, WWF-SG’s work today spans “three dimensions”, says Kumar. Firstly, WWF-SG offers learning and development to help companies and communities understand challenges around nature and climate. “We make our subject matter experts available to businesses, conduct ‘green talks’ to their employees to help them understand the issues from a science-practice perspective, the challenges we face [and] the steps they can take.”
WWF-SG launched the Asia Sustainable Finance Initiative (ASFI) Academy courses for finance professionals in September 2021, offering online courses around responsible banking, responsible investment, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and sustainable infrastructure.
A year after its launch, WWF-SG revealed that some 5,000 finance professionals had completed the Institute of Banking and Finance-accredited e-learning course. Today, more than 25,000 have completed the course, says Kumar.
Some modules are also available in Thai, Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese and Japanese, with other languages in the works. The course will also launch modules on deforestation and natural resource safeguards in 3Q2024.
See also: Sustainability reporting ‘not a trivial exercise’: EnterpriseSG chairman
Secondly, WWF-SG works with industry sectors “to move the needle in terms of learning and applying sustainable practices”.
To eliminate plastic pollution, WWF-SG launched its Plastic ACTion (PACT) business initiative in 2019. Two years later, WWFSG kickstarted a six-month pilot to reduce e-commerce packaging waste in partnership with United Overseas Bank U11 (UOB), Singapore Post S08 and Better Packaging.
Of the 15,000 customer orders processed during the pilot, one in three customers chose to use reusable packaging for their online purchases when given the option and over half of them voluntarily returned the packaging.
Finally, WWF-SG will work with individual companies in some cases. “There are cases where we find that they are facing challenges, the desire to embrace sustainability is genuine, and they want to work with us to create a real impact. In those cases, we will collaborate with the company to design the right pathway with them,” says Kumar.
With mutual consent, WWF-SG may share this information with others in the sector. “We welcome businesses [and] SMEs to reach out to us. As much as is possible for us, within our capacity, we are happy to support them with WWF’s science-practice expertise.”
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Getting help
WWF-SG released its seventh Sustainable Banking Assessment (SUSBA) report at its Earth Hour Summit 2024 on April 19, which brought together over 500 business leaders to discuss nature conservation and climate action.
At the summit, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu emphasised the crucial role of annual transparency reporting to uphold accountability within the global community.
Indeed, the SUSBA report spotlights a growing need for financial institutions to focus on incorporating more sophisticated biodiversity assessments into financial assessments.
The European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore was the summit’s strategic partner, along with seven supporting associations. These groups, which include the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, the Singapore National Employees Federation and the new Singapore Sustainable Finance Association, show the “availability and accessibility” of help for local firms, says Kumar.
There is plenty of support for businesses to make the transition; it is really about making it a priority, he adds. “Whether it is the government, whether it is NGOs like us, or IHLs [Institutes of Higher Learning], there are enough resources to train and help businesses in Singapore move forward. We are fortunate to be based in Singapore, so please make the best use of it and be competitive across the region.”
One avenue is the $50 million SG Eco Fund, set up by the government in 2020 to support community initiatives that advance environmental sustainability. Another is Enterprise Singapore’s SME Sustainability Reporting Support Programme, which will be launched by end-2024, to support SMEs in preparing their first sustainability reports. The programme will defray 70% of eligible costs for SMEs participating in the first year, and 50% of costs for the next two years.
“Grants are available through agencies such as Enterprise Singapore [and] trade associations and chambers, and [businesses] should reach out to them,” says Kumar.
Green windows
Businesses that are ahead of the curve in sustainability are seeking “green windows” of opportunity, says Kumar, while those that are lagging behind are increasingly noticing “green doors” closing on them.
As the green transition gains momentum, the latter companies may find themselves struggling to access capital or attract talent.
“In universities, we see a growing trend where students are increasingly choosing companies that adopt sustainable and ethical practices. According to a survey by Fast Company, three-quarters of millennials would take a job with a lower salary if it meant they could work for an environmentally responsible company,” he adds.
Challenges present both obstacles and opportunities, and climate challenges are “not very different”, says Kumar. According to a 2022 McKinsey report, the addressable market size for green businesses in Asia is projected to reach between US$4 trillion ($5.4 trillion) and US$5 trillion by 2030.
“It is crucial that as a region with a young, populous community, we consider this carefully. We must focus on the opportunities and develop strategies to pursue them,” he adds. “We’ve discussed the concept of green windows; let us ensure that these windows are opened for our people and communities as well.”
Photos: WWF-SG, ONERHT Foundation, Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore
