The New Year is coming! The year of 2023. And when we are reading the news, we hear about a number of dark clouds: armed conflicts, recessions, political unrest, food scarcity. And one of the biggest clouds - environmental destruction; and this is also one of the biggest star!

I have been saying this to a number of friends: sustainability and climate technology might bring an economic upturn in 2023, despite a negative, general outlook. While companies might be careful with spending and investments in most categories, they will not be able to afford to cut corners when it comes to their sustainability efforts. Significant change around sustainability is coming up for a broad number of companies and industries.

On the one hand, many companies will be asked to provide sustainability reports and pay environmental taxes. Though, this is only one perspective. Companies will quickly realise, they will have the competitive edge when they focus on sustainability. Here are some examples:

• Not only consumers but also B2B customers will increasingly prefer to source from 'green' companies that can show their high ambitions and reduced impact.
• Environmental-friendly products will open up new markets; for example in transport, smart community bus services and new car sharing models enable new manufacturing standards that focus on repairability and low, long-term operations cost.
• As lean manufacturing has shown for decades, zero waste and zero harm can significantly improve your operational output; the same counts for solutions with zero impact on our planet; for example, reducing the water levels in rice farming will significantly increase their yield while reducing greenhouse emissions by ninety percent.
• Further, implementing advanced environmental practices will strongly increase the positive reputation of these organisations and therefore ensure their license to operate. This will create a meaningful work environment and will attract and retain crucial talents.

Another report from Pressetext highlights that green tech is trending significantly across various applications. Listed are

• Solar and hydrogen energy
• Replacement and reduction of plastics
• Future-proof batteries
• Smarter electrical vehicles

"I am scared and I'm angry that the previous generation created this mess" - for me this statement of John Doerr's daughter has a significant meaning. Not only because she was only 15 years old when she said it; also because it was expressed in 2006! Now, almost 20 years later, it feels like we haven't changed enough. What are we waiting for? Let's get started with stopping greenhouse emissions, creating highly efficient solutions, and restoring our nature!


Sources: 
Speed & Scale, John Doerr, 2021
Rückblick 22: "Grüne Technik" wird zum Trend, Pressetext, December 2022

The end of the year is a time for reflection and in many ways, 2022 was an extraordinary year. In the first quarter we started to see in Singapore and in many other regions a rapid easing of pandemic restrictions and a new dynamic accelerated across many elements of life. In the summer period, travel has resumed for almost everyone. Then, in the second half of the year the business activities seemed to never stop! Indeed, a year full of change!

When I reflect back especially to the last six months, I was surprised that the same topics popped up across my clients at the same time. This gave me a feeling that these are critical concerns for business owners and leaders in the region. Let me briefly describe three themes.

Target Setting - in a number of engagements we started to look at how we can become better at setting goals. The exercise of defining objectives often felt unsatisfactory because the goals were vague and no process in place to regularly review them. One key question to ask: what is the purpose of setting targets?! We need this clarity so we can create a journey that adds value and is effective. In my interactions the biggest benefit is when teams have frequent reminders and conversations about their objectives and key results.

Toxic People - the second theme arose in many conversations and this seems to be an experience in many organisations: a tiny group of people that are creating a negative atmosphere. Two interesting observations: sometimes people are not aware that this is happening in their organisation; and, even seasoned leaders feel overwhelmed by toxic people. Why is this important? The negative vibes are creating stress, blocking creativity, and are dragging down the performance of the entire team. What can we do? In my eyes, three things: a) highlight what are toxic behaviours; b) agree that we don't tolerate this; c) jointly work towards a high-performing team.

From Inertia to Ownership - a last - almost evergreen - theme is that business owners struggle with people that are very comfortable with where they are, happy to follow instructions, hide their ideas and opinions, and don't feel excited about the company's ambitions. And often this is not a small group within an organisation. I like to call this inertia and address it with the concept of impermanence; the world is continuously changing and if we don't follow the change, we will eventually become irrelevant. What is the antidote to this? Develop ownership! Create small spaces (job scope, physical areas, etc.) and give teams the responsibility to improve them with their own ideas and efforts. This is a great way to develop leaders on all levels in your organisation.

Could we solve these themes this year? How will they appear again in 2023? As with any change, it is important to take the first steps and continuously move forward on this journey. Let's increase our focus on the right leadership qualities and strengthen our focus on people.

Not so long ago, I was called by my friends "Mr Gadget". And still today, I am looking at the latest laptops and mobile phones - I really would love to buy them. They seem to be so much better than what I am using today! Really?

Here some interesting figures from the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum:

• In 2022 we might have produced 24.5 million tons of electronic waste
• Out of that, we have 5.3 billion discarded smartphones; that's almost the number of people who own a smartphone
• By 2026, the 750 million defunct earbuds will stretch three times around the moon

So, the big question is: is your current electronic device still useful? Can you repair it? When you must replace it, can you buy a second hand device (many people try it once and then sell it)? These are important questions to ask. Not only for gadgets.

Here is what you can do:

• keep using what works fine
• regularly declutter
• repair and prolong the lifetime
• donate to a friend or charity
• sell as second hand
• bring to an official e-waste recycling point
• buy second hand
• share your story with friends

So, I am still happily using my three year old laptop and four year old smartphone - they are actually great devices!

Source: ​5.3 billion discarded smartphones this year are 120x higher than international space stationwww.designboom.com/technology/5-3-billion-discarded-smartphones-this-year-10-14-2022/

Inspirational speeches, heart-warming performances and great conversations on our table and across the room! This was this years EuroCham Sustainability Awards Gala.

As with any change, climate action seems to be daunting. Though every small step counts. Let's get inspired; let's inspire others with our stories!

Thank you, SwissCham Singapore, for your support and engagement. Looking forward to more and deeper collaboration in the New Year!

​Find here the official summary from SwissCham: