The World Resources Institute (WRI), a United States-based think-tank, has launched a new global business forum to accelerate private sector action on climate change and is on the hunt for partners in Asia.
In an interview with Eco-Business, WRI sustainable business expert Alex Perera said the organisation was interested in bringing in four to five companies from Asia and other big markets to explore new opportunities for low-carbon growth over the next year. Within Asia, the group is first focusing on India and China because of their large markets, he said.
“We’ve been quite impressed with some of the innovations from companies in China and India…it’s a key component to the global group to have thought leaders from those markets participating,” said Mr Perera.
The WRI had announced in late July a new business-led climate initiative called the Next Practice Collaborative. Founded by six Fortune 500 companies looking for breakthrough solutions for sustainable growth, the initiative has targeted major markets such as the United States, China, Mexico, India and Brazil.
So far, the Next Practice Collaborative members –the US-based aluminium firm Alcoa, Dutch chemical company AkzoNobel, Mexican-based cement manufacturer CEMEX, US-based health product company Johnson & Johnson, German engineering firm Siemens, US office supply chain Staples and United Technologies Corporation, a US-based engineering conglomerate – do not include any Asian companies.
The thought leaders they seek, according to Mr Perera, are those that have a track record of innovation on sustainability issues. He said they are looking for leaders who think about the big opportunities in pursuing a low-carbon economy, rather than those focused on setting incremental sustainability targets.
WRI interim president Manish Bapna said in an earlier statement that The Next Practice partnership is about “re-imagining the bar for corporate leadership”.
“While it has been encouraging to see more and more companies improving their environmental performance and reaping the business benefits, leading businesses understand that it is time for real innovation and new thinking, not just incremental improvement,” he said.
When asked for an example of Next Practice thinking, Mr Perera responded that test cases are currently being developed, but they are not ready to be publicly announced. However, he cited one example of a company, a U.S.-based start-up company called SunEdison, creating a new business model that he said changed the way the commercial and industrial sectors used solar energy.
In early 2000s SunEdison became the first company to offer power purchase agreements for solar energy from solar panels.
“It was an innovation that completely transformed the ownership model of solar, which opened up a huge market opportunity,” said Mr Perera.
At the time, companies did not have good access to purchasing solar power because it was too expensive, said Mr Perera, adding that the only option for companies to purchase solar energy was to purchase and install rooftop panels at their own expense.
SunEdison came up with a new financing approach. They would own, install and finance the solar panels, and the commercial customer would just buy the energy output. SunEdison now operates more than 260 MW of solar energy capacity, according to the company website.
Mr Perera noted that the vast majority of today’s commercial installations in the US, probably 70 per cent, are implemented through third party financing.
The term ‘Next Practice’ came from the late CK Prahalad, a former WRI board member looking for a way to describe businesses efforts to create and take advantage of new business opportunities that advance a low-carbon economy.
Mr Perera explained that Next Practice companies benchmark themselves against future opportunities rather against their peers or their current levels of action.
To find like-minded companies in Asia, WRI has been talking with private-sector partners who work in the region.
“We’re very interested in identifying the thought leaders and innovators from these markets who are beginning to test next practice strategies,” noted Mr Perera. He added that the global group would share experiences including how they went about convincing key stakeholders of the value of low-carbon initiatives and how they addressed some of the internal financing challenges.
“Having that kind of collaboration forum where companies who are testing next practice strategies can work together is very powerful, so bringing in companies from other key markets is a big priority of ours,” he said.
Another priority is outreach to the wider business community.
The Next Practice Collaborative plans to spread its insights by sharing ideas and case studies through existing WRI business partnerships such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol project, an initiative started by WRI, at leading business schools and through other sustainable business forums.
“In terms of climate that’s very important, because unless we get real transformative action, we’re not going to solve the climate problem,” said Mr Perera.
