FIRE FIGHTERS

Each month, as we celebrate a local member of our Asia’s Most Influential list, we also shine a light on a member of each of the lists produced by our publications around the region. This month: other sustainability champions

SINGAPORE

Frank Phuan is the CEO and co-founder of Sunseap, the Singapore-based solar energy system developer which was acquired in February last year by EDP Renewables, the world’s fourth largest generator of wind and solar energy, and became EDPR Sunseap.

Phuan has played a vital role in engineering and reducing the levelised cost of solar energy in Singapore, with noteworthy milestones including the country’s first gridconnected photovoltaic system and its first utility-scale energy storage system, among others. EDPR Sunseap has also increased its operational capacity in Vietnam by entering into a U$284 million deal with Xuan Thien Group, one of the

HONG KONG

For nearly three decades, Lindsay Porter, has been the world’s leading expert on pink dolphins, aka IndoPacific humpback dolphins, as well as on the Indo-Pacific finless porpoises that are also indigenous to Hong Kong’s waters.

She settled in the city in 1994, attempting to fill an important knowledge gap by studying the behaviour of the dolphins ahead of the construction of the new Hong Kong International Airport, which would affect their habitat. She intended just to stay for her PhD; she’s still there today.

She is also the vice chair of the scientific committee

country’s main renewable energy developers, to acquire its two solar photovoltaic projects, part of EDPR Sunseap’s vision to lead the energy transition in Singapore and the rest of the region. at the International Whaling Commission.

In January, Porter was nominated for an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for her work protecting the world’s marine mammals.

MALAYSIA

John-Hans Oei is the CEO and founder of Cultiveat, a tech-driven urban farming company which is the first in Malaysia to practise

TAIWAN

In 2002, after losing his parents to kidney disease and cancer, illnesses that Steven Ko attributes to “something in the environment”, the founder and CEO of O’right vowed to transform the Taiwanese beauty company into one of the greenest firms in the world. Eighteen years later, his vision materialised, with O’right achieving carbon neutrality across its operations and in 77 of its skincare and hair products, such as its best-selling Caffeine Shampoo.

To get there, Ko switched to green raw materials, replacing petrochemical components with agricultural by-products; moved to 100 per cent renewable energy with a system of solar panels and wind turbines; and adopted post-consumer sustainable precision farming to grow pesticidefree, non-GMO produce on a large scale.

The idea for Cultiveat came from Oei’s previous work experience with farmers and restaurateurs which helped him to identify huge waste and productivity problems with traditional farming methods. Through the startup he co-founded with his elder brother John-Ian in 2019, Oei aims to bring farming into the 21st century by employing new methods that yield better-quality crops with a significantly reduced impact on the environment. recycled packaging, which has prevented five million plastic bottles and plastic indenters from falling into streams, seas or incinerators. “Every decision we make as a sustainable business is underpinned by core values—green, sustainability, innovation,” says Ko, who proves that, with unwavering green governance, companies can heal the planet.