Catching up with past BAFG winners – Right People Renewable Energy

In 2020 Right People Renewable Energy (RPRE) won the INSEAD Alumni Association Singapore ‘Business As A Force For Good’ Award. We caught up with RPRE founder Robin Pho GEMBA’17 for an update on what his company has been up to since winning the award.

PEOPLE: Despite the COVID pandemic, we’ve tripled our employment headcount, including hiring people with disabilities. We’ve also partnered with JRS and UNHCR, to provide long term employment to Afghanistan refugees in their Jakarta office. In 2020, we won a B Lab award for “Best for Environment, and Best for Workers”, putting us in the top 5% of all certified B Corporations globally.

PLANET: We’re working on some very exciting decarbonisation projects involving solar and energy storage systems, including large scale floating solar projects in Batam, Indonesia, allowing clean energy to be exported to land scarce Singapore. We also continue to work on social impact projects, including Willing Hearts, a charity in Singapore, and a wind turbine project for a Refugee Learning Center in Bogor, Indonesia.

PROFIT: Since winning the BAFG Award, our revenue and pipeline of projects have grown significantly. We’ve successfully raised funding from New Energy Nexus, Loyal VC, and have been approached by other investors to further fund their growth plans.

Parting comment: It’s really heartening to see INSEAD alumni using business as a force for good and I’m looking forward to seeing many more purposeful and impactful companies sprout from the INSEAD eco-system. After all, INSEAD is the business school FOR the world.

2022 Business As A Force For Good Awards – Meet The Judges Interview Series #2

Introducing Brad Fraser MAP’18 – Head of Prime Derivative Services Asia Pacific at Barclays. He is one of handful of experienced judges selecting the winners of our 2022 BAFG Awards. Find out his thoughts on the subject in our second “Meet The Judges” interview series. To read our first interview, click here.  

What were your key takeaways after graduating from INSEAD in relation to having a positive social impact on the community? My perspective of the wide impact businesses can make broadened. I was also able to consider new and innovative business models that can calibrate for impact, and the power of diversity as an enabler of that process.

What do you believe are the critical elements for a business to act as a force for good? Having a positive empowering place for people to work and a strategy that delivers impact to the community through product and service, and is carried out in a sustainable and ecological way.

What actions from companies have you seen which have been a force for good? Actions I’ve noticed are bottom of the pyramid business models that empower disadvantaged communities through training and skills development, but are still commercially viable. For example, The Social Space.

What are some specific actions employees should do to enable a positive social impact on our community ? Positive social impact starts with the individual. How we account for our individual choices and decisions, flows into our daily actions in the workplace and at home. Providing we are operating from a social impact perspective, we don’t all have to work for a social enterprise to have a social impact.

What are some examples in your profession/ company where you’ve experienced BAFG first-hand? I’ve worked in teams alongside social impact start ups and established companies, providing them with advise and support at various stages of their development.

What key BAFG principles would you like businesses in Singapore to embrace? Two major challenges we face today are climate change and increasing inequality. I believe businesses that address these issues within a Singapore context, can deliver real value and help shape our community positively.

What were the main reasons for accepting an invitation to be an IAA Singapore BAFG judge? I value the opportunity to be part of INSEAD’s efforts to empower and celebrate businesses that have been a force for good.

What motivated you to be an advocate for businesses to act as a force for good? We need to move beyond the singular model of business as a commercial entity and incorporate a broader view of the many ways business can impact a wide range of stakeholders while continuing to be a commercial success.

Anything else you would like to add? As alumni of a global business school, we have a real opportunity to take this knowledge combined with our experiences, and make a real contribution to the challenges being tackled both locally and internationally. I encourage everyone to step up to that opportunity.

2022 Business As A Force For Good Awards – Meet The Judges Interview Series #1

The Judging panel for the 2022 Business As A Force For Good Awards brings together the expertise of INSEAD alumni from across various industries. Li Lian Liew GEMBA’13 – Director, Corporate Planning at Tan Tock Seng Hospital & Central Health, shares her  thoughts on the topic in our first ‘Meet The Judges’ interview series. 

Key takeaways after graduating from INSEAD in relation to having a positive social impact on the community? The realisation that INSEAD alumni are in positions of power and that we have the resources (force) to do better. And….sadly, not everyone wants to.

What do you believe are the critical elements for a business to act as a force for good? Trustworthiness in upholding the “social contract” and continuous open-minded efforts.

What actions from companies have you seen which has been a Force For Good? As a Singaporean it’s great to see many local businesses doing well such as Magorium, which developed NewBitumen – derived from plastic waste – to replace traditional (crude-derived) bitumen used for road construction. Companies that aren’t social enterprises like Grab and Carousell, have also found meaningful ways to do good.

What are some specific actions employees should do to enable a positive social impact on our community ? Social media definitely! The internet allows us to share company experiences as employees, consumers and a community that can influence economic forces. It’s a force for checks and balances that we’ve never had before, and it’s still not optimised.

What are some examples in your profession/ company where you’ve experienced BAFG first-hand? In Singapore there are many community-care organizations that provide healthcare, social support and financial respite for the underserved. These aren’t necessarily social enterprises or charitable organizations. For example, the NTUC (National Trades Union Congress) provides healthcare, insurance, cheap(er) groceries, etc while also dealing with issues of gender equality (especially in the workplace), disadvantaged youths ect.

What key BAFG principles would you like businesses in Singapore to embrace? (1) Understand that actions have consequences, therefore plan accordingly. (2) Understand that Gen Z will not tolerate irresponsible short-termism. (3) Understand that we as a species are in real danger of extinction.

What were the main reasons for accepting an invitation to be an IAA Singapore BAFG judge? It takes all of us, with many actions big and small, to become a collective force for good. This is one of them: a chance to raise awareness and the profiles of what INSEAD alumni are doing, and to promote open sharing to shortcut development to becoming better.

Parting comment: Businesses need to bear in mind that the more of a force for good they become, the more evolved, resilient and profitable they become. It is good for everyone.

ECOSOFTT – 2019 ‘Business as a Force for Good’ Winner

Congratulations to ECOSOFTT for winning the ‘Business as a Force for Good Award Singapore 2019 Edition’. Sam Al-Schamma (TIEMBA ‘13 ), a board member and investor in ECOSOFFT, accepted the award on behalf of Marcus Lim (TIEMBA’13) and Stanley Samuel (TIEMBA’13). ECOSOFTT is a social enterprise aimed at addressing the global challenge of water shortage, scarcity and quality.

ECOSOFTT was founded by two graduates of the INSEAD TIEMBA programme, Stanley Samuel and Marcus Lim, both TIEMBA’13J. Their work has helped numerous communities become self-reliant, water secure and sustainable. It has also transformed the lives of thousands of women and girls who have returned to school or learnt economically-useful skills, since they no longer need to spend hours each day collecting water.

ECOSOFTT’s vision is by 2050 to treat over one-trillion litres of water per day; enable 10,000 communities to become water smart; and protect, clean and restore a thousand water bodies.

It is wonderful to see so many INSEAD alumni enabling ‘Business as a Force for Good’. We look forward to recognising other initiatives like this again next year!