Second Edition of Think Tank Asia Calls on Industry to Create Sustainable Innovation

Veolia Water Technologies (Veolia) celebrates the successful run of its Think Tank Asia 2 seminar held on 12 July 2016, at ESSEC Business School’s Asia-Pacific campus in Singapore. The full-day executive workshop gathered 20 leaders and influencers from key industries across Asia to explore future business models and to spread environmental awareness in the region.

Designed by the Institute for Sustainable Development and Smart Cities, ESSEC Business School, the workshop engaged participants in a critical discussion of the geopolitical issues and factors around the sourcing of natural resources, and in an exploration and analysis of key business concepts that effectively drive sustainable innovation.

Ivy Latour, Marketing & Communication Director (APAC), Veolia Water Technologies, shared, “After the successful launch of our first Think Tank Asia last December, Veolia initiated a follow-up session as we believe that it’s vital to encourage more collaboration, exchange, and partnerships between municipalities and industries, so as to co-construct sustainable growth. This time, we invited more like-minded industry professionals who, like Veolia, strive to drive their businesses forward through innovation in a resource-scarce world, and it proved to be a great knowledge-exchange and networking session for everyone involved.”

The first session focused on the politics and markets of resources, and participants’ discussions were largely centered on how governments and the open markets play considerable roles in determining corporations’ access to scarce resources. In the second session, on sustainable sourcing of resources, Ynse de Boer (Managing Director for Strategy & Sustainability at Accenture Strategy), introduced the idea of circular economy business models in supply and value chains.

According to Sylvain Remy, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and Smart Cities at ESSEC Business School, achieving better sustainability has become vital for Asia. He said, “The knowledge partnership between Veolia and ESSEC aims to develop a space, a kind of think tank, for the business community – not just to share state-of-the-art knowledge and practices, but also to inspire bold and viable projects. The initiative has attracted very positive responses from global MNCs that are in a position to make significant differences in terms of resource consumption.”

Click here to view the Press Release.