Author: Hithaishi CB

A new investment through a green loan facility will help develop more renewable energy projects in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, with International Finance Corporation (IFC)‘s $64 million to Sermsang Palang Ngan Company Limited (SPN) aiming to address the region’s growing energy demand. The financing package includes an IFC loan of up to $32 million and a parallel loan from Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) for a similar amount. IFC’s funding will help SPN finance the acquisition, development, and construction of renewable projects—especially solar farms, solar rooftops, and biomass—in Thailand as well as in other ASEAN countries. IFC will also assist the company…

Global ocean exploration nonprofit joins Southeast Asia to support the advancement of oceanscience and marine education in the region in the battle against climate change Global ocean exploration nonprofit OceanX has announced a multi-year mission to explore the waters of Southeast Asia and further global understanding of one of the most biodiverse and threatened oceanic regions in the world. Using Singapore as a central meeting point, OceanX will embark on a series of research expeditions throughout the region aboard OceanXplorer – the world’s most advanced exploration, scientific research and media production vessel. This includes upcoming missions in Indonesia (May-August 2024)…

Dr Heinrich Kroukamp takes over as the new Deputy Head of Research at MicroBioGen MicroBioGen, an Australian industrial biotechnology and yeast innovation technology solutions leader, has appointed experienced yeast biotechnology and genetics researcher Dr Heinrich Kroukamp as Deputy Head of Research. Heinrich has been working with and researching yeast – spanning sustainable foods over decades such as animal-free dairy and oils to aroma compound production, fermentation, yeast breeding, synthetic yeast genomics, biofuels and bioinformatics – across academic and industry settings. Baker’s yeast, also known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is the most used industrial organism underpinning industries worth over $2 trillion, including biofuels such as ethanol and…

The Department of Agriculture will focus on the revitalization of the local cacao industry, through its High Value Crops and Development Program (HVCDP) and other operating units. “Some of the cacao trees are now being cut because farmers are not making much money from cacao since they do not really know how to process it after harvesting,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu P. Laurel, Jr. The Secretary added that the Department will include as one of its thrusts the revival of the cacao industry to aid the 74,428 Filipino cacao farmers—as per March 6, 2024 data of the DA-Registry System for…

Strategic climate advocacy initiative will provide organizations, building owners and facility managers with information and resources to create sustainable spaces. As India ramps up efforts to decarbonize its rapidly growing infrastructure of buildings, the Mahindra Group, one of India’s leading industrial enterprises, and Johnson Controls, the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, today announced a first of its kind Net Zero Buildings Initiative to decarbonize India’s commercial, urban residential and public buildings. The joint initiative will simplify access to key information and resources to help organizations start their net zero buildings journeys. “At Mahindra, we strongly believe in operating as a ‘Planet Positive’ organization. The group has undertaken multiple…

Inaugural Healthcare Sustainability Symposium on Energy and Water Efficiency – Dr Amy Khor To honour the “Global Eart Day”, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Dr Amy Khor reviews the country’s Energy and Water Efficiency goals. On the inaugural Healthcare Sustainability Symposium on Energy and Water Efficiency, also focused on the healthcare industry’s efforts in sustainability and achieving net zero emissions. A network of healthcare clusters and partners in Singapore were sharing knowledge, ideas, and insights to help make healthcare greener at the consortium. Singapoe’s goal of reaching net zero by 2050 was the major focus…

A revolutionary packaging technology has been developed by Swiss and Portuguese cheese manufacturers to advance the dairy industry across the globe. A high-tech tray sealer and thermoformer from packaging specialist SEALPAC support these organizations’ objectives. The European Union has the world’s largest annual consumption of cheese. Manufacturers are competing for the consumer’s hand with their own specialty products Regardless of whether it is a small craft company with a regional customer base or a large-scale cheese producer for export markets. Suitable and innovative packaging is crucial to ensure cheese specialties are of high quality and to ensure their quality on…

Westfalia Fruit, a leading multinational supplier of avocados, has conducted the first successful trials of an innovative and natural method of ensuring food safety within the supply chain. Current industry practice is to manually deep clean avocado ripening rooms to maintain high levels of food safety and eliminate residue from naturally occurring fruit mould. Westfalia’s new method uses a probiotic uniquely distributed within a water mist circulated throughout ripening room, delivering several clear benefits. Andrew Mitchell, Head of Innovation at Westfalia Fruit, explains, “Our innovative probiotic liquid is similar to that found in yoghurts which can help with the natural…

Heiko, currently President, Bayer Consumer Health, has deep experience and a successful track record in the global foods and nutrition industry. He started his career at Nestlé, spending more than 20 years in sales and marketing roles in Asia, before rising to lead Nestlé’s global Nutrition business division as CEO in 2014. He joined Bayer in 2018 and has since driven significant performance improvements to deliver industry-leading growth for Bayer’s Consumer Health division. Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher said: “Heiko is a global business leader with deep expertise and experience of the foods and nutrition industry and a long track record…

Protégé Ventures (PV), Singapore-based student venture capital fund, has announced an undisclosed pre-seed investment in ZOLO, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered business to business (B2B) software company founded by two alumni from two Singapore universities. Investment is considered to be the 11th student-founded startup Protégé Ventures has funded since 2017. The decision to invest in ZOLO underlines PV’s commitment to backing high-growth student startups that drive positive change and innovation in their industries. Together with ZOLO’s prior investors such as Antler, GHARAGE and NTUitive (via an equity-free grant), PV is embarking on a collaborative journey to foster innovation in the B2B food…