Advancing Sustainability in Asia
Advancing Sustainability in Asia
Singapore, 22 May 2026
On 22 May, Nordic Innovation House – Singapore co-organised an event on “Advancing Sustainability in Asia” together with the Norwegian Embassy in Singapore, Innovation Norway Asia and the Middle East and NBAS - Norwegian Business Association Singapore.
As Asia accelerates its sustainability transition, the need for scalable circular systems, resource efficiency and waste reduction continues to grow. With many markets still developing circular economy frameworks, the session explored how Nordic experience and solutions can support regional needs across areas such as waste management, traceability and waste-to-value systems.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Ambassador of Norway to Singapore, Leif Trana, for delivering the welcome address, followed by opening remarks from Arne-Kjetil Lian (Director at Innovation Norway).
An insightful keynote by Isabella Huang Loh (Chairman, Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and Vice-Chair, Global Ecolabelling Network) highlighted for the audience the importance of stronger collaboration between policy and industry, while sharing perspectives on circularity, ecolabelling and best practices from Europe and Asia.
The fireside chat moderated by Arne-Kjetil Lian, featuring H.E. Mariann Ruud Hagen (Ambassador of Norway to ASEAN) and Adam Lyle (Executive Chairman, Padang & Co), looked into the regional business opportunities, policy developments and implementation challenges across ASEAN.
Diving deeper into the topic of circularity, two panel discussions then explored:
How EPR policies and practical implementation can enable truly circular business models, featuring speakers Steve Mellbye-Stølen (TOMRA Collection), Derrick Thng (RVM Systems), Samy Choi (Envac), and moderated by Marie Pettersson (Kezzler)
How waste streams can be transformed into valuable resources, featuring speakers Capt. Vineet Batura (C-Loop), Piia Helminen (Wipak), Kendrick Shou (Ramboll), and moderated by Caroline Wee (Circulate Capital).
The session concluded with closing remarks from Joona Selin (Trade and Innovation Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in Singapore).
Our deepest appreciation to all our speakers and moderators for your support and valuable contributions - this event would not have been possible without you.
And a warm thank you to everyone who joined us this morning. We hope the session sparked meaningful conversations and we look forward to continuing the dialogue ahead.
This event was also jointly organised and supported by Embassy of Finland in Singapore, Business Sweden Asia-Pacific, the Embassy of Denmark in Singapore, Business Iceland, and Nordic Innovation.