Sustainability accelerator to support disruptive startups

SAP.iO Foundry Singapore has launched its APAC sustainability accelerator to support startups addressing sustainability challenges facing modern businesses, with 50% of the cohort based in ANZ.

The new SAP program brings together a select group of disruptive startups building innovative technology solutions to global sustainability challenges and includes ANZ-based givvable, CarbonClick and WePower.

During the 13-week program, the participating startups will have access to technical and go-to-market support that empowers them to integrate with SAP solutions. They will be paired with SAP mentors and given exposure to SAP technology and application programming interfaces (APIs), as well as collaboration opportunities with SAP customers.

The equity-free program is designed to accelerate sustainability innovation in the APAC region, delivering new business models for SAP customers and organisations more broadly.

Startups were selected for relevance to SAP’s tripartite “Chasing Zero” sustainability journey. This includes working towards zero emissions — both for SAP and by empowering SAP customers to gain visibility of and reduce emissions across the entire supply chain; zero waste — entering a circular economy where we reuse, reshare, repair and recycle to reduce waste; and zero inequality — because a truly sustainable future is not possible when diversity is not the norm. The ANZ-based startups participating in the first sustainability cohort are:

• Australia-based givvable, founded by sustainability and social innovation specialist Frances Atkins. This is the go-to platform for businesses to discover and track sustainability credentials, attributes and initiatives of suppliers.
• The Australian arm of WePower, a platform connecting corporate energy buyers and retailers with green energy generators so all businesses, regardless of size, can purchase locally produced green energy at competitive rates with full transparency.
• New Zealand’s CarbonClick, a carbon credits marketplace that allows customers to purchase audited carbon offsets, as well as to measure and reduce their carbon footprint.
   

The other participating startups are Singapore-headquartered Unabiz, which drives data-driven business efficiency through sensors, manufacturing and cloud platform services for smart metering, smart facilities management, smart logistics and supply chain; India-based Ambee, which helps people to breathe clean air using AI and ML techniques to analyse air quality, soil, micro weather, pollen, and more; and Singapore-based Resync, a cloud energy management company which manages renewable assets, building energy and industrial energy.

“Sustainability is one of the most acute challenges of our times. At SAP we believe that technology innovation and industry partnerships are key to creating a sustainable future,” said Damien Bueno, President and Managing Director, SAP Australia and New Zealand. 

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