Podcast Summary
Companies often think that they have to make a choice between doing good for their business or doing good for the environment. Simon Schillebeeckx is hoping to drastically alter that narrative. As the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Handprint, he’s helping companies make a positive impact with every business transaction.
In this episode, Simon chats about his work at Handprint, what it’s like living in Singapore, and how investing in nature-based solutions is the future:
- Many businesses want to do good, but navigating the philanthropic landscape can be tough. Handprint is quantifying regeneration efforts for companies, allowing them to tangibly track corporate social responsibility goals. The startup’s platform streamlines reporting for nonprofit work – everything from reforestation to coral reef reconstruction to ocean plastic cleanup, as well as social initiatives like education and female empowerment. Businesses can then access this information to ensure that their philanthropy is making positive, quantifiable progress.
- It’s not just good for the environment – Handprint also allows companies to capture added business value. For example, they offers plugins for e-commerce checkout interfaces, which has helped boost cart conversions and sales by 16%.
- Simon moved to Singapore in 2015 after the completion of his PhD. To him, Singapore is the epitome of modernity – from the infrastructure to the architecture to the education system. As one of the financial epicenters of the world, it’s a prime location to start a company.
- Simon believes that nature-based solutions, particularly those that drawdown carbon from the atmosphere, will be some of the biggest businesses we see in the coming decades. By 2050, the market for nature-based solutions purely from a carbon absorption perspective is projected at roughly $800 billion annually.
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