Following their discussion was a live Ask Me Anything (AMA) segment, where three panellists—entrepreneur Tan Jiale of ESGnie, tech investor Leanne Robers of She Loves Tech and topic expert Tan Szue Hann of Keppel Land—answer questions from the audience on how ChatGPT may impact the sustainability space, how the Singapore government is enabling partnerships between corporates and startups, and women’s role in the space.

Read more: In Monaco, sustainable tourism isn't just a buzz phrase

“ChatGPT is great for a lot of things, but it doesn’t deal with real-time data,” said Jiale when asked about how the viral large language model may impact her company’s work in using AI to simplify unstructured ESG data for businesses. “If you’re looking at automating specific processes, [you’ll need] today’s data to drive decision-making. Also, when we asked ChatGPT to calculate the average Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions of a company we’re working with, it took our data and responded with a long paragraph of text. So it could be useful if you want to generate a report, but its usage isn’t as relevant to us.”

In terms of corporate-startup tie-ups, Szue Hann described a mutually beneficial relationship. “There are grants for corporates to employ solutions by startups, and [Keppel Land] does take advantage of these grants,” he shared. “[This is] because they [can] either offset our capital expenditures or we can host [a startup] for a period of two years, almost at no cost, as the government would fund the people managing the project while also funding the startup to develop their solutions to a stage where they are ready for market. The net effect is that there’s a corporate host for these solutions, for which the corporate can then apply to their portfolio at scale. And that’s when the magic happens.”

Robers also shared her observation of women’s significant role in addressing issues in sustainability. “Women tend to build technologies that give back to their society,” she said. “When we mapped our startups, we realised that all of [their missions] fit into an SDG (Sustainable Development Goal)—if not multiple—sometimes without them realising it. They simply saw a problem and created a solution to solve it.”

The next big thing in sustainability, according to Szue Hann, is “social sustainability, and more importantly, the building up of social capital. This means so much for the identity of a place. Monaco, for instance, is not just what it is because of its landscape, but also because of its people, culture and what it’s trying to build.”

Read more: Why businesses can invest in sustainability and also do well

Also providing insights on Monaco’s commitment to sustainability was Estelle Antognelli, head of the CSR department at the Monaco Government Tourist and Convention Authority, who dialled in for the event from her office in the principality. 

One of the initiatives she shared was the release of a sustainable tourism whitepaper, which details five action points that will be taken by Monaco over a course of three years to achieve its sustainability goals. She also shared that the Monaco government has signed the Glasglow declaration, which is developed by the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) with the objective of decarbonising destinations.

Since the signing, Monaco has launched tools with Net0 to calculate the carbon footprint of a visitor or event, and worked with schools to educate future chefs on local and sustainable produce.

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