Businesses are drivers of the economy with supply chain management in place. Without us realising, business models may have been designed based on a linear economy of take, make and dispose, damaging the ecosystem that has finite resources, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam’s (BIBD) Chief Marketing Officer and Sustainable Nation Lead Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Jaafar said touching on the topic of a circular economy.
“We hope through this forum, we can raise more awareness and understanding on the importance of adopting a circular economy as we owe it to our future generations to leave a planet that is more sustainable and safe for them to live in,” she said.
She made these comments when BIBD, through SME 360 Series of the Sustainable Nation Campaign, recently held the first in its Eco Chat Series, highlighting the importance of a circular economy as the nation heads towards a sustainable future.
The Eco Chat Series also featured Head of the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat (BCCS) Noor Dina Zharina binti Yahya; founder of MY Action for SDGs Nurul Hadina binti Alias; and CEO of BioLoop Malaysia Jun Kit Mah.
According to the World Economic Forum, a circular economy promotes the elimination of waste and the continual safe use of natural resources and offers an alternative to the “take-make-dispose” approach to production and consumption.
Noor Dina Zharina highlighted that a circular economy can have a role in reducing global greenhouse gases by up to 39 per cent and explained that adopting a circular economy is crucial in bringing about the transformational change required to achieve Net Zero by 2050, as committed by Brunei Darussalam at the recent COP26.
Meanwhile, panellist Nurul Hadina lauded the partnership in the Sustainable Nation Campaign as an important step closer in bringing the 2030 Agenda to the forefront and emphasise sustainable lifestyles and sustainability in general.
Jun Kit Mah said, “A circular economy sounds like a very macro concept, but it is something that everyone can make an impact with. Upcycling – the process of changing waste into something more desirable – is one of the ways that everyone can get involved. We can all attempt to inject value into something that would otherwise end up in a landfill.”
The Eco Chat Series, run in partnership between Community for Brunei and ASEAN Youth Advocates Network (AYAN) Brunei, is intended to be a cataylst for change and education by starting a conversation and educating the public with industry experts and stakeholders.
Among the topics to be covered in the Eco Chat Series will be climate crisis, sustainable development goals, plastic pollution and fast fashion.
The series, which will be open to the public and live-streamed to the wider community, will feature speakers including from BIBD, the BCCS, Green Brunei, the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports, Brunei Shell Petroleum Company (BSP), and Brunei LNG.
The Eco Chat Series returns today on the topic of plastic pollution. The public can follow BIBD and Community for Brunei on their social media channel for details on how to register and future series dates.
Within one of BIBD’s Sustainability Framework pillars – Responsible Entrepreneurship, BIBD SME360 hopes to provide this platform for businesses to learn and understand their business model and how they can partake towards building a business that helps create a sustainable nation, and support His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s Government aim of net zero by 2050.
