5 Ways Business Leaders Are Using Their Influence to Protect the Earth

Steven Ko is on a mission to reduce the carbon footprint of the self-care routine with Hair O’right’s zero-carbon hair, body, skin and personal care products. The bottle of O’right’s 20th-anniversary zero-carbon Green Tea shampoo, for example, is made from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic materials, featuring its signature biodegradable bamboo cap and a recycled pump. In 2018, the company became the first green beauty brand in the world to fully achieve a circular economy after committing to the use of 100 per cent renewable plastic in its shampoo bottles. 

Read Steven Ko’s full profile here.

Fashion and sustainability intersect with Christina Dean’s two platforms: Redress and R Collective, both of which are focused on ending textile waste. The sustainability organisation Redress is engaged in, among others, providing environmental education for fashion designers, providing curricula for many universities. The upcycled fashion label R Collective, on the other hand, produces new clothing from rescued luxury fabrics. Most recently, it launched its Revival collection, a sustainable fashion design project inspired by nature and, of course, made with rescued waste materials—“gorgeous silks, cottons and viscous knits”.

Read Christina Dean’s full profile here.

Mohamed Tarek El-Fatatry found a solution to a modern problem: what to do with old mobile phones, laptops, TVs, and electronic waste. His social enterprise ERTH (Electronic Recycling Through Heroes) collects e-waste from individuals and companies and even offers cash rewards (US$100 for a fairly new laptop in good condition) and free pick-up to encourage more people to recycle unwanted gadgets and appliances instead of throwing them away. El-Fatatry’s ERTH has helped divert more than 500 tons of e-waste from landfills, making it Malaysia’s largest direct collector of the discarded materials. 

Read Mohamed Tarek El-Fatatry’s full profile here.

To help solve the climate crisis, Peggy Chan focuses on regenerative agriculture, a movement that allows farmers to cultivate better soil for nutrient-dense food. Zero Foodprint Asia, which Chan launched in 2021, introduced the 1% Pledge, a program that invites restaurants to contribute one per cent of a customer’s bill toward a fund for soil management projects. And later this year, the organisation will launch its Carbon Neutrality Program to help food businesses achieve carbon neutrality via a 12-month life cycle assessment. Its pilot partners include restaurant Bedu, food company Kin and packaging company Sustainabl.

Read Peggy Chan’s full profile here.

Discover the changemakers, industry titans and powerful individuals who are making a positive impact on the region in the Asia’s Most Influential list from Tatler.