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The innovative sustainability visionary talks discipline and devotion to his family in an exclusive interview with Tatler Singapore
With its high performance features, the Montblanc Summit 3 smartwatch combines classic fine watchmaking with all the trappings of style and quality the German luxury label has come to represent—features that Benjamin Swan, a pioneer of sustainability admires.
Boasting customisable features that use Google’s Wear OS 3 technology, Swan’s Montblanc Summit 3 also allows the optimisation of his day; aiding the navigation of his day seamlessly and effectively—taking him from work to play, whatever his style and activity requires.
Whether it is Montblanc’s signature Geosphere 1858 watch face, their classic Bohème, or even more modern interpretations, switching between watch faces is incredibly easy with just a swipe. Providing Swan with useful insights such as his health goals, heartrate, sleep monitoring and even his daily schedule, we take a peek into a day in his life to discover how he keeps his life on track.
What drives and motivates you?
At a very young age, my father instilled the values of humanity and nature living in balance. Even as a young kid, I saw that it was only humanity tipping the scale and I felt so hopeless in making any change as an individual.
I’ve always wanted to do something that challenged the status quo that did good for people and planet. In the various careers I’ve held, I couldn’t seem to get enough traction with making change as it never passed the commercial lens competing with globalised practices.
In 2012 I fell into farming as a guy that just wanted a good salad in Singapore. Because of the time it takes for European varieties to get here, the imported produce lose their taste and quality, and we still pay a premium because of all the logistics. I saw an opportunity to leverage technology and change the way we produce fresh vegetables in highly dense cities like Singapore and Hong Kong, so I put my head down and got to work on bringing that vision to fruition.
A lot has changed since I started the journey of Sustenir in a basement. Back then global warming was considered propaganda and often even dismissed by governments. Today, the mountains of trash piling up in our waterways and the effects of global warming cannot be ignored.
My motivation for change was initially somewhat selfish to say ‘I did something important in my lifetime’. That all changed when my first son was born four years ago. Now, I fight for change for him and the next generation so they may have the chance to experience nature as I did as a child.
How do you manage your time every day?
My Outlook Calendar is teeming with meetings from those I must attend, to meetings that my team are running—that are optional for when I’m free. There are two times in the day that I simply don’t compromise on and that’s first thing in the morning for when I go to the gym, and the bath and bed times of my boys in the evening.
I’m consistent with these times in my daily schedule because I believe that you can’t fill anyone’s cup when yours is empty, so look after yourself and listen to your body’s physical and mental state with diet and exercise. And most importantly, you should never compromise on family time.
