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Manila Bulletin devider Environment and Sustainability devider Filipino youth win big at Climate Hack 2024

Filipino youth win big at Climate Hack 2024

Published Apr 3, 2025 08:20 am
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The youth shall inherit the planet, and it’s no news that time is running out to save ourselves and our only home. More urgently than ever, climate solutions are needed to preserve the resources we have left.

Young Filipinos continue to prove that their voices can be heard all over the world. They've won in a climate program empowering individuals in Asia to address pressing environmental issues, including natural resource management, land use, transportation, waste management, and green economics.

Three cross-border teams triumphed at the Singapore International Foundation’s (SIF) five-month program Climate Hack that ended February 2025. A month later, they, including People’s Choice Award grantee Ecovolve, went to Singapore to learn about its agenda on sustainable development.

The winning teams E-Connect and SustainIQ (Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan) and Sustainloop (Philippines, India, and Malaysia) comprise 13 youths.

“Climate change affects every single one of us as we live in an interconnected world. At SIF, we believe in driving collaborations to develop solutions for a better world,” said Jaryll Chan, executive director at SIF.

Filipino youth Sheena Joy Palcis of E-Connect, Cedric David Cortez of SustainIQ, and Joseph Segovia of Sustainloop showcased their climate remedies. They aim to amplify solutions that help the next generations still enjoy today’s resources.

E-Connect

An AI-driven platform, E-Connect links investors with entrepreneurs to fund climate adaptation initiatives. This website leverages resources to address the gap in climate adaptation efforts and start-up businesses.

"We believe E-Connect is a catalyst for change as we actively work for its expansion in our home countries, which in my case is the Philippines. In line with this, we continue to optimize the system in connecting climate adaptation entrepreneurs and project owners with the necessary financial and technical resources through a wide array of investors and mentors, respectively," Palcis told Manila Bulletin.

The only Filipino in their multicultural team, Palcis aims to cater to marginalized and underrepresented communities that bear the brunt of the climate crisis. By bringing their stories to the forefront, she told Manila Bulletin, they empower individuals to drive meaningful change starting from their own localities.

"This win opens a great opportunity for the Philippines to solve its growing waste problem by empowering people and businesses to adopt sustainable practices, by reimagining waste as a resource," she added.

Sustainloop

Serving as an AI-fueled marketplace, Sustainloop turns surplus materials into revenue. It seeks to connect communities to trade non-traditional surplus items and partner with upcyclers and recyclers to promote a circular economy.

Joseph Segovia told Manila Bulletin they fully intend to scale the platform’s services to the Philippines once their pilot test achieves positive results.

"With the Philippines’ motivation to forward more circular economy policies such as the EPR Law, introducing a circular economy service platform can help ease the transition for businesses, from traditional to circular. Our goal is to put everyone in the loop to become more circular," he said.

SustainIQ

An IoT-enabled food waste segregation system, SustainIQ seeks to lessen contamination and methane emissions. This is then achieved by providing material recovery facilities with an affordable, scalable, and data-driven system for managing food refuse.

Believing that ideas come to fruition through collaboration, Cortez shared with Manila Bulletin that they will scale their solution across the Philippines.

"From the beginning, our team considered the applicability of our solution across our respective countries. We recognized that food waste contamination in recyclables is a pressing issue in ASEAN nations, particularly in developing countries," he explained.

He also said his experience in the program has served as a stepping stone toward fostering meaningful cross-border collaborations, which can benefit the country.

"These relationships not only can support initiatives focused on environmental sustainability but also extend to other pressing areas, including education and healthcare in the future," he added.

Currently, they're seeking collaborators to further develop and implement their technology.

Over 300 youths from 27 countries participated in the program to craft climate solutions.

“From tackling diverse challenges like natural resource management to rethinking waste systems, these young changemakers have shown a remarkable ability to innovate with purpose and impact,” said Carla Gomez Briones, climate and sustainability specialist at UN Development Program Global Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Sustainable Development in Singapore.

Related Tags

Climate Hack 2024 MBEnvironment Singapore International Foundation
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