We only have one planet, and a growing population has been putting a strain on its scarce resources for decades. The health of the planet and its quality as a viable home for current and future generations is suspect. We are also behind on addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. ‎ If we, as a species, are to survive and thrive, we need to restore the health of the planet. We recognise that to grow sustainably, we cannot keep operating the way we have. Effecting radical change requires radical transformations - going beyond just the environment and driving sustainability in our industries, supply chains, and business models. ‎‎ From collaborations between the largest corporations and government to startups and the individual innovator, sustainability cuts across all of our work. Sure, we use metal straws, but we are obsessed with the big picture - driving change so that we and our future generations can live and work without putting a strain on our planet.

The world isn’t perfect. There are plenty of problems (that we know of) that need solving, so we can achieve sustainable growth. That is to say nothing about the problems we don’t know about. Human beings are a gifted species, but we need to recognise and understand problems before we can hope to solve them. ‎ The key to solving seemingly gigantic problems with limited resources is to learn as much about the problems as possible. For example, businesses that understand big problems also understand that they cannot be solved by one organisation alone. They recognise the need to unite against the problems. That’s why we build communities and ecosystems where organisations can come together and combine their strengths to make a meaningful impact. ‎ Knowing the anatomy of a problem is essential to striking decisively at its heart. A poor understanding of problems seldom leads to good solutions.

We’re not big on clichés, but it’s true: change really is the only constant. Operating in complex ecosystems characterised by rapid changes, businesses must be adaptive to change, or face the threat of disruption. ‎ Change is the main ingredient of innovation. Apart from anticipating or reacting to outside changes, businesses innovate by identifying opportunities to change the way they work and embrace better paradigms. Therefore, flexibility toward change is essential not only for survival, but also for growth. ‎ Our business changes every few months and we rarely have two identical work days. Our ability to be flexible and keep up with constant changes helps us maintain high standards and drive value for our clients. This adaptability is part of the secret behind our repertoire of work and our team’s suite of capabilities. ‎ Change is part of our DNA, and we enjoy it.

We are not perfect and we are not all the same. That’s a good thing. ‎ Challenges and problems affect each of us differently, which means we develop unique perspectives on their impact, and how we can solve them. Simply put, we learn more from those who are different from us. Respecting and celebrating diversity also helps us practice empathy (but more on that later). ‎ People, and therefore organisations, have different strengths. So when different organisations collaborate, they complement one another’s strengths and become stronger together. This opens up opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds to collaborate and come up with solutions that no one party would be able to. ‎ We celebrate diversity because together, we see a more complete version of the world. We celebrate collaboration because it allows us to help build a better one.

At the end of the day, we are trying to make the world better. We know this will not happen overnight. We know there’s no magic formula to it either. However, we also know that when we help solve problems, we make an impact. ‎ Economist Milton Friedman once wrote, “The business of business is business.” Thankfully, many businesses have now moved beyond that paradigm and begun using their tremendous influence to invest in the ecosystem (and the world) in which they operate. Businesses can and should come together to solve the major problems facing the planet today. ‎ The pride and joy of our work at Padang & Co is to support such businesses across three high-impact verticals - Food & AgriTech, Smarter Cities, and Healthcare. ‎‎ We enjoy working on projects geared toward empowering people and businesses to solve key problems. This, in turn, motivates each member of the team to make an impact in their own capacity to realise that vision.