Greenchar Wins UNDP ASEAN Blue Innovation Award as Top Climate Startup from Singapore

jaryl3
Jun 15
3 min read

Jakarta, Indonesia — February 2025

We’re proud to announce that Greenchar Climate Solutions has been selected as one of only 60 winning startups in the ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge, organized by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ASEAN, and the Government of Japan. Out of 1,341 applications across 10 ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste, Greenchar was one of only 5 startups representing Singapore —and the only one focused on biochar and carbon credits.

📍On February 19, 2025, our team traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia, for the official ABIC Expo and high-level pitch sessions, where we had the honor of engaging directly with some of the region’s most influential policy and development leaders, including:

H.E. Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Economic Community
H.E. Kiya Masahiko, Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN
Mr. Norimasa Shimomura, UNDP Indonesia Resident Representative

This recognition marks a major milestone in our mission to scale carbon-negative agriculture, decentralized waste-to-biochar solutions, and verified carbon credit generation across Southeast Asia.

As we continue to build a cleaner, circular future for the region, we are grateful to the ABIC partners and our fellow innovators driving climate impact from the ground up.

Ashish Kapahi (Chief Executive Officer of ASEAN Economic Forum), Kjell Tormod Pettersen (Ambassador of Norway to ASEAN), Satvinder Singh (Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community), KIYA Masahiko (Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN), Shinta Kamdani (Chair of Indonesia Entrepreneur Association (APINDO) and CEO of Sintesa Group), Norimasa Shimomura (Resident Representative UNDP Indonesia), Donny Donosepoetro (Cluster CEO, Indonesia and ASEAN Markets, Standard Chartered)

60 Winners of UNDP ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge

💡 Our Award-Winning Climate Solution: Turning Waste Into Wealth Across ASEAN

Greenchar’s winning project addresses one of the region’s most overlooked climate challenges—agricultural biomass waste. Across ASEAN, millions of tons of crop residues are burned or discarded annually, releasing harmful emissions and squandering valuable resources. Our innovation converts this waste into biochar, a stable, carbon-rich material with powerful climate and agronomic benefits.

By working directly with local farmers and agricultural cooperatives, our solution enables:

🌱 Improved Soil Health & Crop Productivity
Biochar enhances soil structure, increases water retention, and boosts nutrient availability, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers while improving harvest yields.
🌍 Verified Carbon Sequestration & Emissions Reduction
Each ton of biochar can sequester up to 2.5 tons of CO₂-equivalent. By avoiding biomass burning and stabilizing carbon in soil, we reduce methane, CO₂, and nitrous oxide emissions—some of the most potent greenhouse gases.
💸 Access to International Carbon Credit Markets
Through our integrated MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) platform, we help smallholder farms generate high-integrity, traceable carbon credits under Puro.Earth, Verra, Gold Standard, and other registries—unlocking new income streams for farmers while scaling regional carbon removal.

Our ASEAN-wide approach includes localized deployment of biochar kilns, farmer training, data tracking via our platform, and market access support—all supported by the UNDP ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge.

This is not just a climate solution—it’s a livelihood transformation for thousands of farmers across Southeast Asia.