Accelerating sustainable development

Efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, are failing. In February 2024, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed that the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold of global warming was breached for a full 12 months for the first time.

Although this does not invalidate the commitments made in the Paris Agreement, it signals that we’re closer to living in a world that’s consistently 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels, a scenario that will have drastic consequences for the weather, climate and life on our planet.

If the world has a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or even two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, it depends on urgent action not only by governments but by businesses, too.

While there are a variety of solutions to reduce carbon emissions, generate and store renewable energy and capture and use waste energy, the capital investment needed to make this transition is often a barrier to decision-making.

That’s where BECIS comes in, a leading Energy as a Service (EaaS) provider to high-quality commercial and industrial customers across Asia. What EaaS means is that BECIS invests, builds and operates distributed energy solutions, requiring no capital or expertise from its customers, allowing them to focus on their core operations while lowering their operating costs and environmental impact.

A global approach

“When talking with clients, we often start with solar energy production, but I want to emphasize we are not just a solar company,” BECIS CEO Eren Ergin says.

“What differentiates us compared to other companies in the region is that we focus on energy solutions holistically and address the customer’s pain points. This can involve a combination of electricity and steam generation, energy storage, cooling and heating.

“With our diverse portfolio, we can go to a customer and quickly address a large portion of their carbon footprint through a combination of solutions, without them having to go to three or four different companies. Instead, they can work with a single trusted partner.”

Since its establishment in 2019, BECIS has developed across Asia 400+ megawatt peak of solar, 190 metric tons per hour of biomass boiler capacity and 50 megawatt thermal of heating and cooling solutions, equivalent to saving over 800,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

“We have very high standards in terms of safety, engineering design, execution and quality, and we drive these standards regardless of the country in which the project is being built,” Ergin explains.

“With local business leaders across every country we operate in, we’re able to apply a global approach in terms of standards and consistency, with the benefits of local leadership and expertise.

“I think that’s the only way a business can be successful in Asia given the vast differences between countries, cultures, regulations and how you execute, which is why we significantly invest in our local teams.”

Strategic, not short-term

To ensure the continued success of the company, Ergin is laser-focused on ensuring that BECIS works with the right customers the right way.

“We are a growing company, but we don’t try to do too much too fast; we’re not going after volume. We stay very selective, working with particular customers and applying the same standards for all countries, with the aim of expanding our range of solutions over time,” he says.

“We also want to make sure our clients are thinking about sustainability in a strategic way over the long-term. What’s difficult for us is to move customers from thinking about sustainability from a transactional point of view, so we spend a lot of time balancing that.

“We want to make sure our client’s procurement teams are happy with the solution, but also that the leaders of the sustainability initiative are also aligned and understand the long-term view. So we bring that together.”

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“Partnering with BECIS has been a great experience for Vyncke. Its expertise in renewable Energy as a Service allows us to bring our biomass boiler technology to more industrial clients, supporting the shift toward sustainable energy. BECIS’ commitment to delivering reliable, impactful solutions complements our own dedication to quality and innovation, making this collaboration truly rewarding.” – Peter Vyncke, Owner, Vyncke

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For any company thinking about sustainability, it’s important to consider its Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. BECIS is well-placed to assist with Scope 2, which is usually to do with energy, but it also plays a role in helping with Scope 3, which is the emissions generated by a company’s supply chain.

“This is often a difficult area for companies to manage,” Ergin explains. “We can provide biomass-based steam generators, but we put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that the biomass is certified as sustainable, so it doesn’t harm the environment when it’s procured and the whole value chain can be trusted.”

Ergin acknowledges that while progress toward sustainability is not moving fast enough, he believes that remaining realistic about what’s possible is important when dealing with customers.

“I’m not one of those people who believes, ‘Tomorrow it all has to be renewable,’” he says. “It can’t be, you have to be realistic. There will be a period where different energy solutions coexist, and that’s why we call it the energy transition. It’s going to take time, but as long as we have a plan for how to coexist and make that transition, it should work.”

With BECIS’ experienced team and extensive portfolio of successful projects, it appears that everything is aligned to help businesses across Asia accelerate their sustainability journey.

“We operate in a rapidly evolving industry where the market and conditions are constantly changing,” Ergin says. “Despite this, you need to make decisions so you can make progress and learn.

“If you build an organization that embraces change, you are all the more ready to pivot your approach and adapt your strategy to succeed. That’s been my mantra for the past 20-plus years and we’re ready to help others in their journey toward sustainability, whatever challenges the future brings.”