Gautam Mukharya

I found this MSCI Inc.’s publication on Understanding Carbon Markets to be an excellent reference — clear, comprehensive, and highly relevant for anyone serious about navigating carbon markets, ESG, and decarbonization. 🧐 👏 𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲: ▪️ Compliance carbon markets (like ETS) have already reduced global GHG emissions by 4%–15%, proving that pricing carbon works. ▪️ The voluntary carbon market, though smaller, is evolving rapidly—with integrity initiatives like ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles now raising the bar for quality. ▪️Companies with net-zero pledges—nearly 3,600 of them—are increasingly reliant on high-quality carbon credits to tackle hard-to-abate emissions. ▪️ Criticisms around integrity and greenwashing are real, but new governance, transparency, and disclosure rules are strengthening trust. ▪️ Prices for carbon credits will likely rise significantly as demand accelerates, especially for high-integrity removal credits. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀:to navigate when, how, and what kind of credits to use in credible net-zero strategies. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀:to assess risks, opportunities, and the climate progress of portfolio companies. 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 & 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀: to sharpen understanding of where markets are headed and how integrity can be safeguarded. For me, the biggest takeaway is this: carbon markets are not a silver bullet, but they are a powerful lever. Used responsibly—with integrity—they can help close the gap between ambition and action. #planetaryhealth #planetaryboundaries #sustainability #ClimateAction #carbonfootprint #NetZero #ClimateEmergency #SDG #ESG #GHG #netzero

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Learning the hard way for proprietary search (still) The Plan: Thematic Search in Environmental Monitoring I started out optimistic targeting the environmental monitoring space (e.g. air, water, noise testing) based on a few hypotheses: - Singapore is compliance-heavy with tighter rules ahead: With tight regulations, companies require recurring testing, creating that magical recurring revenue. - Market fragmentation: A few global big names (like TUV/SUD) operate here, but most of the work is done by a fragmented base of smaller players, often sub-contracted. Ripe for consolidation and economies of scale. - Medium barriers to entry: requires technical credibility and sometimes accreditation by government - Higher margin potential with shift to software services - Critical expense, but not a major line item: One of those line items that wouldn’t be scrutinized and cut   My Process: The “Funnel” Trickles Down Here was my search logic: 1. Mass download: combined all companies from ACRA and filtered by SSIC code 2. Filter by age: Keep companies incorporated <2005 as owners are more likely to sell. 200 companies. 3. Digital footprint: Manually checked for websites or valid domains (with help of interns). Down to 100. 4. Location filter: Kept only Singapore/SEA-based companies and removed global. Left with 80. 5. Relevance check: SSIC codes not always accurate. Down to 40 by their actual business activities. 6. Owner reachability: Ran searches for CEO names/emails via LinkedIn, Apollo, website, etc.—could confirm only 20. 7. Outreach: Sent somewhat personalized crafted emails AND letters in the mailbox. Total replies: 0. Results: All That Work for… Exactly Nothing I started with a “big” list. Each filter felt like progress except, with every step, the pool shrank until I could only reach a handful of people. In the end, I simply didn’t have the volume to make the approach work. Switching It Up: Funeral Services I pivoted and tried a different playbook with funeral services 1. Ignored the long list style. 2. Focused only on the top 3 market leaders. 3. Spent 30 minutes deep-diving on each 4. Wrote highly personalized emails with a very relatable story about my experience as a consumer (unfortunately lost my father 10 years ago) Result? Replies from 2 out of 3. I can't be a consumer in every industry but perhaps this method works best where I can show some relatability vs. complete random outreach.

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How should sustainability professionals prepare—without burning out? A lot of sustainability professionals I know are carrying two heavy truths at once: 1. The pace of change is nowhere near fast enough. 2. The world around us is increasingly unwilling—or unable—to prioritise sustainability. We’re in a phase of geopolitical fragmentation, economic volatility, and cultural revaluation. The capital isn’t flowing the way it did. Budgets are tightening. Long-term thinking is being deferred in favour of short-term survival. > And yet we know: a 3 degree hotter future is still in play. This is where it gets hard—because the urgency hasn’t gone away. But the political and financial tailwinds have. --- So how do we plan over the next three years? Not just the next framework, fund cycle, or strategy refresh—but the three years ahead of us, with all their contradictions. Here’s what I’m holding: 🔹 Focus on high-impact reduction, not just targets We may not have the capital for everything—but we can still push for emissions reductions where it moves the needle most. Let’s not confuse perfection with impact. 🔹 Plan for a warmer, more volatile reality We can’t afford to build as if 1.5°C is guaranteed. We need to design portfolios, places, and supply chains for volatility—climate, financial, and geopolitical. 🔹 Recognise capital pressure—and work with it Where the capital goes may not align with climate or justice. But we can still design for resilience: unlocking co-benefits, reducing operational risk, and embedding value in context. 🔹 Support each other—professionally and personally The exhaustion is real. So is the grief. We’re going to need new forms of collaboration—inside firms, across sectors, and within ourselves. --- > Sustainability now means preparing for a future that may not support it. So take care of your capacity. Align your work with what can still shift. And speak honestly about what’s no longer viable—so we can focus on what still is. Because adaptiveness may no longer be optional. It’s becoming the foundation of meaningful sustainability. #Sustainability #ClimateAdaptation #CapitalMarkets #Resilience #ClimateStrategy #Finance #LeadingFromTheEdge

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