(Back row - Dr. Simon JD Schillebeeckx, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Handprint & Capstone Project Sponsor; Team Handprint member Adrien Verbeek and Damien Cunnings, Chief, Digital Strategy & Leadership Practice, NUS-ISS. Front Row - Team Handprint members Saba Hassan and Misbah Hussain)
In today’s rapidly evolving sustainability landscape, corporations face mounting pressure to align their operations with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals. However, many struggle with compliance-driven reporting, scalability challenges, and the difficulty of measuring quantifying impact, which limits their ability to create meaningful change.
Transforming ESG Reporting
As part of their NUS-ISS Capstone project, Team Handprint comprises of Adrien Verbeek, Misbah Hussain, Saba Hassan, graduates of the NUS-ISS Master of Technology in Digital Leadership (MDL) programmedeveloped a solution designed to transform ESG reporting from a regulatory obligation into a value-generating process. Their approach enhances stakeholder engagement, transparency, and measurable sustainability impact by leveraging automation, scientific validation, and engagement tools.
Key features of the solution include:
- Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)-Aligned ESG Reporting: Helping organisations go beyond compliance to drive tangible business and environmental benefits.
- Gamified Engagement: Encouraging employees and stakeholders to actively participate in sustainability initiatives, fostering corporate responsibility and a culture of impact.
- Scalability & Scientific Rigor: Ensuring ESG assessments are accurate, transparent, and data-driven by collaborating with stock exchanges, NGOs, verification bodies, and gig-economy scientists.
Go-to-Market Strategy
The trio plan to launch in Singapore as their initial market, leveraging Handprint’s key partnerships to establish credibility and demonstrate real-world value. This will serve as a blueprint for global expansion, with a focus on engaging stock exchanges and regulatory bodies to drive adoption at scale. Hence, they target to start from Singapore and will build a partnership with the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) as well as potentially with TNFD itself.
Key Learnings from their Capstone Journey
Over the course of nine months, their team gained valuable insights into digital transformation, innovation, and leadership. Each member contributed a unique perspective:
“The high calibre of the NUS-ISS students and the strong focus on actionable execution made this project both strategically relevant and enjoyable for us at Handprint. I would recommend any company interested in creative digital transformation to become a partner in this course.”
- Dr. Simon JD Schillebeeckx, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Handprint & Capstone Project Sponsor “The importance of mental model shifts in organisational transformation. Transitioning from a traditional impact marketplace to a stakeholder-driven platform required rethinking customer engagement, operational processes, and innovation culture - These challenges closely mirror those in real-world business transformations.”
– Adrien Verbeek
“Innovation through convergence is our ability to integrate seemingly unrelated concepts, such as nature finance and ESG targets, into a differentiated value proposition. This demonstrated how reimagining existing ideas can drive meaningful business impact”
– Misbah Hussain “The power of diverse teams lies in the unique experiences and strengths each member brings,enriching our problem-solving process. This reinforces the value of a human-centric approach and emphasised that digital transformation is an iterative and non-linear journey.”
– Saba Hassan |
Their collective experience reaffirmed the importance of strategic alignment, innovation, and risk management in driving meaningful transformation. By integrating cutting-edge technology with a forward-thinking vision, their solution redefines ESG’s role in corporate strategy in empowering businesses to achieve real, measurable impact while strengthening their market position.
The Master of Technology in Digital Leadership (MDL) programme is a two-year part-time course and is also available through a flexible stackable pathway. The NUS-ISS Stackable Professional Certificate Programme in Digital Leadership comprises nine professional certificates within three pillars – Defining Strategic Ambition, Driving Transformation and Deploying for Lasting Impact. This programme helps equip participants with critical thinking, competencies and knowledge through focusing on digital strategy, transformation and leadership. It enables the acceleration of their career and enhances their ability to take on greater roles and responsibilities in digital transformation leadership.