By Eleyn Yap

Eleyn, a Summer Intern at Skillseed, shares her key takeaways from helping in the design of Skillseed’s new module on the Scarcity Mindset.

“Sustainability” - a word echoing in recent news, business visions, and my mind as I ponder over which clothing brand to purchase. Whether it’s the friends I lunch with or corporate sustainability articles that I come across,  one concern resurfaces: the climate crisis is something pressing to address, but many thought twice when it came to taking action. 

“Is it enough?” - our efforts towards what we hope to, but struggle to achieve? 

Seeing Skillseed make the most out of its resources as a social enterprise prompted me to notice how we can make sustainability work for us, even with our existing limitations. After experiencing Skillseed’s new module on ‘Scarcity Mindset - What is Lacking: Making Programme Interventions Work’, I wondered if our hesitance to act stemmed from our focus on the “trade-offs” of making environmentally-friendly choices, and what we “lacked” when designing sustainable strategies. 

In other words, focusing our minds on Scarcity hinders us from achieving our collective goal of sustainability. 

What is a Scarcity Mindset?

Scarcity mindset influences how we live our daily lives. Suppose we have two options for a clothing top: a cheaper, mass-produced cotton top, and a more expensive, organic cotton top. A scarcity mindset taxes our mental bandwidth (i.e brainpower) by highlighting what we are constrained by - for example, financial resources. When we place our emphasis on scarcity (or lack), we are then pressured to make trade-offs, further emphasising opportunity costs. Under a scarcity mindset, choosing organic cotton tops highlights the opportunity cost of supporting sustainability initiatives at a greater financial expense. 

How does this hinder our sustainability efforts?

At an individual level, having a scarcity mindset reduces our mental bandwidth to address other needs, as attention is directed to fulfilling what we lack presently. At the systemic level, however, scarcity impedes collective action towards environmental sustainability. 

By viewing environmental sustainability as a zero-sum game where there are bound to be trade-offs and parties at a disadvantage, a scarcity mindset compels us to protect our own interests, turning cooperation into competition. Adopting sustainable practices thus becomes a calculus of the value sustainability brings vis-a-vis other organisational goals, emphasising the opportunity costs of adopting sustainability. However,  it is these perceptions of scarcity that lead to actual scarcity. Believing that only the wealthy can afford to adopt sustainable practices, also perpetuates the scarcity mindset since our attention is focused on how sustainable practices may deplete our financial resources. As a result, this discourages organisations from being directed to developing them (e.g renewable energy infrastructure). As sustainability becomes a competition between the less and more financially resourced, collaboration is hampered, resulting in inaction. This inaction presupposes a shortage of resources in addressing environmental sustainability goals (ESG). 

Of course, resources need not be monetary. Resources may be intangible, such as time, energy and mental bandwidth, adding more factors to consider when making decisions. With so many possible resources one may perceive lack in, scarcity - in all its forms - seems perennial. 

How can we overcome a scarcity mindset to embrace sustainability?

Although scarcity is perennial, its effects are not insurmountable. Focusing on what we have instead of what we lack reduces the burden of addressing scarcity, often resulting in better outcomes (see: Samsø’s transformation to carbon-negativity). 

Here’s an example. Instead of this: 

“How can we adhere to sustainability benchmarks/guidelines?”

We can reframe our thinking to consider: 

“How can we move towards being sustainable with what we have?”

The latter’s focuses on one’s assets - what we have is what enables us to take effective action, instead of inaction due to what we lack. Essentially shifting our scarcity mindset to one that focuses on ‘abundance’. This enables us to overcome constraints, as I’ve come to appreciate within my first month of joining Skillseed. From the extensive research into designing a sustainable new office within financial constraints (see: Moving Places, Moving People - Sustainability as a Collective Practice) to colourful infographics breaking down what to and not to recycle, sustainability became a mission that anyone could do. 

A very helpful infographic on recycling hand drawn by our Gap Year Intern, Rui Qi

This “can-do” spirit is reinforced in Skillseed’s community-building initiatives. By adopting an asset-based lens in its initiatives to equip and empower communities, Skillseed leverages on the existing abundance of seemingly under-resourced communities.  As a social enterprise, Skillseed’s resources are optimised to make a difference in the communities we work with, by empowering them to contribute through their abundance of gifts and strengths. 


“Is it enough?” 

While the lack of technical resources may be an obstacle, our focus on scarcity stops us from exploring ways to contribute with what we have. Though sustainability may be bread-and-butter to some, or an ideal to others, it is something everyone can contribute by considering our own capabilities. Instead of harping on how we don’t have enough resources to support the environment, perhaps focusing our energy on what we can change - our mindset - would enable us to take the first step. 


With that, here are two simple tips to get us started on our sustainability journey:  

  1. Repurposing: Consider reusing items that we already have, rather than buying new items. Or sharing them with our friends or family who might have a new purpose for them!

  2. Redesigning our environment: Consider adding a recycling bin next to our trash bin at home. As recycling becomes more convenient, it would naturally weave into our lifestyle as an automated action, leaving us with more bandwidth to integrate sustainable habits into our lives.

Yes, constraints still exist. However, by consciously practising an abundance mindset, we transform goals that seem inaccessible, into something attainable with what we have. 


But wait, there’s more! Beyond sustainability, there are other ways in which we can intervene to reach our goals by becoming more resistant to Scarcity. Skillseed’s new module, What is Lacking: Making Programme Interventions Work, delves deeper into a scarcity mindset, as well as how we can make better decisions, programmes and policies in our daily lives with this deepened understanding of Scarcity. 

If you are interested to achieve both personal effectiveness and move towards systemic changes in designing scarcity-resistant programmes and projects, reach out to us at info@skillseed.sg to customise a workshop for your organisation / team! Find out more about our Scarcity modules here. 

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