This article was first published in The Business Times

I WAS literally on top of the world when I learnt that I had won the inaugural ToptoTop Global Climate Solution Award and that the seven winners from around the world would be going on a three week tour of Switzerland to learn about sustainability issues.

It was an opportunity of a lifetime to collect information about people’s efforts to protect the climate, to study the impact of global warming, and try to come up with our own solutions together with the other winners from Australia, Chile, China, India and Japan. ToptoTop is a nonprofit organisation led by explorer Dario Schwörer under the patronage of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Swiss government. It was started in 2002 with the goal of trekking to the seven peaks and sailing in the seven seas without the use of a motor.

The ToptoTop global climate solution expeditions aim to inspire youth by sharing with them innovative solutions for sustainability. So far, participants have sailed over 70,000 kilometres, climbed over 400,000 metres, cycled over 230,000 km, and visited over 50,000 students worldwide. My experience was even more amazing than I had expected. As a Singaporean, I had not had much opportunity to see snow, much less trek in it. Thus when we started the ascent towards the peak of Breithorn in the Swiss Alps in early August, I was pretty nervous.

I was wearing crampons, which are spikes attached to trekking boots to provide traction. I had to tie ropes connecting myself to others for safety. I trekked in a whiteout and saw my world turn to snow. I had never had such experiences before. Fortunately, as we trekked, the sky started to clear, and we eventually arrived at the 4,000m peak and took a lunch break. While taking in the majesty of the Alps, I started to understand why the Swiss are at the forefront of environmental protection and sustainability. They are in love with Mother Nature and thus feel the need to protect it. I began wondering if that could be a way to combat global warming: by giving everyone the chance to fall in love with nature so that they too would feel the need to protect her.

In our tour of Switzerland, we collected innovative environmental solutions. We visited several wind, solar and hydroelectric power plants to understand how they work and their future developments. It was humbling to see this “green” spirit such a fundamental part of people’s daily lives. Even though many of the solutions cannot be replicated in our respective countries due to various constraints, we still felt that there was much to learn.

I was really impressed by a small dam we saw in Maloja, an area in the south of Switzerland. The dam was built to protect the valleys below in the event the glaciers in the mountains melted too fast. In addition to being a dam, it is also a sporting and educational facility. An artist has created colourful poles along the dam to attract attention, and inscribed on them were messages urging the public to take a more proactive stance against global warming. On the other side, it was also a rock wall to encourage more outdoor activity.

With so much packed into a little dam, I felt it was a well thought out environmental solution; it was precisely because it was such a small dam that made it so special. It represents a great attitude that I feel we should all have. It is hard for many of us to sometimes comprehend how our small individual carbon footprints will make a difference in the world. It is hard for us to imagine the collective effect we can have on the planet. Similarly, it is hard for us to understand how little actions in our lives make a positive difference in helping to combat global warming. But they do. The small size of the dam we saw reinforced the teaching that every little action counts, every little bit helps.

After the expedition, I felt my biggest takeaway was having the privilege of getting to know Mr Schwoerer, founder of the ToptoTop movement, who is an inspirational figure. He taught us many life lessons that will stay with us forever. Once, we were discussing how encouraging people to take up electric biking could be a better solution to getting around than driving motor vehicles. The question was raised whether this would not sacrifice time for exercise. His reply moved me deeply. He said he did not see it as a tradeoff because although people might take some extra time to get from A to B, they would also experience an improvement in the quality of their lives. People should measure time not by the seconds ticking away but rather by the experiences they have throughout their lives. After all, it is not how much you travel, but how well you do it that matters.