Frost & Sullivan and TERI Deliberate on Circular Economies and Sustainability Development Goals at the India Sustainability Leadership Summit 2017

The day began with the India Sustainability Leadership Summit hosted jointly by Frost & Sullivan and TERI. There were thought provoking plenary sessions on of 'Circular Economies' and on 'Integrating Sustainability into Commercial Normality', followed by actual examples of companies that are making headway in their journey towards sustainability and some upcoming and innovative technologies on green energy, microgrids and innovative solar heating.

The distinguished panelists represented policy makers, doyens in the field of sustainability and business leaders from renowned organizations like UNDP India, Ministry of Railways, Yes Bank, Ingersoll Rand, SIDBI, Reliance India Limited, Jain Irrigation, CLP Power, and Megawatt Solutions.

The plenary session chaired by Mr. Ajay Shankar, Former Secretary, DIPP, Ministry of Commerce & Industry threw light on aspects of responsible financing, and novel agricultural methodologies to enable water stewardship among farmers. Mr. G S Gill, Distinguished Advisor to TERI elaborated on various aspects that are considered while embedding SDGs as an integral part of the fabric of the organization.

The summit culminated in the awards night in the company of business leaders representing the manufacturing and service sectors. The grand awards night marked the celebration of the winners of this year's Sustainability 4.0 awards with Mr. Ashok Chawla, Chairman, TERI welcoming all the delegates to the event. Mr. Raghavendra Rao, Sr. Vice President, Frost & Sullivan noted that the last few years have witnessed a positive rapid change toward adopting sustainability.

The banquet witnessed highly interactive and engaging participants from organizations that aim at adopting sustainable development practices at the core of their business strategy.

On the occasion, Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of TERI pointed out, "The growth of resource efficiency depends on both technologies and markets. In the last few years, we have seen how these new markets have exploded." Congratulating the Award winners, he called upon Indian corporate leadership – "Many of you have pioneered converting what was yesterday's waste, into what are today's inputs into new products. This will lay the foundation for a healthy India and a healthy world."

Discussing this year's assessments, companies and increasing level of participation year-on-year, Mr. Y. S. Shashidhar, Managing Director and Partner – South Asia, Middle East & North Africa, Frost & Sullivan said, "India's share in the global CO₂ emission is just around 6% but the emission per capita has risen by almost 150% in last two and half decades. The challenge at hand is to manage our environment footprint while the Indian economic growth story continues. We are witnessing a spurt in investment and development of cleaner technologies over the last decade which is expected to drive the vision of a carbon neutral economy. We have also seen the evolution of new business segments as a result of climate change. Waste management industry in India itself, which was insignificant about a decade ago, is expected to be a $13 billion industry by 2025 as per research reports."

The awards assessment framework has four major parameters and 13 sub-parameters, recognizing the efforts of front runners via a thorough benchmarking process. The model also takes into consideration global sustainability frameworks and future requirements of reporting. This year's Sustainability 4.0 Awards were presented to companies in three major categories: Leaders, Challengers and Believers. Reliance Industries Limited received the highest recognition of – The Sustainable Corporate of the Year Award. Under the "Safety Excellence Assessments", Tata Motors Limited received the highest honor of Safety Excellence Award – Overall Winner.

The event with more than 150 industry leaders in attendance was supported by media partners Autocar Professional, Cargo Connect, Commercial Vehicle, ECargolog, EcoConstruction India, Efficient Manufacturing, Energetica India, Manufacturing Today, Sustainability Next, and The CEO Magazine.

To know more about Sustainability 4.0 Awards 2017 and its methodology, please log onto www.frost.com/sustainability or http://cbs.teriin.org/sustainability-awards.php. To participate in the 2018 edition of the awards or to know more about the awards program, please reach out to Mr. Srinidhi S. Rao at sustainability@frost.com and Ms Preeti Bathla at businesscouncil@teri.res.in with your full name, company name, title, telephone number and company e-mail address.

Recipients of the Sustainability 4.0 Awards 2017
 

Recipients of the Safety Excellence Awards 2017
 

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Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

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About TERI

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is a leading think tank dedicated to conducting research for sustainable development of India and the Global South. TERI was established in 1974 as an information center on energy issues. However, over the following decades, it made a mark as a research institute, whose policy and technology solutions transformed people's lives and the environment. TERI's key focus lies in promoting clean energy, water management, pollution management, sustainable agriculture and climate resilience. TERI's Council for Business Sustainability connects its research work with the corporate sector. The Council guides the Indian corporates to frame and implement their sustainability agenda.

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