Journal of Politics & Governance

Vol. 7 No. 3, September 2018 Pp. 37-39

Insights from 2nd National Summit on Sustainability

Srirang Jha*

Abstract
This article is based on a comprehensive report of 2nd National Summit on Sustainability organized by
PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industries (PHD Chamber) on 14 September 2018 in New Delhi. The
article captures essence of intense conversations that took place at the summit. The speakers at the
summit included Mr D K Aggarwal, Vice President, PHD Chamber and Chairman & Managing
Director, SMC Investments and Advisors Ltd.; Mr Ajay Poddar, Chairman, CSR Committee, PHD
Chamber and Managing Director, Synergy Environics Ltd.; Mr Kamal Singh, Executive Director, UN
Global Compact Network, India; Mr Jozef Drofenik, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of
Slovenia; Mr Bhaskar Chatterjee, formerly Director General Chief Executive Officer, Indian Institute
of Corporate Affairs; Mr Jatinder Singh, Director, PHD Chamber; Mr Kamal Meattle, CEO, Paharpur
Business Centre; Mr NSN Murty, Partner & Leader, Smart Cities, PwC India; Mr Vikas Kanungo, Senior
Consultant (Smart Cities and Mobile Governance) Transport & ICT Global Practice, World Bank; Ms
Shabnam Siddiqui, Director, Centre of Excellence for Governance, Ethics and Transparency, UN
Global Compact Network India; Mr Sandeep Shrivastava, Head, Sustainability & Environment,
Ambuja Cements Ltd.; Ms Manisha Matanhelia, Co-founder & Director, Synergy Environics Ltd.; Mr
Manoj Nesari, Advisor, Ministry of Ayush; Ms Mohini Daljeet Singh, Chief Executive, Max India
Foundation; and Ms Nidhi Pundhir, Director, HCL Foundation among others.

Keywords: Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability, India

PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industries (PHD Chamber) organized 2nd National Summit on
Sustainability on 14 September 2018 in New Delhi to foster an eco-friendly culture in the country
and reinforce accountability of the state, corporate and communities towards protecting the planet
from deliberate or inadvertent abuse. Welcoming the delegates in the inaugural session, Mr D K
Aggarwal, Vice President, PHD Chamber and Chairman & Managing Director, SMC Investments and
Advisors Ltd., observed that sustainable growth is repeatable, ethical and responsible. He insisted
that the corporate houses should voluntarily adopt triple bottom-line. Mr Aggarwal said that the
corporate houses should adopt eco-friendly processes and best practices to conserve natural
resources. He also emphasized the need to align national development agenda with Sustainable
Development Goals. Interestingly, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development
Goals are identical, he added. Hence, businesses, government and civil society must forge
collaborations to ensure accomplishments of Sustainable Development Goals, maintained Mr
Aggarwal.

*
Associate Professor, Apeejay School Management, New Delhi
E-mail: [email protected]
 Journal of Politics & Governance, Vol. 7, No. 3, September 2018

Introducing the theme, Mr Ajay Poddar, Chairman, CSR Committee, PHD Chamber and Managing
Director, Synergy Environics Ltd., spoke at length about the landmark agreement between UN Global
Compact Network India and PHD Chamber to create awareness as well as undertake joint projects
with regard to Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Health and Wellness) and 11 (sustainable cities) as
health and environment are correlated. He observed that people are fed up with both the
government which indulges in populism and businesses which indulges in profiteering. Besides,
there is an ongoing blame game –businesses often ask what the government is doing while the latter
believes that the corporate houses do not care about anything but profits, he added. Mr Poddar
rightly observed that sustainability is good governance as well as good business. He said that
customers will come out of their own volition if businesses cared about their people and
communities and public will re-elect the political party if they work in right earnest. He also
emphasized the need for higher spending on research for developing sustainable and energy
efficient products, processes and services.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Kamal Singh, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network, India,
observed that Sustainable Development Goals can be accomplished in India if strong partnerships
are forged among organizations such as PHD Chamber, ASSOCHAM, FICCI, All India Management
Association, National HRD Network, etc. Coming together of these organizations alongside the
government agencies and civil societies may prove to be a game changer for accomplishing
Sustainable Development Goals in the country, he added. Mr Singh emphasised the need for
awareness and action for effective implementation of the strategic action points vis-à-vis Sustainable
Development Goals. Mr Jozef Drofenik, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, shared
how his country was surging ahead with Sustainable Development Goals by aligning them with
national development agenda, goals, policies and strategies. Slovenia has made significant headway
so far as accomplishing Sustainable Development Goals are concerned primarily because eco-
friendly culture in intertwined with national culture of the country and sustainable behaviour is
reinforced through school curriculum, he added.

India has been on the fore front of global sustainability efforts from Stockholm Conference in 1972
where India Gandhi, then Prime Minister, represented the country to Paris Conference in 2015
attended by Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister, said Mr Bhaskar Chatterjee, formerly
Director General Chief Executive Officer, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, while addressing the
delegates during the inaugural session. However so much more need to be done to keep the planet
worth living for several generations. Mr Chatterjee insisted that policy of not harming the planet is
not enough –the corporates, communities and state agencies must go beyond the bare minimum or
compliance orientation. He maintained that Millennium Development Goals were in the backdrop of
the Schedule 7 of the CSR provisions in the law. Now Sustainable Development Goals should be
integrated with the Schedule 7, he added. Mr Eric Hensel, Co-founder, Sustainability Square, also
spoke on the occasion and highlighted the importance of good quality data in resolving
environmental issues plaguing the world.

Proposing a vote of thanks at the inaugural session, Mr Jatinder Singh, Director, PHD Chamber, said
that interventions revolving sustainability should be innovative, creative and imbued with design
thinking. Inaugural session was followed by a standalone session on SDG 11 by Mr Kamal Meattle,
CEO, Paharpur Business Centre. He delineated an urgent need integrated approach to urban
planning and management so that issues related to pollution, waste disposal, slums, etc. may be
resolved holistically. Mr Meattle also emphasized the need of integrating SDG 11 and SDG 3 and
focusing on development of sustainable villages so that migration may slow down in the long run,
lessening burden on cities.

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 Journal of Politics & Governance, Vol. 7, No. 3, September 2018

Two parallel sessions on ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’ and ‘Good Health and Wellbeing’
aptly moderated by Ms Urmi Goswami, Assistant Editor, The Economic Times, provided an array of
ideas that can be implemented by communities, corporates and the government. The panel
members observed that governance, focus on quality, inclusion, and involvement of people were key
to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the stipulated timeframe. Unfortunately, the
communities are not standing up and demanding good governance and delivery of services in lieu of
taxes paid to the state, corporates are focused more on profits and the government agencies are
simply indifferent. However, the scenario would change if people give up their apathy and start
taking stand on socio-ecological issues. At the same time, the corporate houses also need to make
liberal investments in CSR projects with long-term impact alongside the government interventions.

The panel comprised of Mr NSN Murty, Partner & Leader, Smart Cities, PwC India, Mr Vikas Kanungo,
Senior Consultant (Smart Cities and Mobile Governance) Transport & ICT Global Practice, World
Bank, Ms Shabnam Siddiqui, Director, Centre of Excellence for Governance, Ethics and Transparency,
UN Global Compact Network India, Mr Sandeep Shrivastava, Head, Sustainability & Environment,
Ambuja Cements Ltd., Ms Manisha Matanhelia, Co-founder & Director, Synergy Environics Ltd., Mr
Manoj Nesari, Advisor, Ministry of Ayush, Ms Mohini Daljeet Singh, Chief Executive, Max India
Foundation, Ms Nidhi Pundhir, Director, HCL Foundation, Dr Shikha Nehru Sharma, Founder and
Managing Director, Dr Shikha’s NutriHealth, Dr Swati Jha, Director, Health Outreach, Reliance
Foundation, Ms Aboli Abkari, Head, Partnerships, Dr Reddy’s Foundation, and Dr K Madan Gopal,
Senior Consultant (Health), NITI Ayog.

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