Environmental sustainability is the story of the moment, but what is critical for a paradigm shift in tackling the related issues is a concerted effort from all stakeholders?from the government to industry and civil society
The private sector needs to take decisive actions to adopt environmentally intelligent practices for triple win solutions to work effectively. Without the active participation of private sector, not much can be achieved,? said Lise Grande, UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative, at the inaugural session of the second India Sustainability Conclave in New Delhi last week.
The ?triple wins for sustainable development? that Grande referred to in her address aim at achieving economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability at the same time. The two-day meet was organisd by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), in association with The Financial Express. The event saw several recommendatory measures being deliberated upon to engage the private sector in sustainability initiatives.
?Environmental degradation is accelerating at an exponential rate and is threatening to reverse the gains on development, particularly the gains made on (eradicating) poverty,? Grande said. More than one billion people worldwide are estimated to be in poverty. According to her, the private sector needs to take lead in ensuring sustainable development. Noting that environmental sustainability is the story of the moment, Grande said the Indian government is considering various policies that would have positive impact on the private sector.
The Conclave brought to the forefront issues like the lack of capacity for environment management and due diligence. Speaking at the conclave, Prodipto Ghosh, environment adviser & chairman?Climate Change Task Force, Ficci, opined that low levels of awareness on environmental sustainability among CEOs, hijacking of regulatory framework by vested interests in the political class, and civil society?s lack of legitimate constructive attitude towards sustainability must be addressed on priority for business goals to be balanced in a sustainability paradigm.
He said that the absolutist stance taken by both environmental rights groups as well as pro-industrialisation groups require to be addressed as well. A Didar Singh, secretary general, Ficci stated that business leaders are increasingly realising the need to integrate environmental and social issues within their business strategies. But despite the growing interest, Singh said, many businesses lack the capacity and know-how for managing such initiatives.
According to him, it is crucial for the government to provide the framework for companies to engage in sustainability.
Dipak Dasgupta principal economic advisor, department of economic affairs at the finance ministry stated that a policy framework is required for research and development at the national level. While China has 2% of GDP set for R&D in clean technologies, India has decreased its contributions from 0.9% of GDP to 0.8%. He said that the private sector in India will have to take the lead in R&D initiatives in clean technologies.
The conclave laid emphasis on sustainability reporting, seeing it as a value add contrary to how companies perceive it. In 2012 there were only 14 companies reporting on sustainability showing a stark drop from the 50 companies that was reporting in 2011 according to the Ficci-EY report ?Leveraging Value: Corporate response to sustainability challenge?. This astonishingly stark drop in the number of companies, questions the perception of companies on sustainability reporting and whether companies view environmental compliance as merely a legal tick marking procedure.