NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, JAN 9
Sustainability demands smart energy, water, air, health, and ecosystem to measure that balance of economic growth and resource conservation. People and nature can thrive together when these factors are balanced, revealing the way to a better future, said an academician-turned-entrepreneur here on Sunday.
To drive home this, SustEnable – a platform working to make sustainability the core ethic across human actions, with focus on making businesses and industries sustenable – organized its first ‘Sustenable Entrepreneurship Seminar’ in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Sunday.
- Gujaratis are investment savvy which led to high rate of industrialization coupled with sustainability issues: Seminar
- With sustainability taking the centre stage prompted by climate-priorities at global and national-level, the seminar delivered learnings for Gujarat’s businesses on adopting 3P model in their operations
The seminar, which was led by industry pioneers Col. Prakash Tewari (Retd.), Director, Grameen Impact Ventures and Aamir Akhtar, CEO & Group President, Jindal Worldwide and Manil Agarwal, Founder, SustEnable, unveiled the Triple P model to the audience of 32 budding entrepreneurs and MSMEs.
According to Manil Agarwal, the Triple P model defines three systematic priorities for businesses i.e. People, Planet and Profit, and also how businesses can genuinely marry profit and purpose.
When asked why did SustEnable has chosen Gujarat for starting this initiative, Agarwal replied that “Gujaratis are investment savvy which led to high rate of industrialization coupled with sustainability issues. The state accounts for third highest CO2 emissions of the country. Hence this initiative by SustEnable assumes significant importance for India in general and Gujarat in particular, in the context of the growing prioritization for country’s reducing carbon emissions, aligned to national and global commitments made with respect to climate-change targets set during the COP 21 or the Paris Climate Conference.”
“Sustainable practices in business operations and future entrepreneurs hold critical importance for India, considering that the IPPU and Industries alone account for more than 30% of India’s carbon emissions. Therefore, the vision of the Triple P model plays a significant focus on keeping the planet’s priorities at the centre of operations and decision making, while also realizing business profitability,” Agarwal added.
During the seminar, Amir Akhtar, CEO and Group President, Jindal Worldwide reflected on his decades of experience and educated the audience of entrepreneurs and MSMEs on how businesses genuinely marry profit and purpose.
Col Prakash Tewari (Retd.) said, ”Budding entrepreneurs as well as MSMEs must be provided with practical skills that will enable them to find a sustainable livelihood and live sustainably. Even as India looks at becoming a net zero emission country by 2070, business enterprises must be a part of the solution to our question of sustainability. But navigating this transition – from a traditional to sustainable model – raises tough questions. What does a sustainable model look like? How does this change can be brought in India? Most companies’ struggle with incorporating the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ of people, planet, and profit holds them back from becoming a sustainable, future-ready organisation.
Businesses can’t just measure performance in terms of maximising profits but also on the metrics of their environmental as well as social performance. ESG is set to be one of the most important factors influencing corporate behaviour.
Through this initiative, the SustEnable platform is seeking to create a cohort of businesses who are deploying profitable sustainability at their core and serve as learnings and inspiration for businesses across the country.
