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The Lorax is back!! Speaking on behalf of Biodiversity

For all those who have read the book by Dr. Seuss “The Lorax” to their children know the heartfelt message this book brings. For those who are not familiar with this book – it chronicles the plight of the environment personified by “the Lorax”, who speaks for the trees against the industry, personified by “Once-Ler”. This fable is relevant even more today as corporate greed poses a danger to the environment and society at large. Says the Once-ler to the Lorax who spoke on behalf of the trees and animals who can’t speak: And then I got mad I got terribly mad. I yelled at the Lorax, “Now listen here, Dad!” All you do is yap-yap and say, “Bad! Bad! Bad! Bad!” Well, I have my rights, sir, and I’m telling you I intend to go on doing just what I do! And, for your information, you Lorax, I’m figgering on biggering and BIGGERING and BIGGERING and BIGGERING turning MORE Truffula Trees into Thneeds which everyone, EVERYONE, EVERYONE needs!” Fourth edition of the Treeni Sustainability for breakfa...
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Are Electric Vehicles the Answer to a Sustainable Future?

Solving the urban air pollution and GHG challenge Urban air pollution and rising carbon footprints are the scourge of Indian cities. One of the key sources of urban air pollution is vehicular emission. In this context, the Indian government's green initiatives are indeed laudable. They deserve a pat on the back for biting the bullet and addressing environmental concerns with new -regulations, policies, frameworks, and audacious goals, especially when the US is backing out of their commitments to The Paris Climate Treaty. There are 3 government initiatives that standout: The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan: India's National Electric Mobility Mission Plan targets 6 -7 million electric and hybrid vehicles in the country by 2020. Government's FAME Scheme (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles) provides financial support for technology development, creating manufacturing infrastructure and subsidies for purchase. FAME is valid till 2020,...
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Role of Technology Solutions for Monitoring SDGs

On September 25th 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years. For the goals to be reached, everyone needs to do their part: governments, the private sector, civil society and individuals. The theme of ‘India and Sustainability Standards: International Dialogues & Conference (ISS 2016)’ 16th -18th November, 2016 at India Habitat Centre (IHC), New Delhi, revolves around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – especially around enterprises and their potential to contribute to these ambitious goals. Treeni Sustainability Solutions is a support partner for the ISS 2016 conference. We are a software product company and core to us is ‘resustain’ our sustainability data management and analytics platform is built by sustainability practitioners and architected on open technologies. Technology enabling the a...
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Is India Ready for a Circular Economy Revolution?

It was an eventful day at the Mahindra & Mahindra “Waste to Wealth” Seminar, I was invited to speak about waste management best practices in 3 sectors – automotive, IT and hospitality. The audience from various group companies had folks with experience ranging from 3 months to 35 years! I felt I was in an ocean of practitioners who had a wealth of knowledge to share. In my talk I introduced the concept of “circular economy” wherein the thrust is to move away from “Take, Make, Dump” to more restorative material and biological cycles that mimic how nature works. Circular models please the environmentalists as well as the economists, since it identifies new ways of doing business while reducing resource consumption. I cited examples from the Ellen MacArthur foundation and CE 100 companies. What I learnt, from my visits and interactions with various industries which have adopted great housekeeping practices, process orientation, lean systems, or 5S and supplier engagement, is that they...
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Climate Change & New Business

Climate change has been identified as the top global risk in Global Risk Report 2016 by World Economic Forum. Failure to mitigate and adapt to climate change is closely linked to natural catastrophes, extreme weather events, water and food crisis which in turn will result in large scale social migration and social instability. Without ensuring growth in employment rate, protection of labour and human rights, social inclusion and responsible economic growth, low-carbon economy will not be enough to mitigate long-term risks and ensure the long term survival of the human race. With Paris agreement being ratified, by more than 55 countries that contribute more than 55% of global carbon emissions, effective from 4th November 2016, we can expect new mechanisms and understanding of co-operations among different countries. These new mechanisms should not only strive for zero carbon or carbon neutral economy but provide a path-way for holistic green economic growth. The INDCs (Intended National...
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Is it time for ‘Reimagining Sustainability’?

Last week I met a good friend for breakfast, after that he was to spend the rest of the day in a leadership workshop with a global industrial enterprise, on business strategy, innovation and digital transformation. I asked him if he ever met executives that wanted to talk sustainability, sadly he responded that he rarely did. This reminded me of another conversation with a friend who was recently at WEF in Davos, representing a company respected for their ability to partner with innovative companies around key business initiatives. He had also shared that the CEOs he met at Davos didn't particularly want to talk about sustainability. This got me thinking, people are fatigued with the endless talk of sustainability and the seemingly limited framework or are approaching it the wrong way. For most enterprises sustainability has meant energy efficiency programs and writing sustainability reports, reports that very few people read and care about. This process is effort intensive, manua...
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Sustainability Means Business

  Investigating how sustainability directly impacts financial performance Most decisions in business are directly or indirectly linked to the finances of the company. While many lines of business and business practices can easily be linked to the revenues and the bottom line, sustainability is a function that has a powerful effect on the long-term success of the business, but the benefits are not apparent in the short term. A substantial body of research from academic institutions like the University of Oxford and financial institutions like Deutsche Bank confirms that ESG factors are correlated with superior risk-adjusted returns and better operational & stock performance. ESG considerations in investment valuations and assessments can be linked to the building of sustainable competitive advantage and a positive societal impact. ESG risks are broad-based and cover major aspects of business operations. They include risks related to climate change, environmental management pract...
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