- 1. Centred on the themeTransformational Leadership: Ways to
Sustainability and Success, the 9th National Convention was
successfully conducted on 14th February 2014 in New Delhi at ITC
Maurya. The National Convention is a flagship event of the Global
Compact Network India (GCNI), organised for the first time in 2004.
The National Convention is the largest platform conceptualised by
GCNI to bring together opportunities for learning and sharing
between the member companies and organisations. 9th National
Convention: Transformational Leadership: Ways to Sustainability and
Success Presidents Desk Dear Members, I am pleased to inform this
assembly that our Network completed a decade last year. It was in
Nov 2003 when we registered as a Society with a membership of forty
two organisations. ONGC, the company that I am privileged to lead
was a founder member and since then we have traversed this
extraordinary journey together accomplishing many milestones along
the way.We organised our first Annual Convention in April 2004 and
since then each year we meet our stakeholders to discuss issues
that are topical and relevant to the prevailing context. Over this
decade we have been the voice of advocacy of the UNGCsTen Universal
Principles that have found traction amongst a small community of
visionary business leaders. Admittedly, this club is small because
translating commitment to implementation nutShellVol. 5 Issue III
Dec 2013 - Mar 2014 T h e G C N I n d i a T r i - annual N e wsl e
tt e r Today the Global Compact, both nationally and
internationally, is the largest voluntary corporate responsibility
initiative in the world and as India faces challenge to meet the
deadlines of the Millennium Development Goals, and as the social,
political and economic challenges (and opportunities) whether
occurring at home or in other regions affect businesses more than
ever before, the principles and objectives of the Global Compact
have become even more relevant. in the News in focus Meetings
Asia/Oceania Local Network Regional Meeting | 4 Women Empowerment
Principles (WEPs) | 4 Global Compact Network India Completes 10
years | 5 Looking Beyond Compliance: Maldives Training | 5
Integrity Pact: From Commitment to Compliance | 6 Asian Business
Responsibility Summit-2014 | 6 UN Global Compact - Accenture CEO
Study on Sustainability 2013 Insights from CEOs in the Global
Compact Network India | 10 Monthly Meetings | 14 Inthisissue
14-1344_UNGCInfograph_A0_Outline_HIGH RES.pdf 2 11/02/2014 12:03:47
PM Contd. on page 3... Dr. M.Veerappa Moily Union Cabinet Minister,
Ministry of Petroleum & Minister Environment and Forests
(Additional Charge)
2. 2 | Vol. 5 | Issue III | Dec 2013 - Mar 2014 nutShell
Inaugurating the National Convention, Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, Union
Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Petroleum & Minister Environment
and Forests; stated that companies should adopt new approaches to
turn sustainability into competitive advantage. The event also
witnessed the launch ofThe UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study on
Sustainability 2013: Insights from CEOs in the Global Compact
Network India newsin the Sustainability in Business Strategy to
Drive Transformation; Leveraging the 2% CSR Bill to Transform
Indias Social Agenda andLeveraging the Public- Private Partnership
(PPP) to Enable Transformation in the Social and Environment Space.
The event witnessed participation of more than 400 guests from
Corporates, Government, NGOs, Civil Society, Academia, Consulting
Firm, Media and other stakeholders, including 50 CEOs, Managing
Directors and CMDs from public and private sector together to
discuss issues of sustainability and corporate social
responsibility in India. Launch of the India Report The National
Convention 2014 witnessed the launch ofThe UN Global
Compact-Accenture CEO Study on Sustainability 2013: Insights from
CEOs in the Global Compact Network Indiaby Dr. M. Veerappa Moily.
The UN Global Compact and Accenture, in association with the Global
Compact Network India (GCNI) launched the India Report of the
global study, which examines the forces shaping companiesapproach
to sustainability in India, the motivations influencing business
leaders and the time that we have managed to replicate the
UNGC-Accenture Global Study in India. It is interesting to see how
on some levels the thoughts on Indian CEOs completely resonate with
the global outlook, whereas there are also stark contrasts on some
issues. One of the major highlights of the Convention was the CEOs
Round Table, which witnessed the participation of CEOs, MDs and
Chairman from PSUs and the Private Sector who deliberated on the
theme of Transformational Leadership: Ways to Sustainability and
Success. The session was chaired by Mr. Peter Lacy, MD, Strategy
& Sustainability, APAC, Accenture, Study lead for Global and
India study on Sustainability. Other panellists included Mr.
Richard B. Saldanha, Executive Director, Blackstone; Mr. Lalit
Kumar Gupta, Managing Director & CEO, Essar Oil Limited; Dr.
Ramesh Kapur, Chairman & Managing Director, Radisson Blue
Delhi; Mr. R.P. Sasmal, Chairman, Vizag Transmission Limited &
Director (Operations), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited; and
Mr. Kamal Meattle, CEO, Paharpur Business Centre. The post lunch
session was divided into three thematic tracks namelyEmbedding
potential for transformation for a fast-growing economy like India.
The report includes views of 32 CEOs, CMDs, Presidents and MDs from
public and private sector, on sustainability. Launch of Business
for Peace Initiative The 9th National Convention also witnessed the
launch of Business for Peace (B4P) Initiative in India by Dr. M.
Veerappa Moily. Business for Peace (B4P) is a business leadership
platform launched by the UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon during
the Leaders Summit 2013 on 20th September 2013 and aims to expand
and deepen private sector action in support of peace in the
workplace, marketplace and local communities. The India launch of
B4P Initiative is the second country launch after Colombia. and
theBusiness for Peace (B4P) Initiative. Concluding the address, the
Minister asserted that to create a sustainable future for the
future generation the country must secure its energy needs. Talking
about the India Report at the Convention, Mr. Sudhir Vasudeva,
President, GCNI and CMD, ONGC said,This is the first 3. 3 | Vol. 5
| Issue III | Dec 2013 - Mar 2014 nutShell ...Contd. from page 1 is
a steep challenge that frequently entails charting unmarked
territory. Global templates, though certainly useful at a
conceptual level, have to be tempered with local imperatives and
re-designed to address prevailing ground realities.This entails
doggedly staying the course for a hit-and-trialiterative process to
play out as well as time of the senior management that is arguably
the biggest investment. The added challenge these leaders face is
in making a business case for the sustainability agenda that
justifies allocation of additional investment and commitment of
resources, especially when competitors remain blithely committed
only to profits, with people and planet being relegated to the
periphery of their business model. Such inequity in a fiercely
competitive environment places great strain and I am therefore
grateful to this small albeit select band of leaders who continue
to lead the sustainability agenda in this country. Mercifully, this
is changing and more business leaders are becoming aware of the
need to include the sustainability agenda into their corporate
portfolio, supported by initiatives of law-makers in promulgating
enabling laws and providing additional incentives that help support
formulation of a business case for investment and commitment of
resources to company Boards.We can therefore rest easy and stay the
course for a gradual movement to evolve and play out. However, we
do not enjoy the luxury of time in view of the immediacy of the
emerging situation. So what exactly is this situation that defines
our context? Musings from Davos, this year where global business
leaders congregate annually is a good indicator. For the first time
since the global economic crisis overtook us, business leaders
focussed on long-term challenges rather than short-term economic
crisis.The news is that leaders expressed deep anxiety about the
risk to future global prosperity from high unemployment, social
tensions that have sparked riots across geographies, widening
income disparity between the rich and the poor and the
destabilising effects of technological change. Business leaders
found income disparity and unemployment being particularly
detrimental as they could undermine future demand for consumer
goods and housing and good governments to impose tighter
regulations on companies. In addition they would lead to social
unrest thereby further dampening business opportunity and consumer
sentiment. The rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming
poorer. According to the Oxfam Report on political capture and
income inequality, released in January: Almost half of the worlds
wealth is now owned by just one percent of the population. The
wealth of the one percent richest people in the world amounts to
$110 trillion.Thats 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of
the worlds population. The bottom half of the worlds population
owns the same as the richest 85 people in the world. Seven out of
ten people live in countries where economic inequality has
increased in the last 30 years. The richest one percent increased
their share of income in 24 out of 26 countries on which Oxfam had
data between 1980 and 2012. This report concludes:This massive
concentration of economic resources in the hands of fewer people
presents a significant threat to inclusive political and economic
systems. Instead of moving forward together, people are
increasingly separated by economic and political power, inevitably
heightening social tensions and increasing the risk of societal
breakdown. The globe is already alive with social unrest. Rebellion
and protest from within Sovereign States are emerging as the
biggest threats to democratically elected Governments. Regrettably,
powers that we are yet to accept this new-age phenomena and still
resort to use excessive force to quell what they perceive as
rebellion to their authority, alas, with increasingly diminishing
returns. Trust in Government Institutions is running dangerously
low and a new re-negotiated balance of power between the rulers and
the ruled appears imminent. Societal breakdown is a logical
corollary if the moot issues fuelling this social unrest are not
addressed. The International Labour Organisation in its report in
January this year warned, Employment isnt expanding quickly enough
to keep pace with global population growth, raising the prospect of
a jobless recovery. The connect between technological change and
unemployment was evidenced from the interest business leaders at
Davos gave to 3D Printing technology that threatens to radically
alter the traditional manufacturing practices thereby completely
altering not only the manufacturing process but also the entire
logistics value chain associated with it. Mainstreaming of such
radical technology and advances in traditional automation processes
will unerringly lead to unemployment. It is this context that
places business leaderssmack in the middle of the global
sustainability agenda.The relationship status that emerges from the
discussion above is symbiotic; if we were to define it in one
word.We would not need to prepare business cases for each
sustainability initiative that we undertake if risk registers of
companies uniformly accept these dimensions as being adequately
potent in completely destabilising business models unless addressed
on priority. Alas! this will take time and what is collectively
understood and generally agreed upon in meetings such as at Davos,
will not automatically migrate to the individual companys Board
Rooms and impact its business paradigm; at least in the short term.
Therefore until this maturity prevails and this thought becomes
collective wisdom leading to concerted action, we will need to rely
on theTransformational Leadership of visionary business leaders who
will drive the sustainability agenda forward.We are grateful to our
Knowledge Partner, Accenture for defining seven elements that
constitutes Transformational Leadership.They are: Realism &
Context: Understanding the scale of the challenge and the
opportunity Growth & Differentiation:Turning sustainability to
advantage and value creation Value & Performance:What gets
measured, gets managed Technology & Innovation: New models for
success Partnerships & Collaboration: New challenges, new
solutions Engagement & Dialogue: Broadening the conversation
Advocacy & Leadership: Shaping future systems These seven
elements will be discussed in detail further in the elaborate
agenda that we have for this convention today. Mr. Peter Lacy,
Managing Director - Strategy & Sustainability: Asia Pacific
Accenture is with us today and we will have the opportunity to
listen to him expanding further on these elements and hopefully
toward the evening we will be equipped adequately to incorporate
them into our business practices.We will also have opportunity to
glean insights fromThe UNGC Accenture CEO Study on Sustainability
2013 especially for India and this will be formally released at the
hands of Dr. Moily. I am also pleased to report that we will launch
the Business for Peace Initiative of the United Nations Global
Compact in India that was launched globally at the Leaders Summit
at NewYork in September 2013.This leadership platform is designed
to assist companies in implementing responsible business practices
that are aligned with the Global Compact Principles in
conflict-affected and high-risk areas. It will also catalyse
collaborative practical action to advance peace by leveraging
business influence on the workplace, marketplace and local
communities. Mr. Georg Kell, Executive Director, UNGC, has flown-in
especially to grace this Convention and we will have opportunity to
hear him speak further on this Initiative. Presidents Desk 4. 4 |
Vol. 5 | Issue III | Dec 2013 - Mar 2014 nutShell Global Compact
Local Network representatives from Asia and Oceania met in Jakarta
to discuss implementation of the Global Compacts Ten Principles in
the region during the Local Network Asia Oceania Meeting. The
meeting gave an opportunity to learn from the achievements of other
Networks and to share experiences on the processes and issues
relevant within the regional context as well as to discuss regional
challenges and opportunities and to identify potential regional
approaches and joint activities. The Asia Oceania Meeting, an
annual event, for the year 2013-14 was organised by Global Compact
Network Indonesia in association with the members of the local
network in Jakarta between 24th February 2014 and 26th February
2014. The meeting highlighted the activities and engagements of the
companies in Indonesia and provided opportunity for regional
Asia/Oceania Local Network Regional Meeting members of Global
Compact to showcase their activities in their respective countries.
The event witnessed representation from 40 local networks and 40
Indonesian local network companies. The local network of India,
Global Compact Network India (GCNI), was represented by Mr. Pooran
Chandra Pandey, Executive Director, who shared the experience and
progress of the Indian Network with respect to its activities and
engagement with its stakeholders. GCNI highlighted the successful
completion of the India Collaboration Lab, the India Sustainability
Dialogue, and the 9th National Convention 2014. Mr. Pandey also
apprised the participants about the launch of Business for Peace
Initiative in India and the launch of The UN Global
Compact-Accenture CEO Study on Sustainability 2013: Insights from
CEOs in the Global Compact Network India. newsin the Global Compact
Network India (GCNI) in partnership with CARE India and UN Women
organised two consultations in Chennai and Bangalore on 31st
January 2014 and 28th February 2014 respectively, on Women
Empowerment Principles. The consultation is organised as a part of
the series of consultations that are being organised to promote the
adoption of WEPs in India. The consultation was attended by Senior
Women Business Professionals and Civil Society Organisation
representatives who deliberated on the theme of Corporate
Perspective on Womens Empowerment Challenges and Opportunities.
These consultations aim at initiating discussion among Corporates
on measures to empower women to participate Women Empowerment
Principles (WEPs) fully in economic life across all sectors. To
achieve this, it is essential to build stronger economies, achieve
internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability,
and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and
communities. The consultations are a part of the project supported
by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK Government to
build a stronger commitment to gender equality and womens
empowerment within corporate sector in India. The project builds
upon the work that GCNI, UN Women and CARE India have done so far
to help strengthen the commitment to and practice of gender
equality principles in the private sector through the WEPs Project.
5. 5 | Vol. 5 | Issue III | Dec 2013 - Mar 2014 nutShell Global
Compact Network India Completes 10 years Snapshot of the Milestones
of Global Compact Network India newsin the In taking forward the
agenda of facilitating and developing platforms for inter-network
collaboration, Global Compact Network India and Global Compact
Network Maldives, collaborated to offer the Corporates in Maldives
with the opportunity to understand the importance of Sustainability
reporting framework and share good practice cases on Sustainability
and Corporate Governance from India and Maldives, through a day
long training programme. Towards meeting this objective, Global
Compact Network India conducted a training programme on
Communication of Progress (CoP) Reporting titledLooking Beyond
Compliance: Embracing Effective Corporate Governance and
Sustainability Practicesat Paradise Island Resort, Paradise Island,
Mal in Maldives for the Maldivian local network companies on 7th
December 2013. The training was conducted by Mr. Pooran Chandra
Pandey, Executive Director, Global Compact Network India, and
included hands on exercises along with sharing of useful insights
and experiences on Sustainability and Corporate Governance. Ms.
Azusa Kubota, RR and Coordinator, Programmes and Operations, UNDP
Maldives, delivered the opening remarks at the event. The training
programme included sessions onReintroduction to Global Compact
Principles,UNGC Management Models and Reporting of Performance on
the Universal Principles, CoP,Experience Sharing on CoP by
Maldivian Companiesand presentation onVazeefage Dhaftharuby
Ministry of Human Resource, Youth and Sports. Looking Beyond
Compliance: Maldives Training For Indian business and industry,
whether in the public or private sector, corporate social
responsibility has always been a paramount concern in policy,
operations and social outreach. In the Indian context, it embraces
all that which goes into the interaction of companies with the
market and the public sphere. The new Companies Act has provided a
sharper focus to the meaning and implications of corporate social
responsibility. What its letter and spirit call for is a shared
mission of care with the agencies, governmental and
non-governmental, as well as movements CSR: A Partnered Approach in
Implementation; Corporates, B-Schools & NGOs and groups that
are absorbed in the labours of socio-economic development and
sustainability. Under this background a workshop was hosted by
Global Compact Network India, XIME, and CRY on 15th March 2014 in
Bangalore, which addressed a wide range of possibilities and issues
of CSR in terms of corporate actions and the interface of companies
with multiple stakeholders, notably non-governmental organisations,
business schools and social entrepreneurs. December 2000 Launch of
Global Compact Society November 2003 Registered as a society with
42 organisations April 2004 The first National Convention of Global
Compact Society organised March 2005 Global Compact Regional
Conclave in Jamshedpur co-organised by Global Compact Society, Tata
Steel and CII July 2005 The first Annual General Body Meeting held
September 2007 The Knowledge Sharing and Monthly Meetings started
December 2008 The Global Compact Society sets up a Secretariat at
New Delhi April 2009 The Governing Council Elections are introduced
July 2009 The first local chapter launched in Mumbai. Currently, 5
local chapters March 2010 GCNI hosts the Global Compact Asia
Pacific Regional Conclave in New Delhi July 2010 Subir Raha
Memorial Lecture instituted July 2011 Global Compact Society
becomes Global Compact Network India (GCNI) The Foundation of the
Global Compacts Collective Action Project awarded to GCNI October
2012 First CEO Forum on Business and Human Rights in New Delhi
under the leadership of Mr. N R Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys
July 2012 GCNI collaborates with UN Women and Care India to
initiate engagements around the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs)
December 2012 The membership crosses 100 mark, currently 168
members March 2013 GCNI and UNGC organise the CEO Water Mandate in
Mumbai June 2013 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Government
of UK awards UK Prosperity Fund Project on Ethical Corporate
Governance to GCNI September 2013 GCNI collaborates with Deloitte
to conduct six city training in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad,
Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata on Sustainability, training about 300
participants November 2013 Global Compact Network India completes
10 years February 2014 The UNGC-Accenture CEO Study on
Sustainability 2013: Insights from CEOs in the Global Compact
Network IndiaandBusiness for Peace (B4P) Initiativelaunched on 14th
February 2014 by Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, Union Cabinet Minister,
Ministry of Petroleum and Minister Environment and Forests
(Additional Charge) 6. 6 | Vol. 5 | Issue III | Dec 2013 - Mar 2014
nutShellnutShell A two-day International Conference on Integrity
Pact: From Commitment to Compliance was organised by Global Compact
Network India (GCNI) and Transparency International India (TII) on
the occasion of UN Anti-Corruption Day (December 9) and UN World
Human Rights Day (December 10). The Conference was attended by
around 150 compliance/vigilance/procurement officers from key
public and private sector businesses of India, as well as delegates
from UK, Germany, Rwanda, Malaysia, Bhutan, Bangladesh and
Mauritius. In his keynote address Mr. Pradeep Kumar,
CentralVigilance Commissioner of India, highlighted, In India 28%
of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is spent on some form of Public
Procurement Contract, which is higher than the total GDP of some
states in the country. He expressed, A blend of both curative and
preventive measures are needed to control corruption in India,
specific steps being e-procurement, simplification of rules,
objective evaluation of offers and prudent management of contracts.
The Conference through its various sessions deliberated on aspects
related to implementation of Integrity Pact (IP) and its
achievements & challenges, roles and responsibilities of
Independent External Monitors (IEMs), procurement integrity,
transparency in defence procurement, role of ombudsman in curbing
corruption, red flags in procurement, whistleblower protection and
integrity issues in e-procurement. In addition, the International
experts also shared country experiences of public procurement and
integrity pact implementation in their respective countries. The
participants of the conference recommended broadening the IP base
to cover more sectors, businesses and stages of procurement,
trainings & secretarial support for IEMs, penalisation for
non-compliance of IP, and motivation to private sector businesses
to sign the IP. The conference concluded with all the participants
taking a pledge to fight corruption and bribery in all its forms
and strive to make a better society. Asian Centre for Corporate
Governance & Sustainability in collaboration with Global
Compact Network India organised Asia Business Responsibility Summit
2014 on 8th January 2014 at International Convention Hall, Bombay
Stock Exchange, Mumbai. Two eminent guests Mr. Prashant Saran,
Member SEBI & Judge Mervyn King, Chairman, The International
Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), UK, delivered keynote
addresses. Judge Mervyn King has the unique distinction of having
authored Kings Committee Report I, II and III on Corporate
Governance. Dr. Ms. Teodorina Lessidrenska International
Sustainability Consultant from Geneva and several other eminent
speakers spoke at the summit. The event also hosted the Asian
Centre Awards. The objective of these awards was to raise the
quality of Corporate Governance and Sustainable Development and to
recognise the companies, Industry Asian Business Responsibility
Summit-2014 Leaders & Directors, who are doing exemplary work
in improving these standards in their respective companies. Over
the years these awards have assumed a coveted status and have
become a part of yearly calendar of corporate India. newsin the
Integrity Pact: From Commitment to Compliance 7. 7 | Vol. 5 | Issue
III | Dec 2013 - Mar 2014 nutShell newsin the United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UNCAC Coalition conducted a four day
Multi Stakeholder Workshop on the Review Mechanism for the United
Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. The training was attended by government officials and
senior civil society members from Asia Pacific Region. Ms. Jot
Prakash Kaur, Research Associate, Collective Action Project
represented GCNI at the training. First three days of the training
were conducted by the UNODC team whereas the fourth day training
was conducted by UNCAC. The four day training for the Civil Society
Organisations (CSOs) was divided into two parts, the first part was
focussed on creating understanding of UNCAC and the legal
implication of various provisions. The second part of the training
was designed to make the CSOs understand the review mechanism of
UNCAC. The training gave an opportunity for the CSOs to interact
with the government focal points (official government contact
points for UNCAC Multi Stakeholder Workshop on the Review Mechanism
for the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)
Anti-Corruption and Applied Ethics in Business Education: PRME
Approach Business Ethics and Corporate Transparency: Need for an
Emerging Market Discipline review mechanism for UNODC and other
associated parties). The government focal points shared their
experiences of preparing for the review process which included the
draft country report, getting the report assessed by two other
parties and review of the report by UNODC and making suggestive
changes in the final submission. Global Compact Network India in
association with Principles for Responsible Management Education
(PRME) and Indus Business Academy (IBA) conducted a half day
workshop at IBAs Centre for C-School in Bangalore onAnti-Corruption
and Applied Ethics in Business Education: PRME Approach. Prof.
Subhash Sharma, Director, IBA introduced the workshop theme and
Prof. Shiv Tripathi, Professor, Mzumbe University, Tanzania, stated
that the mission of PRME is to inspire and champion responsible
management education, research and thought leadership globally.
Prof. Ronald E. Berenbeim, Adjunct Professor, Stein Business
School, New York University and Member of PRME Working group on
Anti- Corruption in Management Education conducted a brain storming
session exploring situations that occur in the normal functioning
of any organisation which are legally appropriate but ethically
contested. Prof. Berenbeim whilst talking about the challenges of
making changes in the present business school curriculum focussed
onhow to integrate practical or applied ethics in business
education curriculum, with emphasis on functional problems and what
pedagogy should be used to effectively deliver the anti-corruption
education without deviating from core programme objectives. With a
vision to embed ethical values in management studies Global Compact
Network India, in partnership with Alkesh Dinesh Mody Institute of
Financial and Management Studies, Mumbai University announced a
Call for Papers in December 2013 and subsequently organised a
National Student Conference on Business Ethics and Corporate
Transparency: Need for an Emerging Market Discipline at Mumbai
University Kalina campus on 1st March 2014. The half-day conference
had a panel comprising of the five best papers emerging out of the
national competition and a unique business-academia dialogue was
organised. Industry experts like Mr. Anthony Lobo, CSR Advisor,
TCS; Mr. S. Chandran Principle Consultant Business Ethics, TCS; Mr.
Sriram Vinjamuri, Head Loan Against Property, Axis Bank; Col.
Arvind Gangoly, CEO & Founder, Schedulers Inc.; Prof. Ronald
Berenbeim, Adjunct Professor, New York University, USA; Mr. Shiv
Tripathy, Professor, Mzumbe University, Tanzania; Prof. Subhash
Sharma, Director, Indus Business Academy; and Ms. Chitra Nair,
Research Officer, GCNI; were part of this deliberation on business
ethics and management studies. 8. 8 | Vol. 5 | Issue III | Dec 2013
- Mar 2014 nutShell storyphoto 50 Plus CEOs in the National
Convention CEOs Round Table400 Plus Participants Highlights of the
9th National Convention inaugurated by the Chief Guest Dr. M.
Veerappa Moily 9. 9 | Vol. 5 | Issue III | Dec 2013 - Mar 2014
nutShell Three Thematic tracks centred on the themes of
Sustainability, CSR, and Public Private Partnership (PPP) National
Convention Launch of the India ReportBusiness for Peace (B4P)
Initiative launched in India 10. 10 | Vol. 5 | Issue III | Dec 2013
- Mar 2014 nutShell Sustainability is Key to Business Success, say
Indian CEOs Global Compact Network India and Accenture published
the India Report. Two thirds of CEOs of Indian companies say that
sustainability is very important to the future success of their
business, but less than half (44 percent) think business is making
sufficient efforts to address global sustainability challenges,
according to the India Report. The India Report tiltedThe UN Global
Compact Accenture CEO Study on Sustainability 2013: Insights from
CEOs in the Global Compact Network India, was launched by Dr.
M.Veerappa Moily, Union Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Petroleum and
Minister Environment and Forests (Additional Charge), Government of
India, at Global Compact Network Indias 9th National Convention at
ITC Maurya. The report is based on interviews and inputs from a
range of CEOs of leading Indian corporations across sectors and
draws comparison with the global CEO study on sustainability
conducted by the UNGC and Accenture in 2013, the largest survey
ever conducted with more than global 1,000 CEOs. For the India
Report, the Accenture and UN team gathered the views of 32
prominent Indian CEOs and Global Compact members across sectors. UN
Global Compact - Accenture Ceo Study on Sustainability 2013 focusin
The report says that among the most significant differences between
Indian CEOs and their counterparts elsewhere is the importance of
communities in driving business responses on sustainability. Sixty
three percent of the respondents to the India survey ever believe
that in the next few years communities will have the greatest
impact on the way businesses will manage societal expectations,
versus 28 percent of CEOs globally and just 7 percent in China. The
report also reveals that only 16 percent of the CEO sample in India
says consumer demand is motivating them to take action on
sustainability, versus the global average of 47 percent. The report
emphasises that, in response to the challenges businesses are
facing in addressing sustainability issues, 97 percent of the
Indian CEO sample says that an increase in efforts by governments
and policy makers to provide an enabling environment for the
private sector will be integral to advancing sustainability. In
sync with the global view, in fact even more pessimistic, only 22
percent of the Indian CEO respondents feel that the global economy
is on track to meet the demands of a growing population within
global environmental and resource constraints. But that is where
the similarities tend to end. Indian CEOs personal belief and
conviction aligns more strongly about what they are Insights from
CEOs in the Global Compact Network India 11. 11 | Vol. 5 | Issue
III | Dec 2013 - Mar 2014 nutShell CSR: A Value Proposition for
Business International Symposium on Corporate Social Responsibility
Global Compact Network India (GCNI) in partnership with Shikhar
Organisation for Social Development organised the 2nd National CSR
Summit on 11th February 2014 at Hotel Sofitel, Mumbai on the
themeCSR: A Value Proposition for Business. The CSR Summit in
Mumbai was second in the series of four planned Summits and
attracted all key stakeholders to discuss the significance of CSR
as a business proposition for businesses and come out with agenda
for action and implementation. Amrita Universitys Amrita School of
Business in association with the Centre for Sustainable and
Responsible Organisations (CSaRO), Deakin University, and Global
Compact Network India organised an International Symposium on
Corporate Social Responsibility from December 12-13, 2013 with
Sustainability, Governance and Effective Outcomes as the central
theme. The symposium aimed to foster thought leadership in the
highly dynamic and challenging areas of CSR and Sustainability. The
key themes discussed at the Summit were Companies Act 2013; Clause
135: Opportunities and Challenges; CSR and Social Change: A New
Paradigm; and Public Private Partnership Approaches in CSR and
Sustainability: Myth or reality. It offered the participants from
diverse backgrounds like NGOs, Corporate Foundations, Industries,
Government Departments, Media and the beneficiaries to develop an
understanding of corporate social responsibility for sustainable
comprehensive prosperity as per the new Companies Act 2013. The two
day symposium was inaugurated by Mr. Ashok Kumar Pavadia, Joint
Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises.The concept of CSR is
widely debated but actually understood only by a few and practiced
by even less. It is conferences and forums like the IS-CSR that
help people understand CSR better and so is a very welcome
effort,he noted. He also highlighted the need for a different
approach for developing countries as opposed to the practices
followed in developed nations. focusin doing and the effectiveness
of it. Around 44 percent of the Indian business leaders surveyed
believe that business as a whole is making sufficient efforts to
address global sustainability challenges, higher than the global
average by 11 percent. Other key findings include: Sustainability
is firmly on the CEO agenda, but many are struggling to make the
business case for action. Local communities and government are
driving action on sustainability. CEOs identify challenges to
accelerating progress on sustainability, within their organisations
and beyond. Sustainability initiatives in India are currently
centred on community projects, energy and reporting. As of now,
Indian companies have evolved from a philanthropic approach, and
their priorities reflect the lens of proximity focussing on
immediate concerns. Going forward, these companies are expected to
move to a more integrated sustainability agenda. The Indian CEOs
are dealing with a different situation from the their global
counterparts on sustainability issues,said Peter Lacy, Managing
Director, Accenture Sustainability and Business Strategy Services,
Asia Pacific, who led the global and India studies.They need to
balance rapid growth with sustainable development within the
political and cultural complexities of the worlds largest
democracy. According to the report, communities and governments are
viewed as the most important stakeholders in influencing the
behaviour of businesses in sustainability as opposed to consumers.
That will require businesses and policy makers to more effectively
engage with citizens to design the most appropriate approaches to
sustainability. The CEO Study also highlights the ability
ofTransformational Leadersin sustainability to combine
market-leading financial performance with sustainability
leadership. It reveals approaches to sustainability by
Transformational Leaders. For instance, they regard environmental
and sustainable issues as important to the success of their
business and reject traditional perceptions of sustainability as
philanthropy; they engage effectively with investors and NGOs; and
they measure and reward employee performance in sustainability. Mr.
Sudhir Vasudeva, President, GCNI said,Indian companies realise that
it may not be possible to climb-up the sustainability curve by
aping practices adopted by developed nations, due to the unique
circumstances and challenges that we face. Therefore, they are
exploring various options and tailoring global best practices to
fit Indian contexts to find their own unique path toward achieving
inclusive growth through the sustainability agenda. Vishvesh
Prabhakar Managing Director India Operations & Sustainability
Services Accenture [email protected] Dr. Serge
Younes Director India Sustainability Services and Strategy
Accenture [email protected] Pooran Chandra Pandey
Executive Director UN Global Compact Network India
[email protected] newsin the 12. 12 | Vol. 5 | Issue III | Dec
2013 - Mar 2014 nutShell Q.1Tell us something about Breathe EasyTM
.What role does it play in curbing air pollution? Ans.1 Breathe
EasyTM is the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) division of PBC that takes a
holistic approach towards reducing indoor air pollution while
boosting energy-efficiency levels of a building. Mechanically, we
use air purifiers and scrubbers to cleanse the air. Naturally, we
do it with the help of toxin- removing plants.These are houseplants
that detoxify the air inside a building. Apart from this, we adopt
a 360 approach to ensure that good quality of air is maintained
indoors. We recommend use of Green Seal Certified housekeeping
chemicals and furniture; zero- VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds)
carpets; do not allow anyone to have food outside designated area;
seal the building envelope and create positive pressure inside the
building.We are able to conform to ASHRAE & WHO guidelines for
Indoor Air Quality. When you read newspapers, magazines or any news
portal, you get several reasons to worry about the air quality. It
is a common misconception that air is only polluted outdoors. In
fact indoor air pollution is typically up to 10 times worse than
ambient air. At Paharpur Business Centre (PBC), we have realised
that with the frightening rise in the levels of air pollution,
breathing a gust of fresh air has become a tough challenge for
every living being. At PBC,WE GROW FRESH AIRTM . We have developed
an effective IAQ system that uses unique and patented
bio-technology to purify air and pump mountain fresh air into our
building. Breathe EasyTM monitors and records the IAQ readings,
everyday. Since 1996, these readings are being uploaded on our
website, www. pbcnet.com, on a daily basis. Breathe EasyTM also
provides IAQ solutions to homes and large and small corporate
houses. This includes IAQ testing, design, solutions,
implementation and consultation. Barun Aggarwal Director (Sales and
Marketing), Paharpur Business Centre speaks on Indoor Air Quality
(IAQ). When it comes to pollution, people think only about the
pollution that takes place outside. But, indoor air is upto 10
times more polluted than outdoor air. Q.2 What are the benefits of
good indoor air quality? Ans.2 Indoor air quality refers to the
physical, chemical and biological characteristics of air inside a
building. It can lead to some serious health hazards like asthma;
damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system; lungs
impairment, cancer and even death in extreme case. The impact that
fresh air brings on the human body are many. Good indoor air
quality leads to increased supply of oxygen in the body. This
further leads to lesser chances of suffering from sleep apnea,
forgetfulness, mood swings, restlessness, fatigue, depressive
thoughts and more. At PBC, we are able to lower the instances of
eye irritation by 52%; respiratory symptoms by 34%; headaches by
12%; lung impairment by 24% and asthma by 9% in the building
because of good indoor air quality [Source: Study by Chittaranjan
National Cancer Institute (CNCI), Kolkata & Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB) Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI].
On average, we take 23,000 breaths in a day and spend more than 90%
of time indoors be it in office or at home. Hence, it is necessary
that we pay close attention to this. By maintaining good indoor
environment, one can stay healthy and live long and healthy. Q.3
How is indoor air quality related to energy efficiency? Ans.3
Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency are inversely proportional
to each other. It seems a good idea to conserve energy by sealing
or closing the space so that the cooling costs get reduced. But the
points to ponder about are, if we keep the building ventilated and
allow extra fresh air to move in then there is an increase in the
cooling costs as the ambient temperatures can go up to 45-50C.
However, it does not have to be this way. Lets take our case as an
example.We extract viewINTER fresh air from the optimum height
where the pollution level is comparatively less than the air at the
lower level. Air during the summer season is very hot or warm and
this indicates that the building needs more energy to cool the air
in the building for comfort.We have improved this problem too by
installing a Heat RecoveryWheel (HRW), designed as per the
specifications fixed by ISHRAE,The Indian Chapter of ASHRAE. In
PBC, plants purify & improve the quality of air within our
building. As a result of which HVAC has to pump in lesser amount of
fresh air into the building, so the load on HVAC reduces. Plants
that help in removing toxins from the air are grown scientifically
in self-regulatory hydropones. Hydropones re-circulate water and
nutrients within its system for 10-15 consecutive days nullifying
the chances of plants having rotten roots and getting affected by
dust, molds, allergens and soil-borne diseases. So, they are not
required to be watered on a regular basis nor demand too much of
labour. Breathe EasyTM has brought down the energy consumption at
PBC by over 20% while improving good indoor air quality. Q.4 Other
than IAQ, what are the key sustainability metrics in PBC? Ans.4
Other than IAQ, the key sustainability measures that PBC has taken
up are energy, water and waste management. PBC is a BEE 5 Star
rated building with an AAhEPI of 28 whr/hr/m2 . This certification
was achieved in 2010. Currently, we are at 22 whr/ hr/m2 and we
plan to be at about 16 whr/hr/ m2 in the next 3-5 months.This is
about 25% of most other commercial buildings of India. At PBC,
water has always been considered a precious resource, which is
monitored at all inlet and outlet points daily. As water demands
and environmental needs grow, recycling & reusing of water
plays a major role in PBC, helping us conserve and sustainably
manage our vital water resources. We have installed sensor
equipment like sensor taps as they help in saving a huge amount of
water. Some of the water conservation techniques that we follow
are: Drip Irrigation: The balconies of our building have a large
number of plants with 13. 13 | Vol. 5 | Issue III | Dec 2013 - Mar
2014 nutShell In support of United Nations International Strategy
for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), HCC in collaboration with GCNI
organised the India workshop onDisaster Risk Resilienceon 27th
February in Mumbai. It was a day long workshop organised in the
premises of HCC. The event witnessed a mix of participations from
the UN, Corporate Sector, Public Sector, Government and NGOs and
Educational Institutions. The majority of the participants were
from corporates like Siemens, Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra, ACC,
HCC, BPCL, SPCL etc. The workshop was facilitated by UNISDR and
HCC. The sessions included a pre-lunch session focussed on creating
awareness on the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) agenda of UNISDR,
Government, Corporate Sector and NGOs followed by an interactive
round table group discussion. The post-lunch session included a
video conferencing by PWC, UK, on the role of private sector in
resilience followed by a break-out session. Disaster Risk Reduction
equals Resilient Investment newsin the drip irrigation.This helps
in reducing the heating effect in our building and keeping the air
cool; hence, in reducing the load on HVAC system. RainWater
Harvesting: PBC collects the rainwater from the roof with a total
catchment area of 2,165 sq ft and harvests it, saving 183,000
litres/year under normal rainfall conditions. Use of Soap FreeWater
for Gardening: PBC has channelised approx. 150 litres/day of soap
free waste water to the garden for irrigation. Installation of
Cistern Based 4/2 LitreWater Closet (WC): Flush valve basedWCs in
the building have been replaced by cistern based 4/2 LitreWC, thus,
saving us 1,302,900 L per year. We have also put conductivity meter
in condenser water line for online measurement of water
hardness.This helps us minimise unnecessary wastage of water. Daily
monitoring and recording of the water consumption at each area of
consumption is done in order to control water wastage. Q.6 How
economical is implementing IAQ system? Ans.6 Implementing IAQ
system is economical. In a central HVAC system, it pays for itself
based on energy savings. At home, it wont cost anyone more than the
good health of your family, in fact much less than that. Parameters
Avg. of Other Buildings Pbc % Reduction CO2 , ppm 1067.5 488 55 %
PM10, g/m3 689 24 97 % PM2.5, g/m3 492 14 97 % VOC - Benzene, ppb
150 BDL 99.99 % VOC - Acetaldehyde, ppb 3125 BDL 99.99 % VOC -
Acetone, ppb 800 BDL 99.99 % VOC - Toluene, ppb 275 BDL 99.99 %
Aerobic Plate Count, cfu 153 26 83 % Fungal Count, cfu 48