The Prime Minister of India recently made headlines at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow when he announced that India would achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. While such a goal is the need of the hour, it will require extensive support from India’s public and private enterprises, and new-age entrepreneurs to come to fruition. Large organisations desperately need to rethink their strategies to march towards a sustainable future, a progress that is still slow. Meanwhile, startups represent an opportunity to solidify this trend at an early stage as new-age ventures are more aware of this pressing need.
Spicejet recently promised to accelerate its efforts to take the supply and use of sustainable aviation fuel to 10 percent of global jet aviation fuel supply by 2030. Bisleri is using its ‘Bottles for Change’ initiative to encourage people to recycle plastic, and e-commerce giant Flipkart Group and fashion e-tailer Myntra partnered with not-for-profit environmental organisation Canopy to extend their sustainability commitment to move towards sustainable packaging and material sourcing.
Today, India has an excellent chance to be a part of the next wave of future-defining trends and be the cradle to playing a significant role in strengthening the idea of sustainable industrial development. To seek answers to vexing questions in this area, BML Munjal University has organised its Leadership Summit 2022 on Global Sustainability & the Corporation, featuring policymakers, leaders, and entrepreneurs.
BML Munjal University Leadership Summit 2022
While working towards a sustainable future is inevitable, there is one major element that companies need to focus on – a mindset change. The belief that enterprises need to rely on environmental resources to grow needs to be changed and corporate leaders must explore alternatives. Transformation of business and entrepreneurship towards sustainability will shape and permanently change how enterprises create value. Sustainable alternatives are no longer a choice but a necessity, and the Leadership Summit aims to highlight that.
Over two decades ago, John Elkington coined the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ of People, Planet, and Profit (also known as the 3Ps, TBL or 3BL). While it rapidly gained importance, the question remains ‘how can one incorporate all three: the economic profit, the societal aspects, and the environmental impact?’
The 3Ps highlight the most critical parts of the ecosystem:
- People: The most important stakeholders of an organisation are the people, the ones who face the positive and negative impacts of the company squarely.
- Planet: The decisions of an organisation have effects on the natural environment – be it reducing carbon emissions, usage of natural resources, and more.
- Profit: The positive and negative impact an organisation has on the local, national, and international economy. It affects everything from employment, innovation to wealth creation.
Most companies struggle with integrating all three, which is holding them back from creating a sustainable, future-ready organisation. Companies will need to hire employees who are aware and equipped with knowledge, skills, and mindsets to work for a sustainable future. And this education needs to start at the grassroot level with educational institutions teaching students about this problem.
Keeping this in mind, the panels in BML Munjal University’s Leadership Summit 2022 aim to address how companies can truly leverage sustainability in every aspect of their functions, without compromising on people, planet, or profit. The panels will cover the whole spectrum of issues related to sustainability:
Understanding how sustainability impacts business performance
Existing businesses, new ventures, and startups are all having to come up with sustainable models to satisfy their social, environmental, and economic goals sequentially. But how easy is the transition process? How quickly can entrepreneurs go from a traditional model to a sustainable business model, across different economic sectors?
While the tug of war between planet, people and profit will continue, enterprises today, both public and private, need to make smart decisions that focus on developing organisational capabilities that can help enterprises meet the emerging sustainability challenges effectively. The government has put timelines in place and enterprises will have to work towards the common goal. While the automobile sector has started implementing new methods, various other industries need to quickly start re-strategising. Leaders in the space will share their own insights and talk about how the life cycle stage of the company and its industry affects its transition to sustainability.
How stakeholders and ecosystem can make a difference
Investors and policymakers hold a lot of power in influencing enterprises to walk towards sustainability. Working alongside various startups, investors can bring up the conversation of sustainability, yet that isn’t commonly done. This conversation aims to bring in the role of governmental policies in spurring investors to invest in firms with social viewpoints. The topic will highlight the importance of stakeholder participation and support as the key success factors for a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem, and how they can bring about a difference within their communities and incorporate sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Deep-diving into emerging business models for sustainable enterprises
A critical question as entrepreneurs and corporate organisations walk this path is how they can achieve a balance between sustainability and performance. Identifying and developing sustainable business models and opportunities is critical for entrepreneurs and this topic will cover that, along with a deep-dive into the practices adopted by the founders of sustainable firms. Corporate leaders today need to bring in talent who are focused on sustainability. This discussion will highlight how enterprises can turn sustainability into a competitive advantage, and truly become an example for many others in the country.
Who should attend?
A sustainable business is essential today – a time when the planet and the world is facing the wrath of climate change caused by population growth and pollution. As world leaders emphasise the need to become net-zero emission countries, enterprises need to lead the way. Decision-makers, corporate leaders, investors, startup founders, CXOs, and various other stakeholders should attend the summit to understand how they can truly bring about a change.
If you are interested in attending, please register here:
