March 16, 2022, New Delhi.
A distinguished panel at the event:
- Kumar Subramanian, Founding Partner and Managing Director, of Sculpt Partners with 22 years of experience in Corporate Governance, Finance, and HR, is focused on tackling global challenges like climate change and inequality.
- Dr Pradeep Panigarhi, Head Corporate Sustainability, Larsen & Toubro Ltd. He has created a distinct niche for himself as a corporate wizard. He has an impeccable track record of excellence in the corporate world.
- Mr Shailendra Singh, Founder and CEO, of Sustain Mantra, has a wealth of experience in sustainability and circular economy. He has held prominent board positions at the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), the Society of Plastic Engineers - India, and the All-India Printing Inks Manufacturer Association (AIPIMA).
- Prof Purnamita Dasgupta, Chair Professor and Head, Environmental and Resource Economics Unit, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University. She is an acclaimed environmentalist.
Think Change Forum organized a very important event focusing on the lack of trained ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’(ESG) professionals which the experts at the event felt is a major stumbling block for India, in terms of its Net Zero Goals by 2050. Some vital statistics on the subject were shared by the panellist at the event who observed that both long-term and short-term measures are required to address the dearth of ESG professionals in the country. The panel at the event further observed that $35 trillion worth of assets are managed by investors who incorporate the ESG agenda into their investment strategies; the size of ESG investments in India ranges from $30 billion to $40 billion and is growing rapidly. The panel at the event believed ESG as a profession will have great opportunities in the future as there will be a requirement of more than 100 million professionals globally over the next 10-20 years which amounts to 3% of the total global employable workforce today. At the Thinks Change Forum, a virtual round table conference was organized on the topic “ESG Capacity Development in India – Challenges, Progress, and Pathways”. A few observations were made while discussing the ESG capacity building the view of the panel at the event was that depleting natural resources and biodiversity poses existential challenges to mankind. That is why through ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) organizations can not only mitigate the negative impact of these challenges but also create and benefit business opportunities. There is a big call for ESG compliance, reporting, and transition the call has been growing louder around the world, including in India.
The eminent panel at the event observed that ESG adopters in India need to merge financial resources (investments), technical resources (cutting-edge technology and equipment), and human resources (ESG professionals and experts) to get the most effective results. The panelist at the event further observed that in the long-term industries and academia need to work in close collaboration to develop a pool of ESG talent that is industry absorbable. There was a strong observation by the panelists, that if India must reach its target of reducing the energy intensity of emissions by 33-35% of the GDP by 2030 and merge it with the Net Zero goal by 2070 then efforts of the ESG professionals in the fulfilment of these targets become vital. A well-known panelist at the event Mr Shailendra Singh, Founder and CEO, of Sustain Mantra believed our schools and universities should have a system to produce ESG professionals just like professionals for other sectors. The event moderator Kumar Subramanian, Founding Partner and Managing Director, of Sculpt Partners believed there should be a jump-start process for creating a pool of skilled ESG professionals. The panelist at the event concluded the event proceedings by observing that currently only about 150-200 companies are dedicated to following ESG compliances and reporting. To increase these numbers, the regulators should step in.