A Summary Report

Published

There has been a plethora of webinars globally, triggered by the ravaging pandemic, to keep people engaged. GRI South Asia organised its first-ever Virtual Regional Summit in July to share insights, practical approaches and experiences by experts. Here are the highlights.

9 5

53 1,466 160 Sessions spread over 3 days Webinars

The Summit kicked off with a brief clip that gave a glimpse of the aspirations, perspectives and preferences of the NextGen from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka After all, they have to face the world tomorrow, after they get over the current crisis. View the video here.

The first session Rebooting for a Stronger Sustainable South Asia1 looked at strategies and shifts needed for a fresh start. Drawing on values espoused by Mahatma Gandhi, all were exhorted to tend to the weakest first, and to be the change you want to see. Digitisation has to be tempered with humanisation, and the wisdom to use technology. Sustainable growth can be achieved with innovation, inclusion and integration, and only when inequities and vulnerabilities are addressed Technology will be central to address changes caused by the pandemic, especially for urbanisation, education, nutrition and health care. Nations have to ensure dignity of work, decent work conditions, distribution of income, and have regular national dialogues to identify societal needs. The power of youth has to be brought in, decentralise decision-making and recognise the importance of action by citizens and community for security and sustainability. MSMEs are the lifeline in South Asia; they need to be taken care of just like the frontline health care workers

Session-2 on Meaningful Disclosures for Effective Decision-Making2 focussed on how organisations respond to environmental and social risks and opportunities. Since resources belong to the society, investors and other stakeholders would ask companies to disclose financial and non-financial information. Companies that proactively address social and environmental issues material to their business are more resilient and build a more sustainable brand The pandemic has shown the global connectedness and inter-dependence of economic, social and environmental outcomes. Since disruption could be from anywhere, businesses have to regain the trust of stakeholders in the short-term as well as long-term.

The next Session Using SDGs for Purpose-led Business3 highlighted profit is a by-product of pursuing purpose and using the correct metrics can help prove the true cost of sustainable products and services does not exceed the conventional. The SDGs were the means to an end, provide licence to co-operate, charter to co-exist and GPS for responsible profit. Business cannot thrive in a society that fails; lending to SMEs help to address poverty and other SDGs. Business can sustain only if they can bring social aspects to the forefront in the overall ESG-based approach. The SDGs are interconnected links to create positive impact, and to which business need to align to transform to being purpose-led.

Session-4 dealt with Advancing a Culture of Health for Business4; history has shown business is sustainable only if it also considers the interests of individuals and communities, and hence empathise with MSMEs. A culture of health and safety was possible only by participation of workers with the management, training the workers, rewarding their good ideas, encouraging them to serve as “eyes”, boosting productivity, and implementing lowcost solutions for maximum gains. A holistic approach encompassing physical, emotional and financial well-being of employees would lead to creation of a meaningful culture, and requirements vary for different life-stages of employees, especially for women. There was a need for business to consider investing on health and

1 Arun Maira: Former member of Planning Commission of India, GoI; Arup Chatterjee, Principal Financial Sector Specialist, ADB; Girish Ramachandran, Board Member, GRI & President, TCS Asia-Pacific; Ho Yew Kee, Professor of Accounting & Associate Provost, Singapore Institute of Technology; Mitika Bajpai, Global Shapers, WEF; Dr. Rene Van Berkel, UNIDO, Regional Office, India

2 Christine Koblun, Head of Programme Development, GRI; Dr. Sanjeev Singhal, Central Council Member, ICAI; Miriam Benarey, Sustainable Research & ESG Associate, Impax Asset Management, UK; Emily Davis, Policy Specialist, SDG Finance, UNDP Asia Pacific; Nayan Mehta, CFO, Bombay Stock Exchange; Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group

3 Bharat Wakhlu, Founder & President, The Wakhlu Advisory; Prof. Lawrence Loh, Director, Centre for Governance, Institution & Organization, National University of Singapore; Nishat Hamid, Director, Shasha Garments Ltd, Bangladesh; Arif Khan, CEO & MD, Industrial Development Leasing Company of Bangladesh Ltd; Mashook Mujib Chowdhury, Manager Sustainability, DBL Group, Bangladesh; Deeksha Vats, Chief Sustainability Officer, Aditya Birla Group

4 Hiren Divgi, Executive Director, Divgi-TTS Private Ltd.; Tsuyoshi Kawakami, Senior Specialist, OHS, ILO, India; Dinni Lingaraj, Senior Program Manager, Wipro Foundation, India; Arvind Namdeo, General Manager, Sustainable Development, GAIL; Md. Faisal Imtiaz Khan, Chief Human Resources Officer, Robi Axiata, Bangladesh; Dr. Inoka Suraweera, Directorate, of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka environment; only then will there be a culture where the health of the individual combined with the health of the planet would lead to a healthy business. Business has to include health as an integral part of its strategy and go beyond event-based initiatives to enhance efficiency and profits for the organization. Government and businesses must work together to create and foster the culture of health for SDG 3.

The intertwined approaches of resource efficiency and circular economy was taken up in Session-5 on Shifting from the Take-Make-Waste Economy to Circular Solutions5 which addressed issues like climate change and energy efficiency. The draft Resource Efficiency policy by the Government of India is a case in point. A linear approach is wasteful and supply chains are adversely impacted, and an emerging school of thought views a circular model as one in which products are considered as a service to enhance their value over their life-time A dialogue is ongoing across South Asia to accelerate the Agenda 2030 by the adoption of circularity and enabling policies. Due to inefficiencies in the Region business has a lot more catching up to do; the steel sector serves as a good example of demonstrating circularity. Innovation is required at three levels: product or service, business model, and ecosystem. A green recovery would revive the economy, support health management, help create jobs and be decentralised for effective implementation. Individuals have to consciously reduce their ecological footprint. The new GRI Standard 306 strengthens the relation between materials and wastes, considers waste generation to be a part of corporate responsibility, and shows how reporting is not merely as a self-diagnostic tool to look for opportunities in the value chain but also a gateway to building a circular economy. There is a need to create wider understanding of circularity, and to explore options provided by a digital economy.

In order to be impactful, corporate governance needs to improve, and transparency adds knowledge as well as provides direction. This kicked off Session-6 on Enhancing Financial Capital by Impactful Disclosure6 The Chair she pointed out information is only an output and managing demand-side issues as well as better engagement on ESG are vital in ensuring good quality of disclosures. The absence of will in management, and an overall lack of understanding of ESG were barriers to sustainability, while data and disclosure are key to attracting capital. Sustainability indices have outperformed peers, and business model innovation as well as enhanced importance of social aspects were instrumental in achieving this Internal and external stakeholders use ESG information that is disclosed variously, non-financial disclosure was a rich field of research, and ESG factors matter more at times of risk. Reporting frameworks work in tandem with the SDGs which also serve as national goals for nations. Governments could well avoid allocating resources where the private sector has already invested, and in South Asia there were 19 international and 102 national frameworks in place to drive ESG forward.

Session-7 on Critical Sectors in South Asia: Sustainability in Textile and Apparel7 was set up the fact that although the sector provided livelihood to millions in South Asia, it faced challenges relating to environment and social dimensions, hence required a comprehensive strategic recovery plan. Unlike textiles and garments which were traditional and employed a lot of women, retail has grown in the last decade; the common challenges were resource efficiency, supply chain and building a portfolio of products. Suppressed demand made achieving national goals an uphill task, but they can be resolved by adoption of a holistic strategy consisting of innovation and digitisation, collaborative business models that are agile, traction for SDGs, and creating a higher order of value. Further, there is top priority accorded to safeguard employees and workplaces and be amenable to partner with the government in finding solutions Community-centric models alone could bring lasting change; resilient communities are possible with digitisation of upstream and downstream value chains to enable radical change from fast fashion to circular fashion.

Session-8 focussed on Exploring Sustainable Business Practices in SMEs8 and the case study of work in Peru was brought in to show SMEs need listening to in order to build trust, and building of capacity to impart the

5 Dr. Rachna Arora, European Union - Resource Efficiency Initiative, India; C Kumaraswamy, Vice President & Head, Sustainability, BSI, India; Archana Datta, SWITCH-Asia RPAC Coordinator for India, UNEP, India; Prabodha Acharya, Chief Sustainability Officer, JSW Group, India; Chirag Gajjar, Head, Sub-national Climate Action, WRI, India; Anna Krotova, Senior Manager, Standards, GRI; Gamini Senanayake, Founder President, Sustainable Consumption & Production Forum, Sri Lanka

6 Dr. Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman, Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management; Siobhan Cleary, Director, Capital Markets Engagement, GRI; Dr. Shah Md. Ahsan Habib, Director of Training, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management; Linda Germanis, Private Sector Engagement Specialist, UNDP Bangladesh; R A A Jayalath, Assistant Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka; Dr. Rajan Ratna, Economic Affairs Officer, UN ESCAP South Asia, India

7 Priyanka Khanna, Manager - International Expansion, Fashion for Good, South Asia; Dr. Naresh Tyagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Aditya Birla Fashion Retail Ltd, India; Dilan Gooneratne, Managing Director, Inqube Brandix, Sri Lanka; Wasim Zakariah, Chairman Standing Committee on SDG Affairs Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association; Vivek Adhia, Country Director, Institute for Sustainable Communities India Private Ltd

8 Daniel Vargas, Country Manager, GRI, Peru; Rajat Batra, CEO, Stenum Asia; Chetankumar Sangole, Head, Sustainability Desk, MCCIA, India; Mohamed Dilsha Zahir, General Manager, Moscow Lanka Steels Private Limited, Sri Lanka; Chandraratna D Vithanage, Senior Assistant Secretary confidence to understand the business benefits of reporting. The business drivers for SMEs are the green public procurement policies of the government, encouragement from industry bodies, and demand from customers, especially big brands. The experience from the Indian state of Maharashtra demonstrated SMEs that budgeted for learning, moved rapidly from knowing to doing, and implemented the methods shown by GRI to win business benefits. Similarly, a resource efficiency project named MetaBuild in Sri Lanka led the SMEs to implement initiatives on energy efficiency and work environment, thereby mitigating the negative impacts of the pandemic on their business. For SMEs to adopt sustainability in a holistic manner and achieve the quick wins, key areas that work are the ability to prioritise, being amenable to diversification and focus on efficiency. SMEs contribute to 25% of the GDP in South Asia but are vulnerable to risks in the supply chain; understanding sustainability is for their own good.

The highlights of the previous eight Sessions were presented in the Valedictory Session9 which also introduced the South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives. The Chair thanked all the speakers and participants at the Summit, and added it was so enriching that it ought to be repeated every year. Transparency is a powerful tool for building trust; it was not about a report, but more about what is done after the information is available. Over 90% of S&P500 companies use the GRI framework today, up by over 500% in the last six 6 years India had about 80 public sustainability reports in 2013, as compared to 300+ today The pandemic created a need to reset the way business is done and led to the realisation of the importance of purpose at the core of all successful organisations so that there was action to ultimately create positive impact. Another perspective on transparency is it is a catalyst for performance, and social issues have come to the fore over environmental matters, necessitating collaborations. While the pandemic has been a “divider” and an “equaliser”, there was only “new” but no “new normal”, and only “build” rather than “build back”. On the way forward for South Asia, SMEs deserve far more attention, as did issues relating to the environment and climate change. The role for digitalisation, and the need to strengthen governance were prominent now. The proposed GRI South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives would serve as a compass and help organisations to “walk the talk”.

Finally, there were words of encouragement from Tim Mohin, the CEO of GRI. Quoting Winston Churchill, he said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going”. Wouldn’t you agree?

Recording of all the sessions can be viewed here

Poll Results: What the Audience Felt

Important for businesses to honour their sustainability commitments

Expect increasing demand for ESG disclosures in South Asia in next 6-12 months

South Asian businesses should focus on common purpose of a better life for all

Fair to expect companies to invest in health & wellness of employees even during economic downturn

Expect greater push for circular solutions during the pandemic & beyond

Markets reward businesses that make better ESG disclosures

Expect pandemic to push industry to considering environmental & social impacts in core business

Top 2 challenges faced while reading sustainability reports: (1) lack of balance in report, (2) not quantitative

Top 3 external drivers for SMEs to adopt sustainable practices: (1) govt. policy, (2) large cos.(supply chain), (3) financial incentives

% #1 #2 #3

General, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka; Sandesh Salian, Director, Dali & Samir Engineering Private Ltd, India; Syed Abdul Momen, Head SME Banking, BRAC Bank, Bangladesh

9 Dr. Aditi Haldar, Director, GRI South Asia; Pallavi Atre, Sustainability Expert, GRI South Asia; Rubina Pal, Manager, GRI South Asia; Asthildur Hjaltadottir, Chief Regional Officer, GRI; Tim Mohin, CEO, GRI; Elaine Cohen, Managing Director, Beyond Business Ltd., Israel; Prof. Lakshman Watawala, President, Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Sri Lanka

View photos of all sessions here

GRI South Asia would like to thank all speakers, summit partners, corporate members and the core group members & observers for their contribution

Core Group for the GRI South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives Members

• Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala, President, CMA

• Mr. Arvind Namdeo, General Manager (SD), GAIL India Ltd

• Mr. Sanjib Bezbaroa, Executive VP Corporate EHS & Sustainability, ITC Ltd

• Mr. Prabodha Acharya, Chief Sustainability Officer, JSW Steel Ltd

• Mr. Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd

• Mr. Bharat Wakhlu, Founder and President, The Wakhlu Advisory

• Ms. Linda Germanis, Private Sector Engagement Specialist, UNDP Bangladesh

• Ms. Gauri Arora, Private Sector Specialist - UN Resident Coordinators Office, United Nations India

• Mr. P S Narayan, Vice President, Head - Sustainability and Social Initiatives, Wipro Ltd

Observers

• Dr. R K Shrivastava, Consultant, World Bank; Power Grid Limited

• Mr. Akshay Singh Gahlot, Programme Officer - Sustainability, Wipro Ltd

• Mr. Anand Marathe, Dy. General Manager, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd

• Dr. Vandana Malhotra, Assistant Professor, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi

• Mr. Badal Balchandani, DGM Corporate Sustainability, JSW Steel Ltd.

• Mr. Anand Acharya, Senior Manager - Sustainability, GAIL India Ltd

• Mr. Ritesh Ranjan, Chief Manager ESMD, Power Grid

• Mr. Ankit Gupta, Manager, ITC Ltd

• Mr. Sanjiv Bhatia, President, Stenum Asia

• Dr. Suman Majumdar, Consultant, GRI SA Virtual Regional Summit

GRI would also like to acknowledge the team for its efforts in organising the Summit

GRI South Asia

• Dr. Aditi Haldar, Director

• Ms. Rubina Pal, Manager

• Ms. Pallavi Atre, Sustainability Expert

• Ms. Anupama Gupta, Assistant

• Mr. Rohan Luthra, Junior Research Consultant

GRI

• Mr. Ron Van Veen, Senior Manager Conferences & Events

• Ms. Valerie Heimann, Coordinator, Conference & Events

• Mr. Tom Whittles, Senior Media Relations Manager

Dr. Suman Majumdar, Consultant, GRI South Asia Virtual Regional Summit

Corporate Members of South Asia