Dr. Rajeev Johari and Dr. Indraneel Mandal faculty members of I.T.S School of Management, Ghaziabad & Institute of Technology and Science, Ghaziabad attended UN Global Compact Network India’s Sustainability Program “Circular Economy for the SDGs: From Concept to Practice” on 31st January, 2023 at Hyatt Regancy Hotel, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi. 
 

Month Of Events: 
Jan
Date Of Events: 
31
Year Of Events: 
2023
Image Of Events: 
Full Date Of Event: 
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
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The programme began with the opening remarks and welcome by Mr Arun Kumar Singh, CMD, ONGC, and President UN GCNI. This was followed by the special address (via video) by René Van Berkel, UNIDO representative and Head, Regional Office in India, where he held forth on the circular economy; take, make and recycle approach; and the replacement of the traditional 3Rs. Then Mr. Hindol Sengupta, Chief Economic Research Officer and VP, Invest India, explained the research done in this area, including the use of materials like bamboo. He also discussed how the circular economy is related to SDGs, using the acronym GST (Gender, Sustainability and Transitivity). The keynote address was delivered by Mr. Sivasubramanian Ramann, CMO of SIDBI. Mr Ramann spoke of the need for a bottom up approach, and how India has had a centuries old relationship with the circular economy. The inaugural address was given by Dr Rakesh Sarwal, CMD, National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation. He pointed out the relation between affluence, consumerism and waste, session ended with the vote of thanks delivered by Dr Ratnesh Jha, Executive Director, UN GCNI.

The inaugural session was followed by a session on the theme Business Commitment: Integration of Circular Economy Practices by Businesses to achieve SDGs.

The panelists of the session are:

·         Mr Ganesh Ramamurti, CEO, Auro Research;

·         Mr Prashant Choubey, Lixil;

·         Ms. Priyanka Tanwar, Leader Communications and Corporate Responsibility Asia, Lixil

The session was moderated by Dr Ratnesh Jha.

The deliberations centred on different aspects of renewable energy and how that played into the circular economy.

Session 2 had the theme Uncomplicate Technology: Technology as a Catalyst to integrate Circular Economy/Waste to Wealth into Business Models and to reach the last mile.

The panelists of the session are:

·         Dr Shilpi Jain, Professor of Data Sciences;

·         Mr Alok Lall, Customer Success Lead – IteS, Microsoft;

·         Mr Mohit Narain, MD, Environmentors Perpetuity Solutions and Services Pvt. Ltd.

The moderator was Ms. Sonia Duhan, AVP, Invest India. The discussion proceeded on how technology can contribute to the circular economy.

Session 3 was based on the theme Policy Framework, Governance and Financing to  strengthen the implementation of Circular Economy Practices.

The panelists of the session are:

·         Mr Ashwin Saxena, CEO, JSW Foundation;

·         Dr Ulac Demirag, Country Director and Representative, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD);

·         Ms. Shuva Raha, Head – New Initiatives Council on Energy, Environment and Water, CEEW.

The moderator for the session was Mr Vishvesh Prabhaka from Accenture, The discussion centred on policy initiatives in this space.

Session 4 had the theme addressing the Challenges: Best Practices and Global Trends in Circular Economy/Waste to Wealth Generation Practices by Businesses/Non-Businesses.

All in all, it was a very comprehensive examination of various aspects of the circular economy, with the practitioners and policy makers providing a ringside view of the thought processes in this field.