Why Businesses Should Adopt A Sustainable Approach Leaders from different sectors share their thoughts on sustainability goals at TiE Sustainability Summit 2021
By S Shanthi
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While the pandemic wreaked havoc in all our lives, it has spearheaded a switch to a circular economy. From the food and beverage industry to transport tech, businesses in all sectors are encouraging a sustainable way of operations.
The three-day TiE Sustainability Summit 2021 (TSS- 2021) that began on Monday 4th also delved into this crucial subject. Hosted by TiE Hyderabad, the summit boasts of around 40,000 registrations from social enterprises across 55 countries and 5 continents.
Delivering the welcome note, Manohar Reddy, chair of TSS 2021 and president of TiE Hyderabad said sustainability is the new oil and offers a lot of opportunities
"While the whole world is discussing sustainability, we have already started acting. We are having this summit because I believe we need to meet our needs of natural resources, without compromising and affecting the needs of future generations. With that thought in mind the conference was conceptualized," explained Reddy.
Over the three days, the summit features 225 speakers, 65 sessions over six tracks and 200 investors. Speaking at one of the sessions on "From Sustainability to Social Impact: Leadership conversations', Deepali Khanna, managing director, Asia Regional Office, The Rockefeller Foundation, said, "In the middle of this pandemic, it is important that businesses should adopt the sustainable approach, whether that's in terms of ethically sourcing inputs or committing to reducing emissions. For us, sustainability means building a system that creates opportunities for economic and social mobility while also keeping in mind the environment."
She suggested that to chase the desired sustainability goals, we need more leadership within NGOs, businesses, government and most importantly in our society. "I think sustainability is no longer an option, it is essential. It is important to generate positive social impact through business," she said.
Srini Nagarajan (Head of South Asia CDC) also spoke at the summit. "As I look around the world, particularly South Asia and when I talk to a slew of first-generation entrepreneurs, it used to be a push factor, now it is a pull. The concept of sustainability is really there in everyone's mind. Sustainability is very profound and close to their hearts for these entrepreneurs. They want to create a socio-economic impact besides making money. In today's world it's really a pull factor," he said, adding that he is happy that the extent of realization is higher in the post-Covid world.
