The initiative is inspired by the experience and success of RuralShores, an Indian social venture which provides skills and employment to more than 5,000 people in 25 centres in India, servicing 30+ client firms and government departments.The partnership with IVL will follow the RuralShores’ model and invest in up to 5 centers across rural India. Both Companies will also explore opportunities for IVL to invest directly into RuralShores when such possibilities arise and to expand the model outside India.

The Oxford Executive MBA students visited RuralShores in March 2014 on an annual study trip to India as part of their EMBA programme.  The visit was led by Professor David Upton of Saïd Business School, a leading expert in international operations management and outsourcing.  ‘Businesses are keen to outsource many of their ‘back-room’ functions for greater cost efficiencies, and this demand for skilled, outsourced work can be utilised to create rewarding and sustainable jobs in remote locations’ said Professor Upton. ‘This new initiative is building upon the insights and experiences of RuralShores in India in creating rural jobs, and is applying their model in other settings, including rural locations in the UK. Initially small scale, this venture, and others like it, has the potential to be scalable and to have a significant impact on the employment prospects of rural communities, contributing positively to regional regeneration. This is a terrific example of how we can learn lessons from developing countries for application in the developed world.’

Mohamed Amersi, one of the founders and Chairman of IVL, said: ‘Our visit to RuralShores made a deep impression on a number of the group, and we were keen to establish an ongoing engagement with RuralShores both to help them with their own expansion plans in India, and to learn from their experiences in order to transport their model to other locations around the world. We are working on plans to extend our collaboration with RuralShores in India and are also exploring exporting their innovative model to locations selectively outside India.’

Kathy Harvey, Director of the Oxford Executive MBA programme said:  ‘All Executive MBA students at Oxford are expected to develop plans for entrepreneurial ventures as part of their assignments but in this instance the students have gone further, making the venture a reality, supporting it financially and seeking further funding partners to sustain it over the long term. Our recent class visit to RuralShores in India provided the inspiration for this innovative idea and I’m delighted that such an exciting opportunity has come about as a result and look forward to seeing the initiative develop over the coming months.  We are fortunate to have a wealth of commercial experience within the EMBA class and I’m not surprised that they are transforming their ideas into a business so quickly.  This venture is a clear example of how business schools can make a practical difference in addressing real world problems.  In addition, we are committed to communicating our insights, in this case developing and sharing a case study of RuralShores’ business model.’

The Center of Excellence will work towards the development of an energy-use reporting framework for existing buildings, evaluation of the existing building energy rating systems, derivation of tool and techniques for energy management, real time reporting of consumption, and identification and cost benefit analysis of conservation measures.

Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Director General, TERI, in his video message, said: “I am extremely happy that we are launching this initiative… We hope that this will be a model not only for this country but for other countries as well. With UTC, we can work together in bringing about a smarter world and a more sustainable world, particularly as it relates to buildings and habitat design.”

Mr. Zubin Irani, President, Building and Industrial Systems India, UTC, said:  “Given the energy challenges faced by the nation, energy efficiency in the buildings sector is an important priority. World over, there has been a rapid pace of innovation when it comes to technologies and systems that go into making a building more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. It is important to note that not only do many of these technologies reduce the energy footprint of a building or infrastructure project but they also pay back for themselves in a matter of few years.”

“The Center of Excellence  shall have a core research agenda on enabling energy efficiency in existing buildings in India. The collaboration between TERI and UTC in this endeavour shall help  unlock the potential of energy saving in this sector,“ said Ms Mili Majumdar, Director, Sustainable Habitat, TERI.

Globally, buildings account for 40 per cent of the total energy consumption. By using energy efficient technologies, energy consumption could be reduced by up to 60 per cent. In India, the building sector accounts for approximately 35 per cent of the total energy consumption and is growing at a rate of eight percent annually.

“One of the primary objectives of the UTC- TERI Centre of Excellence is to evaluate energy efficiency and ascertain energy requirements in existing buildings. The findings of the study have the potential of facilitating the new government’s ambitious plan of building 100 smart cities as it will involve upgrading existing cities, expanding and building around them,“ Mr  Irani added.

The Center will first conduct a Pan-India study of 100 buildings and is scheduled  to  cover  a  wide  range  of  climatic zones, covering  cities such as Allahabad,  Ajmer,  Vishakhapatnam,  Varanasi,  Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata,Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur etc. These have been selected as per the Smart Cities Programme recently initiated by the Centre.

The study will include an  energy survey, derivation of tools and techniques for identification and cost benefit analysis of Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs), calibration and validation of simulation tools, development of Measurement and Verification (M&V) protocol for implementation of ECMs, development of financial mechanism, development of remote  monitoring protocol and review and revision of existing building energy standards/codes/rating systems. The initiative is expected to deliver the proposed results within the next five years.

Talking about the future plans of the Centre of Excellence, Mr Irani said: “The ultimate aim of the Centre of Excellence is to enhance the energy efficiency quotient in all buildings across the country. Staying true to this goal, the initial plan of the Centre of Excellence is to identify existing buildings and assess energy use and consumption patterns which would eventually help in base lining the energy performance of buildings with a solid roadmap to make them more energy-efficient.”

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:

Government of India‘s emphasis on Urbanization and Energy Security:

• The Union Budget of 2014 laid emphasis on infrastructure spending, and allocated $1.1 billion for the creation of 100 Smart Cities with a strong focus on renewable energy.

Smart Cities for an Efficient India:

• In a developing nation like India, the share of energy consumed by buildings and transportation may be well over two-thirds of the country’s entire energy production.
• Given the energy challenges in India, it is of paramount importance that the government relentlessly pursues energy efficiency in all infrastructures.
• This could be accomplished systematically  through   four  key  measures:  1)  Invest  in energy-efficient   designs   and  adopt  the latest  innovations,  2)  Customize technology  according to Indian requirements, 3) Introduce energy-efficiency codes and  regulation,  and  4)  develop/ cultivate  talent  and  build capability in this domain.

XPRIZE, a global leader in incentivized prize competition,announced a formal expansion into India today at an event in Mumbai attended by some of India’s most influential business leaders including Mr Ratan Tata among other business leaders.

XPRIZE announced plans to launch multiple prizes in India over the next few years in the areas of water, energy, waste management, and food & nutrition, with an anticipated first prize addressing water sustainability, to launch in 2015 with the support of Coca-Cola India.

Guests at the event participated in an XPRIZE “Visioneering” process, where corporate leaders, philanthropists, heads of innovation and XPRIZE Trustees worked together in an unique series of brainstorming sessions to identify which of India’s Grand Challenges can best be solved through incentivized prize competitions.

Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus, Tata Sons and trustee at XPRIZE, along with Naveen Jain, founder & CEO of Inome, and Paresh Ghelani, chairman, BPG Motors have been great supporters of XPRIZE and active in bringing XPRIZE to India.  Mr. Tata said, “ We are bringing XPRIZE to India with the belief that the next big innovations to solve some of the world’s Grand Challenges will come from India, directly impacting millions of people at the base of the pyramid. Through XPRIZE, we want to tap into this promise of potential and possibility.”

“We chose India as the first geographic location outside of the U.S. to launch our global development prizes because we believe India has a technological and entrepreneurial capacity like no other country in the world,” said Zenia Tata, program director, global expansion, XPRIZE.“India is also going to provide XPRIZE the platform to meet scale and we are very excited about our global expansion and the impact we believe we are going to create.”

“Coca-Cola India is pleased to support the first XPRIZE in India in the area of water, reflecting Coca-Cola’s overarching commitment to water sustainability,” said Venkatesh Kini, president of Coca-Cola India and South West Asia. “We are excited about this partnership and through it we hope to bring forth innovative solutions to the pressing issue of water sustainability to positively impact millions of lives in India and across the globe.”

Mr. Tata, Mr. Jain, and Mr. Ghelani are among a list of XPRIZE Trustees that includes Elon Musk, Larry Page, James Cameron, Arianna Huffington, Ali Velshi, Wendy Schmidt, Ray Kurzweil, and Anousheh Ansari. Deloitte is the knowledge partner for XPRIZE in India.

Founded in 1995, XPRIZE is the leading organization solving the world’s Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prizes in five areas: Learning; Exploration; Energy & Environment; Global Development; and Life Sciences.  Active prizes include the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $15M Global Learning XPRIZE, the $10M Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, and the $2M Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE.

NGO Stree Mukti Sanghatana is facilitating the implementation of the project. As part of this decentralized solid waste management, it has already held training programmes for housekeeping, garden and other staff on how to segregate waste and ensure zero waste. Rashmi Joshi, member of Stree Mukti Sanghatana said that the key component of the initiative is a plan to educate students about composting and recycling. “One person’s waste is another person’s wealth,” she added.

Inaugurating the compost pits, VES Secretary Amar Asrani said: “We live in a world where little should go to waste. It is hoped that this first step would be the beginning of a series of activities in the campuses by the Zero Waste Volunteers that would ultimately make sustainability a way of life”. The programme was attended by a good number of enthused NSS volunteers from the VES institutions. Mumbai University has approved a grant for NSS students and NSS volunteers involved in the project and they will be awarded hours under Area Base Project (up to 10 hrs), depending on the level of involvement and desirable result, as it is an in-campus project. Posters in the campus carry strong messages on waste segregation and its value, on stopping littering within the campus, the do’s and don’ts of Waste Management, etc.

“The training programme enlightened us on the best practices for reducing the waste brought on campus, effective strategies to reuse and recycle materials”, said Rebecca D’souza, a student. Education Inspector of South Zone BD Puri was also present along with VES office-bearers on the occasion.

The Vivekanand Education Society started its educational activities in 1962 with only 256 students in a High School. Today, the Society has over 18,000 students on the roll of Primary School, High School, Jr. College, Deg. College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Polytechnic & Engineering College, College for Management Studies, Law  College, and College of Pharmacy.

In line with Deutsche Post DHL’s ‘Living Responsibility’, Blue Dart takes its responsibility to society, to the communities, to employees and to the environment seriously. Under this credo, Blue Dart (along with DP DHL) focuses its corporate responsibility on environmental protection (GoGreen), disaster management (GoHelp) and championing education (GoTeach).  Like every year, Blue Dart in collaboration with DHL celebratedGlobal Volunteer Day (GVD), its largest volunteering exercise conducted across the globe from 4^th to 14^th September 2014. Global Volunteer Day is a community outreach program focused on instilling among its employees the spirit of volunteerism and encouraging them to make a positive contribution to the world. The program enables employees in the various business units in each country to come together and collaborate on the volunteer activities for the community.

All GVD activities are driven by employee volunteerism – the willingness of employees to volunteer of their own accord, their time, talent and expertise, on behalf of the organization to a worthy social cause that will deliver benefits to their local community, without expecting any rewards or tangible gains in return for their contribution. This year, over 7,500 volunteers across business units in India and over 100,000 globally, joined hands to make a difference during GVD 2014, showcasing exemplary unity in spirit, vision and purpose. Not just employees, but partners and customers also came together to give back to local communities and the local environment through wide ranging initiatives and campaigns.

Key Highlights of GVD 2014:

• GoTeach – 430 volunteers across business units participated in activities likeorganizing drawing competitions, poster designing, conducted games and held a computer training workshop for underprivileged children across 13 locations in association with Teach for India. 

• GoGreen – 1700 X BU (cross business unit) volunteers in India supported a staggering 3,000 trees with Grow-Trees.com (official partner of the United Nations Environment Program’s Billion Tree Campaign and WWF’s Cities for Forests Campaign) in Koraput, Odisha to reverse the effects of soil erosion and regenerate degraded forests. Besides this, sapling plantations were also carried out in rural communities in Aurangabad, Satara etc.

• GoHelp – Blood Donation drives were conducted at several facilities across India. Besides this, volunteers also undertook visits to orphanages and old age homes and conducted material donation drives for Goonj. Volunteers also supported Government of India’s mid-day meal programme by donating over 10000 kgs of foodgrains under the ‘Dal by Dal’ campaign with Akshaya Patra and conducted newspaper donation drives with Dhanwantri Medical Trust to support children suffering from cancer.

NGOs like Shop for Change and Multiple Sclerosis Society of India also put up their wares for sale to bring a change in the lives of small farmers/artisans and patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. In addition to this, volunteers conducted cleanliness drives at various locations following the ‘Swach Bharat Abhiyaan’ (Campaign Clean India) mandate by the Hon. Prime Minister of India.

Volunteers also celebrated with children from Sweekar Academy of Rehabilitation, a home that works for the rehabilitation of the physically challenged and hearing impaired children.

The walk was part of the Children’s Day Celebrations organized by YES BANK. An estimated 200 YES BANKers & Students joined the walk at the Worli Sea Face on Saturday morning. For every kilometre walked by each individual, YES BANK contributed Rs. 100 to the NGO, ‘The Foundation’ for their initiative Restoring Equality through Education & Advancement of Children (REACH).

Speaking on the occasion, Rahul Bose said, “It was a wonderful to participate in YES BANK’s ‘Walk for Children’ initiative. My foundation, ‘The Foundation’ is incredibly grateful that over 200 employees of the bank undertook the charity walk this morning. It was a gesture that shows us that compassion and sensitivity are all it takes to make a movement!”

Mr. Deodutta Kurane, Group President, Human Capital Management, YES BANK,said, “Primary education is a significant pillar to empower and enable under-privileged children to achieve equality in our society. YES BANK is proud to partner the REACH initiative and contribute towards this important cause of ensuring that students from economically weaker sections of the society are enrolled in appropriate educational institutions.” YES BANK’s initiative combines altruism and movement to make a real difference to the lives of children. Stepathlon is proud to walk with YES BANK, The Foundation and Rahul Bose a day after Children’s day for the welfare of the next generation said Ravi Krishnan, Co-Founder & CEO – Stepathlon.

In addition, On the occasion of Children’s Day, YES BANK through its YES COMMUNITYplatform engaged with 75,000 children across schools in India, with the objective of igniting these young minds to be the ambassadors of change and trigger a sense of cleanliness.

YES BANK branches conducted screenings of inspirational films on cleanliness, environment and kindness as a part of YES FOUNDATION’s YES! i am the CHANGE@Schools initiative. The children also took pledges on ensuring cleanliness at their school, homes and surroundings, thereby, becoming responsible citizens.