OPINIONS

We have transcended from the times when you had to hurt the environment to grow your business or harm your business to protect the environment. As governments and scientific studies underline the need for ‘green’ initiatives and sustainability, the present times have seen a convergence of business and the environment. Being green is no...

The pandemic has exacerbated the hardships our communities face and set back many incremental gains that development programmes made over the years. The next few years are our opportunity to BUILD BACK BETTER. As non-profits and corporate entities, the strength of our collaborations will significantly influence how our communities recover from the pandemic and...

We Indians are blessed with a land rooted in rich culture and heritage. A culture based on sound scientific principles that worships nature and teaches its young, best practices that have sustainability at its heart. And so, while most of the world is still battling to develop innovative ways to manage their waste, we...

There are continuous parallels being drawn between the unforeseen risks of a pandemic and the climate crisis, with both impacting the global economy substantially. This has made many investors and policymakers realise a greater need to accelerate investments and progress on businesses which prioritise ESG.  As investors increasingly apply these non-financial risk factors to identify...

Modern enterprises are actively involved in CSR as companies now believe they are equally responsible and genuinely interested in improving the state of their community and stakeholders. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted profit-oriented organizations to wake up to the gruesome reality of the healthcare infrastructure and compelled them to contribute in whichever way possible to improve the...

Scientists had predicted that the then largest on-record iceberg in the world, B15, would take many generations to melt. But by March 2020 the massive iceblock, the size of Connecticut, had broken off the coast of Antarctica – a telling impact of climate change. Ever since the climate change dialogue in the 1990s, modern civilization...

Corporate social responsibility with the mantra of ‘do good business by doing good’ became popular in the second half of the last century. The roots of which date back to pre industrial revolution where worker wellbeing, and community welfare were considered as factors influencing productivity. Today, there are generally four categories in supporting NGOs and...

The pressing need for sustainable agricultural practices is a global concern. Out of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) as proposed by the United Nations in 2015, the ‘End of Hunger’ goal lays a primary focus on sustainable agriculture, and one of its 2030 targets is to ensure the full implementation of food production...

The social fabric and traditional mindset of women working the proverbial ‘double-shift’ as the primary caregiver at home has impacted the participation of women in the Indian workforce. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a telling impact on women at work, bringing to the fore heightened gender inequalities of varying proportions encountered every day. Deloitte’s...

By: Bastiaan Van Der Linden, Associate Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility & Programme Director of the EDHEC MSC in Global & Sustainable Business, EDHEC Business School Growing concerns about anthropogenic climate change have led to the rapid development of greenhouse gas regulations. A striking characteristic of these regulations is that they are often promulgated by...

The tech industry is one of the sectors where gender disparity has been quite widespread.  Historically, too, we find that women have often been overlooked for their contributions to the field. For instance, six women programmed the first electronic computer during World War II, but none were given credit for their work. In India, women...

Climate change is slowly but steadily destroying our world, and its repercussions have been looming over us for several years, jeopardizing a healthy and safe life on Earth. Sustainable living has long been touted as a guaranteed method to avert the consequences of climate change. However, it is frequently dismissed as a fad. It's...