Finding solutions for the world’s most pressing problems – in particular, poverty and climate change – is no longer the exclusive domain of governments, aid agencies and NGOs. Entrepreneurs and business leaders too are demonstrating that almost no problem is too big to be tackled through innovation.
The fact that rapid economic growth is the only realistic means to lift the poor out of extreme poverty and the fact that most economic activities depend on products and services provided by the ecosystems, necessitates the ushering of a new business paradigm which enables rapid economic growth without compromising the capacity of the ecosystem to sustain, nurture and fuel economic development and human well-being.
Sustaining global economic development will demand a substantial shift in the role of industry by bringing innovation to drive sustainability and profit. India’s rapid emergence as a global economic player is being propelled in large substance by its business and industry sector, which is increasingly contributing innovative solutions for integration of development and environmental sustainability.
Interestingly, India and other emerging regions are breeding grounds for such innovative businesses and enterprises. They have recognised the challenge early, and are responding creatively, thus pushing the envelope for their prosperity. Local firms and multinationals that have localised themselves are most likely to lead and master the change. Going forward, India and other developing economies need to address poverty alleviation as well as sustainable routes to development. Resource-efficient solutions will help companies contribute to this task, as well as add to their global competitiveness. Exploring the conclusions in this report would allow companies to work out strategies that make them winners in a low-carbon economy. CII believes that sustainable development is the future of enterprise and that this report will act as a change agent to stimulate greater efforts towards this
Amidst the emerging trends in process and product innovation, mainly in response to sustainability drivers, the WWF and CII – ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development came together to explore how businesses can use drivers such as innovation and profits to tackle the twin challenges of poverty and climate change. The resulting publication brings together case studies of how businesses have targeted sustainability without losing sight of core business objectives. It reaches a number of broad conclusions that we believe will assist other companies to formulate their own roadmaps for sustainable growth.
The Report on ‘Indian Companies With Solutions That The World Needs’ by CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development and WWF is the first product of the Centre-WWF partnership. Click to download the report.
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