India and Corporate Social Responsibility: 2018 Perspective

India made the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provision mandatory through its Companies Act, 2013 and the CSR (Policy) Rules (the Act) from 1 April 2014. This has led to several businesses stepping forward, formulating their CSR policies and spending for social and environmental initiatives. Now in 2018, when we look …

Reducing our Plastic Footprint

Over the past three hundred years, technology has unquestionably enhanced the life and well-being of a greater portion of humanity than in all of the human history that went before.  Ordinary people can now live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives than even the mightiest potentates of earlier times. Yet, …

Taking Charge of the Waste We Produce

Across India, 43 million tonnes of solid waste is collected annually. Out of this, a mere 22% is treated and the rest 72% is dumped at landfill sites. This dumping of waste is causing serious health problems seen in the form of breathing issues, bacterial infections and increase in cardiovascular …

Towards a Green & Inclusive India

The Limits to Growth (1972) was a landmark study which used dynamic computer modelling to predict that the global system would ultimately collapse if the production and consumption practices continued with business-as-usual. The implication was that economic growth must respect its planetary boundaries. While the report initially created much controversy, …

Literacy, Women Empowerment and Sustainable Development

Two-thirds of the world’s adult illiterates are women. Literacy is crucial for promoting women’s rights, achieving empowerment, enhancing livelihood skills, strengthening their participation and leadership in the public sphere, and ensuring gender justice. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in September 2015, state under Goal 4: …

Empowering Entrepreneurial Space to Go Green and Become Inclusive

Circular economy is an evolution of findings of the Limits to Growth theorists. It challenges the linear take, make and dispose model of industrial production, seeking to decouple economic growth from resource use. It has recently gained significant traction, particularly in the global business community and advanced economies – as …