Issue: #16 | July 2015

CONSUME WITH CARE

In this issue:
Fiinovation & IOD Champion the
Cause of Environment Management

Making India Sustainable

Infographic : The Echo of

Environment
Are we listening?

HUL - Breathing Life

Fiinobservation of National Days

into MGNREGA

www.inova on.co.in

From the

CEOs Desk
The world popula on today stands at over 7 billion. As it con nues to grow, the demand for resources to fulll their
need is also accelera ng. Today, in the modern world, we have established scien c economies where we have
become heavily dependent on ar cial devices and products. In our a empt to sa ate our unlimited wants, we have
exploited the natural resources to the extent to which natural calami es have become a regular occurrence. Over the
years, environmental concerns such as global warming, disturbed weather cycle and dierent forms of air, soil and
water pollu on have clearly indicated that we have wreaked havoc on our planet. By plundering environmental
resources, we have not only destroyed millions of habitats of wildlife species but also jeopardized our own existence.
have intruded upon the sanc ty and balance of nature.
This gives us a peek into the future where warring countries will ght to take control of the most precious possession water, and not oil. The ever-growing popula on is at a high risk of destroying a green future.
I rmly believe it is our responsibility that we become sustainable and leave a green and healthy habitat for the next
genera on because we owe it to them. We must not forget that we have borrowed the earth from our children and
we must put in a cohesive eort to preserve it to ensure con nuity.
This edi on of our newsle er focuses on the growing and glaring concern of consump on against availability, leading
to environmental degrada on. The theme 'Making Future Green - Consume with Care' brings forward dierent
aspects of popula on growth in rela on to the use of natural resources. We, at Fiinova on, believe that sustainability
is the only way forward for tackling a global problem and of such a magnitude that concerns not only us but our
children too. Let's give a green hope to the next genera on.

Mr. Soumitro Chakraborty

CEO, Fiinovation (Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd.)

Fiinovation & IOD Champion the

Cause of Environment Management
New Delhi: 'Strategize and integrate environment management policies within the business framework and ensure smooth transi on
towards a greener economy' was the popular sen ment echoed by the industry stalwarts at the 17th World Congress Day on
Environment Management held on July 10-11, 2015 at Le Meridien, New Delhi, organised by the Ins tute of Directors (IOD). The twoday event oered a pla orm to leaders from the eld to deliberate on the issue of climate change and take correc ve measures to curb
the damages. Joining hands with IOD as Principle Knowledge Partner, Fiinova on, a research based consultancy in CSR & Sustainability
domain, lent its support to the event and contributed to its success.
The Chief Guest of the inaugural session Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, said, "There is
a need to create a balance in the natural system, climate change fund and less IPR inuence." According to him, a balance between the
three can ensure benets for developing and under-developed countries and help in reduc on of risks from clima c changes.
"Regular amendments of laws are necessary to address climate change and we are working on bringing a new legal infrastructure that
will make processes simpler and focus on a policy based regime." he further said.
He also drew a en on to various ini a ves undertaken by the ministry of Environment, Government of India such as re-foresta on,
carbon budge ng and auent monitoring systems.
Underlining the need to incorporate sustainability within the business opera ons amidst a world crisis of water availability that is
expected to become a reality by 2030, Mr. Soumitro Chakraborty, CEO, Fiinova on, said we should take the opportunity to earnestly
think and imbibe environment management processes and policies in our opera ons. "The journey undertaken by the present
genera on is already under 50% debt, and they do not have the right to take away from the future genera ons," he said.
The core agenda of the conference was to explore cri cal issues of environment such as role of ICT in environment management and
socio-economic development, environmental governance, driving green growth through market based instruments, comba ng risks to
environment through clima c change and aligning CSR with environment. These were segmented into seven dierent plenary sessions
which had eminent panelists who shared their exper se on the ma er.
The culmina ng session of the conference was followed by the pres gious 'Golden Peacock Awards 2015' in the presence of Ms.
Meenakshi Lekhi, Hon'ble Member of Parliament; Mr. S. Chakraborty, CEO, Fiinova on; Mr. Lavasa, Secretary, Ministry of Environment,
Forests & Climate Change, who facilitated various corpora ons for their achievement in the eld of environment management. The
event ended on a high note with the event proving to be an engaging one for all the concerned par es.

Making India Sustainable

With 17.5 percent share in the world's popula on, India stands at the second posi on as
the most populous country in the world. The increasing popula on poses a threat to forest
land, agricultural area and other such land to be inhabited by surplus popula on. In order
to address the growing needs and demands of a popula on base that shows no signs of
slowing down, humans have exploited natural resources to no end. This has exerted huge
pressure on the planet, resul ng in weakening the pile of nite natural resources.
The rapidly growing popula on and their never ending greed for more luxurious lifestyle
has resulted in environmental degrada on. Following the trend of urban popula on,
people from rural areas are also shi ing to urban lifestyle and moving towards industries
for employment opportunity. Urbaniza on and industrializa on, together, have
contributed towards economic growth and development to a great extent. But due to
wastage, irresponsible disposal of untreated waste have proceeded to unfavorable
condi ons of the agricultural land, ora-fauna and fresh water. Earth has been
regressively bearing the brunt of fullling our demands by constant supply of resources.
Majority of the popula on is aware about degrada on of environment, but their
unwillingness to develop eco-friendly habits contributes to further deteriora on.
It is crucial for an economy to execute economic ac vi es backed by sustainability to be
successful. Sustainable growth facilitates prot genera on in the short run, while ensuring
environmental balance in the long-run.
Next in line to become the superpower, owing to a fast paced infrastructural development
and a favourable economic growth rate, India needs to op mally u lize and sustain
available resources, if it is seriously looking to achieve all round development. It is
necessary for India to op mally u lize and sustain the available resources. Thus, it is
impera ve to research and innovate to minimize wastage, reduce cost and lower the
carbon footprint. The intent of the industries and urban development authori es should
be to evolve and employ technologies to u lize renewable energy with prudent
innova on.

Aditi Singh

The Echo of Environment

Are we listening?
GROWING POPULATION, SHRINKING PLANET
9000
8000
7000

Million

6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
500BC

1000

1500

1800

1900

1950

1975

1999

2025

Popula on Growth Globally

HUMAN IMPACT - UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

PM2.5, which is considered the most
dangerous par cle, o en reaches more than
20 mes the permissible limit in Delhi's air.
We are using 50% more natural
resources than the earth can
comfortably provide.

14 billion pounds of garbage

are dumped into the ocean
every year, most of which is
plas c.

In 2012, humans
generated over 49
m i l l i o n to n s o f
electronic waste.

Every hour, 1,692

acres of produc ve
dry land becomes a
desert.

Americans make up 5% of the

world's popula on and yet
produce 30% of the world's
waste while using 25% of the
world's resources.

27% of the world's coral reefs

have been destroyed. If this
con nues, it will be wiped from
the face of the planet in the
next 30 years.
In just 1 minute, 43,000 tons of carbon
dioxide were emi ed into the world while
56,674 barrels of oil were pumped from the
Earth.

LET'S HITCH-HIKE TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY!

India's Solar Poten al

India's Emission Target

750 GW

Reduc on of GHG by 40%

by 2030

India's Renewable Energy

Target

India's Sanita on Target

1,75,000 MW of by 2022

India's Forest Cover Target

33% of the Geographical area
of the Country

Open Defeca on Free by

2019

{ABILITY{
SUSTAIN

FOR THE PEOPLE

BY THE PEOPLE

HUL - Breathing Life

into MGNREGA

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer

Goods (FMCG) company with a heritage of over 80 years in India and has
touched the lives of two out of three Indians two out of three Indians.
Understanding the need for crea ng societal value to improve the standard of
living of the people, the company established Hindustan Unilever Founda on
(HUF) in 2010, a not-for-prot organiza on with a view to anchor various
community development ini a ves.

HUL Snapshot
Founded
Sector
Type
Revenue
Employees

1932
FMCG
Public
Rs 30,170 Crore
Direct 18,000; Indirect - 65,000

HUF has been suppor ng na onal priori es for socio-economic development through its 'Water For Public Good' programme. It
collaborated in an innova ve public-private-civil society partnership for providing livelihood and conserving nature through Mahatma
Gandhi Na onal Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with its Rs. 42 crore ini a ve.

Issues
With more than 200 suicides this year alone, Marathawada con nues to remain the epicentre of farmer suicides in India. Many in the
region quite clearly remember the severe 1972 drought. However, things have not changed despite signicant work towards water
conserva on. People s ll rely on water tanks, while the huge agrarian crisis have ensured that it has become a quest for survival for the
villagers. Some of the concerns that have arisen from the issue are:
75% of the families migrate to labour in sugarcane elds in western Maharashtra
50% drop in MGNREGA work in last ve years: 284 crore in 2009-10 to 155 crore in 2014-15
Panchayat and block level authori es lack the capacity to plan, formulate and execute MGNREGA work, absorbing large number of job
seekers

Implementa on Process

Awareness genera on on water conserva on through street plays, folk songs etc.
Visits to Hiware Bazaar, a water conserva on model village in Ahmednagar district
Collec ng baseline data on households
Wealth rankings for the diagnosis of the nancial condi on of the farmer
Vulnerability score of the village based on ve capitals; natural, human, social, material and nancial
Topography mapping - ground water, surface water and catchments, rainfall intensity and pa erns, es mates of run-os, evapora on
rate and other environmental measures
Engaging with the government authori es, building capaci es, and altering mindsets of partners

Impact

Created a cumula ve water poten al of 100 billion litres in last 5 years, targe ng 500 billion litres by 2020
Targe ng increase in agricultural yields (9,700 tonnes) by 2019 spread over 76 villages
In Ambad block of Jalna district, over 2,500 people work on MGNREGA sites everyday
Water conserva on work deploying 200-300 people in a single village is now quite common
The ini a ve beginning to interest large corpora ons such as L&T, HDFC, HDFC etc.

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Food for thought

Popula on growth shares complex es to poverty and inequality, exacerba ng the gap between the wealthy and the poor, and
complica ng access to Earth's nite resources.
Since 1870, global sea levels have risen by about 8 inches.
There are more than 500 million cars in the world and by 2030 the number will rise to 1 billion. This means pollu on level will be more
than double.
Burning fossil fuels to produce fer lizers for animal feed crops may emit 41 million metric tons of CO2 per year.
Corn, wheat, and rice, the fast-growing crops on which humanity depends for survival, are among the most nitrogen hungry of all plants.

Hear the inuencers speak

"Climate change is destroying our path to sustainability. Ours is a world of looming challenges and increasingly limited resources.
Sustainable development oers the best chance to adjust our course.
-Ban Ki-moon (Secretary-General of the United Na ons)

"The future is green energy, sustainability, renewable energy.

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

People 'over-produce' pollu on because they are not paying for the costs of dealing with it.
-Nobel Laureate Dr. Henry W. Kendall

"The hungry world cannot be fed un l and unless the growth of its resources and the growth of its popula on come into balance.
Each man and woman - and each na on - must make decisions of conscience and policy in the face of this great problem.
-Lyndon B. Johnson

"If we don't halt popula on growth with jus ce and compassion, it will be done for us by nature, brutally and without pity- and will
leave a ravaged world."
-Nobel Laureate Dr. Henry W. Kendall

Fiinobservation of International Days

World Population Day

World Youth Skills Day

11 July

15 July

World Day against Trafcking in

Persons
30 July

In 1989, the Governing Council of the

United Na ons Development Programme
(UNDP) recommended that 11th July be
observed as World Popula on Day by the
interna onal community. This was a day to
focus a en on on the urgency and
importance of popula on issues. This year,
the theme of World Popula on Day is
Vulnerable Popula ons in Emergencies.
The World Popula on Day is in a sense a
means to review measures undertaken to
improve and control popula on. According
to the Millennium Development Goals
India country report 2015" released by the
Ministry of Sta s cs and Programme
Implementa on, Government of India,
India has fared well in achieving some of
the targets. We have been successful to
bring down Poverty Head Count Ra o to
21.9 percent in 2011-12 from 47.8 percent
of 1990. Primary educa on rate for all
youths will reach 93.38 in 2015 marching
towards 100 percent rate soon; however
we s ll can do be er in reducing child
mortality rate and improving in maternal
health. The power of 1.28 billion is both a
challenge and an opportunity. The
ques on is can we capitalize on this power
to build a na on full of opportunity and
pave the path for development?

The youth are the torchbearers of a na on,

owing to the huge poten al they hold to
transform the society for the be er. It is
es mated that the youth popula on, aged
between 12 and 24, accounts for
approximately 23% of the world popula on.
But, having such a massive youth force will
not do any good if it's le unguided. Hence,
there is a need to tap this pool. Regarded as
the leaders of tomorrow, makes it even more
crucial to recognise their rights and needs for
nurturing their skills to ensure a bright future
for the society as a whole.
World Youth Skills Day is a United Na ons
(UN) designated day which seeks to generate
greater awareness and discussion on the
importance of technical, voca onal,
educa on and training and the development
of other skills relevant to both local and
global nancial state. Sri Lanka ini ated this
resolu on, with the assistance of the G77 and
China, which led to the UN general assembly
declaring 15th July as the World Youth Skills
Day on 19th December 2014.

Taking one's freedom away is perhaps the

biggest crime of them all. We, all have read
the books of history and learned about
how from the beginning of civiliza on
slavery was prevalent in almost every
culture, religion and part of the world.
Human tracking an ill prac ce which had
caused menace is thought to be ex nct by
many, but the truth is that even in the
present era people are vic m of this
prac ce.
The many forms of human tracking are
child labour, forced labour, sexual slavery
and even forced marriage. The vic ms of
all these prac ces are deprived from their
basic rights and are forced to oblige the
orders of others. As per United Na on 2.5
million people are trapped in modern day
slavery at any given me in a day. Out of
the en re popula on women are more
pushed into human tracking. As per UN
70 percent of the vic m of slavery are
women, whom are mostly forced into sex
trade. In 2013, the UNGA adopted a
resolu on and designated July 30 as the
World Day against Tracking in Persons.

About Fiinova on
Fiinova on, a research based organiza on, is an integrated solu on enabler in the CSR and sustainability domain. It is focused towards
enhancing quality across organiza onal value chain through meaningful innova on thereby ensuring sustainability. It is Asia's rst
proposal research laboratory wherein research is focused primarily on four sectors, which include health, educa on, livelihood and
environment. The prac ces CSR Por olio Management (CPM), CSR-CSO Partnership, Ini a ve Design, Ini a ve Management,
Monitoring and Evalua on, Impact Assessment and Sustainability Repor ng help provide simple solu ons to their partners.
Fiinova on
24/30, Ground Floor, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase III
New Delhi - 110020
Phone: 011-42332200 | Fax : 011-42332205
website: www.inova on.co.in | Email: media@inova on.co.in