As global leaders confront the challenges of the 21st century, sustainability is no longer a buzzword but an urgent business imperative. The responsibility to take bold, transformative action has never been more pressing. Recent reports from leading institutions highlight this need with stark clarity.
Insights from PwC’s latest Global CEO Survey, launched at Davos, reveal that while executives may be less focused on short-term issues like inflation and economic growth for 2024, there is a growing consensus on the longer-term threats posed by climate change and artificial intelligence (AI).
Among the 4,700 CEOs surveyed, a striking 45 percent (compared to 39 percent last year) fear that their businesses could fail to survive the next decade without a fundamental transformation in response to these challenges. The intersection of climate disruption and the rise of AI has intensified the demand for business reinvention, with leaders across sectors seeking sustainable solutions for the future.
KPMG’s latest findings support this narrative, showing steady growth in sustainability reporting. A significant 79 percent of leading companies now provide sustainability reports, a promising trend. However, deeper analysis reveals critical gaps. Less than half of the world’s largest firms are actively reporting on the ‘social’ and ‘governance’ components of ESG (environmental, social and governance).
While there has been progress in carbon reduction targets, key areas like biodiversity loss remain largely unaddressed. KPMG’s recommendations urge companies to shift away from narrative-driven approaches and towards a more data-centric model that drives tangible change and action.
Meanwhile, a recent BIO by Deloitte study, commissioned by the Europe Commission, pinpoints critical materials and sectors driving the transition to a circular economy. Agricultural products, plastics, metals and electronic waste are highlighted as priority materials, while sectors such as packaging, food, electronics and construction emerge as key areas of focus.
The report identifies both drivers and barriers to progress—from the rising costs of materials to evolving societal values and environmental legislation—and also the challenges posed by technology changes and reverse logistics management.
Against this backdrop, Storyboard18 and Network18 Group are proud to launch Power of Purpose: Sustainability Edition, a marquee platform designed to spotlight critical conversations on sustainability and purpose-driven leadership.
Power of Purpose: Sustainability Edition is a pivotal platform to foster dialogue on sustainability and highlight how today’s leaders are embedding purpose and environmental stewardship into their companies.
Our objective is to bring together the most prominent and influential leaders from various sectors to explore the latest innovations, policies and strategies essential to integrating sustainability across business practices and brands.
The dialogues at Power of Purpose will ultimately spotlight the importance of sustainability leadership and empowering the next generation.
They will focus on the collaborative approaches to achieving purpose-driven goals; policy initiatives for strengthening the sustainability ecosystem and driving transformative changes in sustainability initiatives through innovative technologies; circular economy integration with a focus on purpose and its impact on the economy; how corporations align sustainability purpose to India’s sustainability goals and nation building; and how to build to last, keeping in mind the new bottom line—people, planet, profits.
Among the policymakers and change-makers at Power Of Purpose is Union Minister Shri Chirag Paswan, who will be joined by other leaders such as Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Co-founder & Executive Vice Chairman, InfoEdge; Rohit Kapoor, CEO – Food Marketplace, Swiggy; Saurabh Kumar, VP- India, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet; Jyoti Vij, Director General, FICCI; Hisham Mundol, Chief Advisor, Environmental Defense Fund India; Chandra Bhushan, CEO, iFOREST; Ramnath Vaidyanthan, AVP & Head Of Sustainability, Godrej Industries; Alok Lall, COO, Microsoft India and South Asia; Ruchira Jaitly, CMO, Diageo India; Angelo George, CEO, Bisleri International; Ridhima Pandey, 16-year-old climate activist; Prof Chetan Solanki, Professor, IIT Bombay and ‘Solar Man of India’; and Sashidhar Vempala, Chief Sustainability Officer, HUL.
Join us on October 18 in New Delhi for a gathering of purpose-driven minds, where impactful stories and pivotal conversations will set the agenda for a sustainable future. It will be the central platform for the dialogues and stories that truly matter.