Bhubaneswar: Xavier School of Sustainability (XSoS) in collaboration with ConXerv (the Sustainability committee) of Xavier University, Bhubaneshwar (XUB) hosted its annual business conclave, Parivartan, on August 31st, 2018. The conclave aimed to provide the students of Sustainability Management (SM) a comprehensive view on “Sustainability: Investment or Financial Liability”, which was the theme for the event.
The gathering was graced by the presence of renowned industry experts. The speakers for the session were Ms. Anita Rajan (Chief Operating Officer, Tata STRIVE), Mr. Indra Guha (Partner, Sustainability and Climate Change, Thinkthrough Consulting Pvt. Ltd), Mr. Nimai Lila Das (Chief Sustainability Officer, Govardhan Ecovillage), Mr. Sandeep Roy Choudhury (Co-Founder, VNV Advisory Services). They, along with Dr. S Peppin (Dean, XSoS) and Prof. Dr. Sutapa Pati (Co-Ordinator, XUB Student Affairs) inaugurated the conclave by lighting the ceremonial lamp and elucidated briefly about the importance of the theme.
Dr. S Peppin opened the forum with his welcome address and enlightened what led to the formation of XSoS. Prof. Dr. Sutapa Pati, the moderator of the discussion, stressed on the constant tug of war between investment and financial liability. The first speaker for the panel was Ms. Anita Rajan, who advocated the importance of long-term survival with inclusive growth. She also instilled the concept of liability in the minds of the students and urged the future managers to think of liability as an opportunity. She focused on concepts varying from automation to energy consumption to urban crisis. The next speaker, Mr. Nimai Lila Das stressed on how it’s very easy to be eco-friendly but very difficult to be ego-friendly. He reinforced why ethics and values should always be at core and rest can be built around it. He made a strong point on how sustainability should be looked from a human perspective and not based on accounting principles. The third speaker for the day was Mr. Sandeep Roy Choudhury and he spoke in lengths about the LDC (Least Developed Countries) and the Paris Agreement. He stated what matters is how you sell the idea. Mr. Indra Guha, spoke next on ecological bottom line in a broader sphere. He also stated that investors drive the sustainability agenda.
The session was followed by an interactive and enriching question-answer round, that helped the students of Sustainability Management clear their doubts. All the guest speakers were presented with a token of appreciation and the conclave concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms. N. Elakiya Priya, the student coordinator of ConXerv.
