CII Communique - October, 2010

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featuresustainabilityDeveloping a SustainabilityFramework for BusinessThe Business Leaders Programme emphasized the alignmentof sustainable business with business strategy, to build bothsustainability and business valueY C Deveshwar,Past President, CII,Chairman, CII-ITC CESDAdvisory Council andChairman, ITC LtdProf. Stuart L Hart,Cornell University,USATarun Das,President,Aspen Institute IndiaRatan N Tata,Chairman,Tata Sons LtdTHE SUSTAINABLE WAY of doing businessis fast becoming business-as-usual.Companies that act fast get the competitiveadvantage, and those that do not arethreatened by the rapidly changingmarket dynamics, business trends andregulatory landscape. Sustainabilitychallenges are the biggest opportunities on offerand companies need to reflect this in their businessstrategies. These challenges demand a radical shiftin corporate roles and responsibilities.Over 45 business people, mainly senior executives fromdiverse sectors, got together for the fourth edition ofa 3-day residential ‘Business Leaders Programme’organised by the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence forSustainable Development in association with the JohnsonSchool Centre for Sustainable Enterprise at CornellUniversity, USA, on 11-14 September in New Delhi.The objective of the programme was to emphasizethe alignment of sustainable business with businessstrategy, and help the participants define priorities,integrate sustainability throughout business, and buildboth sustainability and business value.Representatives from companies like Larsen& Toubro, ITC, Tata Consultancy, Infosys, TataPower, JUSCO, Jubilant Organosys, ONGC,NTPC, Microsoft, Philips Electronics, TataChemicals, Volkswagen, JCB, KirloskarBrothers, Suzlon Energy, Wartsila,SABMiler and many more participated inthe programme this year.The programme was led by the internationally respectedProf. Stuart L. Hart, Samuel C Johnson Chair inSustainable Global Enterprise, Cornell Unversity USA.One of the world’s top authorities on the implications ofenvironment and poverty for business strategy, Prof Harthas published over 70 papers and authored or editedseven books. With Dr. C.K. Prahalad, he also wrote thepath breaking 2002 article ‘The Fortune at the Bottom ofthe Pyramid’ (BoP) which provided the first articulationof how business could profitably serve the needs of thefour billion poor in the developing world. His best-sellingbook, ‘Capitalism at the Crossroads,’ published in 2005,was selected by Cambridge University as one of the 50top books on sustainability of all-time; the third editionof the book was published in 2010.Communiqué October 2010 | 19
featureThe co-faculty for the programme were Mr. Y CDeveshwar, Past President, CII, Chairman, CII-ITC Centreof Excellence for Sustainable Development AdvisoryCouncil and Chairman, ITC Ltd. and Mr. Ratan N Tata,Chairman, Tata Sons Ltd, Mr. Deveshwar brought tothe fore ITC’s laudable initiatives in the social domain,while Mr. Tata conversed about the much-discussed TataNano case, which helped participants in understandingthe concept of disruptive innovation.The participants worked with Prof. Hart to identifythe key sustainability strategies that are required toachieve long-term business success. The group learnedabout the latest sustainability tools including productstewardship, stakeholder engagement, green leap,embedded innovation and blended rigorous strategiclogic with the ‘view from sustainability lens’.The group of business people was challenged tolook beyond low hanging fruits - environment-friendlyprocesses, community relations, and supply chainmanagement – to identify markets in clean technologyand at the bottom-of-pyramid. At the end of theprogramme, they were able to develop a sustainablevalue portfolio for their businesses.The programme started with a moderated discussion onthe role of corporations in our lives and how businesscan help in creating stakeholder (societal) value. Thegroup discussed the evolution of sustainable enterprisesof the century, and Prof Hart elucidated the concept of‘Triple Bottom Line’.It was emphasised that, for corporates to succeed,it is crucial to develop a vision not only for what thecompany is trying to address and how they relate it tosustainability, but also for where the most appropriatemarkets can be found. The unmet needs of those atthe base of the economic pyramid may present the bestopportunity for firms to define a compelling trajectoryfor future growth.‘The Great Convergence’ conceptexplained by Prof Hart recognisesthat successful BoP strategiesmust be environmentallysustainable to avoid taking allof humanity over the proverbialenvironmental cliff.The most revealing were thediscussions and debates that tookplace during the four ‘learningteam’ sessions. In learning teams,the participants mapped and putdown the sustainability portfolios of their own businesses,identified the gaps, and designed strategic initiatives,which were presented on the final day.With the help of facilitators, the teams tried connectingthe dots and viewing the sustainability framework throughthe business lens. The value portfolio of sectors likeconstruction, energy, chemicals, IT services, infrastructureand mining were presented by the learning teams. Theteams also discussed and analysed a case study of TataMotors on the Sustainable Value Framework.From the experience of different participants in thelearning teams, it seemed that it was easier for someto find complementary conceptual linkages betweentheir renewed vision, existing capabilities, and strategicinitiatives. Each participant had a clearly defined area ofexpertise, which made it easier to define the ‘“businesscase’ for sustainability, and their Sustainable ValuePortfolio.The Business Leaders Programme equipped the groupwith practical knowledge along with modern-day toolsand frameworks to turn strategic ideas into actions forcreating sustainable business. In order to examine thebest practices of some of the world’s most sustainablecompanies and to identify the important elementsof winning strategies, a few sessions drew in guestfaculty.The lectures, discussions, case studies, and role plays,during the intensive three days proved to be a productiveprocess to build capacity of the participants for creatingsustainable businesses and improving strategic thinking,with a focus on sustainability actions. It also helped indeveloping strategies to gain competitive advantagethrough sustainability practices, including productand process innovation, and sustainable supply chainmanagement; as well as learning frameworks to strike abalance between business and sustainability objectiveswhile managing complex stakeholder relationships.Participants at the Business Leaders Programme20 | October 2010 Communiqué
Page 2 and 3: ContentsVolume 19 No. 10 October 20
Page 4 and 5: india & the worldThe CII delegation
Page 6 and 7: india & the worldCII SME Business D
Page 8 and 9: cover storyS B Mathur, Secretary Ge
Page 10 and 11: cover storyneeds like basic banking
Page 12 and 13: cover storyA Vaidheesh; Dr. Naresh
Page 16 and 17: accounting standardscorporate india
Page 18 and 19: aerospacesectoral synergiesOverview
Page 20 and 21: defenceRahul Chaudhary, Convenor, C
Page 22 and 23: competitivenesstowards excellenceCI
Page 24 and 25: leadershiptowards excellenceCII-Sur
Page 26 and 27: qualitytowards excellenceQuality in
Page 28 and 29: qualityFuture personal transport sy
Page 30 and 31: qualityGifu Autobody Company Ltd, N
Page 32 and 33: India Innovation Initiative -i3 Reg
Page 34 and 35: knowledge & innovation initiativesC
Page 36 and 37: development initiativesIt provided
Page 38 and 39: yiOn 25 September, Yi Erode organis
Page 40 and 41: eportglobal economic recovery. The
Page 42 and 43: eportBusiness Forums were also orga
Page 44 and 45: eportUzbekistanCII organised a meet
Page 46 and 47: eportLatin America & CaribbeanEngag
Page 48 and 49: eportthe frequency of such interact
Page 50 and 51: eportChandrajit Banerjee, Director
Page 52 and 53: EastRegionDistribution of Books to
Page 54 and 55: egionsand Chairman cum Managing Dir
Page 56 and 57: egionsSouthConnect 20108-9 Septembe
Page 58 and 59: egionsPricing Litigation issues in
Page 60 and 61: egionshas signed a MoU with Guidanc
Page 62 and 63: egionsDirector, Anjaleem Enterprise
Page 64:
egionsRound Table on Supply Chain24
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CII Communique - October, 2010

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