India's Growth Impetus: Good Business Is Sustainable Business

“It has all the colours that you can think of in a rainbow," Sengupta told The Secretariat. 

It’s a sagacious way of conveying the fact that sustainability is, after all, multifaceted.

There has been a fair share of interest in climate start-ups in India, from electric mobility to energy transition, but every business can integrate sustainability into its core ethos. 

The Case For Sustainable Business 

In 2025, with climate change posing high risks, and coupled with shifting policy frameworks, evolving investor demands, and maturing consumer preferences, businesses need to take into account the people and the planet, in addition to their own profit and performance. This doesn’t have to be a choice. 

Embracing sustainability and responsible business practices can help straddle two objectives: You can achieve the needs of the market to be efficient, productive, and competitive, and at the same time create tangible, positive outcomes on the ground, which is critical from a public interest perspective. We’re trying to highlight the fact that it is not one way or the other

— Rijit Sengupta, CEO, Centre for Responsible Business (CRB)

It can’t hinge on greenwashed promises and guilt-tripped consumers either, but measurable contributions to the environment. The legal stick, or compliance, isn’t what is now driving sustainability efforts at organisations, but the need to be responsible. It’s increasingly becoming a core driver of resilience, market access, competitiveness, and long-term value creation. 

Businesses that cultivate the ability to predict and appropriately respond to both risks and opportunities when it comes to the sustainability of our planet are emerging as thought leaders. This can be through finance, innovation, or even trust.

Rewind And Reflect

In 2014, CRB realised that sustainability standards, which are important tools to drive positive change on sustainability in the marketplace, were, for the most part, being developed in the West. 

“The standards were being implemented in India, but there was no conversation between the developers of the standards, the stakeholders who would be involved in their implementation, and all the communities or the beneficiaries of the standards,” said Sengupta. 

CRB’s Annual Flagship Conference

He takes a trip down memory lane, recalling how CRB’s annual flagship conference, India and Sustainability Standards (ISS) came into being. 

“There was a huge gap,” he says. “There was a need for conversation between the standard setters and the stakeholders of those specific sectors. This called for a platform in which standard setters could come together with businesses, with the public sector, civil society organisations, workers, and trade unions to start a process through which the standards get enriched,” he further points out. 

That was 11 editions ago. The 12th conference, ISS 2025, kicked off today (November 12) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. It will be held till November 14. 

What started from “Why are you inviting us to a sustainability dialogue?” has now resulted in a high level of interest among stakeholders, over the past decade, since the first edition, said Sengupta. 

A lot of those stakeholders, including sectoral industry associations, are now taking a lot of active interest, trying to see how they can create a programme, stay connected, involved, and informed.  

On what else has changed, he talks about the problem of plenty and the case for good business. “There is a huge volume of knowledge right now in terms of policy and practice. We’re on the other end of the spectrum where the challenge is about credibility, about figuring out what information and standards are relevant to you," he says.   

Sengupta believes that organisations are starting to see that being purposeful is also a good business case, whether it is large corporations, SMEs, or startups. 

Sustainability In Season (At least For India)

COP30 has been underway, but the past months have seen advanced countries putting the sustainability agenda on the back burner. 

“One of the key takeaways from ISS 2025 would be to bring back confidence among stakeholders on the importance and relevance of sustainability and sustainable businesses, especially in a developing country like India,” says Sengupta, and adds, “If there is a lack of confidence, the evidence of impact is the only way to restore it.” 

Green Taxonomy

That is the next step for India: To develop systems and processes to gather data and communicate the evidence. A green taxonomy is part of it. Taxonomy is a language that brings the investor and the project owner together on the same page. It’s critical when we talk about financing. “If you ask me questions in French and I don't understand French, then… it results in a communication gap between your expectation and my ability to answer those questions," he says. 

But India does have a sustainability narrative. It may not be the same as that of an advanced economy; however, there is nonetheless an effective and efficient narrative from India on sustainable growth. “Though there is a lot more to be done, we need to take a moment to recognise and appreciate that narrative,” Sengupta highlights.

ISS 2025 is one way to recognise it and take the next steps into a sustainable future.