Professional Talk Series 1 (Mr. S. Anantha Krishnan)

As part of a series of Professional Talks, the Indian Business Council (IBC) hosted a lecture, ‘Sustainability – The Emerging Business Model – Opportunities & Challenges’ delivered by the Secretary General of Urban Economy Forum Shri S. Anantha Krishnan at the seat of the Indian High Commission at Ebene on May 9.

In his address founder member of IBC Mr. Jayasankar Seshadri while introducing the speaker emphasised the criticality of discussion on Sustainability that comes at the current juncture, in particular at a time when the inhabitants are drawing far more from the planet that it can regenerate.

In his talk, Mr. Krishnan enumerated the concept of sustainable development that was initially discussed during the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Human Environment. The sustainable development goals were adopted in 2015 by the UN and its Member States. In the context of achieving Sustainable Development Goals, or what is known as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the business sector has become an integral partner, or even an enabler of sustainable development. It is an essential partner in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The SDGs serve as guidelines for businesses to assess and manage social, economic, and environmental risks while contributing to bettering their reputation, and image as well as their strategic position in the world’s markets. This is especially relevant for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). According to the World Bank, SMEs represent half of the developing world’s workforce, and without a doubt will have the greatest impact on the SDGs.

The progress in achieving SDGs so far in the first half of the target period has not been very encouraging and it is important that the government, business sector as well as the citizen come together to ensure that the SDG meets its target by 2030.

SDG Goals, Priority Sectors and High Ambition Coalition

As we speak about SDGs and Investment opportunities pertaining to Mauritius – UNDP investor map, the speaker pointed out that in 2021, the Government partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop the SDG Investor Map locally. Led by the Economic Development Board (EDB), the SDG Investor Map was developed as a result of extensive research and consultations with the public and private sectors to identify 17 investment opportunity areas spanning 6 priority sectors, namely Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy, Infrastructure, Services, Education, Healthcare and Food and Beverage.

The various achievements include Mauritius agreeing in April to join the “High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution” which was being led by Norway and Rwanda. The United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a Resolution in March 2022 to “End Plastic Pollution: Towards an International Legally Binding Instrument”. Last year, the United Nations and government officials from Mauritius and Seychelles launched a significant UN Joint SDG Fund project to advance the countries’ green and blue economy agenda.

Greening Businesses, Indian Success Story and Sustainability for Mauritius

The speaker also remarked that Mauritius can showcase a growing number of practical examples of greening businesses across key economic sectors such as manufacturing, tourism, and energy. These are in textile firms that have been greening production processes with solar water heating systems, recycled wastewater, recycling, and natural air-cooling practices. Not only do these investments create jobs, but they can also reduce energy use by up to 30 percent.

“As an example of Public-Private partnerships, Mauritius has successfully introduced a set of policy measures for enhancing the quality of used vehicles. The island only allows used vehicles that are not older than three years. The Government has also partnered with Intertek for a pre-export inspection programme pertaining to used vehicles being exported to the country. As a result, the country has been seeing a major increase in the import of used (hybrid) electric vehicles lately,” Shri Krishnan stressed.

“The country’s emphasis on sustainability, technology, financial services, entrepreneurship, and leadership development has led to the emergence of several successful businesses and skilled leaders in the country. As a result, Mauritius remains a hub for business and investment in the African region and is poised for even greater success in the years to come.”

The speaker also emphasized the need to learn from countries like India which had followed a sustainable lifestyle earlier, with a thriving recycling industry and has also taken the lead now in green energy and conversion of municipal waste.

In his vote of thanks, IBC President Dr. Suresh Nanda expressed that the circular economy and sustainability open up a lot of new business opportunities for Mauritius including green finance, solar energy, sustainable construction materials, recycling of electronic waste and other eco-friendly recycling businesses and reconditioned furniture, among others.