New Delhi, Nov 17, 2022: Shikhar Organisation for Social Development kicked off its 10th National CSR summit in association with UN – Global Compact Network India on Wednesday.
The theme of this year’s exhibition is “Enablement of Sustainable Cities and Urban Communities Through Corporate Social Responsibility”.
The event was held at India International Centre, Maxmuller Marg, New Delhi.
The inaugural event witnessed several key dignitaries coming together to expound upon the role of CSR in shaping the sustainable agenda.
Krishan Pal Gurjar, Union State Minister, Power and Heavy Industries, GOI, served as the chief guest at the event. Javed Ali Khan, MP-RS, Member Parliamentary Committee Energy and Ruhana Zariwala, Global Sustainability Head at Cipla attended as the Guest of Honors at the event. Deepak Dwivedi, chairman and editor-in-chief at Blitz India, joined the dignitaries as a special guest.
In his opening remarks, Prof (Dr.) RK Suri, Pro Vice Chancellor at DSEU, Govt of NCT Delhi said, “PM Narendra Modi has announced at COP26 that India would adopt a net zero emissions target by 2070. It is the responsibility of each and every citizen of India to honour the ambitious pledge made by PM Modi.”
Ratnesh Jha, executive director at UN-GCNI, delivered the keynote address at the event. Addressing the attendees at the event, Jha said, “Mass awareness about the paths we have taken that have led to rampant abuse of natural resources needs to carried out.”
He also stressed on the role of private sector in achieving a sustainable future. He added, “SDGs agenda cannot be achieved via select activities but we have to rethink the whole strategy so as to halt the planet’s destruction. SDGs have to be intertwined throughout the entire business organization and have to be implemented through long-term business goals.”
Javed Ali Khan, MP Rajya Sabha heaped praises on the work done by Shikhar NGO in his address. He also voiced the need for strict laws pertaining to social responsibilities. He also pledged his assistance to the organization in helping them achieve their sustainability-related goals.
Deepak Dwivedi, chairman & editor-in-chief at Blitz India and special guest of the event, said, “Shikhar is one such platform which has made its presence known through notable actions..consistent actions need to be taken for improving the quality of social work.
Dwivedi also spoke highly of India’s assumption of the G20 presidency for the coming year.
Addressing the various environmental issues that have emerged over the past decades, Krishan Pal Gurjar noted “Enormous environmental challenges are our own creation. In addition to the government unveiling varying initiatives to put an end to the problem, citizens should also come together to limit the problems.”
He further added, “Our Prime Minister has pledged in front of the entire world that India will cut down its emissions to net zero by 2070. India is also working towards meeting 50% of energy requirements from renewables in order to reduce dependency on non-renewable energy sources and to prevent environmental damage.”
