Mumbai (Maharashtra) : Water is essential for sustainable development, vital for both humanity and the planet’s survival. As part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations in 2016, SDG 6 aims to ensure universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for everyone by 2030. In India, both public and private sectors are launching various CSR initiatives to promote water conservation, employing innovative strategies like community governance of water resources, groundwater recharge, lake rejuvenation, and the installation of water ATMs.
Against this backdrop, senior CSR and ESG professionals from leading organizations gathered in Mumbai for the India Water Sustainability Forum. This event aimed to advance the agenda of water sustainability in India while exploring the critical link between corporate social responsibility and sustainable water management. Organized by SoulAce and chaired by CSR and ESG leaders, the Forum took place at the Jio World Convention Centre on September 10, 2024.
The forum featured engaging discussions led by experts in areas such as watershed management, lake rejuvenation, innovative drinking water initiatives, climate resilience, and groundwater recharge. Adarsh Kataruka, Managing Director of SoulAce, emphasized, “Water sustainability is not just an environmental priority; it’s a business imperative. As business objectives increasingly align with CSR and ESG, water security has become a key focus for long-term growth and sustainable community development.”
Notable speakers included Dhanalakshmi Ramachandra from Bayer, G Chandra Shekhar Gowda from Sun Pharmaceuticals, Rema Mohan from NSE Foundation, and Shiv Santra from Ultratech Cement, who participated in a panel discussing the impact of watershed conservation initiatives on livelihoods. This panel, moderated by Dr. Pooja Prasad from IIT Delhi, addressed community-based approaches, challenges like changing rainfall patterns, and the rising incidence of droughts and floods.
Another session focused on innovative drinking water initiatives in CSR, moderated by Adarsh Kataruka, with speakers from organizations such as Trent, Indo Count Industries, Colgate-Palmolive, and BASF India. They discussed their successful projects and challenges related to community engagement, infrastructure, government support, and the critical link between safe drinking water and sanitation, particularly for women.
Vishwanath S, Director of Biome Environmental Solutions, provided a sobering overview of the drinking water crisis in urban India and the demand-supply gap in the Indo-Gangetic plain, advocating for government-industry collaboration to address these issues.
A panel on urban water security through lake restoration underscored the cultural significance of urban lakes and the urgent need for groundwater recharge, featuring speakers from Godrej & Boyce, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Communications, and HDFC Life.
Sriram Raghavendran from the Heartfulness Institute presented innovative rainwater harvesting techniques, while a discussion on water and climate resilience, moderated by Siddharth Agarwal, brought together experts from ICICI Bank, IIT Delhi, Sanofi, and ITC. They discussed the increasing risks of climate change and its implications for biodiversity, advocating for a systems approach to water conservation and the application of advanced machine learning and AI technologies.
The Forum concluded with the launch of a new report by SoulAce titled “The Impact of CSR Initiatives on India’s Water Security,” based on extensive research that included over 100 impact assessments of CSR water programs.
