PUNE: The J.P. Shroff Foundation recently held its first ‘Sustainability Crusader Awards’ at the Royal Connaught Boat Club, Pune. The awards were organized in association with ‘Sustain & Save’ and presented as a recognition of the commendable work done by the winners in the field of sustainability in their respective fields.
The awards were presented by Dr. Abhay Firodia, Chairman, of Force Motors, and Kamal Sarda, Chairman of Sarda Group in the presence of Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); Dr. Ganesh Natarajan- Executive Chairman and Founder of 5F World, Pradeep Bhargav Chairman, MECF; Founder J. P. Shroff and Directors of ‘Sustain & Save’, Pranati Shroff Munot and Ankita Sarda Munot and other distinguished dignitaries.
A new logo of ‘Sustain & Save’ was also unveiled during the award ceremony at the hands of Dr. Abhay Firodia and Kamal Sarda.
Speaking during the award ceremony Dr. Raghunath Mashelakr said, “As the chairperson of the award jury, it was a daunting task to outline a stringent filter to select the deserving awardees. A well-defined framework plays an important role in sustainable development of any form and sustainable plans are best implemented in a phased out manner”.
Speaking at the award ceremony Dr. Abhay Firodia said, “Pune is always on the forefront when it comes to resolution of issues of any form. We have the best experts across sectors, especially the ones relating to environmental sustainability. I am happy to see that J. P. Shroff Foundation selected sustainability for the awards as it forms the core for development and growth”
Founder J.P Shroff congratulated the recipients and assured them that the foundation was enthusiastic about the initiative and would continue to give these awards every year.
The jury for the awards was spearheaded by Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar with support from Pradeep Bhargava, Chairman, MECF, Mr. Ashish Gaikwad, MD, Honeywell Automation India and Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman 5F World.
As a precursor to the program a Panel Discussion on ‘Future of Sustainability’ was held. It was moderated by Dr. Ganesh Natarajan wherein Michael Schreuder, Deputy Principal Officer, US Consulate General Mumbai delivered the keynote address. Anoop Poddar -MD, Eversource Capital, and Ashish Gaikwad were the other panelists highlighting the inevitable need and importance of implementing sustainable practices in every activity of humankind.
During the panel discussion, Anoop Poddar highlighted the need for a policy framework for sustainability in various industries like energy and electricity. Ashish Gaikwad said that it was important to rethink the modus operandi and application when it comes to sustainability. He also stressed that apart from formulating the sustainability framework, it was equally important to chalk out the phased-out implementation plan. Michael Schreuder spoke about the strong relationship shared by India and America. He said sustainable development was the key to industrial, educational, and technological development. Dr. Ganesh Natarajan mentioned the importance of a sustainable approach towards all aspects of human life. He also said that growth and development were best achieved by including sustainability in one’s day-to-day approaches.
The Sustainability Crusaders honored were
- Dr. Pramod Chaudhary (Executive Chairman, Praj Industries) for Corporate Leadership
- Shri Shekhar Singh I.A.S (Commissioner PCMC) for Green Governance
- Adv. Vandana Chavan (Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha) for Individual Green Crusader
- Mr. Milon. K. Nag (Managing Director, K. K. Nag Pvt. Ltd.) for Green SME
- Mr. Aditya Agarwal (Founder and Director S.A. Glass Pvt. Ltd.) for Green SME
- Mr. Trupti Agarwal (Chairperson, Vishwakarma Group of Schools) for Green Education
- Mr. Ajinkya Dhariya (Founder and CEO of PadCare Labs) for Sustainability Start-up.
