New Delhi: Aspire Impact, a leading ESG, sustainability, and Impact Assessment initiative in India, made significant strides in addressing environmental challenges during a recent Global Consultation, co-hosted by Aspire Circle and TERI. The global consultation, titled “Catalysing Inclusive Climate Innovations for the Global Impact Economy,” drew a large number of experts from corporations, SMEs, banks, investors, policymakers, politics, think tanks, and climate organisations.
The event’s main goal was to gather feedback on two ground-breaking research publications from two Working Groups formed ahead of the meeting, titled “Unlocking Climate Technologies for the Global South” and “Catalysing Climate and ESG-led Finance for SMEs and Supply Chains.”
For two months, the two working groups, each with 25 experts, including Chief Sustainability Officers, ESG and Impact Leaders, and SME Platforms, collaborated to jointly publish these research publications.
To present these publications, Aspire Impact and Aspire Circle collaborated with TERI, Mahindra University, m1Xchange, Desai & Associates, Capgemini, Protean e-Gov, and The Rockefeller Foundation.
The first Working Group’s goal is to connect ESG factors and sustainable practises to cost-effective climate finance for SMEs and supply chains. Open Digital Ecosystems (ODEs) have the potential to increase climate finance opportunities, boost capacity, and accelerate the transition to Net Zero emissions. This ODE has the potential to accelerate the adoption of the SDGs and prepare SMEs for the future.
The second Working Group proposes establishing a Climate Technologies Clearing House (CTCH) to facilitate climate technology transfer to governments and corporations in the Global South, with a focus on financial assistance, transparent buyer-supplier discovery, and capacity-building.
Amit Bhatia, founder of Aspire Impact and Aspire Circle, said the research publications, co-authored by 50 experts, were a remarkable T20 achievement. The event emphasised the importance of transferring climate technology from the global north to the global south, as well as linking supply-chain financing to climate action and ESG ratings.
This collaboration with CEOs, ESG and Impact Leaders, and SME platforms has sped up the world’s transition to Net Zero. The two working groups included CXOs and leaders from around the world.
“Catalysing Climate and ESG-led Finance for SMEs and Supply Chains” was co-authored by a number of experts, including Abhishake Kumar Karn, Dr. Adriana Kocornik-Mina, Amit Bhatia, Anna Bruni Sabhaney, Aparna Soni Bhalla, Bhavya Sharma, Debaroti Sarkar, Fernando Cortes McAllister, Fundación Bolivar Davivienda, Kartikkeya Nitin Desai, K.S. Priyadarshini, Manish Kumar, Dr. Manish Kumar Shrivastava, Manjari Atroley, Meeta Narsinghani, Circulate Capital, Rekha Krishnan, Rohit Bhatia, Saneesh Singh, Sangeeta Robinson, Sundeep Mohindru, and Suresh Sethi.
The paper emphasises the importance of SMEs and supply chains leveraging climate and ESG-led finance to ensure long-term success and sustainability.
“Unlocking Climate Technologies for the Global South” was co-authored by Alok Jagdhari, Alka Talwar, Dr. Amrita Goldar, Anirban Ghosh, Anurag Pratap, Ashish Mehta, Corey Glickman, Girish Sethi, Harpreet Kaur Ghai, Kartikeya Nitin Desai, Kavita Jadeja, Kiran Sarkar, Masood Mallick, Rahul Singh Tomar, Rajeev Kumar, Rohit Bhatia, Ruhana Zariwala, Sabina Curatolo, Dr. Sunita Purushottam, Suruchi Bhadwal, Swapnil Joshi, Tanya Singhal, and Zarmeen Pavri.
The book looks into the potential of climate technologies in the global south, with a focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility.