New Delhi (India), April 22: The Vivekananda Sustainability Summit is a national summit organized to bring to a common platform the isolated efforts that are taking place in India, to achieve and implement Sustainable development in the country.
The two-day summit was held at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi which successfully ended on 20th April 2022. The summit provided a valuable platform for the exchange of views from eminent personalities, experts, and thought leaders in various areas of environmental impact and sustainability.
The summit brought all the key stakeholders together from government, corporate sector, academia, non-governmental organizations, and civil society at large and will influence opinion makers, and increase awareness about the environmental crisis, mitigation strategies, and roles of various stakeholders.
The Vivekananda Sustainability Summit was aimed to encourage the practice of sustainable development and felicitate excelling contributors through its platform.
Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev received Lifetime Achievement Award whereas Dr Vandana Shiva got honored with the Women in Sustainability Award.
For Clean water and sanitation improvement in communities, Mukul Madhav Foundation from Pune grabbed the award while IRS, Shri Patanjali Jha received the award for Sustainable agriculture practice with Sustained improvement in yields, farmers’ income, and improved environmental profile.
Mr. Arjun Aggarwal, Symphony Environmental India won the award for the Development of new materials contributing to Sustainability through scientific innovation to the improvement of the environment and Avaada Energy received the award for Clean Energy projects leading to reduced environmental degradation and greenhouse impact. Whereas, Dr (Cdr) Arnab Das, Maritime Research Center received the award for the Replenishment of and sustainable practices in harnessing marine ecosystems.
In the category of Biodiversity, Grape County By Green Spaces Nashik received the award for Improving Biodiversity in inland life eco-systems including forests whereas, Food Digital Twin Solution by TCS received the award in Innovative uses of technology for environmental improvement and climate impact mitigation.
For social practices and engaging communities, Shri Pradeep Sangwan, Healing Himalaya got the award for the Drive and inspiring collaborations within communities leading to sustained social change and practices whereas, Council for Startup India got recognized for Sustained improvement in community livelihoods with a positive climate impact.
For highly innovative municipalities and local governments creating Environmental impact in its geography inspiring other such bodies, Indore Municipal corporation, Madhya Pradesh received the award. For Urban landscape and quality of living improvement with positive environmental change, Davanagere Smart City Limited won the award. Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti received the award for Innovative corporate Environmental champion with visible and large-scale environment improvement initiatives in its operational establishments and surrounding communities.
The Summit organizer Dr. Rajesh Sarwadnya spearheading his concern for the environment and sustainable development expressed his enthusiasm and said, “The continuity of human presence in this world depends on sustainable solutions that require major efforts and a high expenditure towards the integrity of the ecosystem for future generations.”
The 1st Vivekananda Sustainability Summit was supported by Symphony, Arc Ventures, Global Interfaith Wash Alliance and Enam Asset Management. On the other hand, Jawaharlal Nehru University was the University Partner for the Summit, also supported by Technology development board government of India.