Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) had partnered with ISEAL Alliance, UK to organize a day-long seminar on the topic ‘CSR Mandate & Voluntary Sustainability Standards: Contribution to Business, Economy, Society and Environment in India’. It was held on December 16, 2014 in New Delhi.
Mr. Sumit Gupta, GOTS Representative in India and Bangladesh, spoke on “GOTS- Benefits and Contribution to India”. In his presentation, he gave the background and history of GOTS. He emphasized on salient features of the standard. He also listed out the benefits India has got since 2006 from GOTS, including the ones to businesses and environment. The presentation was concluded with an appeal to Govt of India for a formal recognition of GOTS standard in India on lines of USA govt.
The other speakers were from the Government of India, United Nations, World Wildlife Fund, International Labor Organization, Quality Council of India and other standards. The entire day was dedicated to discussing various aspects of engaging with CSR and sustainability through voluntary standards, in both the public and private sector businesses and was attended by over 120 representatives from government, businesses and civil society organizations.
Dr. Bimal Arora, CEO for CRB, said “We try to achieve 8 percent growth target with balanced growth in all sectors. While this is commendable, it also has negative impacts on environment and biodiversity. Correspondingly, there has been increase in number of institutions working on CSR, and CRB is one such institution working towards sustainability in a trading context.