Dispatches in Decarbonization: Net Zero Solutions and Nation Building
This article first appeared in Mahesh Ramanujam’s monthly LinkedIn newsletter, Dispatches in Decarbonization, on June 19, 2024. Subscribe on LinkedIn to receive these updates.
In 1962, at the age of 13, Shri Govind Dholakia made the long trek from a rural village to Surat, India, to seek a job as a diamond craftsman apprentice that would not only secure him refuge from the heat that had long plagued his agricultural community, but that would afford his family greater financial stability. Six decades later, as the Founder and Chairman of Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. (SRK), one of the largest and most sustainable diamond manufacturing companies in the world and a family business valued at $1.6 billion USD, Dholakia, affectionately known as Govindkaka, is now spearheading the brand’s accelerated efforts to decarbonize.
During my time as President and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council , I had the honor of presenting Govindkaka with a 2017 Greenbuild Leadership Award. I saw firsthand how his personal story contributed to his belief in reciprocity and humanitarianism — not only when it came to his employees and his organization, but to empowering people in rural communities like the one he came from, and to securing the safety and well-being of the people impacted by the growing footprint of the brand. And in the years since, having a front row seat to his life’s story and work has been a privilege, a blessing, and a reminder of my own journey in sustainability and my desire to follow his unprecedented example of leadership.
Govindkaka was born in 1949 — between India’s independence in 1947 and the 1950 founding of its democratic republic. He has experienced the progression of an impoverished nation emerging from slavery and transforming into the 5th largest economy in the world. And as he approaches his 75th birthday, India has achieved a GDP of $3.41 trillion, is making more net zero building progress than any country in the world, and has outlined a comprehensive path for becoming a net zero nation by 2070.
But for Govindkaka, 2070 is not soon enough! This is why last year, SRK joined forces with the Global Network for Zero to accelerate the company’s 2030 net zero certification commitment for its two flagship diamond crafting facilities, SRK House and SRK Empire. And I am thrilled to report that together, we have successfully net zero certified the structures six years ahead of schedule, and are beginning the next phase of the company’s net zero journey with energy, water, and waste certifications — and with a focus on tackling Scope 3 emissions first.
Acknowledging the existential crisis facing India, Govindkaka says that decarbonization is now “the crown jewel” of SRK’s work. He understands that net zero policies can no longer remain an afterthought for businesses intent on driving the economic engines of the world. And in our conversations, he has gone even further in this affirmation, stating that net zero adoption — and investing in net zero solutions — is not only a critical business decision if a company wants to future proof itself and remain relevant in the 21st century, but it is also a moral obligation and a patriotic act. In other words, net zero solutions are no longer just about moving your business to sustainable practices, but are also about the larger collective responsibility for these businesses to be nation builders.
Govindkaka often mentions that by his 100th birthday in 2049, he wants India to reach net zero as it would be an incredible culmination of his own personal life and journey, as well as the journey of a country from slaveholding stagnancy to sustainable powerhouse on the global stage. I share in wanting that dream for him — and I believe that focusing on this timeline will also prove critical to achieving Prime Minister Modi’s mid-century goal of becoming the world’s third largest economy. And admittedly, I find myself thinking about the weight of what all of this truly means.
Mahesh in Chennai as a young boy.
As a boy growing up in Chennai, India, and much like Govindkaka, my family had very humble beginnings. Because my childhood was circumstantially rooted in the concept of sustainability, I intrinsically equated its methods with survival. I had two pairs of clothes for the entire year. My father made the equivalent of $50 USD a month and managed to pay for my brother’s and my education and support our family of four.
I believe the reason I am so drawn to Govindkaka’s commitment to serving others is because we were both raised to value the idea of upward mobility, the importance of surviving and succeeding on behalf of our families, and the belief that you can and must take people with you. However, the problem with upward mobility is that so often, the inspirational stories we amplify are the ones that involve people leaving for a better life — we don’t always hear about the upward mobility stories that come full circle.
While I made my way to America, Govindkaka stayed in India to focus on bettering the country that bore us. He has spent a lifetime supporting Dudhala, the village he was born in — and is the leading force behind the solarization of the community. I have always admired this about him and I aspire to ensure my bond with my beginnings is one day as strong as the example he has set. In fact, our desire to support our families and to change the environmental and socioeconomic realities of our youth are aligned more than ever before. For both of us, this is a chance to show that the best stories of how we moved up in the world are ultimately the ones that illustrate how we moved our home, our cities, and our villages in India, up in the world.
We want our stories to be about returning to and reimagining home, about building an India that’s more innovative, inclusive, and insightful than we ever dreamed possible. If decarbonization is the crown jewel of SRK’s work, then it can also be the blueprint for building and sustaining a better India.
SRK’s net zero certification of its two flagship facilities directly impacts the quality of life of individuals within and beyond the confines of its buildings. Additionally, the company is sharing its journey with others by releasing its first Pure Impact Report, a publication documenting SRK’s achievements in education, healthcare, community development, team member empowerment, and more. But the report also highlights its net zero commitments and progress. Published to create greater transparency around SRK’s increased corporate social responsibility work, the report outlines areas for improvement and holds the organization accountable for stewarding a more sustainable India and world.
I like to refer to these steps as “declassifying decarbonization” and SRK is doing a great job at pulling the curtain work back on their processes. Too frequently, organizations and municipalities are gatekeeping when it comes to best practices for building better companies and societies. But with more corporate social responsibility, and more organizational commitments that are rooted in decarbonization efforts, we can positively change not only businesses, but also the communities, cities, and countries in which they operate. Today, I’m proud to say that the work we have done thus far with SRK serves as an example of what’s possible when we collectively treat net zero solutions as nation building strategies.
With GNFZ’s support, SRK has successfully invested in continuous improvement. The company is taking incremental steps to ensure the veracity of its Scope 3 mitigation efforts are part of a daily, company wide effort to accelerate the reduction of emissions. By implementing consistent, round the clock monitoring of their data to ensure performance optimization — including tracking commute modes and employee practices — SRK is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to uninterrupted progress on this front.
The conversation around investing back in our communities, rather than leaving them in search of better lives elsewhere, where the infrastructure may already be functioning at a fuller capacity, isn’t new. It’s a perennial discussion about individualism versus collective progress, about augmenting communities with pre-existing resources instead of advocating for the rebuilding for the most vulnerable among us, about giving to the haves and not the have nots, and at its most raw and painful, it is about forgetting our roots versus reseeding them for the next generation. It is one of the great honors of my life — not only to work with SRK and Govindkaka, to help fulfill his vision for an Indian net zero centennial (and his own personal centennial), but to have GNFZ’s first major accelerated decarbonization success story be in the nation that, for both of us, holds permanently our heart, our humanity, and our hopes for the future.