GNFZ’s Delhi Leadership Roundtable: The Critical Role of Net Zero In Making a Developed India by 2047 Possible
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India is taking giant strides toward establishing itself as a developed nation by 2047, marking the country’s 100th Independence anniversary.
But to be truly developed, all citizens must have access to the most fundamental needs for healthy living — clean air and water.
And how does a nation ensure that? By reducing and eliminating its emissions to become net zero.
With ‘the role of net zero in enabling a developed India by 2047’ as our theme, GNFZ hosted its second Leadership Roundtable in Delhi earlier this year, following the success of the first roundtable in Mumbai. As India’s capital city, Delhi was an ideal place to convey our message of accelerating the shift to a zero emissions world. At GNFZ, our core mission is to “put net zero within reach.”
The event kickstarted with Geetanjali Prasad, VP of Marketing and Growth, who shared how GNFZ addresses market barriers through our incremental certification process, leaving no building or business behind.
It was then time for Mahesh Ramanujam, our President & CEO, to present GNFZ milestone certificates to the early adopters of our Net Zero certification:
Mindspace Airoli West: Mumbai
Gera Commerzone B4: Pune
Westin Mumbai Powai Lake by Chalet Hotels
Duflon Industries: Ahmedabad & Mahad
Canteen Building, RHINO Facility, Hindustan Unilever: Assam
Econest: A Sustainable Cottage by Smart Village Movement: Meghalaya
Administrative Block, Mahindra World City Developers Limited: Chennai
AEON Integrated Building Design Consultants LLP: Noida
India must dramatically reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and continue to ramp up its sustainability initiatives to meet its national net zero target. The Leadership Roundtable brought together leaders from across the country, who shared valuable insights and lessons learned from beginning their own decarbonization journeys. Notably, Kumara WR, Senior Executive Director at DLF, spoke about DLF’s exemplary journey toward net zero and how they assembled the largest portfolio of LEED Platinum and LEED Zero assets in the world, including the first-ever developer-owned LEED for Cities & Communities certification.
Dr. Sunita Purushottam, Head of Sustainability & CSR at Mahindra Lifespace Developers, presented the organization’s efforts toward becoming the pioneer in net zero homes in India, and discussed Mahindra’s collaboration with GNFZ to net zero certify their Administrative Block at Mahindra World City, Chennai.
Ashish Rakheja, Managing Partner at AEON Consultants and our esteemed GNFZ partner and client, presented an engaging case study of AEON’s work at a resort in the Maldives to achieve the highest form of sustainability and net zero emissions while preserving the sensitive marine and coral life in the region.
As the world's third-largest emitter, India committed to net zero by 2070 at COP26. With India leading in net zero building progress, GNFZ supports this momentum by helping businesses overcome decarbonization barriers through comprehensive solutions, accelerating the path to a zero emissions future. The Leadership Roundtable celebrated the companies leading this transformation to net zero with GNFZ.
The event also featured a lively panel discussion on overcoming barriers to decarbonization and making net zero possible for all, which was moderated by GNFZ President & CEO Mahesh Ramanujam. Panelists included:
We recorded this event and have made it available to you on our YouTube channel. Thank you to all of our speakers and our diverse, cross-sector group of participants and partners. Together, we can reach a net zero future.
Reach out to learn more about how you can accelerate your net zero journey, today.