Sustainability Strategy

10TH JUN 2026: WORK: A FREE HOUSE IS NOT ALWAYS FREE. AFFORDABLE HOUSING CANNOT BE SEPERATED FROM AFFORDABLE MOBILITY

Yesterday, Iamkarmveer explains how relocation can break social capital, making even allotted houses difficult to retain. Watch: https://lnkd.in/dTUSs4ya. The paper he refers "Moving to Opportunity or Isolation?" found that better peripheral housing did not improve income, security or networks for many winners. Read: https://lnkd.in/dFGQ3Mgi

I added perspective and it resonated with many people: 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬. This is where urban policy often underestimates lived economics.

For a daily-wage worker, domestic worker, street vendor, construction worker or informal service provider, location is not a lifestyle choice. It is an economic survival decision. A house on the outskirts may look like an asset on paper. But if it increases daily travel cost, travel time and uncertainty of reaching work, it becomes a burden. The city is where income happens. 

This is where SDG 11.2 — safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all becomes central to housing policy. ...more...

02ND JUN 2026: WORK: REDUCING IMPORT DEPENDENCE WHILE CREATING CLIMATE-RESILIENT VALUE CHAINS CAN BECOME INDIA'S OWN MODEL OF AGRARIAN ECONOMY

What Africa's Flower Farms Taught Me About Agriculture Exports.

A discussion in sustainability forum, The Climate Party, took me back into memory lane — to a phase of my professional journey that deeply shaped how I think about agriculture, sustainability and exports.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of working with flower and vegetable farms in Kenya under a United Nations Development Progamme (UNDP) programme. One observation stayed with me: Many African agricultural systems are designed for global markets, not just domestic consumption. This is not accidental.

In several African countries, export-oriented value chains for flowers, vegetables, tea, coffee and fruits have been built over decades through quality production, efficient logistics and strong international buyer networks. I saw this firsthand in flower farms supplying European markets. While the Netherlands remains one of the world’s largest flower trading hubs, Kenya and Ethiopia continue to be among its leading fresh-cut flower suppliers, accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual trade...more...

13TH MAY 2026: WORK: INDIA'S PM NARENDRA MODI'S "NATION FIRST" APPEAL MAY BE MUCH BIGGER THAN A TEMPORARY RESPONSE TO GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY

It could become the foundation of India’s next economic and sustainability framework. And Indian manufacturing #MSMEs have the biggest opportunity to benefit from it. 

When we hear:

• support local manufacturing

• reduce fuel dependency

• adopt solar energy

• strengthen domestic supply chains

• buy local

• focus on self-reliance

these are not isolated suggestions. Together, they form the pillars of economic sovereignty. India’s future competitiveness will not come only from scale. It will come from resilient, efficient and sustainable local ecosystems. 

This is where MSME's can pivot strategically using sustainability levers...more...

18TH FEB 2026: WORK: CLIMATE TRANSITION IS NOT CONSTRAINED ONLY BY SUPPLY. IT IS CONSTRAINED BY FRAGMENTED DEMAND

At Mumbai Climate Week one idea crystallized for me. Climate transition is not constrained only by supply. It is constrained by fragmented demand. In conversations inspired by systems thinkers and research highlighted by sustainability experts in the panel a recurring insight stands out. Capital moves when demand becomes predictable. This applies far beyond renewable energy It applies:

1. To recycled materials.

2. To renewable-powered manufacturing.

3. To climate-adaptive design.

4. To Scope 3 transformation.

India’s manufacturing ecosystem is incredibly capable. 

What it often lacks is coordinated, structured signals that justify long-term green investment...more...

09TH FEB 2026: VIEWS: NATURE IS NOT AN EXTERNALITY. IT IS THE VERY BASIS OF OUR ECONOMY AND SURVIVAL

With the passing of Prof. Madhav Gadgil in January 2026, India—and especially coastal cities like Mumbai — lost not just a pioneering ecologist, but a persistent clarion voice reminding us that ecology and economy are inseparable.

Mumbai’s forests of tangled roots along its creeks, its wetlands and tidal flats, are not ornamental greenery. They are living infrastructure — buffers against flooding, storm surges, heat stress, and erosion. Yet today, they are caught at a crossroads between protection and development.

For instance: the Versova–Bhayander Coastal Road North project has been approved by the Bombay High Court with an environmental mandate—but still involves the felling of tens of thousands of mangroves even as the court insists on annual compensatory planting and monitoring over the next decade...more...