Jamshedpur, Oct 20: XLRI will host the 8th Dr. Verghese Kurian Memorial Oration on Sustainable Development on October 21. The oration will be delivered online by Shankar Venkateswaran on the theme “Unpacking ESG – Putting “S” at the Centre”.
Venkateswaran was earlier the head of sustainability of the Tata group. He is currently a part of the founding team of ECube Investment Advisors that focuses on ESG investment, stewardship and climate lending. He is currently the Chairperson of Oxfam India and CSR Trust for SDGs in India. He also serves as Grantham Ambassador at the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, University of Sheffield, UK.
Venkateswaran has advised the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on matters such as CSR and Responsible Business Conduct. He was very closely involved in the drafting of the National Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct, released by the MCA in March 2019, and its companion Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report which was mandated for the top 1000 listed companies in India by SEBI in May 2021. He holds an engineering degree from IIT Madras and is an MBA from IIM Calcutta.
The oration is organised every year to commemorate the contributions of Dr. Verhese Kurian to the field of sustainable development. The objective of the oration is to sensitize the students, faculty and concerned citizens about the relevance, importance and need for sustainable development. The earlier orators include: Ela Bhatt, Dr Vandana Shiva, Dr Jean Dreze, Dr Ashok KHosla etc.
