Bhubaneswar: The two-day XUB Sustainability Summit, organised by Xavier University Bhubaneswar’s (XUB) Xavier School of Sustainability (XSoS) in association with GRI and Wipro, concluded, here on Saturday. The theme of the Summit was “Development to Sustainable Development: How SDGs are enabling the transition?”
On the concluding day on Saturday the managing partner of ERM Neena Singh delivered the keynote address. She said about the importance for sustainability to be present in each and every aspect in today’s fast paced world.
The panel discussion on the topic “New frontiers in research and innovation for sustainable development” moderated by director projects, ESAF Microfinance Christudas K V and the panelists were Dr. Santanu Satapathy (Environment Lead, CLP), Dr. S.B. Choudhary (Senior Scientist, ISRO), Amit Nanda (Director, Satattva), Prasanta Biswal (Head, StartUp Odisha), Dr. Channa Ghosh (CEO, HSSERisk), and Beth Fascitelli (research scholar, University of Massachusetts).
Earlier on the opening day on Friday, Dr. Sutapa Pati (Dean, XSoS), in her inaugural address, said about how fortunate we are to have representation from Japan and emphasized the spirit of collaboration.
Vice president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI)) Hiromasa Ikeda praised the university’s efforts in spreading the “Spirit of Magis” and spoke about the harsh realities which are concerning the planet. He stressed on the need to create a humane society and transformation of education to humanity and contribute towards development.
XUB vice chancellor Dr. Fr. Antony R Uvari, dean XSRM Dr. S. Peppin (Dean, XSRM) and registrar Prof. Fr. E.A. Augustine also addressed the session.
Dr. Aditi Haldar (Director, GRI South Asia), Prabodha Acharya (Chief Sustainability Officer, JSW), Saunak Saha (Associate Partner, Ernst & Young), Srinath Komarina (Senior President, Yes Bank), Betsy Vincent (Lead Sustainability and CSR, Future Group) and Anand Acharya (Senior Sustainability Manager, GAIL) participated in panel discussion. Similarly, Sujeet Kumar (Advisor, SDC, Government of Odisha), Richa Chowdhary (Health, Safety, and Environment, TCS), Manjunath Lakshminathan (Regional Manager- Eastern India, ITC), GitikaGoswami (Senior Programme Director- Policy and Planning, Development Alternatives Group), Dr. Aneesh A. Lotliker (Scientist ‘E’ & Scientist-in-Charge, Estuaries, Observations and Remote Sensing, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)), Christudas K V (Director Projects, ESAF Microfinance) and Devendraraj Mandangopal (Professor,XSoS) participated another panel discussion on the opening day.
The Summit concluded with presentation of awards to the winners of various competitions. Prarthana Chand and ArusheeGhai were awarded for the poster on “Sustainable Assessment of Sanitary Napkins”. A product prototype by Synergy was displayed showcasing sustainable additive manufacturing & 3D printing and scientific development of solar assisted Mansukh Bhai’s Mitti- Cool Refrigeration System.
