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India has built one of the world’s most ambitious Extended Producer Responsibility systems. But fake certificates, underpriced recycling, weak collection systems and poor traceability raise a troubling question: are producers actually taking responsibility—or simply purchasing compliance? India does not lack environmental regulation. Over the past decade, the country has expanded Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) across plastic packaging, electronic waste, batteries and

The emerging challenge of measuring AI's corporate environmental footprint AI looks digital. Its footprint is not. Every AI system ultimately depends on physical infrastructure: servers, accelerators, networking equipment, data centers, cooling systems and, above all, electricity. As companies rapidly integrate AI into customer service, software development, analytics, productivity tools and enterprise applications, a new sustainability question is emerging: How much environm

Group Picture - CSO Roundtable Bangalore For years, the sustainability conversation has focused on awareness, commitments, disclosures and ambitious Net Zero targets. But as businesses move deeper into the climate transition, a different challenge is becoming increasingly visible: implementation. At the IICSR–NAB CSO Roundtable 2026 in Bengaluru, sustainability leaders, corporate representatives, technology companies, climate-tech entrepreneurs, consultants, NGOs, educators a

For years, net zero was presented as an environmental aspiration—a distant target to be pursued when economic conditions were favourable. That framing is no longer credible. Today, climate change is disrupting cities, destroying infrastructure, destabilising food and water systems, increasing insurance losses and exposing businesses to risks that conventional financial planning was never designed to manage. The question facing governments and companies is no longer whether th

The International Institute of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (IICSR), in collaboration with the National Association for the Blind, Karnataka, is organising the IICSR–NAB CSO Roundtable on Friday, 7 August 2026, from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM IST at the National Association for the Blind, Jeevan Bhima Nagar, Bengaluru. Organised under the IICSR Sustainability Dialogues, the roundtable will bring together Chief Sustainability Officers, business leaders, climate-tech inn

Every day, incredible work is happening around the world. Researchers are finding new ways to transform agricultural waste into sustainable materials. Businesses are rethinking supply chains. Policymakers are exploring how to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Communities are testing innovative approaches to make better use of natural resources. Yet many of these efforts happen in isolation. One team solves a technical challenge without knowing someone else has

For years, corporate sustainability followed a predictable routine: collect environmental, social and governance data at the end of the year, consolidate hundreds of spreadsheets, obtain management approval and publish a polished ESG report several months later. That approach may satisfy a disclosure requirement, but it does not necessarily improve business performance. A sustainability report tells stakeholders what happened in the past. An ESG operating system helps manager

Hidden cost of AI Prompts! Artificial intelligence may feel weightless, but every prompt, generated image and automated decision depends on physical infrastructure: processors, data centres, electricity grids, cooling systems and water supplies. As AI adoption accelerates, businesses must measure not only what AI produces, but also what it consumes. 1. AI’s electricity demand is accelerating The International Energy Agency estimates that global data centres consumed about 415

Carbon emissions are no longer merely an environmental concern. They are becoming a financial liability, a trade consideration and, increasingly, a balance-sheet issue. Globally, carbon pricing mechanisms now cover over 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions, up from just 7% in 2010 (World Bank, State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2025). Governments are placing a price on emissions through carbon taxes, emissions trading systems and border-adjustment mechanisms. At the same ti

You type a question. A few seconds later, a chatbot delivers an answer. No loading screens. No spinning gears. No visible machinery. Just words appearing almost magically on your screen. It feels effortless. But behind that seamless interaction lies an industrial-scale network of servers, processors, cooling systems, and power infrastructure working around the clock to make AI possible. Every prompt travels through a physical world of electricity, water, and hardware. And as

At 25, he was not building just another startup. He was building a way for people to see something most of us never really notice: the carbon footprint hidden inside ordinary life. What makes the story interesting is that the app does not try to scare people. It tries to make climate impact feel visible, personal, and actionable. That is a powerful idea, because climate change often feels too large to understand and too distant to fix. A climate problem made personal Most peo

The old version of greenwashing was simple: a company slapped “eco-friendly” on a product and hoped no one asked questions. The new version is sharper, faster, and more dangerous. In Greenwashing 2.0, AI can generate sustainability claims at scale — and if those claims are exaggerated, vague, or unproven, the result is AI-washing.[investmentexecutive] That matters because regulators are no longer treating sustainability language as harmless marketing fluff. The UK Advertising

The Factory That Talks Back: Inside a Smart, Self-Reporting Supply Chain The morning shift at Venkata Dynamics begins before most of the town is awake. Rows of machines hum like a low choir; conveyor belts stitch together components that will soon be part of cars, circuit boards, and home devices. But the real story isn’t the parts — it’s the tiny, unnoticed devices that now make this factory feel alive: the IoT sensors pinned to pipes, bolted under pallets, tucked into deliv

The modern CEO is no longer steering a company with instinct alone. In an era defined by climate scrutiny, supply-chain complexity, and relentless pressure to prove progress, leadership now demands a new kind of co-pilot: AI. That shift is happening fast. AI-driven sustainability tools are moving toward a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity this decade, as businesses race to automate emissions tracking, improve climate risk visibility, and turn ESG from a reporting burden into

Is it possible for a company to assert a net-zero status without outlining its strategy to achieve it? Can a sustainability report be deemed reliable if it includes targets but lacks a transition roadmap? As ESG evolves, companies are progressing from general climate commitments to a more serious undertaking: climate transition plans. A climate transition plan serves as a company's strategy for reducing emissions, altering operations, financing decarbonization, and remaining

Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword. It’s a call to action, a necessity, and a powerful movement shaping the future of business, society, and the planet. If you’re ready to dive deep into this transformative field, you’ve probably wondered: Where do I start? How can I equip myself or my organization with the right knowledge and skills to make a real impact? That’s where the iicsr sustainability course options come into play. Today, I’m excited to take you on a journey

By Harsha Saxena Harsha Saxena, CEO IICSR, with the Governor of California Gavin Newsom and other dignitaries at the SF Climate Week San Francisco Climate Week 2026 was not merely a gathering of climate professionals—it was a convergence of intent, innovation, and influence. It was a space where policy met practice, where capital met conviction, and where the future of sustainability was not discussed in theory, but actively shaped in real time. Setting the Tone: Accelerating

Sustainable and Profitable? 2025 Says Yes For years, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing was dismissed by skeptics as a...

Every time I click ‘Order Now’ for dinner after a long day or grab that new T-shirt because it’s on sale, I pause for a moment. Not...

Can a leaderboard really drive climate action? Can a points system change corporate behaviour? As environmental, social, and governance...