Developing sustainable business practices is not only critical to the future of a company, but also for developing the future workforce. Most organizations have realized that it is impossible to build a performance-driven culture for the long term without an inclusiveness strategy and good sustainable practices. A good business strategy must be sustainable in order for the company to be able to reap long-term benefits and retain the competitive edge.

The importance of sustainable business practices can be derived from the fact that the National HRD Network, the apex body committed to promoting human resources in India, hosted its 17th Annual Conference in Kolkata on the theme “Building Sustainable Organizations – Agenda for India Inc”. More than 700 delegates took part in the three-day conference which focused on sustainability in the society, organizations, teams and institutions.

The event touched the theme of sustainability from different angles at the organizational level – from diversity and inclusion, to work-life balance and employee engagement larger society from where the company operates.” A research report edited by Dr N.M. Agarwal, M. G. Jomon, Chandrima Banerjee and Biju Varkey was released during the conference. The report has 22 papers that showcase the best practices to build sustainability. Achyuta Samantha, the founder of KISS and KIIT, was felicitated for his work in training over 20,000 tribal children.

Rajeev Dubey, National President, NHRDN, and also the President, Group HR & Executive Board Member, Mahindra & Mahindra, Dr. T. V. Rao, Founder NHRD Network, Sujoy Banerjee, President, NHRDN, Kolkata Chapter and President-Group HR and OD, McNally Bharat Engineering Company Ltd, Nadeem Kazim, Director-HR & Personnel, Exide Industries India Limited, Hemant Kanoria, Chairman & MD, SREI Infrastructure & Financial Limited and many other speakers were present to share their views.

Day 1 of the event saw workshops on Executive Coaching by Steve Correa, Coach & Trainer, International Coaching Federation and Creating and Executing Self-Managed Teams - S. Deendayalan, Chairman and Architect - Organization Capability, Centre for Excellence in Organization, and CEO of TalentSearch. Day 2 saw panel discussions on how to create sustainability at the societal level and make a sustainable organization.

It also saw the presentation of the Leena Srivastava, Vice Chancellor and Hony. Executive Director (Operations), TERI University & Paranjoy Guhathakurtha, Partner at Media Network of India, said, “Just as basic resources like water, energy, land and clean air are scarce, so is education and access to capability. The theme goes beyond the sustainability of the organization, to the sustainability of the society where we live in. Hence, HR professionals should impact people not only on the inside but also on the outside of the organization and form a research paper and the awards function.

Talking about loyalty and engagement, D. Shivakumar, former managing director of Nokia India, said that if employers want loyalty from their workforce, they themselves should show trust and loyalty first before demanding employees to be engaged with their organizations. With his provocative talk, he said that it is not enough that CEOs & Heads of HR say that people are the most important asset; it needs to be backed by a caring and genuine culture driven from the top.