Flexibility and sustainability are even important in Corona times and should not be underestimated or forgotten. At our Preparatory Seminar, we had the opportunity to receive information from various speakers on the topics of flexibility and sustainable development and to discuss them.
Flexibility
Joel Kistler, former project manager of Focus India and Syed Shad, both from BBC Bircher Smart Access talked to us about working in India in times of Corona.
“The pandemic has created many challenges, but also opportunities.” – Syed Shaid
Especially in the Indian market it is important to build strong customer relationships at the beginning. However, given that face-to-face meetings have been impossible, they have had to react flexibly to the situation and keep up with the digital transformation. Joel Kistler adds that there are general differences between the Swiss market and the Indian market. In Switzerland, the partners work together directly whereas in India the connections must be built from the bottom up to the senior person.
Speech BBC
Flexibility means being able to respond to changing business environments and make the best of them. Andrea Gasser-Burri, Director of Dignity Freedom Network (DFN), told us about their goals last year and how they had to adapt due to the pandemic. Health care in India has deteriorated due to Corona many DFN staff lost their jobs and were unable to provide for their families and rural villages were cut off from infrastructure due to lockdowns. DFN had to be flexible, putting its own goals in the background and adjusting plans. Employees distributed food, educated people about hygiene measures and organized distance learning after the school closures. Due to the great flexibility and commitment of DFN many Indians receive support in this difficult situation.
Sustainability
The topic sustainability was also taken up and discussed at the Preparatory Seminar. Mr. Rishi Nair spoke about the present and future of renewable energy in India. Currently, India is the third largest energy consumer in the world with more than half of the energy consumed coming from non-renewable sources. Hydropower is not an ideal solution for India because on one hand there could be a risk of flooding and on the other hand there is also irregular rainfall.
Rishi Nair
However, it is not abandoned, and other solutions are being sought. Other challenges regarding the expansion of renewable energies are also the storage and distribution of electricity. Here, unfortunately, the infrastructure to handle the influx of renewable energy is lacking. Corona interrupted the development for a green energy corridor, which could enable the transport of the energy. There has been a loss of momentum due to the economic risks, travel bans and other logistical issues. Although India still has a lot of work to do and needs to build over 70% of its renewable energy capacity, Mr. Nair said the future looks promising. The will to change is there and the focus will certainly be on wind and solar energy.
Sustainability does not only play a role in India, but all over the world. Every country, every company and every person should make their contribution. During the session with Prof. Dr. Nikolina Fuduric and her guest speaker Thorsten Harstall from adidas, we learned more about sustainability in a general sense. Both agreed that there was a «wake-up» moment in the late 1990s when it emerged that young children were sewing the leather belts for Nike. After that, consumers demanded more sustainable products. Both Thorsten and Nikolina believe that business ethics are increasingly important in today’s economy.
Prof. Dr. Nikolina Fuduric
“Becoming more sustainable is a journey for businesses and society and does not happen overnight”
However, consumers have an impact on businesses with their purchasing decisions. If we buy more sustainable products companies will have to adapt accordingly.
Our long-term partner Accenture introduced us to the company Climeworks in a design thinking workshop. Accenture collaborates with Climeworks in the context of sustainability, with a focus on digitalization. Stephan Pique from Accenture highlighted Climeworks’ pioneering work as part of his interactive workshop during the Focus India Preparatory Seminar. Climeworks is an ETH spin-off that has developed a modular system that filters carbon dioxide from the air. The air passes through a filter and carbon dioxide-free air is released back into the atmosphere. When the filter is full of carbon dioxide the machine is heated to 200 degrees Celsius and converted to a gaseous form. This year, Climeworks has started on its newest plant called «Orca» in Iceland, which takes carbon capture to the next level This plant is expected to filter up to 4000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. During the workshop with Accenture we worked on ideas on how to make Climeworks even better known and to inspire 1 billion people to remove carbon dioxide from the air.
Design Thinking Workshop by Accenture
The Corona pandemic changed many things but it also created new opportunities. Through our speakers at the Preparatory Seminar, we were able to learn more about the exciting topics of flexibility and sustainability in India.
– Written by Michelle Teuscher