Things I wish were taught during university:

1. Learning to manage energy better

2. Learning to sell better

3. Learning to deal with failure

4. Learning that there are alternative paths to success

Glad to see new possibilities emerging in real education.

Upskilling is a matter of joy and survival. It is constant effort to be able to think sans getting hijacked by algorithms and ideologies, which is essentially outsourcing your self to a framework of values. Read what are you uncomfortable with.

A colleague had a good explanation for Cyber City in Gurgaon, upar kamai, neeche party.

In 2008, after my undergraduate engineering degree in Oman- in my first job interview helmed by Mr. Sanjeev Kulkarni – the original mentor of mine and glad to be still mentored by him, told me that consulting is ‘quick, applied research’ related to real life issues. That definition stands the test of time fourteen years later.

Thank you, Sir, for the many opportunities since then.

• The gravest of soul shattering failures are also the greatest of learning curves. Embrace them as much as the spectacular successes in career and in life.

• One of the profound learnings has been to decouple learning with the cv and the certificate. It is a survival skill, a life skill.

• Too few startups and nonprofits do not focus on growing the revenue function with dedicated resources and teams. It is as important as the fancier product conversation.

Climate capital is the fuel that will move the needle on climate resilience, as adaptation should be the focus especially for at risk climate geographies. Loss and Damage makes for good optics. The global north aka rich countries want to survive hence climate action is an agenda otherwise sadly it would not.

It makes resources to have agency, to act and think of a better world. ‘Poverty-rianism’, a Shekhar Gupta neologism is an apt reference here- as poverty only looks aesthetic in Ray movies. Lack of resources stunts intellectual capacity to take long term action.

The main people who say money does not matter are the people with money. Let us all find a way to meet adaptation needs through climate capital. None of the resource colonialism arguments shall matter in an unlivable world where the poorest only suffer. Emissions reduction will be patchy are variegated with a reflection of the power dynamics of today. The global north exists within the global south with the elites migrating to places where their families and assets are secure.

Leave the abstract theory building to the seminar room, climate action needs action, and it is not a h-index temple run for tenure.

Accepted for a presentation for the fourth year in a row at the International Association for Impact Assessment IAIA 2023 conference in Malaysia.

As an ESIA practitioner which has plenty of overlaps with ESG now a days, resilience is a key area of intellectual interest as the question – what do we do the assessment for? Or the disclosure deluge now occupies mind space as scale, place, spectrum and space impact how we think about what beyond the report apart from tick box measures ?

Hope to present my thoughts in Kuching next year as the previous two or rather three were pandemic pause hit.

Shukran to Hardik Bhai for his steadfast support over the years when no one else gave a chance to do pioneering work on ESIAs.

#iaia23

In this climate zeitgeist, borrowing a phrase from the pandemic pause, sustainability is essential services and its commercial nomenclature called ‘ESG’.

Survival is essential, and the right quantum of finance available in operationalizing the transition. From the Internal Combustion era to the Electric paradigm, it would need greater implementation intensity of the ideas that are needed now. Access to climate capital is imperative, and fewer reports would help.

Ask the ‘how to do’ question.

#sustainability #finance

Risk taking is a mindset, where to take the risk is a matter of tradeoffs as part of the game we intend to play. You can either take the main elevator, the service elevator, the KMP elevator or the stairs or the emergency routes. Think of which elevator we want to take.

One of the shortcomings in delivering sustainability across the spectrum is the inability of professionals to cross learn cutting through disciplines. In this vacuum a category of sustainability integrators will emerge would project manage and build bridges as solutions need it.