EMPOWERING BUSINESSES

These women-led firms are powering Indian businesses with finance and sustainability solutions

MINIYA CHATTERJI – SUSTAIN LABS

Dr Miniya Chatterji, founder and CEO of Sustain Labs Par-is, helps traditional organisations become more sustainable and profitable. Based in India, France and New Zealand, the enterprise is supported by the French government’s wing for scientific and academic exchange in India. “We leverage the private sector towards improving the state of the world,” explains Miniya, former chief sustainability officer at Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. She has also been an employee of the World Economic Forum as well as a Global Leadership Fellow from 2011 to 2014.

Sustain Labs’ philosophy is that every organisation must be a social entrepreneur such that its business model must not only ensure long-term financial stability but also social good. Leading sustainability academic experts from across the world are brought together to work on projects. “I incorporate all my interests within Sustain Labs and ensure all team members at Sustain Labs are able to do the same. That is the company culture,” says Miniya, who has been a speaker or moderator at Davos and at other World Economic Forum regional summits, the United Nations, European Union and various other prestigious platforms. She is also the author of the book Indian Instincts – Essays on Equality and Freedom in India (Penguin Random House, 2018) about the social consequences of economic growth in India.