India key to global transition efforts, says WBCSD CEO Peter Bakker

Business Standard

3 days ago

The sheer size of the Indian economy, its demographic trends and the country's ambitions around sustainability make it a critical geography for global transition efforts, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) President and CEO Peter Bakker has said.
Bakker said "India is a strategic focus for WBCSD," and pointed out the Council's work in areas, particularly transport and food, where the country has both major challenges and significant potential to lead.
"We're also encouraged by the direction of policy in India," he told PTI in an email interview, highlighting the government's intent in the 2025 Union Budget to scale up investments in electric vehicles, renewable energy, green infrastructure, and the circular economy.
Together, these developments create real momentum for business-led solutions, the Geneva-headquartered WBCSD chief said.
"Our members are driving the development of data-driven infrastructure and unlocking innovative finance mechanisms to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles," underlined Bakker during a recent visit to Singapore.
"In today's world, sustainability is a strategic advantage -- and in a market as dynamic as India, those who lead on delivery will define the next era of competitive growth," he said.
Further, WBCSD work in electric freight is advancing the E-FAST (Electric Freight Accelerator for Sustainable Transport) initiative, led by NITI Aayog.
"Collaborating with industry stakeholders, we've aggregated demand for approximately 7,700 electric freight vehicles by 2030, he said.
This collective effort includes partnerships with companies like the Aditya Birla Group, JSW, Amazon, Maersk and others, focusing on pilot deployments and scaling strategies.
WBCSD is driving cross-value-chain collaboration particularly around leasing facilities to address the high upfront costs and limited credit access hindering the adoption of zero-emission trucks, especially amongst smaller fleet operators.
Moreover, the council members are advancing infrastructure deployment by mapping priority locations that could catalyze investments.
These actions are part of a broader effort to build an inclusive, scalable model for clean freight transition, addressing systemic financing and operational barriers through bundled solutions, Bakker said.
WBCSD recently launched the Rice Action Alliance, a new business-led platform to accelerate the shift to low-emissions and climate-resilient rice production systems. As one of the world's largest rice producers and exporters, India is central to this initiative.
The Alliance is built around three core action areas -- harmonizing technical guidance across low-emissions rice standards relevant to business; promoting supply chain innovation; and building impactful public-private partnerships, Bakker explained.
WBCSD is mobilizing members in India to advance efforts in measuring and managing physical risk across value chains, he said.
These risks arise from the physical impacts of climate change and nature loss -- such as extreme weather events, water scarcity, and biodiversity decline -- which are already being felt globally and acutely in India.
He also shared the long-standing and constructive relationship with CII, particularly through their Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, which is the Council's Global Network partner in India. WBCSD has been involved in multiple capacities with CII over the last number of years, starting in 2018.
Bakker informed that the CII Summit 2025 will serve as a launch platform for WBCSD's CEO Handbook on Physical Risk, underscoring India's strategic importance.