My journey into sustainability wasn’t sparked in a boardroom or a business case — it began by a lake. I grew up near Sukhna Lake in northern India's Chandigarh, a man-made reservoir at the foothills of the Shivalik Hills. Every summer as water levels dropped and silt threatened to choke the lake, our school organized "shramdan" or voluntary community service. Alongside classmates, teachers and locals, I’d wade into shallows, dig trenches, remove silt and clear debris under the blazing sun. What was a dusty activity to most planted a seed in me. I saw firsthand how collective human action can restore a fragile ecosystem, understanding that nature’s survival often depends on our willingness to care — proactively and consistently. That experience never left me. It taught me that sustainability isn’t just an initiative, it’s a responsibility.

While I’m deeply engaged with all three pillars of ESG, what fascinates me most is the social aspect. It’s the most human and often the most under-leveraged. Social equity, fair labor, inclusive innovation and local community engagement are not just compliance checkboxes — they’re the soul of any long-term sustainability strategy.

I have sponsored social community efforts, first in India with P&G's Shiksha program enabling access to quality education, then its program enabling digital accessibility for disabled people worldwide, and also as a ESG initiatives board member. I’ve seen how digital inclusion in underserved regions can transform lives, how ethical sourcing and workforce empowerment can turn supply chains into impact chains, and how listening to people — employees, customers, and communities — can lead to solutions more powerful than any technology. I believe that when people simply care enough to act, powerful change is possible. This has driven me from a young age — only now, it’s at an enterprise scale.

I am a member of my organisation's technology ESG board. I am also an advisory board member to venture capital/private equity ventures and technology companies.

Additionally, I am a member of the Global Council for Responsible AI.

One of the most challenging aspects of driving sustainability at scale is the complexity of ESG compliance and reporting, particularly in global operations across emerging and developed markets. Making it real for customers is also part of the challenge. Sustainability progress and reporting isn't just about filling out forms or publishing a glossy report. It requires:

• Navigating a fragmented and evolving regulatory landscape
• Pulling reliable, verifiable ESG data from multiple systems often not designed for this purpose
• Harmonizing frameworks each with different definitions and expectations
• Overcoming resistance due to ESG still being seen as a “cost center” or compliance obligation rather than a strategic driver.

In short, ESG compliance is easy to promise but hard to operationalize.

So, how did I deal with it?

1. Building a cross-functional ESG taskforce

We created an internal coalition of sustainability leaders comprising people from IT, finance, supply chain and HR who met weekly to streamline data collection and reporting processes. They weren't just a reporting team but a change management unit as well. They addressed all aspects from data reliability, timeliness and market compliance needs to prototyping and piloting of ideas.

2. Investing in ESG Tech Stack

We deployed a cloud-based ESG data platform that could:

• Integrate with existing ERP, HRMS, and procurement systems
• Automate data gathering and validation
• Map our metrics to evolving global frameworks

This reduced manual work by 40%, significantly improved audit-readiness and operationalized a standard ESG scorecard from CEO to BU SVPs around climate, water, waste and energy.

3. Shifting from reporting to storytelling

We didn't stop at publishing numbers — we created conceptual sells with sales and marketing leaders for customers, using them to tell a story of progress and accountability. This shifted the narrative from 'compliance' to 'credibility'.

We even ran internal 'ESG Days' to showcase sustainability's business impact, tying compliance back to brand trust, investor confidence and market access.

Sustainability compliance isn’t just a regulatory hurdle — it’s a strategic opportunity to drive transparency, trust, and transformation. But it only works when you integrate it across people, processes, and platforms. That’s been a hard-learned lesson, and one I’m always happy to share with others navigating similar waters.

I am most proud of reducing carbon footprint using IT cloud modernization.