The Institution of Engineering and Technology successfully concluded a stimulating panel discussion on ‘How sustainable is sustainability?’  

Bengaluru, December 26, 2022: The IET Future Tech Congress 2022 featured expert opinions on the economic viability of sustainability, the current realities of the market, the influence of geopolitical contexts, and whether greenwashing is replacing on-ground action. The discussion was part of a special spotlight on sustainability at the IET Future Tech Congress 2022, organised by The Institution of Engineering and Technology. The segment is one of six special spotlights that were in focus for the event - Manufacturing, Mobility, Sustainability, Technology Standards, Fintech and Healthcare.

Speaking on the need for businesses to become active changemakers for sustainability, Pankaj Vyas, CEO & MD, Siemens Technology Pvt Ltd said, “The time is now, and every organisation must do their best to take care of the earth and the environment. In order to save the planet, we have to have a holistic approach to all aspects of the business. The way we are working today, we can create a digital twin of earth, but not a new earth. It is every organisation's responsibility to do something about it, and the time is now.” 

The sustainability spotlight consisted of a panel discussion on ‘How Sustainable is Sustainability’, chaired by Shekhar Sanyal, Country Head and Director, The IET and featured Chethan Seegahali, Head - Digitalisation and Technology Solutions and Solution Engineering at Siemens Advanta, Krishnan Chatterjee, COO of MarketsAndMarkets, Dilip Sawhney, Regional Director at Rockwell Automation and Suchismita Sanyal, General Manager - Computational Science at Shell. 

Contextualising the conversation on sustainability within the current global geopolitical crisis that the world is facing, Shekhar Sanyal, Country Head and Director, The IET said, “The Collins dictionary word for 2022, which they introduced this year, is permacrisis. A crisis that is going to be so permanent, that there is a word for it”. “In such a scenario, if we are not responsible, and if we do not understand how sustainable sustainability is, there is no Plan B", he added

Speaking on the role of large corporations in leading the sustainability movement, Dilip Sawhney, Regional Director - Rockwell Automation said “Digital Transformation has a role to play in helping tackle the sustainability question that we have in front of us. Here is a choice: Do we want to do things, the way they have been done in the past? As a developing nation, we must together find a solution to it, but the answer certainly is not doing what has been done so far.”

In a discussion on whether sustainability talk will translate into real impact, Chethan Seegahalli, Siemens said, ‘While companies may be talking more than they are actually doing, this is where it starts. There is certainly a lot to talk, but it is being followed up by actions. In large organisations, shareholders are demanding it. It is a natural course of action - people talk about it, explain it to the world, and then follow through”

The 2-day national technology conference was centered on the theme 'Decoding tomorrow's customer demands” and focused on the opportunities and challenges that the customer demands of the future will reveal. It discussed future-focused technology innovation in the form of stimulating panel discussions, insightful keynotes, use case demonstrations and high-octane tech debates with industry leaders and experts, unveiling technology 5 years from now.