Suresh Narayanan on the Role of the Private Sector in Climate Change

Interpreting India

The role of the private sector in facilitating the climate transition journey of our world has been much talked about recently. While many corporations, including those in the fossil fuel sectors, have started drafting out their own journeys to “net zero,” Ajay Banga, the newly appointed president of the World Bank, has also emphasized the need for active private sector finance in the climate transition. There is a growing realization that governments alone cannot do all that is needed to prevent the worst-case scenarios that the world is increasingly faced with. And yet, the full scope of how the private sector can actually expedite this once-in-an-era transition has not been explored enough.

In this episode, Suresh Narayanan joins Anirudh Suri to explore the role of the private sector in the climate transition journey.

Episode Contributors

Suresh Narayanan is the chairman and managing director of Nestlé India Limited. He has been in this role since August 2015. He also serves as the chairman of the CII National Committee on Food Processing Industries. Under Mr. Narayanan’s leadership, Nestlé India has received several accolades, including, most recently, “MNC in India of the Year” in 2022 by the All India Management Association, “Outstanding Company of the Year 2021” by CNBC TV18 India Business Leader Awards (IBLA), and “MNC of the Year” by Business Standard in 2020.

Mr. Narayanan joined Nestlé in 1999 as executive vice president for sales in India. His international career commenced at Nestlé Indochina in 2003, and he has also served in the Philippines, Singapore, Egypt, and the Northeast Africa Region. He was honored as the “Entrepreneurial CEO” at the EY Entrepreneur of The Year™ Awards 2020. Business Today awarded him “Best CEO-FMCG” for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020.

Anirudh Suri is a nonresident scholar with Carnegie India. His interests lie at the intersection of technology and geopolitics, climate, and strategic affairs. He is currently exploring how India is carving and cementing its role in the global tech ecosystem and the role climate technology can play in addressing the global climate challenge.

He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations (HarperCollins, 2022) and is currently the managing partner at India Internet Fund, a technology-focused venture capital fund based in India and the United States. He has also written extensively on foreign policy, geopolitics, cybersecurity, climate, technology, and entrepreneurship in publications such as the Indian Express, Times of India, Hindustan Times, Foreign Policy, The Print, The New Republic, Economic Times, MoneyControl, and Asia Times.

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Additional Readings

A Comprehensive Framework for India’s Climate Finance Strategy by Anirudh Suri

Why Banga Being a Corporate Czar is Good for World Bank by Anirudh Suri

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Key Moments:
(0:00); Introduction

(4:29); Mr. Narayanan’s Journey

(9:45); The Private Sector’s Role in Combating Climate Change

(15:49); Nestle’s Application of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities

(20:09); Nestle’s Science and R&D-Based Approach

(27:51); Obstacles to India’s Private Sector Spending on R&D

(37:15); On Packaged Foods and Food Security

(38:53); Policy Hurdles in Public-Private Collaborations

(42:42); India’s Climate Opportunity Strategy

(48:41); Concluding Remarks

(49:15); Outro

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