Author: Santhosh Jayaram

Adjunct Professor of Practice at Amrita School for Sustainable Futures, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam. I also function as advisor for a leading IT Services company in India and a couple of start-ups. Earlier I was a partner with one of the leading professional services firm and lead the biggest advisory teams in the field of sustainability, ESG and Climate Change in Asia. My other interests spans to Nature Photography and a bit of painting.

I published 2 books "Still Speaking" Volume 1 & 2, in 2020. These books are a collection of photographs (Stills) and what they spoke to me.

Sustainability Reporting: The New Bottleneck to Ease of Doing Business

The world over there is a seeming shift in the corporate echelons. With trade barriers being raised, and recessionary forces looming on the horizon. They are trying to discard any obstacles that might encumber the work. And, sustainability reporting is being perceived as one of those — a primary challenge to ease of doing business. … Continue reading Sustainability Reporting: The New Bottleneck to Ease of Doing Business

Return to Classroom

After years and decades of working in the corporate sphere, interacting with 1000’s of corporate stakeholders, millions of miles on business travel, I decided to replace my desk-drawer cabin with a desk-no-drawer classroom. So, as the ‘old replaced the new’ in 2025, I started anew and afresh — being a student all over again. Indeed,… Continue reading Return to Classroom

Virtue – Key to Sustainability

We were in Philosophy class, talking about the critical theory, namely how societal structures of powers have evolved and how they often lead to broader inequities. During this interaction, the core centre of the discussion was based on the wider idea of values — primarily ideals and goals that shape our actions. But more than… Continue reading Virtue – Key to Sustainability

The “NET” obstacle

Net-Zero, Net-Positive, Net impact, Net……. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) recently faced internal controversy after announcing plans to include environmental attribute certificates (EACs) like emissions reduction credits in their updated corporate net-zero standards. Concerned staff publicly opposed the move, with some even calling for the CEO and board to resign. Subsequently, the SBTi CEO… Continue reading The “NET” obstacle

CSO’s – Don’t be beguiled by compliance

I do not think there is any disagreement that sustainability as a corporate term has gained immense traction over the past few years. For me, the indicator has been the World Economic Forum at Davos. Over the past few years, sustainability has taken center stage at this global gathering. One positive is that I see… Continue reading CSO’s – Don’t be beguiled by compliance

Who needs to read sustainability disclosures?

The question is who, according to you, should be reading your sustainability disclosures rather than who is reading them.  Is your sustainability communication reaching the right audience? I once asked a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), the question – ‘who needs to read the sustainability disclosures’ that he and his team were so fastidiously compiling. He… Continue reading Who needs to read sustainability disclosures?

There is a problem in approaching sustainability as an opportunity

Sustainability is about being on the right side of history rather than being approached as an opportunity. To get eyeballs to sustainability, sometime back, sustainability as opportunity line of communication started. Over the years, it has gained wide popularity as a financial and economic intervention rather than a responsibility purview. Take the term ‘sustainability management’;… Continue reading There is a problem in approaching sustainability as an opportunity

COP28 Declaration and Painkillers

On the second day at Davos, I had a splitting headache while attending the World Economic Forum meetings. My colleague (friend) offered me Ibuprofen tablets. Within 20 minutes, I was relieved and speaking in a panel and discussing the COP 28 declaration and the road map to a sustainable future. After the panel discussion, out… Continue reading COP28 Declaration and Painkillers

Sustainable Future @ the Speed of Trust

As the world leaders converge to Davos for the World Economic Forum annual event, the underlying theme that will cut across the discussions will be “Rebuilding Trust.” This builds from the most ubiquitous buzzword from last year’s WEF gathering – “poly-crisis”. The term polycrisis is defined as a cluster of related risks with compounding impacts… Continue reading Sustainable Future @ the Speed of Trust