Pursuit of Sustainability

THE HOUSE MAGAZINE OF GODREJ & BOYCE VOL 23-24 MAR 2022

PURSUIT OF SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS

Mr. J. N. Godrej On The Challenges Of Climate Change

How Biases Can Limit Potential

IOT For Effectively Managing Water

Green Buildings For A Greener Future

The Boeing Story

No part of the magazine can be reproduced in any form without due permission of the editor.

Please access the magazine at Godrej connect and www.change.godrej.com Mail your contributions, suggestions and feedback to: The Editor, Plant 12, 2nd Floor Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli (W) Mumbai 400079, India or email us at change@godrej.com Published by Indrapal Singh on behalf of Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. Designed by Design Stack

THE HOUSE MAGAZINE OF GODREJ & BOYCE VOL 23-24 MAR 2022

Profits With Purpose Is The Way Forward.

“Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good.”

– Jochen Zeitz

Indrapal Singh Editor

Global warming and its impact on humanity has captured the attention of businesses and governments across the world. It is now widely acknowledged that the stakes in the fight against global warming are higher than ever. Hence, pursuit of sustainability is no longer negotiable.

Sustainability has been at the core of G&B for decades and as a result, it has become deeply embedded into its very being. Mr. J.N. Godrej, in a Q&A shares with us his views on what needs to be done at global, national, and business levels to have a livable planet for future generations. Supporting his commitment to a sustainable future are the stories such as global cooling prize by Suhas Kulkarni, clean air for workspaces by Pravin Rawool and managing ground water using IoT by Tejashree Joshi. Ms. Nyrika Holkar highlights how biases can limit potential and the appropriate measures required to foster an inclusive, empowered and dynamic EDIT BOARD

Nalini Kala

Gillian Dennett

tomorrow. Congratulations to Anup Mathew and Shashi Ray for being recognized for promoting green buildings and construction in India, as narrated by Elizabeth. Exports are essential for having sustainable businesses.

Surendra Vaidya of Godrej Aerospace tells us what it takes to join the supply chain of Boeing, USA, the aerospace giant; an extremely arduous journey. Further, Godrej Locks has established a business relationship with Master lock, a market leader in padlocks in USA. Both of these are future positive initiatives. Our Integrated Project team carried out the interiors of Hero Electric vehicles’ corporate office, Gurugram, which were much appreciated by the client as shared by NSN Moorthy and Diptendu. All these stories are about building new capabilities for making our businesses sustainable.

Our women leaders have shared their views on International Women’s Day, which

are worth a read. Increased diversity in gender and in expressions always leads to richer conversations for better outcomes.

By remembering Drs. Mrs. & Mr. Bhatia, we celebrate their six-decade long services to Godrejiites. Listening to music is therapeutic, says Avanti Nerurkar. We need to combat stress by listening to more of it. Shweta, Godrej Archives, aptly summarizes Prof. W. Mazzarella’ s talk on the Mad Men of Bombay, a great read on Indian advertising in the 70s and 80s.

In addition, we have several business and general interest articles that you, the reader and your family and friends will find useful and enjoyable.

Do engage with this digital version of CHANGE and share it widely.

Happy Reading!

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Contents

04 Mr. J. N. Godrej on The Challenges of Climate Change

08 How Biases Can Limit Potential

10 The Boeing Story Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.

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IOT for Monitoring Water Levels

Green Buildings For A Greener Future

The waste of plenty is the resource of scarcity.

Commitment for a greener future is at the core of sustainable development.

SUCCESS STORIES

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Global Cooling Prize Competition

Hero Electric Project Win

“Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is.”

“A project is complete when it starts working for you, rather than you working for it.”

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Partnership with Master Lock

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Clean Air to Combat COVID-19

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313 mm Thick, 450 Tonne Equipment For Cleaner Fuels

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Getting Into The Spotlight

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Music: A Therapeutic Solution

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being

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Virtual Fatigue: The pitfalls of ‘work from home’

PERSPECTIVE

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What Is It Like To Work At G&B?

A Case for Home Healthcare

Experience sharing by our Women

When we care for others, we rise.

Leaders.

INSIDE G&B

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BOOKMARK

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LAUNCH PAD

22

The Good Doctors

Get Better At Getting Better

Godrej Eon Magnus Dishwashers

Medicines cure diseases but only doctors can cure patients.

A Book Review.

From Godrej Appliances

BOOKMARK

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Mad Men of Bombay

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How Long Till It’s Gone

LAUNCH PAD

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Night Vision CCTV Color Cameras

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The Archipelago Ecosystem

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Mr. J. N. Godrej on The Challenges of Climate Change Q1: In your view, how serious is the challenge of climate change?

Climate change is altering our planet irreversibly. It is now widely acknowledged that, even if we get our act together on an urgent basis, all we can hope to achieve is the prevention of more damage and, thus, a maintenance of the status quo. Climate change impacts not just environmental ecosystems but also all living species and social systems including the worlds of business, society, governments, and nationalities all over the world. We must recognise that sustainability and growth are hyphenated, and the latter cannot be at the expense of the former.

There is a great urgency in having this conversation now than ever before. We need to pursue the 1.5-degree pathway today with the end goal of net zero for the planet by 2050.

Q2: How have we (India) fared so far, on climate change?

Our per capita emissions are much lower than the rest of the world. However, this should not limit our efforts on climate action.

Sustainability is the way forward for economic growth, job creation, improved public health and improved quality of life for all of us.

Our country is setting a remarkable example of achieving people-centric and sustainable energy transition while striving to improve the living standards of millions of its people. We have achieved the twin goals of energy access to over 250 million households by connecting them to electricity and have created one of the largest markets for renewable energy. We are also on track to achieve our commitment to reduce intensity of emissions by 45% of our 2005 levels, by 2030. It is noteworthy that 24% reduction is already achieved. In the coming years, these achievements need to be sustained and improved upon as we strive to become a 5 trillion-dollar economy in this decade.

Q3: What role should businesses play in India?

Businesses in India need to play a key role in enabling our government to deliver on the ambition of mitigating the impacts of Climate Change set out under the Paris Agreement and to meet the ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDCs). The industrial sector consumes nearly half of India’s total energy and emits a quarter of its emissions.

Industries such as iron and steel, cement, fertilizers and petrochemicals together emit about 75% of the industrial emissions. To reduce India’s overall emissions, these industries need to shift urgently to greener sources of energy. Businesses also need to pay a special attention to the large number of MSMEs which contribute nearly 45% of industrial value addition. Large businesses must help MSMEs in their value chains to adopt greener processes through awareness, sensitization, and technology, for having a low carbon impact on the environment.

Q4: A shift to a climate friendly economy requires huge investments. What should businesses in India do to attract these investments from abroad?

The number of global investors that deploy an ESG framework to drive their investments is increasing continuously. ESG driven investments have tripled in the last eight years and are doubling every four years. Investors are now eager to invest in companies that are ESG compliant so that through their investments, they can participate in the environmental, social and governance change.

ESG focus by businesses in India can make it a prime destination for global investors with a potential to attract investments worth billions of dollars. Green financing will help

Sustainability and growth are hyphenated, and the latter cannot be at the expense of the former.

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businesses across industries access a larger pool of capital. New industries that emerge from ESG driven opportunities will find it easier to access capital. Consumers will be more drawn to the companies that are strong on ESG values.

Q5: Please share what is being done to pursue sustainability at Godrej & Boyce?

At Godrej & Boyce, the foundation of our purpose, mission and vision drives us to think beyond business and commit ourselves to the future generations. Our over-arching philosophy of Good & Green is based on our strong belief in the value of the triple bottom line - protection of people and the planet while creating value for shareholders through sustainable growth. All our businesses are aligned to the Good & Green philosophy where the manufacturing processes and products have been continuously adapting to greener and sustainable parameters and designs.

Enhancing operational energy efficiency is one of the key initiatives undertaken by us.

Over the years, it has been accelerated by the adoption of greener technologies. The use of data analytics and an end-to-end systemic approach has helped in (nearly) doubling energy productivity over the decade.

Concurrently, we are transitioning to the energy mix wherein the share of renewable energy is steadily increasing. We have also achieved water positivity, improved efficiency of water usage and are recycling most of the waste we generate.

G&B, for years, has been deeply committed to the climate agenda through its deliberate actions such as being a signatory to the global initiatives of Global Alliance on Energy Productivity and Renewable Energy Demand Enhancement (REDE).

Recently, G&B has committed to the EP100 and Business Ambition for 1.5 Degree C while adopting science-based target setting and having Net Zero Buildings and facilities by 2050. G&B is also committed to remaining Water Positive and adopting waste minimization as well as circularity.

Our focus on R&D for sustainable clean tech solutions has enabled us to develop sustainable cooling solutions that will help us score higher on ESG parameters and improve our valuations.

At Godrej & Boyce, the foundation of our purpose, mission and vision drives us to think beyond business and commit ourselves to the future generations.

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Q6: What areas need to be addressed by us to achieve the set objectives?

In India, as we adhere to the national road map of decarbonization of industries, we ought to develop equitable and inclusive employment opportunities. MSMEs should also be helped with business and process knowledge, resources, and upgrading of skills.

Support should also be given to improve their creditworthiness.

Another area that we need to address is the creation of accessible and transparent data platforms for the unorganised sector.

Circular economies need to be promoted in industrial value chains.

Availability of low-cost financing is essential for mitigating the inherent risks of newer technologies.

Large corporates must take ownership of these transitions as they have resources to facilitate such fundamental changes across their value chains.

Q7: What are the challenges that need to be addressed collectively by all the countries?

The world is in consensus on the need for environmentally responsible transitions. The challenge now is to ensure that these transitions are equitable, fair and inclusive, with due thought given to their impact on people, communities, industries, and governance frameworks.

High impact areas such as energy, built environment, transportation and hard to abate industries will need to fast track adoption of low carbon paths. These sectors today face challenges such as an absence of unified national policies, and no consensus on strategy of decarbonisation. Also, lack of know-how and finances limit process improvements.

Further, the situation is aggravated by the lack of R&D by both government and industries.

The huge, long-term sunk investments in high-emission, low-efficiency plants make transitions extremely difficult. Prioritising cost competitiveness by industries, in many ways, results in according low priority to exploration and development of newer, cleaner technologies.

Q8: Any concluding thoughts?

As I have often stated, for the sustainable future of India, we need to shape our policies and align our approaches to drive low carbon pathways across the economy.

The climate crisis is a collective challenge for all of us. We need to hold ourselves accountable and own it. All of us, Government, Industry and Civil Society, need to work together for accelerating the adoption of greener technologies, processes, and products.

Let all of us work together to have, by 2050, a healthier, greener, and prosperous India for its future generations. * This Q&A has been put together with valuable inputs from Ms. Tejashree Joshi, Environmental Engineering Services.

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How Biases Can Limit Potential As we enter our 125th year and prepare to chart the course of the next few years, it’s important for us to reflect on the theme of Women’s Day this year. Biases, both unconscious and conscious, are a roadblock to progress because they limit imagination, undermine confidence and reinforce unhealthy stereotypes. #BreaktheBias does not apply to gender bias alone; it goes far beyond that to a recognition of all biases that cloud our judgement and compromise our decision-making ability.

I strongly believe that cultures that celebrate diversity and inclusion are more successful than those that do not.

We need to be aware of our own biases and help others to be cognisant of theirs.

Let’s take it upon ourselves to identify the workplace biases that we believe need to be changed. Recognising something as a problem is the first step to resolving it.

Levelling the playing field It is important for us all to create the space to exchange thoughts and ideas freely, without fear of reproach. Earlier this month, the Internal Communications team conducted a social experiment among some of our employees. The results threw up some unconscious gender biases among both, our male and female colleagues. In this light, let’s take the first step towards creating a workplace that enables us to have equal access to opportunities based on our abilities.

Taking measures within the workplace Leaders can promote equality by providing every member of the team with the training and opportunities they need to succeed and to contribute to the unique experience that helps the company be more customer-centric.

It is also important for each of us to be the change. Go the extra mile to mentor those who are being held back on account of biases and help them succeed. Have a conversation with someone you know has a completely different point of view from you on a subject, and listen with an open mind to what they have to say. Friction sparks creativity and innovation - a necessary pre-requisite for success today.

In Conclusion...

Biases exist everywhere and can be shaped by our community, our experiences or environmental conditions. But it’s in our control to recognise and correct our associations and generalisations.

Let’s take the time to work together, to ensure that we foster an inclusive, empowered and dynamic tomorrow.

- Nyrika Holkar

We need to be aware of our own biases and help others to be cognisant of theirs.

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The Boeing Story Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.

S.M. Vaidya, Godrej Aerospace

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Valiant efforts were made for entering the supply chain of a global leader.

In 2004, Godrej Aerospace (GA) became an independent business, cutting off its umbilical cord from PED, which had existed since the birth of GA in 1985. In 2004, GA had a large development order from DRDO for a sub-system of BrahMos missile. This order gave the business a boost to have its independent P&L account. In that timeframe, ISRO, our major customer, gave us a bulk order of 34 nos Vikas engines, which was a breakthrough from the past. In 2004, even though we had a large value of orders on hand, we could not produce and generate revenue for having a positive bottom line. Production was also curtailed because of continual modifications in the design of the engine. As this state of affairs continued, serious doubts began to arise about the viability of the newly carved out business. There was no clarity as to how the business would shape up going forward.

In 2006, a favorable development took place; namely, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced a new Defense Procurement Policy (DPP), wherein the government made it mandatory for the global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to source 30% of the value of the orders received by them in the form of components and sub-systems from Indian Public and Private sector organizations under the OFFSET policy enunciated in the DPP. This change in the policy was a shot in the arm for us and it prompted us to look for opportunities where we could become a part of supply chains of the global players such as Boeing, Airbus, GE, Saffran, Israeli players and so on.

On the face of it, this opportunity of entering the supply chains of global players appeared attractive, but in practice, it was extremely challenging and difficult. To gauge the difficulty, we should ask why a global player would add another supplier who was not tested by them, nor did they have any

track record. In fact, under normal circumstances, these players would go to great lengths to prove that Indian players did not have the capabilities to meet their stringent requirements, making it extremely difficult for the Indian players to gain an entry.

The policy shift prompted us to explore global opportunities beyond domestic opportunities that were available to us through ISRO and DRDO. This was a welcome change and we started learning about the buying patterns, minimum qualification requirements, raw material availabilities, testing standards and so on for the Global Aerospace and Defense players. Overall, we found that their procurement process was a highly regulated regime where onboarding a new supplier would take a considerable amount of effort and time, not only for us but them as well.

The first two years went in obtaining essential, basic approvals such as AS9100, NADCAP, ISO 27001 and others. Also, we had to take additional customer/project specific approvals as well. With these efforts, we could secure small trial orders from GE and Moog. Learning the newer ways of doing business with these global players, we executed these initial orders to their satisfaction.

Though these orders were small, their successful execution gave us the confidence that we could handle larger orders. As more orders came our way, we gathered requisite experience and adopted the newer ways of doing business with the global players. If we take an overall view, we can see certain common requirements amongst all the players. However, these common elements were

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additionally layered with specific requirements of each of the players. All these efforts yielded offset orders from Rafael Defense Systems, Israel and Safran Engines, France.

As offset orders do not have continuity and are related to the procurement by our Government, we were not sure whether the same would provide us adequate revenues to improve our top and bottom lines over the years. GE and Moog orders were low in volumes and simple in requirements. Though these forays did not give us significant revenues, they enabled us to learn the ropes of catering to the requirements of the global players. We learnt a lot in the bargain, but our need to have large repetitive revenue remained unfulfilled. We had no option but to look for additional buyers to boost our business and make profits.

At that stage, in 2013, we decided to look for sub-systems or systems, but all such assemblies would require approvals from the ultimate OEMs like Boeing and Airbus for aircrafts and for engines, approvals from GE, Rolls Royce, Safran, Pratt & Whitney and others.

Obtaining these approvals was much more difficult as it called for the deployment of manufacturing processes, quality systems and documentation of higher levels.

To supply components to Boeing, the suppliers needed to have valid aerospace quality management system (QMS) -AS9100 D certification obtained from the nominated certification bodies as specified. The certification is then verified for its validity before Boeing conducts an in-depth assessment for compliance to their requirements (D1-4426).

For processing Boeing design products, this requirement is a must.

Once the supplier demonstrates compliance to NADCAP and Boeing specifications for various processes, the Boeing team visits the supplier and produces samples to be tested at Boeing’s internal lab. If these samples get approved, then the supplier is added to their approved list.

Once the supplier is added to the approved supplier list of Boeing, purchase orders are placed on the supplier. Boeing representatives conduct a Quality Requirements Review (QRR) for the supplier to bridge any gap in the understanding of the quality requirements. Once this step is cleared, the process is taken forward.

In addition to the above, the supplier needs to maintain updated checklists to prepare for digital product definitions (DPDs) and the approvals. Any reports of non-compliance have to be shared with Boeing for assessing the impact of non-compliance.

On the basis of these checks, Production

Readiness Assessment (PRA) is carried out by a cross-functional team of Boeing for various areas of QMS. Accordingly Red, Yellow or Green ratings are given which are re-assessed every year.

Based on the supplier’s quality and delivery performance, the supplier will be given a Gold, Silver or Bronze rating.

In case the supplier fails to meet Boeing’s expectations, then a perfect product plan (PPP) is triggered and daily, weekly and monthly reviews are carried out until the desired results are achieved.

We took up this challenge and set up a task force to study all the specifications of these OEM and planned for upgraded methoding, manufacturing, quality control, project management, purchase and stores, quality assurance non-destructive testing processes, IT. It took us a few months to put in place upgraded processes which were first audited

Above - Aircraft Brackets

internally and then by independent international experts. In 2016, Boeing accepted our request and gave us a trial order based on which we offered for a complete business audit by them.

Thorough and hard work put in by the teams paid off and in the first attempt itself, our facilities got a clearance with Gold rating and PRA assessment with Green rating in all the areas.

Once this important milestone was reached, enquiries started flowing in from not only Boeing, but other leading OEMs as well. We strived our best to meet all of the requirements from the first order onwards itself, to create a strong foundation.

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For more than fifteen processes, we are among the top three suppliers for Boeing and others with a wide range of qualifications for each of the processes.

Once the foundation was laid, the flow of orders increased and today, we are proud to say that GA is on the approved list of most of the global OEMs. Further, for more than fifteen processes, we are among the top three suppliers for Boeing and others with a wide range of qualifications for each of the processes.

Covid-19 in the last two years has hit the aviation industry the hardest.

With most of the aircrafts remaining grounded, the chances of passenger and cargo traffic levels bouncing back to the pre-covid levels appear very slim. This negative outlook for demand has a huge impact on the aircraft manufacturers who did not

foresee any recovery in the demand of the new aircrafts.

This negative outlook coupled with the need for developing climate friendly aircrafts has pushed these companies to the drawing boards for coming up with newer versions of aircrafts. This development has a cascading effect across the supply chain with every supplier requiring to redesign their offerings to the new set of requirements.

Considering these uncertainties, our analysis shows it will take another two-three years before the demand arrives and we see a healthy flow of orders from the global OEMs. In the meanwhile, the best thing to do is to track developments, hone our skills and build capabilities with an eye on the future.

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Global Cooling Prize Competition “Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is” - Zig Ziglar Suhas Kulkarni, Godrej Appliances

In 2019, the Team R&D of Godrej Appliances took a decision to compete in the global cooling prize competition. Here is all about the competition, its importance for mankind, the development of our solution and the final outcome.

What is the Global Cooling Prize?

The Global Cooling Prize is an international competition that was instituted in November 2018, by a global coalition of Government of India and Rocky Mountain Institute, USA. GOI is represented by the Ministry of Power, Ministry of environment, forest and climate change, Department of Science and technology, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Mission Innovation for clean energy.

The Global Cooling Prize invited innovators from across the globe to develop affordable and climate-friendly cooling solutions that would meet the needs of millions of people around the world.

It challenged the contestants to develop a breakthrough residential cooling technology that would have at least 5x less climate impact as compared to the baseline units.

The solutions would be required to satisfy extensive and diverse criteria involving evaluation of the impact on climate, resources and operating costs. Ease of scalability was also deemed essential.

This ground-breaking competition was designed to incentivise the development of

a residential cooling solution deploying new technologies which would prevent up to 100 gigatons (GT) of CO2-equivalent emissions by 2050. Thus, putting the world on a pathway to mitigate up to 0.5˚C of global warming by 2100. In addition to this positive impact, the new technologies would help greatly in enhancing the living standards in developing countries.

This challenging and exciting competition was held over two years with contestants required to address the single largest risk to our climate.

Rationale Driving The Competition A key driver for electricity demand globally is an ever-increasing use of air conditioners in homes and offices. India too is impacted by this phenomenon. According to the Indo – German Energy Forum report, 2018, India’s cooling energy demand is expected to rise to 2.2x by 2027. India is projected to have a whopping one billion air conditioners in use by 2050!

The use of air conditioners becomes widespread because of the rise in the ambient temperatures. Ambient temperatures rise as a result of the formation of ‘urban heat islands’ which develop because of a large number of air conditioners being installed in urban areas. This is so because of the rising disposable incomes of the middle class, which is hugely aspirational. This aspirational

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India is projected to have a whopping one billion air conditioners in use by 2050!

middle class is now opting for a comfortable lifestyle, which requires more air conditioners being installed progressively. This larger number of air conditioners used amplifies the urban heat island effect that makes urban areas warmer. Higher temperatures call for more air conditioners setting in motion a vicious cycle.

Air conditioners are energy guzzlers, therefore, increase in their use results in an increase in the consumption of electricity, requiring higher generation, which leads to higher emissions and so on.

It is estimated that globally, 3.3 billion room air-conditioners will be installed between now and 2050. These units are likely to place a significant burden on electricity consumption and grid infrastructure, especially in the developing countries.

Further, the Climate Impact Lab report pointed out that if India continued the emissions at this rate, then it was likely that an average temperature in India would shoot up to 28°C from 24°C by 2100. These pro-

jections are scary, as they underscore the urgency for developing and commercialising an improved high efficiency cooling technology.

The development of air conditioners with 5X less climate impact can help us mitigate up to 0.5°C of global warming by 2100.

Furthermore, such a solution could provide an affordable access to cooling, which has now become a necessity in countries having warmer climates.

As our planet gets warmer, one-third of the world’s population is likely to get exposed to potentially dangerous heat conditions.

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It is estimated that by 2100, three-quarters of the global population would be at a considerable risk.

The Concept of GA’s Solution

Thus, affordable cooling has fast become a global necessity for retaining and increasing positive health outcomes, productivity, and accelerated economic development.

Therefore, what we need today is a breakthrough technology for residential air-conditioners; the one that can cater to the booming global demand for cooling without any adverse impact on climate.

Response To The Competition The organisers were overwhelmed by the response received. More than 2100 entities from 96 countries registered initially, of which 445 entities from 56 countries expressed their intent to compete and 139 applicants from 31 countries submitted applications giving technical details of their solutions. The contestants ranged from major air conditioner manufacturers to research institutes, universities and start-ups.

Only 8 of these 139 contestants moved to the next level where they were required to develop prototypes for extensive testing.

Team GA developed a concept as shown in the diagram below. The major idea behind the concept was to develop a unique sustainable technology and deploy it for 5X improvement in energy consumption.

A schematic diagram below, shows how the energy drawn from the grid is augmented by the solar energy to drastically reduce the energy consumed. This was the essence of GA’s solution.

Selection Of Finalists The Global Cooling Prize committee shortlisted 8 teams from around the world as finalists. This shortlist was based on the technologies used to develop the prototypes.

These prototypes were to be tested for their performance under two conditions - laboratory and real-world.

The list of finalists was impressive as it included some of the world’s largest manufacturers, start-ups and others from China, India, Japan, the UK, and the US. GA was the only Indian entity to make it to this list of global forerunners.

SOLAR POWER

GRID-TIED INVERTER

SOLAR PANEL

DC

AC ~ AC ~ GRID POWER

GCP INDOOR UNIT

GCP OUTDOOR UNIT

Assessment of Prototypes In August 2020, despite the global pandemic, GA’s R&D team successfully developed and delivered two prototypes of their solution for further testing and evaluation at designated locations. This was done after several validations carried out internally.

The prototypes were evaluated for the three tests described as below. » The field test To test the performance and scalability of breakthrough technologies, one prototype, along with its baseline unit, from each of the finalists were called for and installed on separate floors of a 14-story apartment building in India.

Great care was taken to ensure that the prototypes were tested in identical conditions. This was ensured by measures such as blower door tests, thermal imaging, floor insulation efficacy and so on. This also ensured that all the cooling systems were subjected to identical cooling loads, within an acceptable range.

The prototypes were tested concurrently and monitored for the month of October 2020 under real-world conditions.

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From Left to Right - Mr. Sandeep Kumar, Mr. Ketan Mohite, Ms. Sneha Shirsat, Mr. Vijay Mahajan, Mr. Suhas Kulkarni, Mr. Mohan Kumar and Mr. Narendra Shedge.

» The Lab Test The second prototypes submitted by the finalists were tested in a sequential manner under controlled conditions at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India.

These prototypes were tested for 10 days at the state-of-the art testing facility to assess their performance for a full year, in the simulated real-world conditions. The laboratory has the facilities to simulate conditions of temperature, humidity, heat gains from occupants, air exchange rates between indoor and outdoor environments, heat gains from the appliances and from the building envelope. For each of the 10 test days, a unique weather profile was simulated, which represented a full year of usage when aggregated with appropriate weighing factors.

At the end of this rigorous test, only four of the finalists were declared successful with GA being one of them. So far, so good!

The prototypes of Godrej Appliances emerged successful and were placed amongst the top four finalists globally.

» The ISEER Test To carry out the Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency (ISEER) Test, the qualifying prototypes were sent to a lab in Chennai. The lab is accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, NABL. The ISEER test measures the rated cooling capacity and power consumption of air conditioners and appliances to accord ISEER ratings. The cooling capacity and associated power consumption tests were carried out in accordance with IS 1391(Part 1): 2017 and IS 1391 (Part 2): 2018, as applicable. However, the current IS 1391 standards are applicable only to room air conditioners having traditional vapor compression technology. Minor modifications were made to the Indian current standards to address the specific attributes of the prototypes being tested.

Results The prototypes of Godrej Appliances emerged successful from all these three tests and were placed amongst the top four finalists globally. GA was the only Indian AC manufacturer in this list of global players, standing side by side with the global joint winners of the prize; Gree Electric Appliances partnering with Tsinghua University, China and Daikin partnering with Nikken Sekkei Ltd, Japan.

Please visit https://globalcoolingprize.org/ to know more about the Global Cooling Prize Competition.

The GA R&D Team would like to express their gratitude to Mr. J.N. Godrej for his support and encouragement all along. The team also thanks the relevant departments and the top team at GA for going that extra mile to ensure that we had whatever we wanted to meet the demanding deadlines in the pandemic conditions. This achievement has proved that GA has the capabilities that are next to none, globally.

All that we need to do now is to build vigorously on these capabilities to emerge as a leading manufacturer of air conditioners that is committed for a healthy future.

The team from R&D worked on this project alongside other CFT team members under the guidance of Mr. B J Wadia to deliver this project.

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Hero Electric Project Win “A project is complete when it starts working for you, rather than you working for it.”

NSN Moorthy and Diptendu Bhattacharya, Team Integrated Projects

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Responsive design and execution are the foundation for winning in the project space.

HEV belongs to the Hero Motor group of companies and is slated to emerge as one of the leading players in the electric two-wheeler space.

The Electric Vehicles (EV) are widely acknowledged as the means of transport in the coming years - the rage everywhere. EVs offer an environmental friendly alternative to conventional fossil fuel using vehicles, a superior quality of transport. The Godrej Integrated team won their first order from Hero Electric Vehicles (HEV) to e-start their collaborative journey.

HEV belongs to the Hero Motor group of companies and is slated to emerge as one of the leading players in the electric two-wheeler space. HEV was looking to set up its new Corporate Office at Gurgaon. The Integrated team at Delhi led by Interiors, a project business of Interio, spotted the opportunity and established a connection with the customer.

The Integrated Offering initiative had commenced its activities less than a few months ago across the major branches in the country. The collaborators for the initiatives were drawn from the project businesses of AV Solutions, Interiors, Office furniture, MEP Services, Green Building Consultancy and Security Solutions. These were brought together to pool their customer connects and offerings as a larger set of solutions from G&B. To give the customer a comprehensive use of the project capabilities being offered, each one of them made a presentation sharing the relevant details and experience.

Hero Electric has sustainability at the core of their business philosophy.

During the discussions on their design requirements, they identified ‘Green Certification’ as one of their ‘must-haves’.

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They confirmed their initial order with us for the design of their office with green certification. The Interiors team has designed a number of offices and has a capable team of architects and interior designers in their fold. Capturing the client’s needs and expectations formed a crucial part of the design process. All through the journey they were in regular and close contact with the customer, sharing various design options and getting their feedback and approvals. As the customer’s team was based at Gurgaon and our HO design team at Mumbai, digital communications were established to enable the teams to work closely in real time. This mode of working together digitally was deployed well before the onset of the COVID pandemic, though it has now become a common practice for all.

The successful delivery of the designs, meeting the requirements, led to the award of the order for execution on us.

We bagged the orders for Interior fit outs, office furniture and rooftop solar power plant from the client. This was a win for our Interio and E&E businesses. We got an opportunity to offer our Upbeat range of open plan office furniture which was a new offering from Interio. We also bid for the AV Solutions package which did not go our way.

However, it is important to note that an opportunity was created for making a bid for AV solutions. This is what the Integrated offer-

ings has been created for - to the bring our various project capabilities to the customers for their consideration.

The project execution team were on the ball from the very beginning. While the Interiors team were engaged in working on the internal structures, the Solar installation team identified certain structural reinforcements required to support the panels. All the teams worked to a tight schedule to meet the deadline for the handover of the project. The design team worked hand in hand, adapting and modifying designs to ensure that the outcome met the expectations of the customer.

The office achieved the IGBC Platinum certification, which was the objective of the customer.

If you pass by Hero Electric Vehicle’s office in Gurgaon in the evenings, you will notice a large, illuminated signage announcing their presence. On stepping in, you will see on the ground floor, a well laid out, beautiful showroom displaying the latest models of their EVs. On obtaining the required permission, you can enter the upper floors and see well laid out offices, culminating into the CMD’s office on the topmost floor.

It is a beautiful piece of execution from Integrated project offerings and a great start for winning many such projects in the future.

Wins like this give our customers a larger set of options for their projects while creating higher visibility for the offerings of G&B in the marketplace.

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GODREJ EON MAGNUS DISHWASHERS FROM GODREJ APPLIANCES Now, smaller families too, can save time and effort The pandemic has altered consumer lives in many ways whether it’s work from home or school from home or the need for more hygiene and safety. As a result, automation of daily household chores is finding favour with consumers across socio-economic classes.

As an offshoot of the above trend, the dishwasher category is increasingly getting accepted by consumers during the pandemic and growing at an unprecedented rate in the last two years.

Dishwashing has been always viewed as one of the most time and effort consuming household chores. With home isolation and absence of househelps, the demand for dishwashers registered an estimated growth of about 70%+ during the pandemic.

However, consumers are still grappling with lingering concerns when it comes to the adoption of dishwashers. As the bulk of India resides in nuclear families today and with living in apartments spreading fast, it is a challenge to fit a regular dishwasher because of its size into smaller kitchens. Also, smaller families question the very need of having the regular-sized dishwasher given their limited dishwashing needs. To address these concerns, Godrej Appliances has introduced its new compact dishwasher. It fits on the counter-top easily, without occupying any floor space. The

Godrej Eon Magnus Counter-Top Dishwasher is an 8 place-setting compact model that can wash all the regular dishes of families with 2 – 3 members.

This dishwasher, though small, comes loaded with features such as: Intensive 70°C germ free wash program for normal to heavily soiled dishes with dried food; Lite 90 for normally soiled dishes needing a quick wash; Quick 35 for lightly soiled loads that don’t need drying; Delicate for lightly soiled crockery and glassware; silent wash, 2 spray levels; higher drying efficiency; delay start for up to 24 hours, interior lighting, and easy-to-use control panel. This dishwasher has an in-built heater and anti-bacterial filter that gives a hygienic and squeaky-clean wash.

Also, Godrej countertop dishwashers can be operated in an eco-wash mode which uses as little as 8 litres of water per wash cycle. This fact demolishes a common perception that dishwashers consume a lot of water!

Godrej Eon Magnus Dishwasher is available in two colours - Silky Silver and Silky Black - and comes with a two-year comprehensive warranty. It conforms to Godrej’s Good & Green philosophy and has A+ rating as per international European standards.

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What Is It Like To Work At G&B? Experience sharing by our Women Leaders.

Pervin D V.

“It has been a long journey with Godrej, starting in 1995 when I was the first woman to join as a General Manager. I remember that when there were invites for the senior management team, I used to wonder whether I would be welcome in an all men gathering, but it was always a comfortable feeling to be in those gatherings. Gradually, more women joined in senior positions, which made things better.

I moved to several challenging roles starting with being the Head of Finance in Godrej Telecom and then moving to Godrej GE appliances and then to Godrej Appliances. All these roles were challenging in one way or the other, involving operations finance to financial analysis and planning for turning around the businesses to profitability.

The next phase of my career has been in the Internal Audit at the corporate level, which had its own sets of challenges and responsibilities.

All through the 27 years, I have always felt strong, empowered and have been able to stand up and speak out when called for.

I have also taken decisions which have withstood the test of time. All this has been possible due to the confidence reposed in me by my team members, colleagues, seniors and our management.

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Gauri Gandhi

Swati Rathi

Kanchan Sandal

The opportunity to pen down my feelings truly emboldens me, having spent two very beautiful decades of my life at Godrej.

No mention of “Godrej” is possible without “Ethics” and “Values”. When I joined the “in-house legal team” at Godrej, it was not very common for women to venture into the sphere. Owing to my “value system” matching that of G&B and the fact that “Respect for Women” flows right from the top in Godrej, I have been able to traverse my fruitful and long journey with passion.

Excellent mentorship and support have been always forthcoming in my years at Godrej. As a result, I have grown to be fiercely independent, making myself feel empowered and alive all the time, which has been the most enriching experience.

To sum it up, the affection, admiration and support at Godrej has stood me in good stead in all aspects of my life, making me a “fierce professional” with a “heart”. I feel blessed to be associated with this great family.

In closing , I am reminded of a quote from David Alejandro Fearnhead:

2006 to 2022 – these sixteen years saw me transition from a recently married young girl to a mother of two kids at home and from an inquisitive & somewhat impatient young team member to a more empathetic & resilient professional at work. Had it not been for the supportive work culture at Godrej and a supportive family at home - I would have found these transitions much tougher.

My first day on campus 18 years ago is still fresh in my memory; a large green campus beckoning a nervous, excited me! The initial anxiety and questions regarding joining a manufacturing organisation disappeared as soon as the interactions with the team started. The responsibilities assigned to me in Capability Building and Performance Management early on gave me a feeling of empowerment and confidence to strive and bring out the best in me.

Godrej has groomed me both in the professional and personal arenas.

“Life is not a competition between men and women.

It is a collaboration.”

As a woman employee, I have always appreciated that Godrej truly treats women as equal to men.

There are no special considerations. I remember spending the night at office in my first month at Godrej overseeing an urgent event preparation or being the last one on the floor on many days like others. However, in my time of need, the organization always had my back. It was heartening to see similar support also being extended to my male colleagues when needed.

We may not have a great gender diversity ratio yet, but can we help G&B be a great woman-friendly workplace? Yes, it all depends on us. If we always encourage women in our teams to speak up and share their perspectives, in due course we will find our women spread their wings and soar!

Here, I have learnt to know myself better and set future objectives, with a readiness to take on new challenges.

I feel proud to be a part of this huge family in which all members are equal and treated with dignity and respect. Thanks to the supportive work culture, great colleagues and a lovely family at home that make this journey so enjoyable that I look forward to learning and growing every day.

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IOT for Monitoring Water Levels The waste of plenty is the resource of scarcity.

Tejashree Joshi, Environmental Engineering Services, Godrej Construction.

Deploying digital technologies can help achieve self-sufficiency in the use of water.

Groundwater is the water present beneath the Earth’s surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations.

It is the most preferred source of water in various user sectors in India because of its near universal availability, dependability and low capital and operational cost. These factors have resulted in indiscriminate extraction across India without necessary measures in place for recharging capacities of aquifers and using this resource efficiently.

Consequently, the regulatory requirements for groundwater use are getting more stringent year after year.

Godrej & Boyce has industrial and commercial facilities at Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli, Mumbai, where a substantial quantity of water is required for manufacturing processes, air conditioning, domestic usage and for the maintenance and development of green areas.

The daily water requirement of G&B is around 3230 m3/day, of which 700 m3/day (22%) is met from the ground water while the balance is met with the water supplied by the municipal corporation as well and recycled water.

The requirement of 700m3/day is met by tapping sixteen groundwater abstraction structures located in the township. For this withdrawal, G&B has obtained a no-objection certificate from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), New Delhi.

The Need for Monitoring

G&B’s Monitoring System

The groundwater monitoring system is essential for preventing any non-compliance of NOC conditions imposed by CGWA. The second reason for having the system is to effectively conserve the resource of groundwater by avoiding overextraction and wastage. Also, the system is necessary for monitoring the quality of ground water as well as for considering seasonal and annual fluctuations for initiating compensatory actions.

Over the years, G&B has undertaken several initiatives for the sustenance of groundwater resources. These include promoting efficient usage of water and constructing a rainwater harvesting system for recharging the groundwater aquifers.

G&B has deployed IoT based integrated monitoring system with exception triggers which has enabled it to strike a positive balance between replenishing aquifers and abstraction quantity for industrial use. The net-

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work remotely and continuously monitors groundwater extraction and its levels, using instruments such as digital water meters and piezometers. We have successfully leveraged the capabilities of IoT to synchronize monitoring of aquifer health and groundwater abstraction while maintaining a cap on the extraction quantity. All the sixteen groundwater abstraction structures in G&B’s premises are controlled by this system.

The data from the monitoring system is fed into a model to assess the impact of groundwater extraction and its impact on long term availability of the groundwater in the complex and the surrounding areas.

G&B uses this analysis for optimising the usage and achieving the levels of consumption that are sustainable. This comprehensive system gives clear guidelines for the settings of the abstraction units.

Consumption Monitoring All the 16 groundwater structures in the G&B Vikhroli premise are fitted with digital flow meters enabled with telemetry system for real-time consumption monitoring.

Flowmeters are calibrated annually for ensuring accuracy in measurement and are integrated with the cloud system for remotely monitoring the consumption from all the wells. This online system provides the details of groundwater abstraction in reports for chosen periods which can be downloaded in PDF and MS-excel file.

Based on water requirements at various locations, the limits of the abstraction are set for all the meters which are monitored continuously. The system provides alerts for overusage through SMS to the engineers concerned for taking corrective action.

Continuous monitoring helps us avoid any non-compliance.

Water is a critical area, mandating urgent attention and action on all fronts.

Groundwater Monitoring The groundwater in the premises is present in unconfined or semi-confined conditions. The former are tapped by dug wells and latter by bore wells.

Monitoring the level of groundwater helps us keep a check on the long-term viability of an aquifer as a safe and stable source of supply. Water-level measurements from the observation wells are the principal source of information about the hydrologic stresses acting on the aquifers and the ways in which these stresses affect groundwater recharge, storage, and discharge.

G&B has installed automatic digital water level meters viz. Piezometers on the campus.

Telemetry is activated using a data logger so that data can be accessed readily by the engineers. As required, various reports can be downloaded in PDF and MS-excel files.

However, in practice these reports are downloaded monthly or when called for submitting to the government authorities.

Recharging of Groundwater G&B has taken active initiatives in rainwater harvesting to compensate groundwater withdrawal by implementing an elaborate rainwater harvesting system where rooftop/ terrace and runoff water is diverted through pipes and channels to the rainwater harvesting units. The runoff rainwater passes through a screen chamber, filtration chamber and is then transferred to a recharge well by gravity. Screen chambers are carefully designed with several stages to prevent any impurities flowing into the aquifers. Excess water, if any, is drained off to the storm water drains during heavy rainfalls.

The rainwater harvesting sites are located after considering the presence of favourable or unfavourable hydrogeological conditions.

Water level maps are taken pre and post monsoon to have adequate information about the suitability of areas for artificial recharge of groundwater.

Rainwater harvesting structures at G&B’s Pirojshanagar complex have the recharge capacity of 4,25,865 m3/year.

This capacity is more than adequate for offsetting the withdrawal of 2,13,500 m3/ year (700m3/day). Notably, G&B is recharging nearly double the quantity of rainwater as compared to the actual groundwater abstraction in a year.

Results Continuous monitoring of groundwater through the remote monitoring system has made it easier to understand the uncertainty in abstraction due to fluctuations in demand and the changes due to abstraction. The engineers responsible for operations can view water consumption in real time and if required, can alert the department concerned for exercising necessary control. Beside these advantages, the IOT based system has made it easy to comply with the NOC conditions stipulated by the Central Groundwater Authority and avoid any non-compliance.

Conclusion As we face the impacts of climate change, water-related extreme events pose operational, regulatory, and reputational risks to businesses. Water is a critical area, mandating urgent attention and action on all aspects. Taking a focused and solutions-oriented approach for sustainable ground water management is therefore essential to maximise the impact of our interventions and ensure long term availability of a good quality resource.

Like water, we must slip between the cracks and create ground-level solutions that benefit all.

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Partnership with Master Lock Perseverance is not a long race; it’s many short races one after the other.

Ujjaval Shah, Godrej Locks & Architectural Fittings and Systems

There are pioneers and then there are history makers.

At Godrej Locks, we are both.

In 2016, Godrej Locks embarked upon the mission of having a substantial portion of its revenue from international business, which was the Top Management’s expectation from us.

When it came to organic growth, Mr. Shyam Motwani, the Business Head, was clear that our motto should be ‘Make in India, Make for the World’. Taking that thought forward, we spent a few months understanding the global market for mechanical locks.

Our efforts quickly revealed that 26% of global consumption of mechanical locks took place in North America with USA being a major contributor. As the new Head of International Business, I visited the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas to understand

the market for fulfilling our vision of setting up a Global Padlock Manufacturing Hub in India. Upon landing in the US, I found that the market was evolved and different from any other market known to me. There were various types of padlocks like solid body, laminated, jacketed and so on, that were being sold with different substrates like brass, aluminum, steel, plastic and others. Most of these were not present in the Indian market.

One key insight was that the consumers were a lot more conscious about security hygiene, namely, they were changing the locks more frequently on their doors and other places. Someone I met jokingly remarked, “consumers in the US change toothbrushes and padlocks with the same frequency!”.

The first visit itself had convinced us that the US market would be our growth driver for the future.

The next step was building up a strong Go-To-Market strategy. Even though we had few ideas on the table, we knew it would be a good bet to get organized to sell Godrej Locks through modern retail stores such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart and others.

The consumers in the US habitually visit these hyper-markets to buy their hardware, including locks, as various surveys had revealed.

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sight, we reworked our Go-To-Market strategy and finalized it to be white label manufacturing for American brands. To implement this strategy, we started looking for potential target customers.

26% of global consumption of mechanical locks takes place in North America, with USA being a major contributor.

Deep diving into the research, we found that most of these large retailers had their sourcing offices in many countries including Mexico, which was the largest supplier of mechanical locks for the US market. Based on this knowledge, we decided to look for opportunities in Mexico.

We began by participating in Expo Nacional Ferretera Guadalajara in Mexico. During this expo, we visited a few manufacturers and a manufacturing facility near Mexico City. This manufacturer was an OEM manufacturer of padlocks for a popular American brand.

Through this visit and the newly obtained in-

Master Lock is the brand prominently placed at almost every hardware store.

Founded in 1921, Master Lock has become an authentic and enduring name in padlocks and security products across the globe. We instinctively knew that this was the brand we would like to partner with for our forays into the US market. Master lock was aware of the Godrej brand and what it represented in the Indian market. This knowledge base laid the foundation for carrying out our conversations for developing our mutually beneficial relationship for the future.

We soon found ourselves hosting their sourcing team at our manufacturing plant at Madkai, Goa. Our Manufacturing Head Mr. James Kurien and Design personnel Mr. Kshitij Gaikar took them around showcasing our capabilities and capacities. While they were impressed, we needed to on-board their other functions as well.

The sales and marketing team of Master Lock invited me to visit them where I presented our credentials and our case to their global product team from their headquarters in Milwaukee - Wisconsin. After an in-depth scrutiny of our offering, they expressed their satisfaction and asked us to quote for solid brass padlocks.

On receiving Master Lock’s request for our

Left - Aluminium Lock Bodies made for Master Lock at Goa Plant.

Top - Ujjaval Shah at HQ of Master Lock, Milwaukee, USA.

offer, Mr. Motwani formed a cross functional team (CFT) comprised of representatives from each function of the BU and impressed upon them the importance of this opportunity to the business. He asked everyone to work collaboratively to emerge as a winner.

This was a big challenge, but we were yet to face the biggest challenge of all, namely the pandemic. The pandemic brought everything to a standstill, yet our team stayed engaged with Master Lock to take the project further. They had asked us for components like lock bodies and shackles and that too in substrates we had never worked with. We refused to get overwhelmed with these obstacles and were determined to tackle it all to succeed.

As a result of smart planning and lot of hard work, we succeeded in securing the first order of Master Lock in November 2021.

This was a big moment for us at Godrej Locks. After all, it took four years of perseverance and hard work to get here.

We are sure our inherent resilience will enable us to build on this success to forge a hugely beneficial relationship with Master Lock in the years to come.

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A Case for Home Healthcare When we care for others, we rise.

Sameer Joshi, Godrej Interio

Now with the availability of telemedicine, skilled nurses and ergonomically designed beds, patients can be treated from the comfort of their homes.

The COVID-19 pandemic proved the inadequacy of India’s healthcare system in meeting the needs of a billion-plus population. With hospitals full and struggling to accommodate even COVID-19 patients, those needing care for other ailments had no choice but to be treated remotely at home.

While far from an ideal situation, it did have a silver lining - it accelerated the growth of the home healthcare sector. Prepandemic, care at home was limited to either geriatric patients or patients suffering easily treatable illnesses. But the lack of hospital beds during the peak of the pandemic, as well as reluctance on the part of patients themselves to visit hospitals for fear of contracting COVID-19, the government’s strict stay-at-home orders, the boom in virtual technology and telemedicine, have shifted the home healthcare sector into a higher gear, making it capable of offering more complex treatment from the comfort of the patient’s home.

Home healthcare is a relatively a new concept in India but a survey by Godrej Interio

cited industry sources as estimating that the sector is likely to grow at a CAGR of about 19% by 2025. In addition to the pandemic, the survey found that the increase in urbanization and nuclear families were the major factors driving this expected growth. As also are the falling mortality rate and increased life expectancy of the elderly, with the proportion of senior senior citizens set to grow to 20% of the total population over the next 30 years.

This greater tendency of patients to increasingly seek home healthcare has forced the sector to cultivate skills that were earlier missing. There is still a skills gap, primarily in the form of a disorganized home care sector and a lack of skilled nurses and caregivers. But remote medicine made possible by wearables, video communication, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things has plugged this gap to some extent and bought time for the sector to upskill its practitioners.

But there are other challenges that need to be overcome if the sector is to realize its potential as a truly full-fledged viable option to hospital care. Chief among these is the lack of infrastructure. Even if patients are convalescing at home, they need adequate equipment to aid their recovery. But homes

naturally lack the basics, such as proper care beds, or feeding tables or mobility aids.

Families often don’t know where they can get even a proper bed and when they manage to find one, it’s often not adequate for the type of care the patient needs. But the growth in the home healthcare sector has spurred medical equipment manufacturers to make equipment specifically for the home care environment, such as the Grace Homecare bed developed by Godrej Interio.

The Grace Homecare bed is engineered to be aesthetically appealing with adequate versatility for a range of medical needs.

It has an electronically adjustable back and leg rest. It can be adjusted to minimise the risks of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), common among patients who are immobile for long periods of time. It has a full-length side rail to prevent falls, rounded corners to prevent injury, and gaps in the frame to prevent the patient feeling trapped and claustrophobic. Ergonomically designed, it is 450mm high with the mattress, which makes it easier for transferring patients from the wheelchair to the bed.

It facilitates patient mobility and, being easy to clean enables better personal hygiene.

It lowers the costs of hospitalization.

The home healthcare sector is still in its infancy in India. But products like the Grace Homecare bed can provide a boost to the sector while also giving a patient the option to recover stress-free at home.

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The Home healthcare sector is likely to grow at a CAGR of about 19% by 2025.

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NIGHT VISION CCTV COLOR CAMERAS FROM GODREJ SECURITY SOLUTIONS When it comes to the safety and security of your businesses or homes, video surveillance has become a necessary requirement today. It not only helps prevent attempts of break-ins, burglaries, and violence, but also assures a secure and safer environment. Whether it’s home, your personal office or a commercial establishment, video surveillance is essential when it comes to safeguarding assets.

Cameras when conspicuously placed have proven to act as strong deterrents for reducing violence, vandalism, and crimes. In fact, even Governments have been known to use public surveillance systems during the pandemic for preventing vandalism and crimes.

The new SeeThru Color NV+ comes in two variants - Indoor Mini Dome color camera and Outdoor Bullet color camera: each featuring high resolution image sensors, color night vision, back-light compensation and more. It truly allows us to watch over our homes and properties even in the darkness, and with full color. The most useful aspect of these cameras is convenient remote monitoring which allows the users to keep an eye through their own phones.

The cameras can be connected through internet so that you can easily access live feed from anywhere, giving instant connectivity. No matter where you are, you can watch over your home or office, whenever you choose too.

This pioneering technology not only enhances security but is also more dependable and durable owing to its manufacturing technology which is developed and manufactured in India.

Speaking on the rise in the usage of CCTV cameras, Swapneel Nagarkar, VP & Business Head, Godrej Security Solutions said, “The CCTV camera industry is growing at the rate of about 20% and to increase our market share, we will continue to develop products that cater to the needs of new-age customers. We intend to lead in product development through innovations that are ‘Made in India’. Through the launch of See Thru Color NV+ CCTV camera, we aim to further provide customers with security solutions that can add value in their lives.”

These cameras are available with leading installers across markets in India.

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Clean Air to Combat COVID-19 Safety and health of our people comes first, always.

Pravin Rawool, Godrej Electricals & Electronics.

Innovations that provide safe air to breathe at air conditioned workspaces.

The pandemic has helped us evolve and adapt quickly to the conditions of the so called ‘new normal’. The crisis has taught us many lessons and one of them is how to come together and find effective solutions quickly for the problems faced.

Driven by our value of safety and health of our people first, we at E&E developed a unique solution to provide clean air and to ensure the health and safety of our people at their workspaces. We have resorted to measures like work-from-home, regular disinfections, wearing of masks, social distancing and the like, to protect our people from COVID-19 and its variants.

To keep our people safe, at the spaces occupied in Godrej, various safety protocols are adhered to. Also, to ensure so, the air that the occupants breathe must be clean and free of viruses. To assure the occupants that their work environment does not pose any risk, in terms of the quality of air that they breathe, we must be doubly sure that the air is clean and safe.

Air conditioning systems can endanger the health of people by transmitting aerosol droplets and contaminated particles.

We decided to address this concern of our people by putting in place rigorous maintenance schedules and upgradation of the system to prevent the spread of the virus.

Considering these requirements, it was de-

cided to develop an altogether new solution to adapt the existing air conditioning systems to the new normal conditions.

We researched and gathered the relevant information to understand the behaviour of the virus for its transmission.

We synthesized the learnings to come up with a unique innovative solution that would enable us to upgrade our existing air conditioning systems to keep our people safe during the pandemic. The solution involves air filtration and irradiation techniques for retro-fitting the existing central air conditioning systems.

In the absence of readily available solutions to retrofit the existing Air Handling Units (AHUs), we re-engineered the existing AHUs with a unique design – to suit their size, space constraints & performance under increased air pressure. To implement this, we had many obstacles to overcome such as long lead times for bought outs and components, shortage of manpower, restrictions on entries owing to the COVID-19 conditions and so on.

Despite these challenges, our teams carried out retrofitting of the air-conditioning systems at various manufacturing facilities across the country. The project was carried out in close coordination and with the help of people at these facilities. Retrofitting involved carrying out modifications as under:

We re-engineered our air conditioning systems to infuse more fresh air into the occupied spaces.

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Improvisation For Air Filtration As a protection against health risks, the idea of filtering the air that we inhale is not new. The filters of an air conditioning system are, metaphorically, the nose of the system as the nose is to humans.

Small thin hairs inside our nasal cavities help us to filter the air that we breathe in and block dirt and dust from getting into our lungs.

Likewise, the air handling units (AHUs) of the central AC systems have air filters installed at their faces which, depending on their efficacy, restrict and capture the microscopic airborne particles as well as contaminated aerosols.

Relative risk of Influenza infection (Office Case Study) 1.00 0.95 0.90 0.85 0.80 0.75 0.70 0.65 0.60 0.55 0.50 No filter

MERV 4

MERV 7

MERV 11

MERV 13

MERV 14

MERV 15

MERV 16

HEPA

Relative Risk according to mean assumption of infectious aerosol size distribution.

Bounds of relative risk according to range of infectious aerosol size distribution.

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The existing filters of the AHU viz. MERV 7 (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value), are not fully effective to restrict the particles.

Hence, we replaced these existing filters with - a combination of MERV 5, MERV 8 and the fine filters, MERV 13.

Sterilization of AHU coils with Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) As filtration by itself cannot help to restrict the fungal / bacterial growth, it was decided to deploy the UVGI technology. UV light of wavelength 254nm is harmful not only to humans but to the pathogens that spread the COVID infection.

UV light is effective as it penetrates the cell membrane and breaks down the DNA structure of a micro-organism. DNA sterilization inhibits reproduction.

Therefore, based on the recommendations of the leading professional institutions like ASHRAE, ISHRAE, we selected the required concentration of UVGI to destroy micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria

and moulds to safeguard our people against the virus. UV lights are cut off when AHUs are under maintenance.

Infusion of fresh air The pandemic led us to rethink the requirements of fresh air for indoor workspaces. We re-engineered our air-conditioning systems to infuse more fresh air into the occupied spaces. Fresh air is rich in oxidants and is a natural disinfectant which shields us from COVID-19 and other pathogens.

Improved Air Recirculation Recirculation implies that the same air passes through the system where air changes per hour (ACPH) is the number of times the air passes through the same bank of filters in an hour. Lower air recirculation rates affect the filtration efficacy hence, to improve the filtration efficacy, the system is reconfigured to ensure 8-10 air changes vis-à-vis the earlier 4-5.

Robotic Cleaning of Air Distribution System Air ducts are the structures meant for distributing conditioned air. These ducts are the most contaminated parts of the central air-conditioning systems. If not cleaned regularly, contaminated ducts can seriously affect the health of occupants. We already have a practice of getting airducts cleaned using robotic technology to safeguard health and wellness of the occupants.

Robotic duct cleaning has proved critical in maintaining higher hygiene levels during the pandemic. Also, as clean air ducts are more efficient, there are savings in the electricity consumed. Another innovative solution in our battle against the invisible virus!

Operational Practices The operational parameters like temperature & humidity need to be kept within a range to ensure, thermal comfort and preventing the growth of microbes. Maintaining humidity between 40 to 70% and temperature from 24 to 27°C is helping us activate the virus-killing properties of the air.

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Left to Right - UVGI Installation, Merv 5,8 and 13 filters and the filter cabinet.

Results

The pandemic led us to rethink the requirements of fresh air for indoor workspaces.

We had appointed an accredited (ISO/IEC 17025) laboratory for pre & post measurement of the outcomes. The results have been extremely encouraging, signaling our readiness for the ‘new normal’.

The project outcomes have been recognized by the CII and have been showcased in the National level publications such as the Journal of air conditioning and refrigeration of ISHRAE and others.

There is a drastic reduction of 84% and 90% in fine particles and microbes respectively at rest conditions, which restricts/eliminates the transmission of virus and bacteria through the air conditioning system.

Conclusion

We have executed this project, phase-wise, keeping in view the priorities given. As of date, we have successfully revamped more than one hundred AHUs at Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli and upcountry locations.

Our efforts are now viewed as a benchmark in the industry. So that many more occupied spaces can derive the benefits of providing clean air to the occupants, we have shared our solution widely. Our innovative solution is now a major weapon in our armory to fight the virus effectively at workspaces.

Take a breath of fresh air. Stay Safe and Stay Healthy!

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PERSPECTIVE

Getting Into The Spotlight When we respect each other, we work better together.

Gitanjali Bhatnagar, Corporate Legal

For a cross functional team to succeed, everyone should go beyond their functional loyalties and strive together to achieve the goal.

There are some work projects that we undertake during our career which really put our learnings into leap mode. The project ‘Spotlight’ was one such experience for me.

This project relates to two variants of security cameras having wi-fi connectivity and a pan-tilt option as features. It was part of a system also comprising of cloud storage for the videos and a mobile app to access and view them. The development of the camera firmware and supply of electronics for the cameras is being done by a Chinese supplier called Qualvision, the mould is being made and supplied by an Indian supplier VVDN, whereas the entire importation, assembly and packaging is being done by an Indian partner known as Samriddhi automations / Sparsh. The cloud storage is being provided

by Amazon India with the servers being in India itself and the mobile app functionality, back-end support and user interface are also being developed by Indian software developers. The billing is managed by Bill desk and the ERP system is handled by Godrej Infotech Ltd. The project is owned, managed, and implemented by Godrej Security Solutions in consultation with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Akin to its name, this project really threw the ‘spotlight’ on a lot of legal aspects pertaining to selecting and introducing a new product in the market while also building and managing the whole ecosystem behind it which was supporting it. When Mr. Ajai Jain assigned this project to me as a lead, I was unsure of how I would handle it. However, I was also excited about the unknown and very happy that he entrusted me with this responsibility and that he had faith that it would somehow be managed. Both Sneha and I ran this project together. We ended up

taking help from Mr. Jain and involving him at multiple places but did reach the end of the tunnel. I also had a huge support system in the form of the various legal team members that got involved along the way, Medha, Sherazad and Rajalekshmy as well as various members of Godrej Security Solutions (GSS) as well including Mr. Nagarkar, Karveji, Raju, Sushant and Onkar. Khatib from Corporate Procurement also helped a lot. Various members from other teams of G&B for cyber insurance including Zubin, Ambarish and others also played a role in the implementation of this project.

Up until now I was a frog in the well called ‘Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)’, but this project opened a whole new arena for me.

There is legal metrology and there is product liability. There is import and customs duty and there is country of origin.

There is e-waste management and there is cyber insurance. There are different concepts of ‘Make in India’, ‘Made in India’ and ‘Manufactured in India’. And so on and so forth. Of course, IPR due diligence was also a big part of the project where there was a lot of contribution in strategy and implementation as well as in cost saving measures. It also played a very important role considering how aware we must be of third-party ownerships on a product we are launching under our own brand name.

But besides all this plethora of new subjects, there is also a lot of behind-the-scenes activities that is exciting to get into and pick

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up as they are happening. Of course, at the time you’re in it and deeply involved in project tracking as you witness the planning and execution, you sometimes get a bit lost in the jargon and quick high-level statements.

But at the same time, you can’t help but also marvel at all the business decisions being taken whether it is the timelines, costs or the pricing, the commercial negotiations or the margins. I remember once feeling like an observer watching the experts talk about something I didn’t quite understand but I was impressed by it and I knew it.

It is also important to add here that according to me, the hero of every such project is always the product itself and all the technical aspects pertaining to it.

The product’s features, its appearance, its functionalities, ultimately all that the consumer can do with it and how it is useful for him and makes his life easier. And here it was interesting to see how the technical team brought a concept to life, into a tangible product that would after all this, be in the hands of the consumer and have a place in his home.

In such a high stress atmosphere, it is easy to get overwhelmed and stressed. However, Mr. Nagarkar and his team working on this project handled the intricacies involved as they faced uncertainties and yet stayed focussed on the deliverables and the results.

These opportunities really bring the adage ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get

going’ to actual practice. Like always, when people with different skillsets, experience and age groups come together and work, there are sometimes disagreements and differences of opinion – but these are also the most fertile grounds for learning, picking up new things and cultivating new friendships.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience, and I am certain that I would be most excited to see this product in someone’s home where I can proudly say that I was part of the team that brought it about. At the end of the hard work there is a sweet satisfaction that comes from knowing that you contributed to your company’s vision – “Godrej in Every Home and Every Workplace”.

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SUCCESS STORIES

313 mm Thick, 450 Tonne Equipment For Cleaner Fuels Upgrade continually to remain relevant and grow.

Reginaldo D’Souza, Godrej Process Equipment

For net-zero by 2050, cleaner fuels are essential; PED boosts its capabilities to supply the required high-end equipment.

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PED has always been in search of opportunities to move one notch up in its execution capabilities. A few months before the pandemic, 2019, PED was successful in winning an order from Petrofac-Saipem-Samsung (PSS JV) to manufacture and supply an equipment of the highest ever wall thickness of 313 mm+ to a refinery in Thailand. The equipment weighed 450 MT. To win this prestigious order, PED had to compete hard with leading global players. This order was won by PED based on top-notch technical capabilities, world class manufacturing infrastructure at Dahej, 40+ years’ experience and its own seagoing jetty for handling logistics of such heavy consignments.

This equipment was a High-Pressure Separator for Thai Oil’s clean fuel Refinery Project for their upgradation to Euro V standards. This upgradation project in Thailand will improve the quality of transportation fuels. It primarily focuses on the reduction of particulate matter (pm) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.

When complete, the refinery’s production capability will increase by 45%, boosting its output of high-quality clean fuels.

The high-pressure separator is designed for separating Oil from Gas at a high pressure. To bear with the high pressure of more than 160 Bar, the vessel design requires a high-thickness shell which was designed and manufactured successfully for the separator

by Godrej Process Equipment.

Manufacturing Challenges Manufacturing a pressure vessel of 313mm thickness and weighing 450 MT, demands people of an exceptional skill-set and machines of high capacity and capabilities.

Processes developed, improved and the investments in the plant and machinery enabled PED to fabricate this critical equipment for cleaner fuel. The thick shell was welded by using Submerged Arc welding (SAW) under highly controlled conditions by highly skilled welders to meet stringent specifications.

Handling an equipment of 450 metric tonnes at different stages of fabrication called for ingenuity and skills of high order.

By successfully manufacturing and delivering a pressure vessel of such high thickness and weight, PED has joined the exclusive group of global players on whom the customers worldwide, rely upon for procuring high-end equipment.

PED is now able to showcase its impressive capabilities yet again, to the energy sector, reinforcing its ambition of “MAKE IN INDIA, FOR THE WORLD”. As cleaner fuels become the norm, PED looks forward to winning many such orders in the future.

Manufacturing a pressure vessel of 313 mm thickness and weighing 450 MT, demands people of an exceptional skill-set and machines of high capacity and capabilities.

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PERSPECTIVE

Music: A Therapeutic Solution Music is the only medicine the heart and soul need.

Music is said to enhance intelligence and focus, improve mental health, and boost the immune system as well as self-esteem and confidence.

Avanti Nerurkar Vocalist, Teacher and Therapist

Last 2 years, the only thing around with everyone is the one and only thought, “The pandemic.” Most of the doctors have told us to keep our immunity high. So, we have been drinking herbal tea and warm water, and inhaling hot steam. This was mainly to boost the immunity. But the fact remains and very few of us know that the body immunity is dependent on solely the mental state of that person. The more you are in stress and fear, the more the immunity falls, and you are a victim to the virus.

Hence, along with the medical remedies, what was much needed in such a time, is the need to keep our mind in the positive thought level. Here comes the only solution to it - music.

It can be used to relax, to boost and lift our mood, or to improve concentration. Music can also be used to aid in insomnia, helping to encourage and induce a deeper sleep.

If you look at Indian music, it is scientifically created in various ragas. Each raga is meant to create a specific “Rasa” i.e., Karun Ras - Sad, Shringaar Ras – Romantic, Bhakti Ras - Devotional and so on. This is called “Music Therapy”; treatment through music by hearing it or singing or playing it. By singing a song in a particular raga, one can change the mood and in turn, become positive and be ready to fight the virus. Music therapy is a clinical and research-based practice in which music is used to enhance a person’s overall mood and well-being. Music therapists are trained to incorporate a range of music-making methods as they support and work with their clients to achieve good mental health.

Music therapy is a creative and holistic approach to healing, as well as the development of constructive and positive coping strategies.

It has proven to play a big role in helping patients recover from negative events and experiences as well as those suffering from mental illness.

In these days of the pandemic, when I met my students who had cases at home and were quite depressed and worried, I tried to uplift their mood by teaching them songs in different ragas. This boosted their immunity, and they could face the entry of the virus into their homes by keeping their moods elevated and positive which reflected in their mind and soul and in turn it spread the positivity into their whole family.

This way, instead of the COVID-19 spreading, it was music which helped to heal and spread positivity in people’s lives, whereas in the other parts of the world the virus was spreading like wildfire.

Ragas are basically a set of specific notes arranged in a structured format to form a typical musical phrase.

Ragas such as Ahirbhairav and Todi are prescribed for patients suffering from hypertension. Carnatic raagas like Punnagavarali and Sahana are useful to calm the mind and control anger.

Now, let’s look at some of the ragaas and the ailments that they are prescribed for: » TODI, BHOOPALI, AHIR BHAIRAV: Provides relief from cold and headache, high blood pressure » SHIVRANJANI: treats memory problems » BHAIRAVI: provides relief from Sinus, cold, phlegm, toothache » CHANDRAKAUNS: treatment of heart ailments, and diabetes » DARBARI KANADA: eases tension and provides relaxation » BIHAG and BAHAAR: for sound and sonorous sleep » DARBARI: provides relief from tension » MALKAUNS AN AASAVARI: cures low blood pressure » TILAK KAMOAD, HANSADHWANI, KALAAWATI, DURGA: eases tension

VOL 23-24 MAR 2022

Ragas when rendered in the correct way under the guidance of a proper trainer, in the right pitch (Saptak), with the correct vaadis and samvaadis, and at the right time known as prahaar will be efficacious in their healing properties.

Even a single swara/note has immense potential for healing.

Many individuals who were experiencing stress in their relationships with their spouses or were under depression, learnt music from me so that they could pacify themselves and regain their peace. Resultant cooler, calmer selves, helped them create serenity and peace in their relationships.

Another type of students that I was treating in the pandemic were some kids aged 4 to 8 who had a problem in speech and understanding numbers. Music helped them improve their diction through the learning of shlokas and sargams, and paltas of saregama helped them comprehend maths and science better, resulting in improved grades.

The parents were amazed at these results and my satisfaction as a teacher was extremely gratifying. As some of the senior citizen students were having trouble breathing, I taught them quite a few pranaayam exercises through the rendition of Omkaaras and humming, which in turn helped strengthen their lungs and respiratory organs. This helped them in their fight against the corona virus as their respiratory and immune systems were now stronger.

I feel fortunate to be teaching music as I can help those in need in these trying times.

About the author Avanti Nerurkar has been trained in classical and light music under the guidance of Padmashri Suresh Wadkarji. She has numerous music shows to her credit with stalwarts like Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Shri Shridhar Phadke, Arun Date, Shrinivas Khale, to name a few. She has several music albums with Shri Suresh Wadkar and Vaishali Samant. Her experience in teaching music is vast and deep as she has been teaching music for over 20 years. She has trained more than 1000 students in the age group 3 to 83 years. Recently, she has opened her own studios in Santacruz and Thane, Mumbai, where her students can record their renditions for YouTube to boost their confidence.

Avanti can be reached at +91 97020 97071.

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44

FOCUS

Green Buildings For Greener Future Commitment for a greener future is at the core of sustainable development.

Elizabeth Bocarro, Corporate Communication & PR

Greening of the construction industry has the potential to make our cities and towns liveable and sustainable.

Green Building Movement in India has been led by Godrej and the CII for about two decades. Godrej & Boyce has invested, over the last ten years, more than INR 500 crores towards their ESG initiatives with a focus on creating a positive impact on people, planet and profits. In continuation with their ESG initiatives, they regularly participate in the annual Green Building Congress as premier supporters to drive the importance of sustainable green buildings and infrastructure through five of their businesses. Godrej Interio offers furniture solutions that are Greenco rated, Godrej Material Handling offers low emission electric forklifts and energy efficient appliances are marketed by Godrej Appliances. Further, Green Building Consulting and Energy Management Services are offered by Godrej Electricals & Electronics which also offers Green MEP as well as infrastructure services. And finally, recycled concrete materials are made available

by Godrej Construction.

Godrej Construction has been driving and propagating the Lean Philosophy in construction activities under the leadership of Anup Mathew, to bring about a cultural change in India - the intent is to reduce waste and cycle time in construction.

Anup Mathew was recently felicitated by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) with the ‘IGBC Fellow Award 2021’ for his immense contribution to the Indian Green Building Movement. His contributions have spanned across over 25 years. Under the deep involvement and guidance of Anup Mathew, CII-IGBC has developed the IGBC Net Zero Waste Rating System for Buildings and Built Environment.

Also, Shashi Ray of Godrej Green Consulting and Energy Management was conferred with the ‘IGBC Green Fellow award’ for this contribution, spanning over 15 years, for green building projects.

Commenting on being honoured by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), Anup Mathew said, “I am delighted and greatly honoured to be chosen for the prestigious

‘IGBC Fellow Award 2021’. I am thankful to all my team members and our business partners for having supported me in my business-related endeavours. This award is also a recognition of all their efforts of promoting sustainable development initiatives, which are well aligned with the core values of G&B. I look forward to fostering the Good & Green Initiative of G&B and other noteworthy initiatives of CII – IGBC, which will help us build a sustainable future, together.” CII– IGBC along with Godrej & Boyce have also announced the IGBC Net Zero Waste Rating System for Buildings and Built Environment.

This would enable a National standard on Waste management and the creation of a world class reference guide of ‘Net Zero Waste’ for driving the Zero waste movement in the country.

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Out of 500 projects, over 300 projects were awarded with platinum and gold certifications

by Godrej green consulting.

Anup Mathew Anup Mathew is the Senior Vice President & Business Head of Godrej Construction and serves on the Board of the Institute for Lean Construction Excellence (ILCE), India.

Since 2004, G&B and the Confederation of Indian Industries - Indian Green Building Congress (CII-IGBC) have been leading the Green Building movement in India.

Through this initiative, Godrej Green Consulting has created a green building footprint of over 300 million square feet!

Together, they built and established the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (CII-Godrej GBC) in Hyderabad, the first green building in India and the greenest building in the world. Godrej Construction’s new building projects are designed and developed conforming to the Green Building Principles.

Godrej has completed over 500 projects in green consulting, in their journey of giving

Out of 500 projects, over 300 projects were awarded with platinum and gold certifications enabled by Godrej green consulting. Greening of the construction industry, including reducing waste by adopting lean practices, is undoubtedly a way forward in making India’s cities and towns liveable and sustainable.

back to the environment through making buildings more sustainable.

Shashi Ray Shashi was conferred with the ‘IGBC Green Fellow Award’ for his contribution, spanning over a decade and a half, for promoting Green building projects in India.

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THE ARCHIPELAGO ECOSYSTEM FROM SCRIPT, GODREJ INTERIO With remote working becoming a fundamental aspect of our lives, the Indian workforce has been looking for ways to transform their personal space into a fluid ecosystem that addresses modern-day problems around the work-from-home situation. Script - a Godrej venture that creates accessories celebrating the fluid and evolutionary way of living - presents a transformative workstation: The Archipelago Ecosystem.

Archipelago Ecosystem – With a simple Cshaped bend and sculpting out the negative volume, the workstation is designed to provide the comfort you need while working from home.

It is designed to maintain a healthy posture for enhanced productivity.

The arm rest is designed in such a way that it can incorporate a full-size laptop and a coffee mug as well. It comes with a soft floating cushion that provides great back support in any setting.

A mobile desk provides good flexibility supporting various postures and workspace re-

quirements. The curved boundaries allow the sofa to blend with any environment, making it the sole essential in a modern-day work pad.

Script is a premium home furniture brand from the house of Godrej. It is a novel and urban furnishing line-up especially crafted for those aspiring to live an inspirational lifestyle.

With a purpose to uplift every experience and help people balance all their activities with great ease and joy, Script has an inspiring design story behind it. It is inspired by contemporary living and breaks free from traditional rules for an unbridled, intuitive, and meaningful way of interacting with furniture.

Created with immense care and exquisite skills, it focuses on innovative designs and detailing. Script facilitates the concept of ‘Freedom of Living’ by delivering what we call a ‘fluid living experience’.

To know more about the offerings from Script, visit - www.scriptonline.com

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INSIDE G&B

The Good Doctors Medicines cure diseases but only doctors can cure patients.

Indrapal Singh and B. Radharani

Six decades of caring for the health of Godrejiites with dedication.

On 3rd December, 2016, we celebrated the birth centenary of Mr. Naval Godrej. At the function, Dr. G. Bhatia, Mr. E.J. Kalwachia, Mr. P.D. Lam and Mr. M Engineer were invited by me to share a few anecdotes with the audience, remembering NPG. On that occasion, Dr. Bhatia had narrated an anecdote which is as below.

Dr. Bhatia said, “I joined G&B in 1962, after working for several years at Bhabha hospital, Bandra, Mumbai. I took charge of the factory dispensary and began attending to patients, mostly workmen and their family members.

Having not earlier worked in the factory environment, I was not clear as to what my job was and what would be the way forward. So, I sought an appointment with NPG, which was promptly granted. As always, NPG enquired how things were going and I replied that even though I was fully occupied, I had no clarity about what my real job was. NPG smiled and said, “You are a doctor, and you don’t know what your job is?” I admitted that I was confused and said, “I had nothing but a

small room and a compounder, so with such meagre resources, what was I supposed to do?” NPG said, “Oh! That’s what is bothering you? Your job is to keep my people healthy when they are in service and thereafter.”

Later, I put up proposals to set up a pathological lab to carry out routine tests, an X ray unit, and similar basic facilities which were sanctioned forthwith.”

In one sentence, NPG had articulated the vision for the wellbeing of Godrejiites that has stood the test of time for sixty years.

Dr. Ghanshyam Bhatia and Dr. Mrs. Meena Bhatia lived that vision day in and day out for the next six decades, striving and doing their best to keep Godrejiites and their families healthy, safe, and productive. Occupation, safety, and health was given priority. Dr.

Bhatia, with these basic facilities, began caring for people in the most cost -effective way.

Not only was his diagnosis almost always on the dot, but his treatment, the bear minimum required, but loaded with sound advice and an assurance of getting well.

He always insisted on changes in the lifestyle of his patients for their improved health.

Our factory canteen in those days used to serve breakfast, lunch and snacks that had about 4000 calories! Very rich and oily food was demanded and served. Dr. Bhatia engaged the well-known expert in the field, Dr. Thangam Philip, Director of the Hotel Management and Catering Institute in Dadar to design meals for our people. Considering

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the physical effort that our people were putting in, the calorie count was brought down to around 2400. Many other changes were made in the menu to make the meals healthier. In six months or so, Dr. Bhatia could observe improvements in the health of his patients in terms of reduced weights and lowered levels of blood pressure and cholesterol. In short, well-planned meals helped people become healthier.

Dr. Bhatia’s approach to treating patients rested on three pillars – clarity, gentleness, and discipline.

His clinical diagnosis skills were extraordinary. He cared with the same attention, whether the patient was from the workforce or a senior functionary of the company. You had to wait in the queue to see him. He had a wonderful knack of putting people at ease with a dash of humor. At the same time, if required, if necessary, he was direct in pronouncing the serious illness so that the treatment could begin right away. Dr. Bhatia would stay connected all along with the patient concerned and his family even after the treatment, surgery etc. to ensure that the recovery was full. A physiotherapy unit was set

up for this purpose. He would be available 24/7 and anyone could reach out for assistance. No hour was unearthly for him.

His spouse, Dr. Mrs. Meena Bhatia, was equally caring for children and women who reached out to her. She conducted antenatal clinics and would take care of infants even after they had grown up and joined Udayachal Schools. She would ensure that the children received all the necessary vaccinations in a timely manner. She would also conduct annual checkups and give dietary guidance for the healthy growth of children. She was good at diagnosing congenital anomalies and getting such children treated at early stages.

Women patients and even some adolescents felt very comfortable in her care.

Her dedication to her work was so sincere, that she could easily remember the names of not only her patients, but also their family members.

In addition to being competent doctors, both were very able administrators. All records as required by the authorities and the management were maintained impeccably.

Reports were always on time. Dr. Bhatia would issue from time-to-time advisory circulars on various topics related to health for the benefits of Godrejiites. Just to add, even today I have with me his circular on dietary guidance for weight control. On revisiting this circular, I found that his recommendations are valid even today, after five decades.

Dr. Bhatia has been the President of Indian Association of Occupation Health (1974) and President of Indian Medical Association (1990).

In 2015, when the dispensary moved to Godrej Memorial Hospital, Dr. Bhatia played the role of a project manager and ensured that the shifting was hassle-free and complete. The care and attention he gave remained unchanged.

Over sixty years, Drs. Mrs. & Mr. Bhatia have served Godrejiites and their families with the utmost dedication and care. Their exemplary services would be remembered for years to come and missed greatly.

We wish them healthy and happy years of retirement.

Left - Drs. Mrs. & Mr. Bhatia at their home in Pune.

Bottom - Drs. Mrs. & Mr. Bhatia with Mr. Jimmy Carter, Former President, USA.

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PERSPECTIVE

The Unbearable Lightness of Being “99% of life is showing up.”

– Woody Allen Jyoti Sarkhot, Corporate Personnel and Adminis

Reaching of full potential is restricted by a deterministic view of the world while a greater sense of free will facilitates it.

Milan Kundera’s book has no bearing whatsoever with this write up, although the title does dovetail in to give a glimpse on how complicated yet simple it could be to be!

Quoting it here is to bring out the fact that one of most daunting things we all grapple with is uncertainty. It further worsens, if we are not sure of the outcomes that we may get for the efforts we have put in.

The Law Of Wasted Efforts The animal kingdom teaches us so many things. There is one such law of wasted efforts that is widely spoken of. What is this law and why is it important for us to be aware of it? Do you know that lions only succeed in a quarter of their hunting attempts? This means they fail in 75% of their attempts.

Despite the small percentage of success experienced by most predators, they don’t seem to despair in their hunting efforts. It is because of their instinctive, built-in understanding of the Law of Wasted Efforts.

Likewise, in nature too, half the seeds sown in soil do not grow, most of the world’s rain falls into the ocean while most of the seeds of trees are eaten by birds and so on… the Law of Wasted Efforts at work. Scientists have found that this law is endemic to the very existence of animals, trees and other forces of nature.

As opposed to this, human beings think that the lack of success in a few attempts is failure.

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My Experience with Wordle A friend introduced me to the game of Wordle, where players are given six attempts everyday to guess a five-letter word.

Feedback is given for each guess if it is correct or not. Many a times, a Wordle player will come to the fifth or sixth row with only one or two alphabets, guessed correctly and in the right place, but with no idea as to what to do next. At that point, the player is tempted to conclude that he has tried all possible letter combinations and maybe no word will fit in there. Maybe there is no answer to today’s Wordle. And yet, one knows that this sort of supposition is absurd and the fact is, there is an answer. As I tried attempting it and kept failing, I harboured many doubts and was mentally rubbishing the premise of the game itself! The chances of one getting it right, why only 6 attempts, there should be more options and so on. Eventually, as I started playing and won a few times, it changed my way of looking at the game. Now, I have started enjoying it.

Another friend of mine pointed out that the behaviour of questioning the game itself was an indicator of being in a fixed mindset.

Each time we feel like giving up, all that is required is ‘showing up’ again and again.

Life can be a bit like that too. At times we are tempted to feel as if there is no answer to the uncertainty or the issue at hand, especially when we have been searching for the solutions unsuccessfully for a while. And although life is infinitely more complex than a game of Wordle, the fact remains that just because WE haven’t found a solution YET, doesn’t mean there is ISN’T one.

Perhaps instead of throwing our hands up in despair, what we need do is take a break, walk away from the problem and come back and look at it afresh.

Perhaps then the solution will present itself.

Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset All this falls in place when we try to understand fixed and growth mindsets. We operate out of these mindsets as we set out to do mundane tasks or take major life-altering decisions.

Fixed Mindset and Growth Mindsets differ on various dimensions as clearly articulated in a diagram below: You can transit from Fixed mindset to Growth mindset easily and successfully if you keep in mind the pointers. » Avoid your self-appraisal in a binary form, i.e. – Failure vs. Success. Take each challenge as an opportunity to stretch and grow. » Identify your limiting beliefs and fixed ideas. Challenge these beliefs and ideas to go beyond to seek out perspectives that

Fixed Mindset

Growth Mindset

Intelligence is Static

Intelligence can be developed

Avoids challenges.

Challenges

Embraces challenges.

Gives up easily.

Obstacles

Persists in the face of setbacks.

Sees effort as fruitless or worse.

Ignores negative feedback.

The truth is that we only fail when we stop trying. People who understood this and kept trying are the ones that eventually made it to the top. Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney and all other successful people have failed multiple times before becoming successful. Success doesn’t mean a life free of pitfalls and falls; rather it means walking over your mistakes and going beyond every stage where your efforts were wasted.

are different. For example, take a movie or a book that you didn’t like, but you have someone in your circle who liked it.

Find out what they liked about it and why.

Apply the same process to your limiting beliefs and try to view them from different lenses. » Recognize the role of your ego. » Develop courage to be vulnerable and take risks. » Be open to receiving new perspectives.

Let me end here with a lovely number of the Beatles - “I get by with a little help from my friends”. Until then, strive for what helps you thrive.Wishing you the very best in your journey.

Feels threatened by the success of others.

As a result they plateau early and achieve less than their full potential.

All this gives them a deterministic view of the world.

Effort

Criticism Success of Others

Sees effort as the path to mastery.

Learns from criticism.

Finds lessons and inspiration in the success of others.

As a result they reach ever higher levels of achievement.

All this gives them a greater sense of free will.

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BOOKMARK

Get Better At Getting Better A Book Review

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VOL 23-24 MAR 2022

Khushman Bhathena Homemaker, Writer and Entrepreneur

The journey of 2022 has just begun and what could be better than a book that gives us the wherewithal to succeed.

‘Get better at getting better’ by Mr. Chandramouli Venkatesh, is a book that comes with a host of tools and techniques to help one become a better version of one’s own self. The book takes us deep into the subject with experiential insights, gleaned over three decades by Mr. Venkatesh and shared lavishly by him. The book provides great clarity on the subject.

If you have been waiting for the Kaizen process for human beings, then this is the book for you.

Success comes only to those who put in sustained efforts at getting better.

It is filled with strategies at getting better and has the potential to change you for good – and make you the best of what you can be. This book is invaluable for everyone seeking sustainable success in their careers and lives. It is also invaluable for anyone who wishes to help others succeed.

Mr. Venkatesh, a corporate veteran, draws the architecture of getting better very skillfully. He believes in some core capabilities to succeed like people skills, relationship building, leadership and a strong, personal value system. Analytical skills, comfort with numbers and logical reasoning. Conceptualization and intuitive skills, creativity and insightfulness. Being organized, disciplined, planned and efficient. According to him, these combined with the basic requirements of hard work and a strong resolve to keep at it for life, is a sure shot formula for success.

Mr. Venkatesh gives a simple insight – success is not based on how good you are; it is about a powerful and effective model you have to improve how good you are.

He calls this model the Get-Better Model (GBM). This book is about probing deep into this simple insight, helping you create your own model of success that you can apply.

Everyone needs to set up a model of learning and improving, create an ability to find answers, derive your own solutions, which will give you the confidence and an ability to handle any situation.

He mentions a classic example (Pgs. 39-41) of three friends who are hungry, searching for a place to grab a bite at mid-night. After looking around for an hour, the first one remembers the café at the station side, while the second one learns that all cafes at all station sides would operate like this. And the third one concludes that all cafes, at all Travel Hubs like train stations, bus depots and taxi stands would operate at mid-night as there is a crowd they could cater to. A classic example of three different individuals learning differently from the same situation and the same effort. Most people we see at work are like the first one. Their GBM is inefficient and hence, despite a lot of effort, they do not get better. Undoubtedly, the GBM of the third one is superior as he has thought through a solution that works in any city.

It is not just about having knowledge to succeed but it is also about the capability

to succeed and then keep improving it with training, books, attending conferences and seminars, and any other help that you can get. Such an approach will help you progress to achieve more in the same time and with the same effort. The formula to success is your efforts for creating a solid, constantly evolving model of GBM. This is different from just working harder.

It is not only about the results you produce now but it is also about your capability to produce results in the future.

Exploring our Godrej archives, we can find a similar approach from our founder, Mr. Naval Godrej. He put it a little differently, several decades ago.

Mr. Godrej asked those coming in contact with him that important question, “Aaje Navu Su Kidhu?”

(What is that New Thing you did today?). To him, it was the key to getting better. He nudged his people all the time to do something new and he made sure they had all the support and encouragement they needed.

What matters is the persistence to think different and do different, relentlessly.

It is time to instill this spirit amongst Godrejiites to create a better version of themselves and of G&B. Let us strive to find methods to have enduring solutions as opposed to being content with quick-fix, temporary solutions. Success comes only to those who put in sustained efforts at getting better. Set high standards, motivate yourself and above all, become a better human.

If you want to kickstart your journey of Getting Better, then this is the book for you.

Remember, it is a lifelong journey.

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Virtual Fatigue: The Pitfalls of ‘Work From Home’ Sometimes a break from your routine is the very thing you need.

Dr. Reena Valecha, Godrej Interio

The ways to manage a variety of virtual fatigue.

Thirty-five-year-old Pranav loved working from home. He could sleep in and still make it to work on time. He didn’t have to travel two hours each way during peak hours in packed public transport. He had a lot more flexibility. He could cultivate hobbies and pick up new skills. He had a lot more time.

He had a life.

But after nearly two years in lockdown, even Pranav, who fretted at the lack of a work-from-home policy at his advertising agency before the COVID-19 pandemic, wants to go back to work.

He is not alone. Millions of office workers initially welcomed work from home as one of the few positives of the pandemic after COVID-19 first forced us into lockdown.

A study conducted by Godrej Interio found that nearly 80% of the Indian workforce worked remotely during the pandemic.

People felt as if they had greater control structuring their day, and were free from the draining commutes that bookended the pre-pandemic workday, with energy left over to dabble in post-work interests.

But now, they are itching to go back to the office. With everything from meetings to company events having moved online, employees are spending the entirety of their

working hours in front of a screen. This has led to ‘virtual fatigue’.

‘Virtual fatigue’ is an umbrella term. It concerns a whole host of health concerns arising from too much time spent in the virtual world. With work-from-home here to stay, for now at least, here are some of the most common instances of ‘virtual fatigue’ and steps to manage them.

Visual Fatigue Unsurprisingly, this is the most common form of virtual fatigue. Nearly 72% of the Indian workforce spends nine hours or more every day in front of a computer/laptop or smartphone/tablet screen, the Godrej Interio study found.

Where the pre-pandemic workday involved meetings and interactions that gave us some relief from staring at a screen, all our interactions have now moved onto a device of some sort. As a result 41% of the respondents polled in the Godrej Interio study reported experiencing moderate to extreme irritation levels and burning in their eyes at the end of long virtual calls. Meanwhile, 19% said they experienced blurry vision after extended video calls.

While there is no alternative to video conferencing amid the current scenario, there are ways to manage the strain it causes on our eyes. For starters, it’s important to make sure the screen is at an ergonomically adequate height and distance from your seating

position. It’s also advisable to lower brightness levels on your gadgets as it results in lesser strain on the eyes or switch it into the more eye-friendly night mode, which dampens the emission of blue light that takes such a toll on the eye. Wherever possible, one can also switch interactions to audio-only calls.

Lastly, take regular breaks and step away from the screen. Blinking often and doing certain eye exercises during such breaks will help further ease the strain.

Listener’s Fatigue This occurs because of prolonged use of headphones. Working from home brings distractions along with it. Ambient sounds like kids playing in the background can make it difficult to focus on interactions. Headphones cut out the white noise but prolonged use can lead to ear pain and headaches. About 61% of the respondents in the Godrej Interio study said they used headphones with their smartphones, 63% used them with their laptops while 31% plugged headphones into their tablets. More than half of the respondents reported experiencing pain due to headphones/earpods.

Again, there are ways to manage this.

The best solution is to find a corner in your house that has minimum ambient noise and distractions. That way you won’t need to use earphones at all. But that’s not a practical op-

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tion for everyone. The alternative is to take a quick power nap or just a few minutes off to breathe. This will help calm the mind, reduce anxiety, lower stress as well as blood pressure. The best solution though is to use your headphones only when necessary, such as in extremely critical meetings.

Physical Fatigue We’re all familiar with an aching neck, back or shoulders by now. These are nothing but symptoms of physical fatigue. About 40% of the respondents in the Godrej Interio study said they sat in one place without any breaks.

About 19% said they attended long calls sitting on their beds, 13% from the sofa and 9% while sitting on the floor. While they may not appear severe enough to take seriously, all these aches and pains are nothing but the beginning of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) which can have serious long-term consequences.

About 86% of those surveyed in the Godrej Interio study said they were suffering from MSDs. Those in the 26-40 age group com-

plained the most about experiencing some form of pain. This is extremely alarming and needs to be managed. Pay particular attention to the ergonomics of your workspace and your posture. Invest in proper office furniture if necessary. Avoid working while sitting on the bed, sofa or floor. Move around, dedicate some time at the end of the workday to light exercises. Take breaks. Stretch and relax various groups of muscles.

Mental Fatigue The mental toll taken by virtual work is the most pervasive yet least quantifiable consequence of working from home. With the pandemic having taken its toll, an unchanging work environment combined with working in silos and practically no real-time interaction as well as blurred lines between ‘the home’ and ‘the office’ have resulted in longer working hours. All these factors contribute to a heightened state of mental fatigue. This mental stress manifests in the form of irregular sleep patterns, extreme fatigue, headaches and an inability to focus on work.

The Godrej Interio study found that 60% of those surveyed felt moderate to extreme levels of fatigue. 53% had trouble sleeping at the end of the workday while 51% experienced headaches after long work calls.

The most important way to manage this mental strain is to, quite simply, take some time off. Engage in hobbies, exercise – they release happy hormones in your brain.

Decorate your workspace with plants. Avoid too much caffeine, eat on time and plan your day as much as you can. Schedule “me time.”

The light at the end of the tunnel The pandemic and work-from-home is not here to stay. As vaccination rates increase, offices will begin to open. Yes, the way we work will be different. Some companies may choose to adopt a hybrid approach. But, nevertheless, we will go back to face-to-face meetings. But until we do, it’s important for us to be mindful of the consequences of virtual work and for our sake, take steps to mitigate them.

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Mad Men of Bombay Advertising is an art to persuade and sell!

Shweta Jadhav, Godrej Archives

Researching and understanding the past can often lead to insights for shaping the future.

When someone says, ‘Mad Men’ we are immediately reminded of the smart and stylish Don Draper, star of the ‘Mad Men’ TV show, who is shrewd and capable, sometimes erratic, but mostly a spirited creative genius!

Even as the show’s dapper Madison-Avenueadvertising-executive from 1960s Manhattan captured our imagination, our own Indian mad men as well as women also make for an interesting lot of geniuses. Them and their intensely intriguing world in erstwhile Bombay was unraveled by Prof. William Mazzarella during the most recent #ThursdayTalk ‘Mad Men of Bombay: Revisiting the Creative Revolution in Bombay’ held on 28th October 2021 by the Godrej Archives in collaboration with CSMVS, Mumbai and Museum Society of Mumbai.

William Mazzarella, who is the Neukom Family Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, has passionately researched the Indian advertising industry for more than three decades and has had one-on-one interactions with many heavyweights of Indian advertising including Anwar Alikhan, Alyque Padamsee, Subhas Ghoshal, Andy Halve, Kersey Katrak, Usha Katrak, Bal Mundkur, Kiran Nagarkar, Frank Simoes, Piyush Pandey, Mohammed Khan and more.

All those rich conversations, lit stories, sassy and unabashed comments by ad makers of yesteryears spilled over into his talk, giving all of us in the audience a deeper insight into the creative revolution these ad makers brought in the Indian advertising industry in the 1960s & 70s.

William calls them ‘the breakout generation’ – the many ‘independent, creative,

brash and buccaneering’ ad men and a few women of Bombay who broke away from the stifling, corporate ad agencies, that were previously British-owned and still bore a colonial outlook. They gloried in breaking away from these old pieties to start their own ad houses – Frank Simoes Advertising by Frank Simoes, ULKA by Bal Mundkur, MCM by Kersey Katrak, daCunha Associates by Sylvester daCunha, Rediffusion by Arun Nanda, Ajit Balakrishnan and Mohammed Khan, Trikaya by Ravi Gupta, Interpub by Nargis Wadia - to name a few.

Their confidence, sometimes bordering on cockiness, and their take-no-nonsense-fromthe-client approach were evident from their dramatic ads, assertive pitches, and large gestures.

William shared that when Bal Mundkur started ULKA, he splashed out on 8000 square feet of office space in the Nirmal Building at the newly reclaimed Nariman Point, at the then outrageous rate of two rupees per square foot, twice of what anyone else was paying, and twice as much space as he needed.

Similarly, MCM would buy a large advertising space on the page, even if they didn’t fill it all, so that their ads would be four or six times as large as every other ad that came out and would look super dramatic.

Advertising had become more about telling short and emotive visual stories than about coming up with witty and literate copy.

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In the words of Mohammed Khan, ‘it just sort of hit you in the middle of the forehead... like a sledgehammer.’ With professional success also came the seductive bohemian life – attending the nicest parties in town, entertainment at the Taj, lunches & dinners at the reputed Gymkhanas and clubs, rubbing shoulders with the crème de la crème of Bombay – all of which appealed to those looking for an exciting profession not bound by the nine to five or those who dreamt of a culturally advanced workplace where men and women too need not yield to convention.

William believes that this dream space of the ad agency world is perhaps the most charismatic creation of the ’creative generation’ and despite seeming raffish, advertising was respectable enough as a career for any educated young woman from a reasonably liberal family. We too had a Mrs. Anasooya Godiwala who joined Godrej & Boyce as a Publicity Officer in April 1963 and we find her mention in archival documents until 1966 but nothing more.

Further, these ‘advertising boys’ hopped with ease between advertising and their other cultural passions such as art, theatre, poetry, music, cinema, publishing, etc. adding to the cosmopolitan aura around them and enhancing their cultural currency. A lot of them were tempted into advertising from these other cultural avenues as it paid better.

Alyque Padamsee, with his usual flair, once said, “It’s a fascinating profession which also pays for the bread, butter and BMW.” However, as the city and the country they once knew transformed rapidly over the next two decades - the strikes and lockouts throughout 1970s, the two wars with Pakistan, the Maharashtra famine of 1972, the National Emergency of 1975, and more instances of socio-political turmoil that rocked the nation – these advertisers belonging to elite clubs seemed a little out of touch with the real India. William captured it aptly when he said, ‘Advertising had become more about telling short and emotive visual stories than about coming up with witty and literate copy. Fluency and creativity in India became decisive in a market that was now truly a mass market.’

Later, William did point out that it was the shifting historical context involving rising consumerism and a new kind of nationalism that made them the dinosaurs, and that generational transition was always imminent. Also, the advent of commercial television in India in the early 1980s had a big role in shaking the ground beneath their feet.

By the 1980s, a new order of ad makers had emerged – Piyush Pandey, Kiran Khalap, Gautam Rakshit, Anand Halve, and others.

Though they commended the old guard for their brilliance and ground-breaking work in the past, these new boys were hungry to make their mark. Members of this new cadre hailed from the suburbs of Bombay, the mofussil of India, and while they were not any less dramatic than their predecessors, they spoke the language of the masses and their ads projected a cultivated lack of artifice.

Ad man Piyush Pandey divulged to William that the success of the two big hit campaigns he wrote in mid 1980s - ‘Chal Meri Luna’ and ‘Hamara Bajaj’ – was that they captured the spirit and the pulse of non-metro India.

With the explosion of Indian language newspapers and magazines, satellite TV, cable, and regional TV channels through 1980s and the wave of liberalization in 1990s, markets expanded and advertising, as Andy Halve shared with William, ceased to be a

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luxury and became a necessity. Liberalization in 1991 led to drastic shifts in economy and culture and unleashed an unprecedented wave of consumerism that India’s political leaders, policy makers and business tycoons were ready to ride upon.

Advertising soon became an idiom of nation building as they aligned policies, brands and products with popular needs and democratic dreams of a new India.

So far, the narrative has been very romantic. Historicism, William says, is an easy habit; it’s easy to fall prey to the nostalgia of the earlier generation or the triumphalism of the later one. However, we corporates as customers of such a volatile industry should observe how historical research into the structure and functioning of the ad world revealed the shifts in the ideological profile of advertising in India - from the cosmopolitan stylings of the 1960s to the populism of the 1980s and to the consumerism of the 1990s post liberalization. Such deeper understanding should help us analyze current marketing

trends better and anticipate further cultural shifts in the future. William’s talk on the ‘Mad Men of Bombay’ certainly highlighted the worth of such corporate research in the historical context.

The advertising industry and ad makers today have more than ad copies and mood boards to worry about as they face bigger and complex challenges such as the threat of socio-political controversies, stiffer competition than it ever was & restrictions on creative freedoms in the face of the cancel culture in today’s digital world when likes, shares and comments can make or break an ad campaign.

But ad men & women - or shall we call them mad men & women? – have always been made of sterner stuff, braving hurdles and criticism along the way only to make brands shine and touch the hearts of millions.

Their fierce spirit is resonated in the words of Gerson daCunha, the ‘pitamaha’ of Indian advertising, who passed away recently on 7th January 2022, who on a lighter note had mentioned in an interview to the Times Of India in 2019 - “The one secret I have learnt is not to give up. If you ask me what is the one thing that I have learnt in my 90 years, I will say, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a wheelchair’.” Such aspiration and boldness, however, is any ad maker’s enduring power.

The one secret I have learnt is not to give up.

If you ask me what is the one thing that I have learnt in my 90 years, I will say, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a wheelchair’.

- Gerson daCunha

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How Long Till It’s Gone Maxine Raggatt How long till it’s gone The beauty that we see Everything that was made Wasn’t made for you and me.

The damage isn’t reversible But here’s what we can do To live from now sustainability A time for worldwide breakthrough.

Each creature holds its beauty Each life source holds a key Everyone has a role in life So, we can all live free.

For eyes to be opened And for hearts to feel Enough is enough The destruction is real.

Power and greed took over Who’s got the most or best We didn’t spare a thought To each animal in their nest.

Contributed by Gillian Dennett

Sustainability forces our eyes on the future while providing a critical lens through which we can view, virtually, all human activities. Although conventional businesses pay lip-service to the idea of the future, with all its endless focus on strategic planning, long-range thinking and so on, most business decisions are based on short-term thinking. This is often self- defeatingly reactive and myopic.

Sadly, long-term thinking rules only for war planning and defense. For just about everything else, short-term thinking rules. The doctrine of sustainability tries to shift our radar screen into a new dimension. And that, perhaps, is the most critical contribution to the debate about the role of business in society.