Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can play a significant role in transitioning to a sustainable development model. By adopting sustainable business practices, MSMEs will not only contribute to environment-friendly and inclusive economic growth, but will also benefit from the growing consumer preference for sustainable products and brands. In order to create awareness about the benefits of sustainable business model for MSMEs, World trade Center Mumbai organized a workshop on 'Promoting MSMEs and Women Entrepreneurs through Sustainability in Global Markets'.

The event was addressed by Ms. Rupa Ganguli, Founder & CEO, Inclusive Trade Ltd., UK, which has developed a self-assessment sustainability toolkit backed by United Nation’s SDGs. The company is the recipient of the Small Business Champion Award 2022, which is a joint initiative of WTO, ITC (Geneva) and the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris).

Speaking on this occasion, Ms. Ganguli remarked, "Sustainability is emerging as a guiding principle of procurement among large corporates and the size of ethical consumer base is expanding. There are around 95 million consumers across parts of Europe, including UK, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Germany looking for sustainable products in home décor, fashion, corporate gifting and textile segments. The size of the corporate procurement is estimated to be a one trillion dollar industry with US corporate gifting estimated to reach over USD 312 billion by 2025, and the UK corporate gifting market already valued at USD 78 million. Companies are increasingly looking to procure from suppliers adhering to sustainability standards to meet their Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) goals.”

Ms. Ganguli further mentioned, “We are keen to launch our sustainability verification system on a pilot basis in India to support at least 1,500 MSMEs and women entrepreneurs so that they can meet this growing demand for sustainable products."

The first phase will verify business practices across key UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), viz. Gender Equality (Goal 5), Responsible Production and Consumption (Goal 12) and Climate Action (Goal 13).

She added, "Our methodology aims to eliminate unsubstantiated claims about sustainability (a phenomenon known as 'greenwashing') and enable trust between consumers and brands globally. A certified B Corporation since November 2021, Inclusive Trade Ltd. has had an impact on 4500 beneficiaries globally by supporting MSMEs to profile their products and prove their impact. We intend to verify sustainability claims for 1,500 MSMEs in the next 18 months through this pilot phase to develop gold standard peer metrics."

This was the first workshop conducted by Inclusive Trade Ltd. in India and the firm plans to partner with WTC Mumbai to enable MSMEs and women entrepreneurs to benefit from this sustainability toolkit and further aims to connect with European corporate buyers.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, Mr. Ajoykaant Ruia, Vice Chairman, World Trade Center Mumbai pointed out the potential of women entrepreneurs to promote sustainable development goals by adhering to green business practices.

Ms. Rupa Naik, Executive Director, World Trade Center Mumbai, while proposing the vote of thanks reaffirmed the commitment of WTC Mumbai to promote adoption of UN Sustainable Development Goals by MSMEs and women owned enterprises in the country.