Let’s make all trade and investments between India and the Netherlands Sustainable and Inclusive is the motto the The Indo-Dutch Sustainability Forum or the INDUS-Forum breathes.
For over 70 years, India and the Netherland have remained primary trade partners for each other. While India is the 5th largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the Netherlands, the Netherlands ranks number 3 as India’s largest FDI source.
The INDUS Forum believes that by turning sustainability and inclusivity challenges into business opportunities, we can create real positive impact in the value chains, together.
“Reasons to commit to sustainable value chains, lie in the shared challenges we face worldwide”, says Dutch Ambassador Alphonsus Stoelinga.
“I believe that no organization can respond to sustainability challenges like business can. Through the smart business connections we forge within this INDUS forum, we aim to make sure that sustainable and inclusive decisions make clear business sense.”
An example of this INDUS approach is the Topless Pineapple project. Traditionally, European supermarkets sell pineapples with their crowns attached. These crowns have no added value, they only serve a cosmetic purpose. However, it makes more business sense to take off the tops: without a top, ten pineapples will fit in a box instead of just six. A pineapple without a crown saves money during shipment and each individual pineapple will emit less CO2.
The Dutch supermarket simply has to inform its customers about why their pineapple is suddenly topless. By making another smart connection, the tops were turned from waste to resource. Smart innovative startups found a way to create vegetarian leather from the wasted pineapple tops. Farmers could sell these tops, sparking another branch of business through the topless pineapple initiative.
Through its participation in The Centre for Responsible Business’ (CRB), India and Sustainability Standards Conference (15th-17th Nov) at the India Habitat Center, New Delhi on 16th November, the INDUS Forum takes a step forward towards realizing its aims.
The session, will see the launch of INDUS Forum’s digital portal on which a community of Indian and Dutch companies and practitioners would meet mutual ‘demand’ (sustainability challenges) with ‘supply’ (good practices) online, all geared to the People, Planet Profit principle of generating business sustainably.
