UN Global Compact Network India (GCNI) signed a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advisory MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Thane Smart City Limited on 31st May, 2019.
The MoU represents a statement of intent by the Thane Smart City Limited (TSCL) and the Global Compact Network India – Centre of Excellence for Governance, Ethics and Transparency (GCNI – CEGET), for GCNI to provide TSCL with its assessment on SDG parameters and SDG advisory.
GCNI-CEGET shall provide advisory services with respect to any of the chosen individual SDG/ SDGs that shall be prioritized after due processes in the evaluation phase by TSCL. GCNI-CEGET shall evaluate the city’s progress in meeting the SDGs at the city levelthrough an internal assessment that would highlight strengths and areas of improvements for Thane. These would then become future reference points for the city in refining its approach to smart and sustainable development.
The final output of the SDG Assessment shall be development of a Sustainability Framework for the city based on the customized Key Performance Indicators and an amalgamation of international and local know-how and best practices. It shall serve as a policy tool to support TSCL in collecting and integrating data, and using those data sets to define a vision, set targets, monitor progress, and forecast trends—all while being able to compare themselves with peer cities.
Dr. Ashutosh Karnatak, Chairman, GCNI – CEGET Committee asserted that a sound strategy for any organization should not be limited to commercial growth only and must include sustainable practices. He emphasized that sustainability of an organisation depends on PHP (performance, health and perception) and the unimpaired balance of these three elements is what keeps the organization growing. He asserted that our 65% population lives in villages so along with smart cities we should have more work on Sustainable Village. CEGET may develop a charter for the same.
Sameer Unhale, Chief Executive Officer, Thane Smart City Limited, noted that – “Thane Smart City Ltd is consistently aspiring to be sustainably smart. With the SDG Sustainability Framework coming out of our association with GCNI, we could inspire and impact 35 thousand odd cities and towns of the world. It is anexceptional opportunity for both parties to do something for posterity.”
Relaying the quintessential idea behind the MoU, Shabnam Siddiqui, Director CEGET said – “SDG Assessment is meant to be a planning and advocacy tool that will prove to be a great asset in policy decisions and interventions for the city. Through this partnership SDGs will transcend from their current monitoring and reportingformat to setting the ambitious roadmap that they were meant to do. While we at CEGET have been in discussion with multiple cities about the SDG Assessment idea for the last six months, Thane committed to being the SDG Champion by commissioning a voluntary SDG Assessment and setting a new benchmark for both cities and corporates. This will definitely be a game changer.”
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