IIM Bodh Gaya organized "International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals" on the 16th and 17th of September 2022, collaborating with the Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance, University of Cambridge. Collaborating with one of the most esteemed institution of the world, the Conference had a special emphasis on UN targeted Sustainable Development Goals. The theme of the Conference was “Managing Economic Development and Financial Stability: In the era of SDGs and ESGs.” The Conference received 450+ papers, out of which 300+ were accepted, and 253 papers were presented in 50 tracks by expert researchers, scholars, and industry specialists with spectacular insights on Retracing Carbon Footprint, Strategic Sustainable Development, Electric Vehicles and Sustainability, and many more. The conference received paper from 25 states of India. International papers were received from the USA, the Netherlands’s and Mauritius. The primary sponsor of the conference was Becker.
IIM Bodh Gaya, through this Conference, aimed towards training budding researchers of the country to adopt the right methodologies to address their research questions effectively. A good peer learning experience as well as training from world class researchers will increase presence of Indian researchers in globally recognized publications. For that, a two-day pre-conference workshop was also conducted on 14th and 15th September and had sessions by Prof. Aviral Kumar Tiwari, Assistant Professor, Economics & Business Environment, IIM Bodh Gaya. Accompanying him were Prof. Amine Lahiani, Associate Professor, chez Université d'Orléans; Prof. Olaolu Olayeni, Associate Professor of Economics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria; and Prof. Madan Lal Yadav, Assistant Professor, IT Systems and Analytics, IIM Bodh Gaya. The central topic for the pre-conference workshop was the application of Time Series using R. Experts imparted their knowledge through training sessions in form of the methodologies that they excel in.
Dr. Archana Patro, Associate Professor, Finance & Accounting, IIM Bodh Gaya, initiated the conference by her remarks on the theme. She emphasized on sharing research knowledge for the global good. She thoroughly explained the whole categorization process of the papers to be presented on the Conference. Some of tracks mentioned by Dr. Patro were Carbon Tax and Climate Financing, Sustainable Finance and Investment, Green Finance and Investment, Environmental Economic Growth etc. Dr. Vinita Sahay, Director, IIM Bodh Gaya, welcomed the keynote speakers and imparted her thoughts on a broader perspective of Sustainability and how close it is to the thought of mindfulness which is an integral part of IIM Bodh Gaya and also the Indian culture. She highlighted the fact that how as Indians the thought of respecting the nature has been imparted into us from the early childhood. She accentuated on how mindful consumption and finance can lead to sustainability of natural resources leading to preservation of mother nature.
The first day of the Conference had sessions from Prof. John W. Goodell, Professor, University of Akron, OH, US; Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Economics Professor, bestselling author, innovative educator, UN Advisor, and global leader in sustainable development; and Dr. Sachin Kumar Mangla, Visiting Research Fellow, Plymouth Business School and Associate Editor at Journal of Logistics Management, Sustainable Production and Consumption, and IMA Journal of Management Mathematics; Prof. Robert Faff, Emeritus Professor, School of Business, the University of Queensland; and Mr. Aziz Tayyebi, CA and Director, International Business Development for Becker Professional Education.
Keynote speakers shared their concerns on the desperate need for research to ensure the integration of Sustainable Practices in Businesses. Metrics to measure sustainability and Sustainable Business Models were also discussed, along with the importance of responsible science.
On the second day, Prof. Andreas Kontoleon, Environmental Economics and Public Policy, Director of Research Department of Land Economy, gave his address after the paper presentation. The convenors Prof. Aviral Kumar Tiwari and Prof. Archana Patro concluded the conference with a vote of thanks and an endnote.
The two-day Conference provided a platform for research scholars to collaborate, exchange ideas, and present research papers. Ms. Preeti Roy and Dr. Suman Saurabh, Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, IIT Kanpur; Mr. Naveenan R.V., Ms. Srinidhi Gadeela and Mr. Abhishek Amar, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Symbiosis International University; and Ms. Kavita Kamboj, Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi and Mr. Nawal Kishor, Indira Gandhi National Open University were awarded the first, second and third ‘Best Paper' awards respectively.
