Nayan Mitra

Founder-Director of Sustainable Advancements (OPC) Private Limited

Dr. Nayan Mitra is an international authority on the subject of Sustainability, CSR and Responsible Leadership. Her Company Sustainable Advancements (OPC) Private Limited is a woman-owned company that broadly aims to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through advocacy and implementation (www.sustainableadvancements.com). Under her leadership, Sustainable Advancements has established itself as a holistic institution of international and national repute in the area of promotion of Sustainable Development Goals both in Advocacy - Training, consultancy, research and also in actioning responsibilities through projects like ‘Earth Restore’ and ‘Alna.Store’. She has many years of experience in working with multi-stakeholder groups in creating replicable, sustainable projects that has become case studies in higher learning institutions and recognised by various multilateral agencies like the United Nations.

Dr. Nayan Mitra is the series editor of Responsible Business and Sustainable Management by Springer, whose first book was on ‘Creating a culture of diversity and inclusiveness in India Inc’, followed by the recently published ‘Emerging Economic Models for Sustainable Businesses: A Practical Approach.’ She is the editor of the books 'Corporate Social Responsibility in India: Cases and Development after the Legal Mandate' in India (2017), ‘Mandated Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from India’ (2019) and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Rising Economies: Fundamentals, Approaches and Case Studies’ (2020) with co-editor, Dr. Rene Schmidpeter (Germany) that has been published by Springer International (Switzerland). Dr. Mitra has published over 50 peer reviewed research publications in international journals and books; and is Academic Council member and Science Board member in International Academic forums. Recently she edited the special issue ‘Business and Benevolence’ of the ‘Journal of Human Values’ by the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata (India) alongwith Fullbright scholar Dr. Deonnie Moodie, Assistant Professor of South Asian Religions at University of Oklahoma, USA. She is often invited by thinktanks like the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), Niti Ayog to conduct trainings and provide advisory. She spearheads the India CSR Leadership Interview Series by IndiaCSR, where she brings together the collective thoughts, ideas and practices of distinguished corporate leaders on Sustainability and CSR.

Dr. Mitra is the recipient of the prestigious Author Award at the Indian CSR Leadership Summit three years in a row: 2017, 2018 and 2019; adjudged as one of the 25 most impactful CSR Leaders in India 2019 and many other international awards for her contribution to CSR and recognised as an Exceptional Woman of Excellence at the Women Economic Forum, 2019 (New Delhi, India), the Global Excellence Awards as the Top 40 Female Leaders of the Year, 2020-2021, The Restore Awards, 2021 Womennovator Award 2021. Sustainable Advancements is the recipient of the coveted Indian Achievers’ Award, 2021 in the space of Emerging Company in recognition of Outstanding Professional Achievement and Contribution in Nation Building and also the Sabera 2021 Award for Promising Responsible Business of the Year.

She feels deeply for women’s issues and is the National President of the Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WICCI) Sustainable Businesses Council; G-100 for Circular Economy; mentor at the Aspire for Her Foundation – where she continuously strives to bring in innovative programmes to contribute to the impact of SDG 5. She is also a pro-bono member of the Advisory Council and Board of some of the eminent NGOs in India, whose work with women and children has received global recognition.