By Gauranga Das
Every year the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) organizes the Circular Economy Symposium (CES). During the 3rd Edition of the Circular Economy Symposium this year, ISKCON Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV) received the Indian Circular Economy Award in the NGO category. Ganga Narayan Das, Chief Sustainability Officer, GEV received this award from Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. The Award Ceremony was conducted during the Inaugural Session of the CES on the 17th June 2019 at FICCI Federation House, New Delhi. The conference was attended by various corporate heads, government authorities, university professors, NGOs etc. GEV also made a presentation on the second day in regard to its various circular economy initiatives.
The Circular Economy Symposium (CES) is organized by FICCI with the idea of constituting a platform to mainstream discussions around Circular Economy in India involving stakeholders across industry, government, civil society and academia. FICCI hosted the first edition of Circular Economy Symposium (CES) in 2017. In continuation, the next edition held in 2018 witnessed showcasing of innovative strategies and practices that will enable the Indian Economy to achieve sustainable economic growth through circularity. The Circular Economy series was launched with an overall vision to promote knowledge and action on Circular Economy.
Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV, www.ecovillage.org.in) is a farm community spread over a scenic landscape of 100 acres at Galtare, Wada situated 110 km North of Mumbai, India. GEV is implementing various sustainability initiatives in its campus including Organic Farming, Cow Protection, Solar Energy, Green Buildings, Pyrolysis Plant, Soil Bio-technology Plant, Biogas plant, rain water harvesting etc. GEV is also working with over 60 neighbouring tribal villages and helping in their socio-economic development by facilitating them in organic farming, women empowerment, rural education, water resource development, rural health care, skill development for tribal youths etc.
GEV recently got accredited to the United Nation Environment Assembly. GEV also won numerous awards to include a United Nations World Tourism Award for promoting eco-tourism as a catalyst for rural development, Spirit of Humanity Award for facilitating livelihood to the tribal villagers, Green Platinum Award by the Indian Green Building Council for creating a sustainable built environment to name a few. The GEV project is being studied by high level institutions such as Yale and Harvard Universities as a model for ecological sustainability and rural development.
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