Nirvana Chaudhary is the Managing Director of the Chaudhary Group (CG), Nepal’s first multi-national company, and its largest and most diverse business conglomerate. Trained at India’s prestigious Doon School and Harrow School in the UK, Nirvana is co-founder of the Himalayan Climate Initiative and also leads the Chaudhary Foundation—CG’s corporate social responsibility arm. He chats to Development Advocate about why it makes “perfect sense” for private sector entities to integrate the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their operations, investments and partnerships, the existing challenges in Nepal’s particular context, and what the government and development partners could do to encourage more businesses to integrate the SDGs.

What role does the private sector have in delivering solutions for the SDGs?

All 17 of the SDGs are enmeshed in our daily lives and the environment around us, and the “five P’s” they propagate— planet, people, prosperity, peace and partnerships—are concepts that are applicable to all nations, and to all sectors. So any responsible business, whether a micro-enterprise or a multi-national like CG, should internalize these principles in their day-to-day working, and ideally restructure itself to support achievement of the SDGs.

If more businesses take human values into consideration and seek to improve the human condition overall, people around the world would better appreciate the role of business in advancing sustainable development, and help to create a culture of conscious business leadership. This is the model we follow at CG.

In what specific ways is CG integrating the SDGs into its working structure and environment?

We at CG always try to keep our eyes and ears open to practices and models around the world that testify to the power of the private sector in affecting positive change. We are especially grateful to UNDP for introducing and educating us on the Global Goals in 2017; it was a partnership we were keen to take forward, not just because of the potential benefits for Nepali people, but also because we wanted to set an example for other Nepali businesses.

Under UNDP’s guidance, we have identified more than 10 SDGs that are directly related to CG’s work. The size and diversity of our 10,000-strong workforce shows how CG has created jobs in Nepal; this has a ripple effect, as it helps employees and their families access better nutrition, health, education and generally improve their standard of living.

Our HR department is also tasked with ensuring that gender parity is observed and enforced in the company. We also favor the use of eco-friendly alternative sources of energy, sustainable consumption and production patterns and inclusive industrialization in our work as far as possible. We are also creating local and international partnerships to better utilize collective resources to support various development projects.

We have also held orientations for hundreds of senior staff on the SDGs and their application in CG’s operations. We are running monthly trainings in our factories and offices around the country, in fact. Such sessions help staff really absorb the values of the Global Goals and inform how they work. UNDP, along with our corporate social responsibility wing, the Chaudhary Foundation, are supporting CG in this regard.

Where do you think Nepali businesses stand today in terms of integrating development into their DNA?

It is always important for any individual, community or organization to take into account the long-term sustainability and impact of their actions, but it has never been more crucial than it is today, at a time when we must think twice as hard about how we make use of our limited resources. Ethical business policies that incorporate human prosperity should be the path for all businesses—it’s everyone’s responsibility at this point.

But so far, I’d say business leaders have been slow to step up. CG is one of the first, and I have lately become aware of a few other businesses that have started to really align themselves with the SDGs. But time is of the essence. I call upon all business houses, small and large, to join hands in supporting the 2030 Agenda. This is for the good of humanity, and our collaborative efforts can help ensure our children see a better future.

What do you think businesses have to gain by directing their attention to the SDGs?

The SDGs can create awareness about some of the world’s most pressing issues, and are a catalyst for sustainable innovation, in that they encourage businesses to use their resources and networks to become a force for good. Adopting the SDG principles could also help shape national policies and laws to become more standardized, equal, inclusive and ecologically-conscious, which would be good news for the business environment in the country, and further guide companies to improve their own ways of working. In this way, aligning with the SDGs is really an investment in the business’ own longevity and sustainability.

Achieving the SDGs will require substantial finances. How can the UN, development partners and the government of Nepal harness the necessary resources? Is there a way to leverage private capital for this purpose?

The UN, development partners and government could mobilize additional resources needed to meet the SDGs by becoming co-investors in innovative projects focused on addressing a range of development challenges.

It is a bit more complicated in the case of Nepal, however, because the government here imposes high taxes on businesses and it isn’t entirely clear how these taxes are used in development work, since the results are hardly satisfactory. Without basic infrastructure, such as roadways to support supply chains, market expansion is difficult—this is the result of a lack of long-term vision, obsolete practices and inefficient governance. There is thus a need to strengthen trust between the public and private sectors, and I think the UN and development partners have a role to play here. Their engagement and facilitation would go a long way in creating an enabling environment to encourage companies like CG to join hands with and offer assistance to the government and other actors in achieving the SDGs.

The UN and UNDP should also continue their campaign to educate other members of the private sector about the SDGs. There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the Global Goals; many people are intimidated by them and believe they are too ambitious for individuals to have an impact. They need to be shown the thousands of ways in which the SDGs apply to the smallest of actions in their own lives—whether its just spending an hour reading to your children, or planting a tree, these are all contributing to one or multiple SDGs.

Could you talk a bit about the Chaudhary Foundation’s partnership with the UN?

One of the objectives of the Chaudhary Foundation is to help raise Nepal’s status from a least developed country to a developing country by 2022. We have programs running in 24 districts aimed at vulnerable and marginalized communities and focused on diverse areas of need.

As far as education is concerned, we’ve built 40 schools in 10 districts impacted by the 2015 earthquakes and are attempting to introduce modern, digital technology to classrooms, as well as providing scholarships for needy students and grants to outstanding teachers. For disaster risk reduction, we are constructing a model village for 65 quake-affected households in Sindhupalchowk, using a comprehensive design that integrates a number of key facilities related to education; enterprise development; and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) besides shelter for the families.

We have also built a cultural hub in Shaswatdham, Nawalparasi, which has received 1.7 million visitors in the last 18 months, and we have also renovated the world heritage site at Pashupatinath. In addition to donating water filtration systems to schools and communities as part of hygiene education programs, we have initiated several social business projects, including the Unnati program, which is directed specifically at helping rural women strengthen and use their craftsmanship in earning a livelihood, and which has already opened four outlets selling the women’s wares in the local market.

What kind of actions would you recommend to encourage businesses to align with the SDGs?

Businesses need to be presented the SDGs in a way that resonates with them, that renders clear how and why it makes perfect sense for them to incorporate the Global Goals into their normal operations, investments and partnerships. When a business does contribute in a meaningful way, they should be publicly acknowledged, or even offered tax breaks or subsidies so as to create incentives for others to follow suit. And no matter the size of the business, the government needs to implement a proper monitoring mechanism to ensure that the SDG indicators are being achieved and aligned with national targets.

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