From 28 May to 1 June 2018, the AMS Sustainable Transformation Lab had the pleasure of hosting the Indo-Belgium Program on Eco- Innovation, Sustainable Design and Business Solutions for Transformative CSR and Sustainability, in partnership with the Indian Institute for Corporate Affairs. The 18 senior business leaders represented a variety of industries and geographies in India.

On the first day, they were introduced to key concepts and tools around sustainable transformation, integrated value, meaningful innovation, exponential thinking and design for sustainability.

On the second day, they enjoyed a visit to West Flanders to see the offshore wind hub of the Port of Oostende, the blue economy Greenfields incubator and the sustainable fishing practices of Marine Harvest.

On day 3, the leaders learned about the sustainable and responsible strategies and technologies of the Port of Antwerp and the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. The fourth day took the program to Brussels, to learn about CSR, eco-innovation and circular economy policies at the DG Environment and European Policy Centre. The final day, participants consolidated their learning by designing a project or start-up to address a major sustainability issue in IndiaThe program was a perfect embodiment of our commitment at AMS to fostering global perspectives and raising societal consciousness among current and future leaders.

“The program on “Eco-Innovation, Sustainable Design and Business Solutions for Transformative CSR and Sustainability” was quite informative and useful. Prof. Wayne Visser gave an overview of sustainable transformation and systems thinking besides the CSR transformation & Sustainability. The Accountability with an integrated value leading to Strategic/Transformative CSR was the focus. The concept of exponential thinking by Ms. An Cosaert and the design thinking of Sustainable Transformation by Mr. Remo Lenstra was well covered.

The visits to Oostende, the Renewable Energy facility, applications and the Wind mill Park at sea and the presentation at the “Greenbridge Ostend” regarding the incubators of sustainable transformation and the “FVT Blue energy” were valuable. Visit to the Port of Antwerp to understand how sustainability issues are managed and the visit to Brussels for an uptake on the EU policy and implementation provided good insight.

Overall, as a Co-program director I am of the opinion that the programme was conducted professionally and we look forward to conducting similar programmes with AMS in future.“