In the face of profound challenges such as climate change, income inequality, depletion of natural resources, human rights issues, fair working conditions, pollution, racial injustice, and gender inequality at a global scale, individuals, organizations, and nations need to think differently and act differently. Developing sustainably is the only responsible and effective strategy for any organization be it in the public or private sector and for-profit or not-for-profit. The answer to the ‘How and What to Do’ part of developing sustainable strategies can be found in the UN Sustainable Development Goals which provide a critical framework for strategies that profitable growth while addressing a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, climate change and environmental protection. Though the sustainable development goals which are essentially a call to action for every nation on the planet to promote prosperity while protecting the planet were proposed by the United Nations in 2015 to be achieved by 2030, the world has little to show that these promises are transforming into reality even after seven years.
In today’s world which is witnessing calamitous events whether they are extreme climatic conditions, acute food shortages, rampant human rights violations, gender inequality, etc., are happening with sickening regularity, organizations are still debating whether to incorporate sustainability in their business strategy. There is a pressing need for value-driven frameworks for developing business strategies that not only provide profitable growth but also help address some of the world’s most pressing problems. Fortunately, a significant amount of management research is currently focused on sustainability and sustainable development goals which is having a positive societal impact. To bring forth current research on these topics and disseminate it for the greater good, Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management, Hyderabad is organizing the 5th International Conference in the ‘Impact of Current Events on the Future of Business’ series on the theme ‘Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: From Promise to Reality’.

ABOUT THE VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT 

VJIM, Hyderabad, a premier B-School, established in 1993, offers quality management education programs. It is approved by AICTE, accredited by NBA and rated National “A” by CRISIL. VJIM aims at grooming professional managers by providing learning opportunities centred on the stipulations of the industry. The cornerstone for this initiative: ‘delivering education modelled after international standards, steeped in Indian values,’ is facilitated by qualified faculty members with academic, industry and research expertise, and ably mentored by the Governing Council members. The institution enjoys 2000+ alumni in the corporate and entrepreneurship with 200+ students graduating annually. The faculty espouse innovative pedagogical tools and comprehensive research paradigms to deliver the curated content that adheres the graduates alacritous with the industry. Research at VJIM focuses on providing pragmatic solutions to tangible business predicaments and aims at associating conceptual erudition with the application dynamics of the industry. VJIM strives to partake in research with which the business world connects. Innovation and market relevance have been the VJIM hall mark.

VJIM offers the broadest range of management education programs, including Post Graduate Programs in Business Management, Doctoral programs in Management, and Executive PG Programmes for working executives. In addition, VJIM actively trains practitioners and academicians through Management Development Programmes (MDPs), Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs), etc.