Gurgaon, Feb 23: As ESG moves from policy documents to performance metrics, a more structural question is beginning to surface in academic and corporate circles alike—how should business run in the first place? This question set the tone at the Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon as it inaugurated a four-day academic programme themed “Beyond Sustainability: Creating and Sustaining Regenerative Businesses.”
The programme commenced with the International Doctoral & Early-Career Academics Consortium and will culminate in the 2nd ICCMRO International Conference 2026. The initiative brings together doctoral scholars, early-career academics, senior researchers, journal editors, and industry representatives to deliberate on regenerative business practices, ESG-linked governance, and responsible management education.
The opening day featured remarks by Prof. Tanuja Sharma and Prof. Ritu Srivastava followed by an address by Prof. Arvind Sahay, Director, MDI Gurgaon. In his address, Prof. Sahay emphasised that management research must become more integral to business decision-making rather than remain confined to theoretical debates. He noted that academic institutions carry a responsibility to examine how value is created, governed, and sustained, and to contribute frameworks that influence how enterprises operate in practice.
He further highlighted that the role of management education is not only to analyse markets but also to shape how business should run ethically, systematically, and with long-term orientation. Business managers, in line with the thinking of Gandhi, need to act as custodians and trustees; to pursue moral capitalism that contributes to increasing social welfare, not just profits. If business managers behaved in this way, then businesses would automatically become environmentally friendly and sustainable. Through platforms such as the Doctoral Consortium and ICCMRO, he said, the objective is to strengthen scholarly standards and support research that informs responsible enterprise systems.
Keynote sessions examined enterprise through diverse lenses. Prof. Anil Gupta, Founder of the Honey Bee Network, spoke on grassroots knowledge systems and inclusive innovation, underlining how regenerative thinking often emerges from community-led solutions. Karen Maas, associated with the Open University and Erasmus University, addressed evolving approaches to impact measurement and sustainability reporting frameworks, emphasising methodological rigour in ESG research as disclosure expectations intensify globally.
A panel discussion on “Ethics and Principles for Sustainability in Business” featured Abhishek Chandra, UNGC NI”, and Prof. Harry Van Buren from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. The discussion centred on governance standards, ethical decision-making, and the extent to which academic scholarship can meaningfully inform corporate sustainability practice.
Professor Tanuja Sharma, Chairperson CERO, MDI Gurgaon said: Research on sustainability and ethics is increasingly moving beyond compliance-based approaches to questions of systems, governance, and long-term value creation. Platforms such as doctoral consortia and academic conferences allow researchers to test ideas, strengthen methodological rigour, and situate their work within broader societal and organisational contexts.
Over the course of the consortium, participants will engage in sessions on research methodology, community-engaged scholarship, and publication strategies for international journals. Doctoral scholars are also participating in masterclasses and structured feedback clinics aimed at refining research design and strengthening theoretical positioning.
The programme will continue with workshops and collaborative exchanges on regenerative business models and ESG-aligned strategies before transitioning into the 2nd ICCMRO International Conference 2026, which will feature paper presentations and plenary sessions on stakeholder accountability, climate-related disclosures, and governance mechanisms across sectors.
The deliberations reflect a broader shift within management education—moving beyond sustainability as compliance, towards examining how enterprises can be designed and governed in ways that create enduring economic, social, and ecological value.