Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) and WRI India to advance best practices in sustainable logistics and supply chain management

Collaboration to support organizations transitioning to low-carbon logistics operations

Bangalore, February 17, 2023: Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) and World Resources Institute India (WRI India) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop and improve collaboration for sustainable logistics research.

The objective of this MoU is to create a robust knowledge base for building sustainability in logistics and supply chains through research and engagement. The partnership will actively support organizations planning the transition to low-carbon logistics operations. WRI India will be working with the TCI-Supply Chain Sustainability Lab at IIMB’s Supply Chain Management Centre to further the same.

Professor Jitamitra Desai, Chairperson, Supply Chain Management Centre and faculty in the Decision Sciences area at IIMB, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with WRI India to co- create solutions to de-carbonise supply chains and logistics operations at scale.”

Both IIMB and WRI India will participate in raising awareness and engaging with critical freight ecosystem stakeholders to build advocacy around the topic. They will also collaborate to develop a baseline emission study. This study aims to benchmark freight vehicular emissions in urban and peri-urban areas of India.

Dr Aditya Gupta, CEO, TCI-Supply Chain Sustainability Lab, IIMB, said: “To achieve India’s ambitious 2070 net zero target, there is an urgent need to lower the carbon footprint of supply chains and logistics operations. Advancing and disseminating best practices in sustainable supply chain management, raising awareness and sensitizing corporate leaders and supply chain heads is critical to meeting this goal.”

Pawan Mulukutla, Director, Integrated Transport, Electric Mobility, and Hydrogen, WRI India, said: “This MoU with IIMB will give impetus to more such collaborations for sustainable transport and logistics research in India. Our understanding of sustainable supply chain

management will keep evolving as new practices emerge. Developing a common knowledge- sharing platform can help us build better strategies to decarbonize the freight sector in the country.”