Pavan Sukhdev is an Indian environmental economist whose field of studies include

green economy A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without environmental degradation, degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological econ ...

and

international finance International finance (also referred to as international monetary economics or international macroeconomics) is the branch of monetary economics, monetary and macroeconomics, macroeconomic interrelations between two or more countries. Internation ...

. He was the Special Adviser and Head of

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

's Green Economy Initiative, a major UN project suite to demonstrate that greening of economies is not a burden on growth but rather a new engine for growing wealth, increasing decent employment, and reducing persistent poverty. Pavan was also the Study Leader for the ground breaking TEEB (

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity ''The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity'' (''TEEB'') was a study led by Pavan Sukhdev from 2007 to 2011. It is an international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity. Its objective is to highlight th ...

) study commissioned by

G8+5 The Group of Eight + Five (G8+5) was an international group that consisted of the leaders of the heads of government from the G8 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), plus the heads of ...

and hosted by

. Under his leadership, TEEB sized the global problem of

biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in Biodiversity, b ...

and ecosystem degradation in economic and human welfare terms, and proposed solutions targeted at policy-makers, administrators, businesses and citizens. TEEB presented its widely acclaimed Final Report suite at the UN meeting by

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

(CBD) in Nagoya (Nagoya Protocol), Japan. He is the Founder-CEO of GIST Impact, an impact data and analytics provider which helps companies and investors discover, measure, value, and manage their impacts on nature and society. In recognition of his continuing work in helping governments and corporations transition towards a Green Economy, UNEP appointed Pavan as the UNEP Goodwill Ambassador in the year 2012. He was also selected as the "Personality of the Year" by, Environmental Finance in the year 2010. The Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM) have awarded Pavan their 2011 Medal. Pavan was a visiting fellow at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

from 2011 to 2014, where he was awarded the McCluskey Fellowship. Whilst at Yale, he wrote the book "Corporation 2020" which envisions tomorrow's corporation, and shows how corporations and society can and should work together to achieve common goals and build a green economy. He has chaired the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

's "Global Agenda Council" on Ecosystems and Biodiversity (2009–2011) and was a speaker at Davos in 2010 and 2011. He currently serves on the boards of

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, in Arlington County, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and co ...

Global Reporting Initiative The Global Reporting Initiative (known as GRI) is an international independent standards organization that helps businesses, governments, and other organizations understand and communicate their impacts on issues such as climate change, human rig ...

, TEEB for Business Coalition, Gulbenkian Oceans Initiative, and the

Stockholm Resilience Centre Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), explores how people and nature can live and develop on a planet under pressure. The centre is a collaboration between Stockholm University and the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish A ...

. He was the president of the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

from 2017 to 2021.

Career

Education

Pavan Sukhdev has studied in private international school

Collège du Léman Collège du Léman (CDL) is a Swiss boarding and day school, for boys and girls from 2 to 18 years old, currently based in Versoix, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It has approximately 1900 students representing more than 100 nationalities and has ...

. He graduated with a degree in physics from

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

Financial markets

An international banker, Pavan was deeply involved in the evolution of India's currency, interest rate and derivatives markets in the mid-nineties, working with India's regulators and market participants. He has been a member of several

Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...

(RBI) committees for the development of India's financial markets, including the Sodhani Committee on Foreign Exchange Markets. In 1997 Pavan co-founded FIMMDA (Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India), India's professional association for fixed income markets, money markets and derivatives. He championed the introduction of

Overnight indexed swap An overnight indexed swap (OIS) is an interest rate swap (''IRS'') over some given term, e.g. 10Y, where the periodic fixed payments are tied to a given fixed rate while the periodic floating payments are tied to a floating rate calculated from ...

(OIS) into India, which is currently India's most

liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

traded interest rate swap instrument. He worked with

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

for 14 years and then took a sabbatical to lead two major environmental projects, TEEB (

) and

's Green Economy Initiative. While at Deutsche Bank in India, Pavan founded and later chaired GMC (Global Markets Centre) in Mumbai. *1983–1994: Pavan worked with the

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, commonly known as ANZ Bank, is a multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is Austr ...

for eleven years (1983 -1994) both in India and in London, in various financial markets trading, sales, structuring, and management roles. *1994–1998: Pavan joined Deutsche Bank to head their Global Markets division in India, which he built into a leading fixed income business for the bank in India. *1998–1999: Pavan was appointed Chief Operating Officer for Deutsche Bank's Asian Global Markets business based in Singapore, overseeing the Asian regional integration in 1999 of Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank for his division, Global Markets Asia. *1999–2003: Pavan headed Money Markets for Global Markets Asia, and then for Global Markets Asia-Pacific (including Japan and Australia). *2003–2005: He moved to Deutsche Bank London as Chief Operating Officer for the Bank's Global Emerging Markets division, which covers all global markets business in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. *2005–2006: When his division Global Markets merged with Global Equities in 2005, he transitioned to Global Markets Central Management in London to run a

Business process reengineering Business process re-engineering (BPR) is a business management strategy originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and business processes within an organization. BPR aims to help organizations fund ...

(BPR) project for the new combined division, which in turn resulted in his ‘front-office off-shoring' initiative. *2006–2008: He founded and later chaired GMC Mumbai (Global Markets Centre, Mumbai), the division's global front-office off-shoring vehicle in Mumbai, which delivered leading-edge work for Global Markets in London, New York, and elsewhere.

Environment

Alongside his financial markets career, Pavan pursues long-standing interests in

environmental economics Environmental economics is a sub-field of economics concerned with environmental issues. It has become a widely studied subject due to growing environmental concerns in the twenty-first century. Environmental economics "undertakes theoretical ...

and nature conservation through his work with different environmental organizations and projects.

Green Accounting for Indian States Project

Pavan is the Founder-Director of the Green Accounting for Indian States Project, an initiative of the Green Indian States Trust (GIST) to set up an economic valuation and national accounting framework to measure sustainability at the State level for India, including the hitherto ignored but significant economic externalities from sectors such as forestry, agriculture, fresh water, health, and education.

Conservation Action Trust

Pavan is the Co-founder and Chairperson for the first six years of Conservation Action Trust, an Indian NGO dedicated to achieving ecological sustainability for India by originating and proving model conservation projects, by educating and lobbying decision-makers and the public about the importance of forests for our water and food security, and when all else fails, through public interest litigation.

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Pavan was appointed by Germany's Environment Minister Gabriel and EU Environment Commissioner Dimas as the Study Leader for their

study on

(TEEB). TEEB's Interim Report (2008), was welcomed globally for its fresh economic outlook, for demonstrating the economic significance of the loss of nature's services, and for connecting the economics of biodiversity and ecosystems with ethics, equity, and the alleviation of poverty. The Interim Report of TEEB was presented at the Ministerial session at COP-9 of the Convention of Biological Diversity (Bonn, 2008) and the final reports (a series of five solution-oriented studies) were presented at CBD Cop-10 (Nagoya, 2010). These reports have gained considerable currency with governments in both developing and developed nations, with business leaders, and with conservation NGO's. Later, in 2011, as part of his activities as the McCluskey Fellow, 2011, Pavan designed and delivered a 25-lecture, full 3-credits, post-graduate course on TEEB at Yale's School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Green Economy Initiative

UNEP appointed Pavan to lead its major initiative to demonstrate that the greening of economies is not a burden on growth but rather a new engine for growth, a source of new employment, and a means to poverty alleviation. The final report Towards a Green Economy of the Green Economy Initiative was presented at UNEP's general Council meeting at Nairobi, February 2011. Pavan continues to support this initiative as a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador.

World Economic Forum

Pavan chaired the Global Agenda Council on Biodiversity and Ecosystems for the

(2009-2011) to evaluate the problems of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss in the context of global risks and global co-operation. He speaks at the Forum's annual meetings at Davos.

Corporation 2020

Pavan launched a global campaign called "Corporation 2020" at the Rio+20 conference in 2012. This campaign focusses global attention on the challenge of re-designing the Corporation through critical changes in four key areas of corporate performance (reporting, leverage, advertising, and taxation) to deliver a ‘green economy' from the micro-level upwards in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development.

President of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International

From 2017 to 2021 he was the president of the

. Pavan succeeded Yolanda Kakabadse in this position and was followed by

Adil Najam Adil Najam () is a Pakistani academic who also serves as the global President of WWF, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (starting July 2023), and is Dean Emerıtus and Professor of International Relations and Earth and Environment at the Pardee ...

as WWF President, after the brief interim presidency of Neville Isdell. GIST Impact Pavan is the founder and CEO of GIST Impact.

Honours and awards

*Selected "Personality of the Year" for 2010 by "Environmental Finance" *Awarded a Medal in 2011 for his outstanding contribution to biodiversity conservation by Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM) *Appointed as "Dorothy McCluskey Fellow" for 2011 by

. Previous McCluskey Fellows include Dr. Rajendra Pachauri & the late Dr. Wangari Maathai *Appointed "UNEP Goodwill Ambassador" in 2012 *Recipient of the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development, in recognition for his work in the area of ‘Nature's services and ingenious solutions. Previous awardees include Al Gore & Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland *Recipient of the 2015 Bernhard Grzimek Prize for demonstrating that "eco-friendly development, far from being an obstacle to growth, is a driving force for growing prosperity, job creation and poverty reduction." *Recipient of the

Blue Planet Prize The Blue Planet Prize recognises outstanding efforts in scientific research or applications of science that contribute to solving global environmental problems. The prize was created by the Asahi Glass Foundation in 1992, the year of the Rio Ear ...

in 2016, awarded by

Asahi Glass , formerly Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.'(旭硝子株式会社), is a Japanese global glass manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. It is the largest glass company in the world and one of the core Mitsubishi companies. The company is listed on t ...

Foundation for outstanding achievements in scientific research and its application to solve global environmental problems. *Recipient of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2020, for Sukhdev's groundbreaking 2008 report The Economics of Environment and Biodiversity (TEEB).

Board memberships

Past board positions

*Worldwide Fund for Nature, WWF International, President, and Board Chair *TEEB for Business Coalition Ltd, (Deputy Chairman) *Human Development Report (HDR), UNDP (HDR Advisory Panel Member) *Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) (Board Member) *Conservation Action Trust (CAT) (Chairman) *Green Indian States Trust, Chennai (Founding Trustee) *TEEB Advisory Board, Geneva (Board Member) *Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm (Board Member) *Conservation International, Washington (Board Member) *Global Reporting Initiative, Amsterdam (Board Member) *Gulbenkian Oceans Initiative, Lisbon (Chairman, Advisory Board)

Publications and articles

Books

*Corporation 2020: Transforming Business For Tomorrow's World. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2012. *"Why Corporation 2020? The Case for a New Corporation in the Next Decade." Washington, DC: Island Press, 2012. *Co-author of TEEB, "The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations." Earthscan, London, and Washington (2010): 456.

Publications

*Sukhdev, P., Wittmer, H., and Miller, D. (2014), ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB): Challenges and Responses' *Sukhdev, Pavan. "Transforming the Corporation into a Driver of Sustainability" State of the World 2013. Island Press/Center for Resource Economics, 2013. 143-153. *Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development & Poverty Eradication – A Synthesis for Policy-Makers, Lead author, UNEP, 2011. *Sukhdev, P., et al. "Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature: A synthesis of the approach, conclusions, and recommendations of TEEB" The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (2010). *The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (2010) TEEB Report for Business (2010), Co-author, UNEP-TEEB, July 2010 *The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (2009) TEEB for National and International Policy Makers (2009), Co-author, UNEP-TEEB, November 2009 *India's Financial Sector - An Assessment (Volume III – Advisory Panel on Financial Stability and Stress Testing), Co-author. Reserve Bank of India, March 2009. *The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity – Interim Report, lead author, May 2008, *The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, European Communities, 2008 *Environmental Accounting - Explorations in Methodology, Eds. Amitabh Kundu & Michael von Hauff, MANAK Publications, 2008. Co-author of two chapters: "Green Accounting Methodology for India and its States" and "Green Accounting for Forest Resources in India and its States". *Accounting for Freshwater Quality in India, co-author, Green Accounting for Indian States Project, Monograph 8, TERI Press, September 2007 *Estimating the Value of Educational Capital Formation in India, co-author, Green Accounting for Indian States Project, Monograph 5, TERI Press, June 2007 *The Value of Biodiversity in India's Forests, co-author, Green Accounting for Indian States Project, Monograph 4, TERI Press, December 2006 *Natural resource accounting for Indian States – Illustrating the case of forest resources, co-author. Ecological Economics, 2007, vol. 61, issue 4, pages 635-649 *Accounting for the Ecological Services of India's Forests – Soil Conservation, Water Augmentation, and Flood Prevention, co-author, Green Accounting for Indian States Project, Monograph 7, TERI Press, April 2006 *Estimating the Value of Agricultural Cropland and Pasture land in India, co-author, Green Accounting for Indian States Project, Monograph 2, TERI Press, December 2005 *The Value of Timber, Carbon, Fuelwood, and Non-Timber Forest Products in India's Forests, co-author, Green Accounting for Indian States Project, Monograph 1, TERI Press, January 2005 *Interest Rate Risk and Derivatives, author of a chapter on The Future of India's Debt Market (Ed. G. Bhardwaj, Tata McGraw-Hill Series, 1998) *Report of the Expert Group on Foreign Exchange Markets, (Reserve Bank of India, June 1995). Co-author of the Report and member of the Expert Group, headed by Executive Director of RBI, O.P. Sodhani. This "Sodhani Committee" Report is widely regarded as an enlightened blueprint for the development of India's foreign exchange market.

Articles

His articles include two opinion pieces for Nature (2009 and 2012), several blogs for The Guardian, and an opinion piece for The Economist Debate. From 2000, he has also written frequently for several Indian newspapers and magazines (Economic Times, Indian Express, Sanctuary) to popularize the concept of "Green GDP" in India, measuring holistic economic growth as against measuring increasing production and ‘GDP growth' as a yardstick of progress.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sukhdev, Pavan Living people 1960 births 20th-century Indian economists Environmental economists Alumni of University College, Oxford