Discussion on Sustainable Enterprises for Inclusive Growth
A state-level discussion was held in Chennai on ‘Sustainable enterprises for inclusive growth’ jointly organised by the Employers Federation of Southern India (EFSI) and the ILO.
17 October 2013
NEW DELHI (ILO NEWS): Today, more than ever before, more and better quality jobs are an urgent need in most countries globally to maintain social cohesion, reduce poverty, and achieve inclusive and sustainable growth. In particular, jobs which also preserve the natural environment on which the future development of a country depends. With over 90% of the jobs being created in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), a people-centric and sustainable approach to enterprise development is essential considering the impact of business operations on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
‘For the ILO, enterprise development is not just about unleashing entrepreneurship; it is fundamentally about creating decent jobs’ says Mr. Peter Poschen, Director, Sustainable Enterprises and Job Creation, International Labour Organisation (ILO) during a state-level discussion held in Chennai on ‘Sustainable enterprises for inclusive growth’ on 18 October 2013 jointly organised by the Employers Federation of Southern India (EFSI) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). ‘The potential of sustainable enterprise development has often not been fully realized due to external factors over which businesses may have no control as well as internal factors relating to the capacities and knowledge of entrepreneurs’ he adds further.
In order to help enterprises realize their full potential, the International Labour Conference in 2007 developed the concept of sustainable enterprises and recognises it as one of the critical areas of importance of ILO. ILO’s strategic framework for sustainable enterprises for the creation of decent work is built around three crucial and mutually reinforcing elements: creating the right conditions for sustainable enterprises to thrive and create jobs; stimulating entrepreneurs to fulfil their ambitions to build businesses; and nurturing sustainable and responsible workplaces that combine increased productivity and a smaller environmental footprint with improved working conditions and industrial relations. An estimated 42 million persons in India depend on MSMEs for their living, the second largest employer in the country after agriculture with more than a million jobs created annually.
ILO’s Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for India aligned to India’s 12th 5-year plan, aims to focus on enhancing the long-term productivity and competitiveness of the MSMEs to promote inclusive growth and formalisation of the economy in India. ‘In the next 5 years, ILO through its various policy-level technical interventions and its flag-ship global programmes such as Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB), Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Way out of Informality, intends to strengthen the ability of the MSMEs in India to rapidly respond to changing market needs, reducing product life cycles and compliance with environmental and labour standards to remain competitive in the market. This will help the sector to continue to contribute to more and better quality jobs (‘Decent Work’) particularly for Indian youth, also necessary to arrest the current reverse trend in India towards growing informalisation of the economy’, added Mr. Poschen.
In Chennai, ILO has been offering SCORE training to the SMEs in the Ambattur cluster in Chennai in partnership with AIEMA Technology Centre (AIEMATC). SCORE is a modular productivity improvement training programme for SMEs and is operational in 7 more countries other than India, such as, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Africa, Ghana, Colombia and Peru. SCORE trained SMEs in India and some other SCORE countries have reported 30% or more improvement towards industry specific performance benchmark such as inventory turnover, machine idle time, absenteeism, employee turnover, defects, energy efficiency, waste per month, overtime, accidents and labour productivity. ILO-SCORE enterprises are also expected to report employment and sales growth 5% above industry benchmark. In the next 5 years, ILO plans to scale-up SCORE outreach to other industrial clusters in the state in partnership with industry associations and the MSME DI.
Ms. Tine Staermose, Director, ILO- DWT for South Asia and Country Office for India. Tel: +91 11 24602102 ,Email
Ms. Sudipta Bhadra, National Project Manager, Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) - India, ILO-Country Office for India, Tel: +91 11 4750 9207, Email
‘For the ILO, enterprise development is not just about unleashing entrepreneurship; it is fundamentally about creating decent jobs’ says Mr. Peter Poschen, Director, Sustainable Enterprises and Job Creation, International Labour Organisation (ILO) during a state-level discussion held in Chennai on ‘Sustainable enterprises for inclusive growth’ on 18 October 2013 jointly organised by the Employers Federation of Southern India (EFSI) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). ‘The potential of sustainable enterprise development has often not been fully realized due to external factors over which businesses may have no control as well as internal factors relating to the capacities and knowledge of entrepreneurs’ he adds further.
In order to help enterprises realize their full potential, the International Labour Conference in 2007 developed the concept of sustainable enterprises and recognises it as one of the critical areas of importance of ILO. ILO’s strategic framework for sustainable enterprises for the creation of decent work is built around three crucial and mutually reinforcing elements: creating the right conditions for sustainable enterprises to thrive and create jobs; stimulating entrepreneurs to fulfil their ambitions to build businesses; and nurturing sustainable and responsible workplaces that combine increased productivity and a smaller environmental footprint with improved working conditions and industrial relations. An estimated 42 million persons in India depend on MSMEs for their living, the second largest employer in the country after agriculture with more than a million jobs created annually.
ILO’s Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for India aligned to India’s 12th 5-year plan, aims to focus on enhancing the long-term productivity and competitiveness of the MSMEs to promote inclusive growth and formalisation of the economy in India. ‘In the next 5 years, ILO through its various policy-level technical interventions and its flag-ship global programmes such as Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB), Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Way out of Informality, intends to strengthen the ability of the MSMEs in India to rapidly respond to changing market needs, reducing product life cycles and compliance with environmental and labour standards to remain competitive in the market. This will help the sector to continue to contribute to more and better quality jobs (‘Decent Work’) particularly for Indian youth, also necessary to arrest the current reverse trend in India towards growing informalisation of the economy’, added Mr. Poschen.
In Chennai, ILO has been offering SCORE training to the SMEs in the Ambattur cluster in Chennai in partnership with AIEMA Technology Centre (AIEMATC). SCORE is a modular productivity improvement training programme for SMEs and is operational in 7 more countries other than India, such as, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Africa, Ghana, Colombia and Peru. SCORE trained SMEs in India and some other SCORE countries have reported 30% or more improvement towards industry specific performance benchmark such as inventory turnover, machine idle time, absenteeism, employee turnover, defects, energy efficiency, waste per month, overtime, accidents and labour productivity. ILO-SCORE enterprises are also expected to report employment and sales growth 5% above industry benchmark. In the next 5 years, ILO plans to scale-up SCORE outreach to other industrial clusters in the state in partnership with industry associations and the MSME DI.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Tine Staermose, Director, ILO- DWT for South Asia and Country Office for India. Tel: +91 11 24602102 ,Email
Ms. Sudipta Bhadra, National Project Manager, Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) - India, ILO-Country Office for India, Tel: +91 11 4750 9207, Email