In collaboration with the India Habitat Centre, the Third Yuva Sustainability Conference & Awards 2026 honours its first batch of youth sustainability storytellers, inducts a new cohort, and bestows the Sustainability Karma Education Awards 2026
New Delhi, February 20, 2026
Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability felicitates its first cohort of sustainability storytellers for the successful completion of their internship and inducts the second cohort at the third Yuva Sustainability Conference and Awards 2026 organised in collaboration with the India Habitat Centre.
The conference witnesses the launch of the Sustainability Karma Education Awards 2026 to celebrate good campus practices and outstanding initiatives of educators that advance sustainability.
Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Government of India, said in the run up to the event: “I applaud Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability for integrating culture, storytelling and sustainability. My congratulations to Lok Samvad Sansthan and Sustainability Karma for inspiring youth-led change rooted in India’s heritage.”
Eminent speakers at the conference included Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, Padma Bhushan Awardee, & Founder, HESCO; Peepal Baba; Mr Anshu Gupta, Magsaysay Awardee and Founder, Goonj (online); Prof K G Suresh, Director, India Habitat Centre; Mr Angelo George, CEO, Bisleri International; Dr Dev Swarup, Vice Chancellor, Vishvakarma Skills University, and Baba Amte Divyang University.
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Yuva Sustainability Internship Programme, engaging young people across the country to sensitise over 10 million citizens through All India Radio and digital platforms on sustainability and climate action.
At its core, the initiative speaks to people, planet and prosperity not as buzzwords but as lived realities. It was launched on World Environment Day 2025 by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Bhajanlal Sharma, with a clear vision to empower youth to become storytellers of sustainability. Yuva for Sustainability focuses on building storytelling skills among students, enabling them to communicate climate issues with clarity, creativity and purpose.
The initiative has received strong endorsement from Shri Sanjay Sharma, State Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Government of Rajasthan, and Dr Manju Bagmar, State Minister for Women and Child Development, Government of Rajasthan.
The initiative is guided by an advisory board comprising five serving and former vice-chancellors, ensuring strong academic and institutional grounding.
Its education partners include Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication, Vishwakarma Skills University, Central University of Kashmir, IMT University, Apex University and Kanodia PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya.
Supporting the initiative from the industry side are Bisleri International, UFlex, Tetra Pak and the Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The journey began with the first Yuva Sustainability Conference 2025 held in Jaipur on 27 July 2025. A defining highlight of the conference was the presence of Rajendra Singh, Founder and Chairman of Tarun Bharat Sangh, widely known as the Water Man of India, and a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Stockholm Water Prize.
Building on this momentum, the second Yuva Sustainability Conference was held online in collaboration with Jamia Millia Islamia. The conference featured Prof. Dr. K. G. Suresh, Director, India Habitat Centre; former Vice-Chancellor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication; and former Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication.
He was joined by Prof (Dr) Rehan Khan Suri, Director, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Jamia Millia Islamia; Prof. Bijyalaxmi Nanda, Principal, Miranda House, Delhi University; and Rajendra Banawat, Trustee, Foundation for Education and Development.
What truly stands out is not just the scale of the conversations, but the diversity of voices shaping them. From leading national voices to influential international changemakers, the platform grows into a shared space for ideas, action and global collaboration on sustainability.
The second conference also welcomed Erik Solheim, former Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme, alongside leading sustainability professionals including Richard Rekhy, Vice-Chairman, Grant Thornton in Bharat; Sandeep Chandna, Chief Sustainability Officer; and Santosh Jayaram, who was also felicitated with the launch of his Masterclass. This marks the first episode of the Sustainability Karma Masterclass curated by Prof. Prateek Raj, University College London.
The Masterclass series features Dr. Arvind Bodhankar, Chief Sustainability Officer, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel; Dipankar Ghosh, Sustainability and ESG Practice, BDO in India; Dr. K. K. Upadhyay, Chair, Centre for Sustainability and CSR, Birla Institute of Management Technology; and Shailesh Haribhakti, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Haribhakti & Co.
In addition, four Yuva Sustainability Webinars were conducted featuring eminent speakers including Dr. Mohsin Wali, former Physician to three former Presidents of India; Prof. Govind Singh, Media Advisor to the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand; serving and former Vice-Chancellors Prof. Dev Swaroop, Prof. Sudhi Rajiv and Prof. Subhash Dhulia; as well as Prashant Singh, CEO, Blue Planet; and Abhishek Agashe, CEO, Elima.
The initiative also hosted an online Yuva Sustainability Roundtable with Pratyush Thakur, Country Head and Investment Director, Blueleaf Energy, engaging young sustainability storytellers in open, honest and future-facing dialogue, because when young voices are given the right platforms, sustainability stops being a concept and starts becoming a movement.
BYES
- Anil Joshi, Padma Bhushan awardee and Founder, HESCO, says: “The ecology and economy must go together. I think it's important that ecology and economy be given equal space and steps be taken together.”
- Swami Prem Parivartan, popularly known as People Baba, Founder and Managing Trustee, Give Me Trees Trust, says: “We need to really, really go, you know, put out all investments, all our time, energy and attention to green-skilling the younger generation. Because ultimately, these are the people who will be our future ministers, our future politicians, our future policymakers, our future bureaucrats, agronomists.”
- Angelo George, CEO, Bisleri International, says: “I think engaging the young generation on climate change is not optional. I think it's foundational to building a sustainable future. And the choices they make today will define the resilience of our economy and the ecosystems of tomorrow. So, what makes youth engagement especially powerful is their ability to translate the vision into values and values into action. Be the generation that moves sustainability from intent to impact.”
- Prof. K. G. Suresh, Director, India Habitat Centre, says: “It's very important to engage with the youth for the simple reason that the youth are going to shape the future of not only India or Bharat, but also the entire universe. It is their attitude, their mindset, their approach towards sustainability, towards preserving and conserving nature that is going to determine the future of our planet.”
- Raj Bhatia, President of Faridabad Industries Association and CMD, Bony Polymers, says:
“If we don't empower and listen to youth today, we risk delaying the rapid transformative actions our planet desperately needs. The youth of Bharat have the passion, the creativity and the determination to lead this change.”
- Dr. Dev Swaroop, Vice-Chancellor, Vishwakarma Skills University, says: “The future workforce will need green skills, whether in renewable energy, sustainable construction, waste management or climate-smart agriculture. So, this is very, very important. If young people are equipped with the right skills today, they become employable professionals who can drive India's green economy.”
Contact:
- Kalyan Singh Kothari (9414047744)
- Rajiv Tikoo (9810762554)