Decarbonizing India’s most carbon-emitting sectors—steel, cement, and oil and gas—took centre stage at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) Global Summit on Sustainability 2025, where The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), as Knowledge Partner, co-hosted a Technical Session titled: ‘Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Decarbonization in Action.’
The session convened policymakers, industry leaders, technocrats, green technology innovators, academicians, think tanks, investors, and solution providers to deliberate on practical strategies for accelerating low-carbon pathways across India’s most emission-intensive sectors. Curated under the aegis of TERI’s Industry Charter for Near Zero Emission Ambition by 2050, the roundtable showcased a selection of industry case studies and innovative solutions, underscoring the importance of collaborative action and knowledge-sharing in enabling climate-resilient growth.
Opening the session, Mr Arupendra Nath Mullick, Associate Director, TERI Council for Business Sustainability, highlighted, “The heavy industries shall be providing the materials to support a modern economy. Together with champions of the Indian industry, we acknowledge that businesses play a vital role by understanding the opportunities of low-carbon economy and challenges on one hand, and by mobilizing resources and offering know-how and solutions, on the other.”
The discussion was moderated by Mr R R Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, who emphasized a phased yet ambitious approach to transition. “India is responding to both global impulses and its domestic commitments under the NDC. While immediate actions are important, achieving net zero will require a comprehensive sectoral framework. Both supply- and demand-side measures, across energy efficiency, industrial transitions, technology and finance, and demand management, will be central to this journey. While India has already released its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) covering key sectors, the detailed sectoral roadmaps are still under preparation. These will be vital in guiding how we achieve our long-term climate objectives” Mr Rashmi averred.
The panel featured perspectives from industry implementers and solution innovators, sharing on-the-ground experiences and breakthrough practices.
Mr. Sanjay Kumar Singh, Director- Strategy & External Relations, Jindal Steel Ltd., reflected on the complexities of greening India’s steel sector, particularly given the mix of large integrated producers and medium-sized secondary steel producers. Mr Singh stated that “Most major steel producers have set decarbonization targets between 2047 and 2050. But greening the sector does not automatically mean zero emissions. For instance, blast furnaces will continue to rely on coke, which emits carbon dioxide. The real challenge lies in how much of these emissions can be captured. Moreover, nearly 40% of India’s steel is produced by small and medium enterprises, who face greater hurdles in adopting new technologies. Transition costs, technology access, and skill development remain pressing issues. While large players are beginning to adopt new processes, the broader question is: how do we ensure the entire steel sector becomes truly green, and who bears the responsibility for that transition?”
Mr Sangeet Jain, Board member and VP ESG strategy & Alliances, LanzaTech Pvt Ltd., highlighted the circular solutions for hard-to-abate sectors through carbon recycling technologies - “With the power of biology, we are now able to recycle carbon in new and impactful ways. Our technology converts waste gases from industries like steel and ferroalloys into ethanol and other chemicals and has already been deployed at multiple commercial scales worldwide. In India, projects such as our collaboration in Panipat demonstrate the potential of these solutions, including pathways to produce sustainable aviation fuel. These ‘carbon-smart’ chemicals are already being used in products like polyester, showing how recycled carbon can create tangible consumer goods. The challenge before us is to scale and deploy more such units, enabling low-carbon fuels and chemicals to become mainstream in India’s industrial ecosystem.”
Mr Yogesh Patgunan, Circular Economy Strategist, Sperry Green Technology Pvt Ltd noted that “Hard-to-abate plastics like PP, ABS, and HIPS are critical to industries but pose serious sustainability challenges. Through our Circular Production Program, we are demonstrating how waste audits, reverse logistics, advanced recycling, and digital traceability can turn these complex waste streams into high-quality, traceable, and profitable circular solutions for businesses.”
The session reaffirmed that decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors is not merely a technological challenge but a collective endeavour–requiring policy vision, financial innovation, and strong industry commitment. As Knowledge Partner, TERI reiterated that platforms such as the Industry Charter for Near Zero Emission Ambition by 2050 will continue to act as catalysts for collaboration–bringing together stakeholders to pilot solutions, share knowledge, and scale transformative action. By fostering partnerships across sectors and borders, TERI remains committed to advancing India’s climate and development goals while contributing to the global net-zero transition.
Read the Press Coverage here: Hindustan Opinion, Global Agriculture, Climate Samurai, Solar Quater
Read the Press Release here.
Access the Industry Charter Portal here.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Tannishtha Das, Research Associate, TERI Council for Business Sustainability, The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi
Email ID: tannishtha.das@teri.res.in | Mob. No.: +91 94764 64521
Speakers
Mr R R Rashmi
Moderator: Former Special Secretary, MoEFCC, Govt. of India
Distinguished Fellow, TERI
Mr. R. R. Rashmi is a senior former member of Indian Civil Service and was involved with climate change policy making in India for over a decade and a half in the run up to and after the Paris Agreement. He was India’s key negotiator for climate change from 2008 till 2016. He also held the position of Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Climate Change, Govt of India and later the Chief Secretary, Govt of Manipur.
Mr Rashmi is Member of the Technical Advisory Body of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Core Committee on Environment of the National Human Rights Commission. He is also a member of the Govt committee on carbon markets.
Currently, he is Distinguished Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute, Delhi where he works on climate change policy, strategy, and green growth issues.
Mr Sangeet Jain
Vice President - ESG Strategy & Alliances
LanzaTech Inc.
Sangeet Jain is currently Board member and VP ESG strategy & Alliances, LanzaTech Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of LanzaTech, Inc.
LanzaTech is global leader in gas fermentation technology, offering novel and economic routes to a variety of products, including ethanol and jet fuel, using carbon streams from agriculture residue, urban waste, and CO/CO2 from industrial off gases . Recycling carbon mitigates carbon emissions from industry without adversely impacting food or land security. Sangeet joined LanzaTech India office in 2013 as General manager and has worked in various leadership roles including Country Head and Managing Director.
Prior to LanzaTech, Sangeet spent 25 years in manufacturing at India Glycols Limited, an established chemicals company with focus on Chemicals with low carbon foot print and renewable resources. In his long stint at India Glycols his key contributions included start- ups/commissioning/stabilisation of various commodity & speciality chemical units , developing teams for efficient plant operations and positioning of the company as manufacturer of Green chemicals.
Sangeet completed his undergraduate studies in Chemical Engineering from IT-BHU Varanasi in 1986 and attended management education programme at IIM- Ahmedabad in 2006.
Mr Sutripto De
GM & Head PMG - Renewable & Water Business
BHEL
Sutripto De is General Manager in Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. He has nearly 35 years of rich experience in various industrial and renewable energy assignments in BHEL. He has a Degree in BE (Electrical) from Delhi College of Engineering and an MBA from IIT Delhi. He has spearheaded Management Research projects on adoption of innovative process in Operations and maintenance of Solar projects and affordable Green Hydrogen solutions. His current researches are on integration of Renewable Energy with Captive Power in refinery and petrochemical complex. He has won Prestigious CBIP, IFGE and REI awards for excellent contribution to Renewable Energy for BHEL.
He is presently heading the Solar, Hydrogen and Energy Storage business in New and Renewable Energy Business Group of BHEL.
Mr Yogesh Patgunan
Circular Economy Strategist
Sperry Green Technology Pvt. Ltd
Mr. Yogesh Patgunan is driving Sperry Green’s mission of building a circular and sustainable future through innovation, technology, and practical execution. His work spans acoss circular production programs, and reverse logistics models that enable brands to close the loop on material use.
A core part of his contribution is in traceability solutions—designing frameworks that allow materials and products to be tracked across their entire lifecycle. By integrating digital traceability systems with waste audits and supply chain insights, Yogesh ensures that sustainability commitments are transparent, measurable, and scalable for partner brands.
Through Sperry Green, he bridges the gap between sustainability strategy and on-ground impact, empowering businesses to adopt responsible material practices while proving their environmental accountability."
Mr Jayant Sinha
Senior Principal Consultant (Energy & Utilities)
EnTruist Power
Mr. Jayant Sinha has over 36 years of experience in engineering, consultancy, presales and implementation of Energy Transition, Digital Automation and Sustainability solutions in Electricity, Gas and Water sectors. He has led large transformation projects in Grid modernization, Digital Automation, Smart Grids, SCADA, ADMS, DERMS, Energy Management, Electricity Regulations and Cyber Security. He has worked extensively in Power sector asset/ outage management, customer services, and IT-OT integration to help industry clients achieve business KPIs such as energy efficiency, resource/ cost optimization, emission reduction, asset performance, production maximization and sustainability goals.
He has delivered key projects to PSUs and utilities, contributing to planning, technology implementation and capacity building in energy domain. He is an Accredited Management Teacher, Certified Sustainability Leader, Certified Clean Energy Professional and Capgemini-certified Energy & Utilities Practitioner. He has won awards for his works on Smart Utilities (Industry 4.0), Asset Lifecycle Improvement, Clean Energy and Sustainability solutions. He has over 30 published papers in reputed journals, covering Smart Metering, Smart Grids, Microgrids, Renewable Energy integration, Green Hydrogen, Carbon Capture, Circular economy, Energy Data Management, SCADA, Utility GIS, Industrial Cyber Security, Digital Twin, Industry 4.0, IT-OT integration and AI/ ML in Power Systems.
Mr Sandeep Srivastava
Chief Sustainability Officer
Indorama Corporation
Sandeep Shrivastava has been working as Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) with Indorama Corporation- a global conglomerate with diverse businesses into fertilizer, petrochemicals and textile manufacturing.
Sandeep is an accomplished professional with over 34 years of rich experience working with the government and corporate sector on all aspects of Business ESG & Sustainability, Environment & Climate Change. Currently leading company’s decarbonization plan and road map.
He has earlier held senior positions with leading organizations such as Aditya Birla Group (as Group Sr VP-Sustainability), Holcim group (Corporate Head- Sustainability & Environment with Ambuja Cements), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).
Sandeep is a recipient of ‘Fulbright Fellowship’ under Indo-American Environment Leadership Award for study in US (hosted by LBNL, Ca and USEPA). He has done Masters in Environmental Engineering & Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, PG Diploma in Operations Management and, Diploma in Environment Law.
Ms Sugandha Jayaswal
Resident Executive - Corporate Services
Tata Steel Ltd
Sugandha Jayaswal is Head Resident Executive, Tata Steel Limited and is based in Delhi. She holds degree in Chemical Engineering.
Sugandha has been with Tata Steel for over 10 years in different roles of Powerplant, Fuel Management . In her current profile works closely with various regulatory bodies and engages with central and state ministries like Steel, Environment & Forest, Railways, BEE & Commerce etc.
Mr Sameer Virmani
Chief General Manager (SD),
GAIL (India) Ltd
Sameer Virmani, General Manager(Sustainability) at GAIL (India) Limited, has more than 31 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Sector in the fields of pre-commissioning, commissioning, operations, LNG Marketing, Domestic Gas Marketing, CBG Business and use of Hydrogen in CGD networks.
Presently, he is working as GM(Sustainability) at Noida, for the last one and a half (1.5) years. He has been involved in preparation of the Net Zero Emissions Roadmap and its implementation and driving ESG & Sustainability at GAIL.
He has been involved in the pre-commissioning, commissioning and operation of LPG Recovery Plant, Gas Processing Unit and Gas Cracker Unit-1 and new Gas Cracker Unit-2, during his tenure at GAIL, Vijaipur, Lakwa and Pata.
He has worked in the Marketing Department at Corporate Office, New Delhi in various functions like International LNG & Shipping, Domestic Gas and Compressed Biogas.
Mr Ankur Mittal
General Manager & Programme Leader
Energy Management, National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM)
Mr Lovish Ahuja
Chief Sustainability Officer
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd
Mr Sanjay Kumar Singh
Director - Strategy & External Relations
Jindal Steel Ltd
Mr. Sanjay Singh is the Director of Strategy and External Relations at Jindal Steel Ltd., where he also oversees the areas of Sustainability & Skilling. He has over 36 years of experience in Policy, Management, Administration, Project Implementation, and Strategic Planning. He has served as a civil servant of Indian Administrative Service at the Central and State Governments, where he held leadership roles in sectors including Steel, Telecommunications, Research Management, Human Resource Development, and Information Technology.
As Secretary in the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, he contributed to the formulation and implementation of a long-term vision for the sector, focusing on sustainability and the adoption of Industry 4.0. In Telecommunications, he played a key role in the successful rollout of BharatNet, a project to provide rural broadband connectivity, connecting 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats across India.
