About Chandra Bhushan
Chandra Bhushan is one of India’s foremost environment and climate change experts. He is the President & CEO of the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST). He was Deputy Director of Centre for Science and Environment during 2010-2019.
Chandra Bhushan has wide-ranging research and public policy interests. He has researched, written and campaigned for issues ranging from climate change and energy transformation to rights of mining-affected people and industrial pollution. He has authored/ co-authored 20 books and authored/ co-authored/ directed more than 60 reports. He has led 20 independent scientific studies on food safety and environmental pollution that have catalyzed significant improvements in the food safety and environmental regulations of the country.
As a campaigner for inclusive growth and development, he pushed the idea of profit-sharing with the mining-affected communities, which contributed to the creation of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) in the mining districts. He and his team are currently working in Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh to help institutionalise the DMFs.
He has a deep interest in global environmental governance and he continues to champion the cause of developing countries at global climate change negotiations. He was conferred with the Ozone Award (Partnership Award) by the UN Environment in 2017 for his contributions towards the framing of the Kigali Amendments to the Montreal Protocol.
Bhushan advises a range of institutions worldwide. He was the co-chair of the Technical Advisory Committee of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which came out with the very first triple-bottom-line reporting framework. He is an expert member for the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) group of countries on Climate Change. He served as a Member, Engagement Committee of Future Earth, the largest sustainability research platform of the world. He also served on the Board of Governors, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET), Quality Council of India (QCI).
He has served on more than 15 national and state-level committees, including Selection Committee for the appointment of judges and expert members of NGT in 2014, Committee to develop India Cooling Action Plan (2017-2019) and Solid waste management committee, Urban Development Departments of Bihar and UP (2018 onwards).
He is a passionate communicator for a better environment. He writes a fortnightly column in Financial Express and a monthly column in Gaon Connection and Manorma Yearbook. He is also a guest columnist for Hindi dailies like Navbharat Times and Rajasthan Patrika. His recent talks include a TEDx talk on the climate crisis and a plenary lecture at the International Association for Energy Economics.
His current passion is to demonstrate and promote affordable and appropriate environmental solutions. He has demonstrated in Muzaffarpur, Bihar and Zanzibar, Tanzania that a municipal waste management system based on 100% source segregation and decentralized processing is the most viable model in the economically weaker regions of the world. He is also promoting Smart and affordable monitoring, a term he has coined for low-cost sensor-based devices for pollution monitoring.
His academic credentials include Bachelors in Engineering and Masters in Environmental Planning and Technology.
Advisory/ Expert Position/ Memberships
Member, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sectional Committee (med 03), Bureau of Indian Standards – 2019 onwards
Member, Expert Committee to develop strategy to increase green cover outside recorded forest areas (tree outside forests), Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India, 2018
Member, Solid Waste Management Committee, Urban Development Department, Uttar Pradesh Government, 2018
Member, Solid Waste Management Committee, Urban Development and Housing Department, Bihar government, 2018
Member, committee to suggest action plan for combating encephalitis in gorakhpur, Urban Development Department, Uttar Pradesh Government, 2017
Member, Committee to develop National Cooling Action Plan, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India, 2017
Member, Engagement Committee, Future Earth, 2017-18
Facilitator, Workshop on Safety Standards, 39th meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Montreal Protocol, United Nations Environment Programme, 2017
Member, Technology Evaluation Committee for solid & liquid waste and water supply, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, 2016
Member, Committee to review the continuation of fiscal incentives to the industry to implement the provisions of the Montreal Protocol, Ozone Office, Government of India, 2016
Rapporteur, Workshop on Hydrofluorocarbon Management organized for the members of the meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol, United Nations Environment Programme, 2015
Member, Departmental Peer Review Committee for Extension of Service of Scientists Beyond the Age of Superannuation, Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India, 2015
Member, Selection Committee – appointment of Judges and Expert Members of National Green Tribunal, Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2014
Member, Board of Governors, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET), Quality Council of India (QCI), 2013-17
Member, Basic Expert Group on Climate Change, 2012 onwards
Member, EIA Accreditation Committee, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET), Quality Council of India (QCI), 2009-2014
Member, Working Group on “Effectively Integrating Industrial Growth and Environment Sustainability” for the Twelfth Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, Government of India, 2012
Co-Member, Working Group on Environment and Forestry sector for the Twelfth Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, Government of India, 2012
Member, Sub-group on “Energy Access” setup by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for the Twelfth Five Year Plan, Government of India, 2012
Member, Sub-group on “Environment Aspects” of the working group of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for the Twelfth Five Year Plan, Government of India, 2012
Member, Sub-group on “Grid-connected Solar Energy” of the working group of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for the Twelfth Five Year Plan, Government of India, 2012
Member, Copenhagen Working Group on CSR (Business and Development), Copenhagen Business School, Denmark – 2005-2007
Member, Advisory Board, Occupational Knowledge International, USA – 2003 – 2007
Member, Food and Agriculture Division (FAD 14), Bureau of Indian Standards – 2003 onwards
Member, Environmental Management Sectional Committee (CHD 34/ISO), Bureau of Indian Standards – 2003 onwards
Technical Advisor, CII-World Bank Programme on Greening of SMEs – 2002-2003
Advisor, Corporate Accountability and Sustainability Reporting, Sustainability Inc., UK – 2002
Co-Chair, Technical Advisory Committee, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), USA/Netherlands – 2000-2002
Member, Institute of Town Planners – 1996 onwards