Full Name
VAISHALI NIGAM SINHA
Job Title
Chief Sustainability Officer
Company
ReNew Power
Speaker Bio
Vaishali Nigam Sinha is the Chief Sustainability Officer at ReNew Power, one of India’s largest renewable energy IPPs (Independent Power Producer) and the first Indian RE firm to list on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: RNW). Under the ambit of ReNew India Initiative (RII), Vaishali drives the company’s corporate social responsibility and sustainability initiatives and is also Founding Chair, ReNew Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm.
Vaishali has a strong track record in integrating corporate sustainability, ESG and responsible investing within business strategy. At ReNew, she drives ESG strategy, implementation (including governance, metrics setting, monitoring and capacity building) and disclosures. Through several leadership roles, Vaishali strategically advances causes such as climate action, sustainable development and equal participation of women in the economy. She is a President’s invitee to Columbia World Projects – a high-level forum at Columbia University created to tackle major global challenges and serves on the President’s Advisory Council at Wellesley College and the Columbia Global Centre’s Mumbai Advisory Board.
She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s South Asia Regional Action Group for post Covid recovery and the Economic Times SDG Leadership Council on Climate Action. Vaishali is a member of the Greening Working Group of the Energy Transition Taskforce of Sustainable Markets Initiative, which has launched the Terra Carta and is also one of the founding members of the Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy.
She is a Board member of the UN Global Compact Network India (GCNI) and Chairperson of their Gender Committee; Senior Advisor to the WEF Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders; Chairperson of South Asian Women In Energy (SAWIE) – a body set up under USISPF to promote diversity and gender equity in energy sector; Chair, CII’s Indian Women Network and Women Empowerment Committee and a member of the Governing Council of the Vedica Scholars Programme for Women. Vaishali is also a member of the Advisory Council of the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, Advisory Committee of the India Climate Collaborative and Global CSR & Philanthropy Committee, Della Group. She is a regular speaker at international forums like the Climate Week NYC, California Governor’s Global Climate Action Summit and events organized by WEF, UNDP and United Nations Global Compact Network. Vaishali has also authored several opinion articles on a range of topics from sustainability to gender parity to CSR which have been published in leading Indian dailies, magazines, web portals and industry journals.
In October 2020, Vaishali was named among India’s 100 most important PR & Corporate Communication professionals. She was also listed among Asia’s Most Influential Women in Renewable Energy and as an Influential Women Business Leader by the Solar Quarter magazine. Vaishali was felicitated for her outstanding contribution towards women empowerment by CSR Journal in July 2019 and also recognized as being amongst India’s Top 25 Impactful CSR Leaders by the India CSR Network in April 2019. In 2019, CEO Today magazine conferred the Businesswoman of the Year Award on her for her achievements as a woman professional. She was also a National Finalist at the NITI Aayog Women Transforming India Awards 2018, finishing amongst top 2% of women from across India. Recently, Vaishali was also featured in SheThePeople’s 40 over 40 list.
Vaishali has completed the Owners and Presidents Management Program from Harvard Business School and has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she was an American Association of University Women (AAUW) scholar. Prior to ReNew, Vaishali had worked as an investment banker for over 15 years in the US, UK and India
Vaishali has a strong track record in integrating corporate sustainability, ESG and responsible investing within business strategy. At ReNew, she drives ESG strategy, implementation (including governance, metrics setting, monitoring and capacity building) and disclosures. Through several leadership roles, Vaishali strategically advances causes such as climate action, sustainable development and equal participation of women in the economy. She is a President’s invitee to Columbia World Projects – a high-level forum at Columbia University created to tackle major global challenges and serves on the President’s Advisory Council at Wellesley College and the Columbia Global Centre’s Mumbai Advisory Board.
She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s South Asia Regional Action Group for post Covid recovery and the Economic Times SDG Leadership Council on Climate Action. Vaishali is a member of the Greening Working Group of the Energy Transition Taskforce of Sustainable Markets Initiative, which has launched the Terra Carta and is also one of the founding members of the Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy.
She is a Board member of the UN Global Compact Network India (GCNI) and Chairperson of their Gender Committee; Senior Advisor to the WEF Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders; Chairperson of South Asian Women In Energy (SAWIE) – a body set up under USISPF to promote diversity and gender equity in energy sector; Chair, CII’s Indian Women Network and Women Empowerment Committee and a member of the Governing Council of the Vedica Scholars Programme for Women. Vaishali is also a member of the Advisory Council of the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, Advisory Committee of the India Climate Collaborative and Global CSR & Philanthropy Committee, Della Group. She is a regular speaker at international forums like the Climate Week NYC, California Governor’s Global Climate Action Summit and events organized by WEF, UNDP and United Nations Global Compact Network. Vaishali has also authored several opinion articles on a range of topics from sustainability to gender parity to CSR which have been published in leading Indian dailies, magazines, web portals and industry journals.
In October 2020, Vaishali was named among India’s 100 most important PR & Corporate Communication professionals. She was also listed among Asia’s Most Influential Women in Renewable Energy and as an Influential Women Business Leader by the Solar Quarter magazine. Vaishali was felicitated for her outstanding contribution towards women empowerment by CSR Journal in July 2019 and also recognized as being amongst India’s Top 25 Impactful CSR Leaders by the India CSR Network in April 2019. In 2019, CEO Today magazine conferred the Businesswoman of the Year Award on her for her achievements as a woman professional. She was also a National Finalist at the NITI Aayog Women Transforming India Awards 2018, finishing amongst top 2% of women from across India. Recently, Vaishali was also featured in SheThePeople’s 40 over 40 list.
Vaishali has completed the Owners and Presidents Management Program from Harvard Business School and has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she was an American Association of University Women (AAUW) scholar. Prior to ReNew, Vaishali had worked as an investment banker for over 15 years in the US, UK and India
Speaking At
