Capacity building of global footwear sector for sustainable development Swarna V Kanth, CSIR - Central Leather Research Institute (India)

1. Moving towards
sustainability
through innovation

2. Capacity Building of Global Footwear Sector
for Sustainable Development
CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute
Swarna V Kanth
Chief Scientist

3. SUSTAINABLE
GLOBAL
FOOTWEAR
SECTOR
SUSTAINABLE
GLOBAL
FOOTWEAR
SECTOR
1
Volatile
Major changes
frequent & sudden
2
Uncertain
There shall
be many
surprises
3
Unpredictable
Change shall
not follow a
predictable
pattern
Complex
Problems and
opportunities
can be
complex, with
many different
elements
4
5
Ambiguous
Confusion from
contradictory
information
Industry will stay or
shift to another
dimension
“Adaptive” GLOBAL
industry with SKILLED
MANPOWER shall
sustain

5. 3
INDIAN LEATHER SECTOR PROJECTED SKILLED MANPOWER
Highest incremental
human resource
requirements at niche
level to sustain the
new age demands
Enhancing
employability to
those with minimum
and also maximum
education
Skills in demand -
New age learning
methodologies
with artistic
culture
Basic skills that can
be acquired with a
short/modular and
monomaniacally
focused intervention
TOTAL WORKFORCE
BY 2047
10 MILLION
CURRENT WORKFORCE
4 MILLION
ESTIMATED NEW
WORKFORCE DEMAND BY
2030 - 5 MILLION =
+
Source: Indian Brand Equity Foundation Report and National Skill Development Corporation Report

7. “The challenge is oriented towards increase in sustainability with
Green Skills”
Supportive Climate for
Interactions With Customers,
Suppliers, Competitors & the
Economy, Government, World
Events, Communities and Families
Values, Understanding, Belief, Norms
guided towards increase in changing
new age requirements
Role Models Will See
the Possibilities of the
Future Footwear
Industry
The Mindset That Makes
the Impossible Possible
Evolve New skills
Because the world of
leather business is
dramatically changing
globally!

8. Empowered
workers
remaining in
control
Solution
provider for
people and
for our
planet
Reduced
cost due to
resource
efficiency
Competitive
edge in new
markets
Adapted
training for
evolving skills
Competitive
industry by
attracting best
talent
Improved
safety and
well-being
WHY
INDUSTRY 5.0
SUSTAINABLE FOOTWEAR MANUFACTURING SKILLS
Industry 5.0
recognises the power
of industry to achieve
societal goals beyond
jobs and growth to
become a resilient
provider of prosperity
by making production
respect the
boundaries of our
planet and placing the
wellbeing of the
industry worker at the
centre of the
production process.
Industry 5.0
is not a revolution
and is technology driven
to human centric
approach, making
workers as investments,
not a mere cost, use
Technologies and
innovations to enhance
workers’ capacities and
foster creativity with
safe and qualitative
jobs, wellbeing of the
worker

10. 2
loyalty, influence,
freedom,
transparency
There will be
definite new age
skill shortage
Shift the power
in the employee
/employer
relationship to
top talent
Innovation will
surpass
productivity in
importance
Em
ployee
expectations will
be changing
Knowledge,
innovative
technologies and
design work will
dominate
3
1
4
5
6
8
50% employees will need reskilling/upskilling

11. Agile,
resilient and
adaptable
Changing
the role of
workers
Digitisation
Transforming
Industry
Very Rapidly
Increase
Efficiency &
Productivity
respecting
planetary
boundaries
Accelerating
Production
Process
Promotes
Talent,
diversity and
Employment
Social
Outstanding
Circularity
I nnovation
Environmental
Technology
Youth
INDUSTRY 5.0 AND GEN-Z SOCIETY
Company’s
sustainability will
be the priority of
40% millennials
Gen-Z will prefer
Job offer that
gives them
mobility, freedom
and flexible
2025 – 75% will
be millennials
work for a socially
responsible
company
Millennial's and
Gen Z’s will build
a better future
that works for
them and their
families

12. 2
Intrapreneurial
capability skill
set
Sector
specialized skill
archetypes
Quality
conscious and
professional
capable skills
Cross country
International
Institute skill
sets
Elite
perform
ance
producing skill
workforce
Cross Industry
partnership
skill models
3
1
4
5
6
A “new-age” and green skilled manpower shall coexist
The best we can describe
the current and future
footwear business
environment as
“Sustainable and
enduring”

17. Planned obsolescence must be implemented in all areas of skill set
Workforce Shortages
• Scale skillsets in the digital age
• Young people want employers who share their values
• From technology-driven to human-centric approach
• Safe and qualitative jobs, wellbeing of the worker
• Workers as investments, not a mere cost
• Technologies to enhance workers’ capacities and faster
creativity
• Resource efficiency = doing “better with less”
• Adopt full product life-cycle perspective
• Improve environmental outcome
• Help reach sustainable development Goals (SDGs) “Industry,
Innovation and Infrastructure” (#9) and “Responsible
Consumption and Production (#12)

19. TRADITIONAL TO SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS
SKILLDEVELOPMENT
TRADITIONAL
SKILL
TRAINING
Improve employability and
productivity of workforce
Impart Innovative/ technical
(hard skills) and market skills
Exposure to state-of-the art
infrastructure and global best
practices
Nurture wage/ self-employment
Focus on overall personality
development (soft skills) of
candidates
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
OF PEOPLE

21. Sustainability: Work within the Physical Limits
Earth
Ecosystems Urban Regions
Industry
Sourcing
Footwear
Production
Distribution
Use
Waste
(land, water, air
emissions
Product Reuse
Extraction
Power Sources
(Sun, Moon, Earth)
Society
Nature
Bottom-line: The extractive
capability of the future
footwear industry must be
balanced with the regenerative
capacity of the Earth.

22. Quality Manufacture Systems
Leather Working Group
Reduced water consumption
Waste water treatment
Labor-conditions
Social standards
Harmful substances
legal restrictions
Process and products in the tannery
Impact on climate change
Leather as renewable resource
Optimized, efficient chemicals
Toxic Footprint
Carbon Footprint
Resource Footprint
Water Footprint
Production Footprint
Social Footprint
For each person
Relative country
Relative ecological footprints

23. Life Cycle Inventory Data
The comparative investigation results of carbon
footprint of leather as a waste for footwear,
leather bags and small leather goods in both
cradle to gate and grave stages from the data
sources in India are studied
Products Leather
Consumpti
on (Sq.Ft)
Weight/
Product
Products
per
year
Green house
gas emissions
(CO2-eq.)
Primary
energy
Footwear 1 1660 g 2 1.72 Kg 108 MJ
Hand bag 4 1000 g 1 0.86 Kg 28 MJ
Small
leather
goods
1 152 g 2 824 g 50.6 MJ
Sustainability Values
Global Warming Potential for 20,
100 and 500 years
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
LeatherHand
Bags
Leather
Footwear
Small Leather
Goods
GWP Kg CO2-eqn in 20
years
GWP Kg CO2-eqn in 100
years
GWP Kg CO2-eqn in 500
years
Leather footwear has very high GWP
Small leather goods occupy better
position
Consume lesser energy and fewer
amounts of materials
Emit lesser green house gas
emissions in production

24. Linear Production:
“Take, make, waste”
Material
Processing
Product
Manufacture Distribution
Disposal
Use
Materials Extracted
from Biosphere
Materials Mined
from Lithosphere
Material
Processing
Product
Manufacture Distribution
Material
Processing
Product
Manufacture Distribution
Disposal
Use Disposal
Use
Materials Extracted
from Biosphere
Materials Mined
from Lithosphere
Material
Processing
Product
Manufacture
Distribution
Product
Take-Back
Product
Demanufacture
Material
Demanufacture
Disposal
Manufacture
Demanufacture
Energy recovery
with incineration
Clean fuel
production via
pyrolysis
1= Direct reuse
2= Remanufacture of reusable components
3= Reprocessing of recycled material
4= Monomer/raw material generation
1
2
3
4 Use
Materials Extracted
From Biosphere
Materials Mined
From Lithosphere
Closed Loop Production:
“Reduce, Recycle, Reuse”
(our current system)
Challenges set for the future footwear sector
Closed Loop Production:
Circular Economy with Green
Technologies (future system)

25. Modernized direction
of global design of leather waste
• Eco - design
• Re - cycled products
• Up - cycled products
Environment
Oriented design
• Crowd sourced products
• Collaborative products
• Arty handcrafted products
Social
design
• 3D printing
• Emotive design
Tech-innovation

26. How is This Different Than Recycling?
The circular economy goes far beyond
finding a recycling solution at end-of-life.
Circularity focuses on holistic solutions
How Can We the Footwear Sector
Advance the Circular Economy?
At every stage of footwear making “In
process control systems” and “end of
use technologies can be introduced”
• Footwear sector needs a
circular economy that is
restorative and regenerative by
design; and aims to keep
products, components, and
materials at their highest utility
and value at all times.
• The circular economy is built
from a realignment of our
values designed to protect our
natural capital, reduce carbon
emissions, and eliminate waste.
• Founded on sustainable use of
ecosystems, biodiversity, and
the implementation of green
energy systems, this circular
model will generate natural,
social, and economic capital.

27. CROSS INDUSTRY IMPACT FOOTWEAR FACTORY MODEL
Training
(lectures,
workshops,
coaching)
(25%)
Start up
Community
(40%)
External
network
(mentors,
investors,
customers,
facilitators)
(35%)
Validating
hypotheses
Scaling of the
business
model
Customer
discovery –
Validation-
Creation
Company
Building
Advancing the
maturation of
ideas, products
and services
towards the market
Identification of
Technology Readiness
Levels (TRL)
Innovation Readiness
Levels (IRL)
Create-up
Ramp-up
Scale-up
An impact startup sets the achievement of a positive impact on at least one SDG (without harming another SDG)
in the centre of its business model

28. 26
SUCCESS PILLARS FOR SUSTAINABILITY
GREEN DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
ENABLING
TECHNOLOGIES
Greener, more digital, more resilient and fairer socio-economic model
Artificial intelligence
Cybersecurity, connectivity and
blockchain
Microelectronics and
nanoelectronics, photonics and
quantum technologies
Advanced and sustainable materials
Biotechnology
Advanced digital manufacturing
Sustainable Industrial production
Geopolitical climate challengers
Revisiting supply chains
Societal role of footwear industries
Attract best talents
Healthy food system
Environmentally-friendly, emissions-
neutral energy and resource system
Sustainable mobility and logistics
system
Universal, resilient social and health
care system
Reflective, proactive, inclusive and
responsive education and
knowledge-generation system
Competitive industrial system
Cultural system that integrates
people, territory and history
Industry that works for people
Zero waste and Circularity
Move towards more sustainable and
inclusive development
Transformative innovation that address
the challenges relevant to society

30. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION