Founder Director, Cognito
Harsh Purohit is the Founder Director of Cognito, a sustainability advisory which specializes in seeding and cascading the practice of sustainability in organisations through successful deployment of multi-disciplinary design and communication tools.
A mechanical engineer with an MBA in marketing, Harsh is a sustainability strategist and performs at the intersection of sustainability, marketing communication, design, technology, and profits. He has a passion for identifying emerging brand building opportunities in business and enthusing clients to invest in them to create stakeholder value, positive change and sustained competitive advantage.
He started his career in the client servicing department of Ogilvy and Mather at their Mumbai office. During his tenure he handled marketing communication of brands like ANZ Grindlay’s Bank, Cadbury’s, Pidilite, and Walt Disney.
In 21 years at Cognito, he has spearheaded design and communication projects in diverse segments and worked with brands like ABN Amro Bank India, Kotak Mahindra, IDBI Bank, FAG India, Matrix Telecom, Pepsi, Suzlon, Eclipsys, Taj Group of Hotels, Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy for local, national and international projects.
Twelve years back, feeling a strong need to contribute to the challenge of global warming, he led Cognito to specialize in sustainability. Partnering with progressive clients like ABN AMRO Bank, Mahindra, L&T, IDFC, Tata, Reliance Industries, Dr Reddy’s, Grasim and MSPL Limited, he has helped push the envelope in sustainability communication and reporting, and played a vital role in helping organizations internalize sustainability and prepare themselves for the future.
Under his leadership Cognito has cemented its position as one of India’s leading Brandability and Sustainability agency and is recognized across Europe and Asia for their ability to harness the power of communication design to affect long lasting behavioral change.
Many of Cognito’s projects have won national and international recognition. The ABN AMRO Bank Sustainability Report and the L&T Sustainability Report developed under his leadership at Cognito have won the GRI Reader’s Choice awards. The L&T and Mahindra sustainability reports and communication programs have won awards at the ABCI and PRSI.
With his presentations to corporate boards, Harsh has played a vital role in helping organizations shift their approach to sustainability from compliance to strategic competitive advantage. He has developed the 4Ps of sustainability which help an organizations understand the business importance of sustainability and chalk out measurable goals.
Harsh is actively involved in consultations on the role of design in sustainability, formulation of frameworks, gender equality and sustainable innovation. He is a regular speaker at diverse international forums across Asia and Europe.
