Mr. Shende is former Director at United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP) and is a leading expert in sustainable technologies and strategic policies on climate change and other global environmental accords . As head of the Paris based Ozon Action Programme of UNEP, he worked with the governments of 146 developing countrie's to develop their national management plans to eliminate use of Ozone Depleting Substances and to contribute to the mitigation of climate change.Before joining the UN, Mr. Shende had a senior management career in the private sector in India and was part of the task force set up by the Government of India to negotiate the multilateral environmental agreement, the Montreal protocol.

Through the teams of professionals he led global activities from UNEP's five offices worldwide i.e. Paris, Bangkok, Nairobi, Bahrain and Panama City to build the capacity and provide technology support to stabilize the Stratospheric Ozone Layer and prevent a global catastrophe by enabling developing countries to comply with the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol is now considered as the most successful Multilateral Environmental Agreement so far, having put the Ozone layer on the path to recovery.

He was Coordinating Lead Author of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that shared Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with Al Gore. He is a Chemical Engineer by qualification from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. Presently he is Chairman of TERRE Policy Centre, a think tank and activity platform for energy and food security. He is also Advisor to Incubation Centre, Bizdome, of IIM-Rohatak.