Over 84 per cent of organisations have been in operation for more than 15 years, constituting a significant portion of corporate India, said a Deloitte ESG Preparedness Report. Global warming and climate change are the top priorities every firm is focusing on. The Human resource department of Indian companies is inculcating policies to look after the environment and keep making their employees aware to practice the same.
This set of practices is termed the carbon pricing instrument (CPI), due to the concern over increasing global warming these practices are in trend. According to the Kotak ESG Report - Global carbon pricing trends resilient amid energy crisis, 84 countries have committed to a ‘net-zero’ carbon emissions target while 76 listed Indian companies use science-based targets to reduce their carbon footprints.
In terms of Indian space, the report mentioned that many companies have accelerated their policies to reduce their carbon footprint.
As per the Kotak ESG report, in 2022, 42 companies in India adopted an internal carbon pricing mechanism, whereas 68 are planning to introduce internal carbon pricing in the next two years.
Prior to 2000, ESG was not involved much in the policy line of Indian companies and was considered a matter of more development. In 2011 The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) issued the National Voluntary Guidelines and since then the adoption of ESG as the major responsibility of Indian corporates has expanded significantly.
According to Deloitte ESG Preparedness Report, ESG is increasingly gaining importance, not just from an ethical standpoint but also from an economic and growth mindset. The report stated that out of the 150 organisations surveyed, less than half 49 per cent reported being aware of existing ESG reporting mechanisms and regulations in India.
The same report also claims that over 75 per cent of organisations agree that ESG’s gaining relevance is transforming it into a critical business driver as their investors are emphasising values that focus on environment catering.