52% GCCs In India Proactively Advocating The ESG Agenda: Report

A report on Thursday revealed that about 52 per cent of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India are actively embracing the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda, while nearly 70 per cent of these are advancing the tech agenda for ESG implementation. 

An EY report highlighted that GCCs are establishing dedicated teams to collaborate with global organisations for ESG initiatives, majorly supporting the enablement of processes, data and technology.

Additionally, the report found that about 67 per cent of GCCs indicated that they are in the process of establishing internal sustainability strategies aimed at enhancing their ESG performance by embedding ESG focus across capabilities such as project management, supplier risk management, reporting, technology, and analytics for their global entities. 

Commenting on the report, Arindam Sen, Partner and GCC Sector Leader Technology, Media and Telecommunications, EY India, said, “As we stand at the cusp of a new era defined by sustainability, we are witnessing GCCs take yet another step up the value chain. With a robust commitment to ESG priorities, GCCs have the potential to drive transformative change and establish sustainable practices.” 

Furthermore, the report underlined that with global regulatory authorities prescribing ESG regulations, such as Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSRD) in the EU and Climate Change Disclosure Rules in the US, there is an immediate need for global companies to report on a broader set of ESG metrics and with greater accuracy.

It added GCCs are housing the global ESG agenda by anchoring essential functions such as reporting, risk management, project management, technology development and implementation, vendor management, business process excellence and automation. Close to half of the GCCs, constituting about 48 per cent, are actively involved in sustainability reporting, project management and technical support.

The research was conducted using the knowledge acquired from over 45 GCCs.