<div>Business is becoming social at a scale that has not been seen in years. A combination of factors have led to a situation that many debates and actions on sustainable business practices are being initiated by global corporations. <br /><br />While many observers remain skeptical about it, the new sentiment must be welcomed, nurtured and channelised into action. The crash of financial markets humbled arrogant global corporations into realising that they are as infallible as other institutions. <br /><br />Since then industry leaders have been trying hard to convince society about the good done by corporations. Now they realize that talk is not enough. And therefore there seems to be an earnest move by some companies to put their money where their mouth is. <br /><br />The freak weather systems and environment disasters have further added pressure on companies to critically examine their business practices. <br /><br />A welcome development by the UN has been to involve corporation is first of its kind global discussion on development agenda for the world. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon set up a high level panel of eminent personalities from across the world to “to advise on the global development framework beyond 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”<br /><br />Apart from heads of state and development specialists, the panel includes Paul Polman CEO of Unilever and Betty Maina, CEO of Kenya’s Association of Manufacturers. <br /><br />Unilever has been taking inputs from rest of industry across the world. These and other inputs will finally be absorbed by UN in deciding questions like what to maintain, exclude or add to the MDGs. <br /><br />UN is not alone. There are other efforts like the one driven by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on sustainability. GRI sets guidelines for organisations on creating internal assessment on sustainability of business practices. The focus is on enabling companies to measure and then manage sustainable practices. Over 5000 companies across the world are now following GRI guidelines across 80 countries. Over 95% of top 250 companies are among these. But there is a long way to go. Most companies do not even have a system in place even if they are keen to make a difference. <br /><br />The critical step is then to report the sustainability effort and share it with all stakeholders. This remains the agenda for change. Many companies are ready for setting framework and internal reporting mechanisms. Some have started doing it eagerly so that top management can take corrective action. But this has a cost attached to it which is seen as a hurdle. Mature companies are not only taking on the cost but are also encouraging their vendors and suppliers to follow similar practices. <br /><br />The problem is of external reporting. Most companies hesitate to share until their internal systems have become sustainable. While there is a business case for sustainability, the real achievement will be when market value of companies is influenced by such transparency.<br /><br />For this to happen, the investor community and financial institutions must demand and put a value on sustainable practices. <br /><br /><br /><em>(Pranjal Sharma is a senior business writer. He can be contacted at pranjalx@gmail.com) </em></div>