Like their peers in many countries, Indian businesses are
increasingly looking to incorporate environmental, social, and
governance (ESG) principles into long–term strategy. Yet most feel
unprepared to meet the growing demands of regulators, customers and
investors. One May 2023 study found that just 27% feel “adequately
equipped” to meet these strategy and compliance requirements.
One of the key roadblocks to progress is a lack of reliable data with
which to measure EDG performance and impact. Fortunately, when it
comes to the IT channel, this is changing.
India’s ESG journey
Regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has from
financial year 2021–22 required the top 1,000 listed companies in the
country to disclose ESG–related information in their annual reports.
But even less prominent organisations are increasingly viewing
sustainability as a no–brainer. Not only can it keep industry
regulators happy, it can also help future–proof business
success–driving operational efficiencies, opening up new markets and
enhancing risk management and governance. That’s all music to the ears
of shareholders.
As a major contributor to carbon emissions, the Indian IT sector has
more to gain than many from driving sustainability initiatives.
Data means clarity
However, there are several challenges facing Indian firms. There’s a
lack of clarity and standardisation among regulatory reporting
frameworks. And SMBs in particular may struggle with the extra
investment and know–how required to push ahead with sustainability
programs. This is a problem for organisations’ smaller supply chain
partners, who may find it tough to track and report on ESG metrics.
Just 15% of Indian businesses believe their suppliers are able to
comply with their ESG requirements.
Many Indian firms, especially those in the IT channel, lack reliable
and consistent ESG data–making measurement, reporting and compliance
extremely challenging.
There’s no silver bullet to these challenges. But once Indian
businesses have set a clear strategic vision–based around ESG goals,
and agreed with key stakeholders–they must seek third–party expertise
to turn theory into practice. This is where CONTEXT can help. We’re
currently building a Product ESG database to help inform
sustainability programs for IT distributors, resellers and vendors.
The goal is to provide the data on which effective ESG decision making
can be built.
To find out more about this product, get in touch with the
CONTEXT Sustainability team:
sustainability@contextworld.com