THE REALITY OF CORPORATE ESG INITIATIVES

Today, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations dominate business discussions and have become an integral part of the strategies of many organisations in different industries. While some companies are grappling with these new standards and commitments, others, already aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are well prepared to meet the evolving regulations and standards related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG.

- Suresh Rathore

ESG was first heard in 1997, when the Global Reporting Initiatives became one of the most recognised frameworks for sustainability reporting. Several countries introduced mandatory ESG reporting requirements in 2015 with the Paris Agreement and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Today, ESG investing has become a force to reckon with, as the total amount of investments managed with ESG criteria in mind has increased from $330 million in 2019 to $1.3 billion in 2023.

As India is on its way to becoming the third largest economy and preparations for Budget 2024 are in the final stages, Indian businesses eagerly await a series of meaningful policy measures that can boost sustainable businesses through higher budgetary allocations. Budget 2023 has allocated USD 1.2 billion to promote green growth in the country. This allocation is expected to increase further given the pivotal role that business plays in green development. Tax incentives will boost investment and attract developers and investors which is otherwise very investment-intensive.

Nowadays, ESG and sustainability are rather fashionable buzzwords and have only been put into practice as an integral part of the presentation of ESG business. Most companies are directly or indirectly affected by ESG and sustainability considerations. The rise of ESG initiatives has drawn attention to the rise of greenwashing, where companies falsely portray themselves as environmental friendly or socially responsible. Many have sought to capitalize on greenwashing, where companies that raise money through the stock markets or by issuing debt instruments have no intention of changing their business practices and where the claimed environmentally, socially, and responsibly conscious stance is just another marketing ploy aimed at extracting as much money as possible from an unsuspecting public.