BOTH CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND: Outlook ESGBHARAT: SURVEY 2023

The speakers at the survey release deliberate on how the ESG agenda is moving up the corporate agenda, the challenges it faces and the way forward

- Naina Gautam

In a first of its kind by a media house, the recently released Outlook ESGBharat Survey 2023 highlighted how the ESG needle is moving in terms of discourse, preparedness and response in India.

The survey findings threw light on the business leaders’ pulse, assessed readiness for ESG reporting and disclosure, evaluated sectoral perspectives, identified imperatives and drivers, delved into the impact of global and national standards and frameworks, and offered insights for building a sustainable future.

A majority of senior corporate leaders (80 per cent) perceive environment as the most important aspect of ESG for their business value chain. Half of them (50 per cent) recognise that managing a robust and sustainable supply chain is among the top challenges. Over 95 per cent place compliance with statutory requirements as the most important driver for value generation through ESG. Less than 8 per cent said that unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19 had minimal impact on the progress of their company’s ESG efforts.

These are the findings of the Outlook ESGBharat Survey 2023 conducted by the Outlook Group with BDO India, a professional services firm, as the knowledge partner. Toluna, a market research company, was the technology partner for data collection. The survey took six sectors into account: financial and services; energy and industries; fast-moving consumer goods; healthcare; infrastructure; information and communications technology.