Why ESG Norms Are Unnerving India Inc

Companies seem unprepared. However, they have little choice but to embrace the rules

- N Madhavan

Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), a conglomerate with business interests ranging from construction to information technology, has 100,000 suppliers. Next year, it will reach out to 20,000 of them, seeking information on their carbon emissions, water footprint and more. The 20,000 suppliers account for 75% of its annual purchases.

ITC Ltd, another conglomerate, has a bigger challenge. Its interests range from cigarettes to hotels, and it is wondering how to source similar information from its agri-business suppliers (millions of small farmers) and customers (the thousands of well-heeled individuals in its hotels business).

L&T and ITC have to disclose this information about their value chain annually from 2023-24 to comply with a new standard called Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting–Core (BRSR Core), mandated by markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Welcome to the new world of environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulations in India.

Five years ago, India’s ESG regulations, which are essentially a framework to evaluate the sustainability and ethical impact of a company or investment, were minimal or voluntary. Today, they are comprehensive and mandatory, and considered to be at par with global sustainability and reporting standards.

The pace of regulation has left India Inc gasping for breath as it scrambles to meet the norms. Conglomerates such as L&T and ITC were early adopters. Even six years back, ITC wanted its hotels to be “the least harmful". In 2017, the electrical energy consumed at the newly built Grand Chola, ITC’s luxury hotel in Chennai, was being compensated by its own windmills in Coimbatore. But even the early adopters now appear overwhelmed.