INDIA INC DOES WELL ON ESG

Indian firms have done well when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures. Refinitiv, a financial-data provider, has analysed the level of transparency in public disclosure of ESG strategies and performance data across 163 Indian companies, and compared that to markets, such as South Africa, Brazil, China, and Hong Kong. India Inc fared better on several parameters. The study showed 98% domestic firms respected and promoted human rights as compared to 46% of the overall universe; the figure for Brazil is 52%, China is 31%, and Hong Kong 72%. Also, 64 per cent Indian businesses respected and promoted the wellbeing of employees, including those in their value chains under trade union representation. Parameters where India scored high included policy on equal voting rights (100%), policy community involvement (99%), and CSR sustainability reporting (98%). Factors where India Inc showed low transparency included carbon offsets (1%), products recovered to recycle (1%), and written consent requirements (1%). A separate study released by Crisil said IT and financial firms have relatively high ESG scores, given their inherently lower natural-resource intensity, resulting in lower emissions, waste generation and water usage. In contrast, oil and gas, chemicals, metals and mining, and cement firms have lower ESG scores, reflecting high natural-resource intensity, and thereby higher emission levels, extractive use of natural resources, and potential adverse environmental and community impact.