'Sustainability with eco-socio focus guiding businesses'

Global downturn has not dampened the spirit of Indian business organisations. They are looking at sustainability in operations in the coming years amid focus on environment concerns and social obligations, says a Ficci-Ernst & Young report.

Corporate India needs to mainstream these other aspects of sustainability with business operations, note the industry chamber and the global professional services network in their joint study.

Titled ‘Leveraging Value: Corporate Response to Sustainability Challenge’, it takes into consideration corporate sustainability as well as social concerns like the environment, social acceptance and other corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Even at a time of economic slowdown, sustainability was still a key concern for the companies. In fact, the trend is now catching up fast in India, as sustainability reporting is now being looked upon as important information.

The report tries to map the sustainability journey of some of India’s largest companies and attempts to understand how the challenge was impacting their businesses.

The vision of the top management has been the most significant driver of sustainability in India, it claims. It is, therefore not surprising that 65 per cent of the surveyed companies revealed they had a primary responsibility centre for sustainability that reported to senior management.

The other important aspects driving sustainability in a company are brand image, risk management, pressure from civil society and stakeholders. The report says 70 per cent of companies reported having a well-defined strategy or policy related to sustainability.

A gap in the understanding of the components of sustainability is reflected in the study. Most companies consider elements such as the environment, social responsibility or health and safety as being equivalent to sustainability. Hence, the report demonstrates that there is significant scope for Indian industry to put the required sustainability infrastructure in place.

While 90 per cent of the companies reportedly assess their sustainability-related risk, only half of them have a formal mechanism to analyse these risks.

That being the case, there is a need for greater awareness and strong will for businesses to mainstream sustainability within their business operations, the study notes.

The sample for the survey included about 60 companies that have identified their sustainability challenges and are at various stages of graduating to become sustainable enterprises.