India Inc fares well on environmental, social and governance disclosures

Indian companies 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 a number of parameters. The study showed 98 per cent domestic companies respected and promoted human rights as compared to 46 per cent of the overall universe; the figure for Brazil is 52 per cent, China is 31 per cent, and Hong Kong 72 per cent. Also, 64 per cent Indian businesses respected and promoted the well-being of employees, including those in their value chains under trade union representation.

Parameters where India scored high included policy on equal voting rights (100 per cent), policy on community involvement (99 per cent), and CSR sustainability reporting (98 per cent).

Factors where India Inc showed low transparency included carbon offsets (1 per cent), products recovered to recycle (1 per cent), and written consent requirements (1 per cent).