Over half of GCCs in India 'actively' adopting ESG agenda: Report

70% 'actively looking' for technology collaborations to implement ESG norms, says EY

As many as 52 per cent of global capability centres (GCCs) in India have “proactively” adopted environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and are refining processes to anchor them, said a report on Thursday, referring to facilities set up by large companies to provide a range of services.

EY India’s survey, ‘ESG GCC Report 2024’, took data from more than 45 GCCs in the country. It said that around 70 per cent of GCCs are “actively looking” for technology collaborations to implement ESG norms evaluating the sustainability and ethical impact of a company or an investment.

ESG objectives require changing a company’s information technology infrastructure, data integration methodology and reporting processes. As many as 48 per cent of the GCCs are “actively” involved in sustainability reporting, project management, and technical support.

“Given that GCCs already serve as anchors for global organisational processes, they are strategically positioned to identify the scope of ESG reporting, pinpoint process and control gaps, and formulate remediation strategies," said Aman Dutta, partner (GCC Consulting) at EY India.

GCCs are establishing dedicated teams to collaborate with global organisations for ESG initiatives, with major areas of support being in the enablement of processes, data, and technology.

"Sixty-seven per cent of GCCs indicate that they are in the process of establishing internal sustainability strategies aimed at enhancing their ESG performance," said the report. The centres have an ESG focus across functions like project and supplier risk management, reporting, technology, and analytics for global entities.

Separately, another report released by real estate consultancy CBRE highlighted the growing clout of GCCs in Indian real estate. Such centres accounted for a one-third share in overall office leasing in India between January and March.

The 'CBRE India Office Figures Q1 2024' report also said that the number of GCCs in India is expected to increase by 20 per cent by 2025.

The EY report underscored four challenges that GCCs must address for their ESG initiatives: Ambiguity in ownership, lack of global stakeholder buy-in, scarcity of in-house skills, and inadequate know-how.

"Building strategies to overcome these challenges will be pivotal for GCCs' ESG journey," said EY India.