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More than seven in 10 (75 per cent) of large Indian companies have set clear sustainability goals, with 84 per cent voluntarily sharing their targets, as environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy become paramount in the corporate sector, a report showed on Wednesday. 

About 61.3 per cent of manufacturing companies expect to see measurable outcomes from their ESG initiatives in the medium to long term in the country, with 13.3 per cent anticipating results in the very near term (zero-1 years), according to the report by research company IMA India and Uniqus Consultech.

Large companies in India revealed that their ESG strategies are fully integrated into their organisational strategies while small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have some road to cover, the findings showed.

Ethical responsibility and corporate citizenship are primary drivers of ESG adoption, as cited by 85 per cent of respondents while more than half of them said they are leveraging or exploring ‘Green Finance’ and technology for their ESG efforts but have not made progress yet.

“Companies are not only recognising the ethical and regulatory imperatives but are also seeing the financial benefits of sustainable practices,” said Suraj Saigal, Research Director, IMA India.

The fact that a majority of companies have embedded ESG into their core strategies and are taking concrete steps towards sustainability is a testament to the growing importance of ESG in India.

“We are optimistic about the growth in ESG consciousness and action in India, especially with new technologies poised to be a game changer in driving positive trends across industries,” added Jamil Khatri, Co-Founder and CEO of Uniqus Consultech.

India has introduced new ESG reporting requirements for the top 1,000 listed companies in the country by market capitalisation.

According to markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the disclosure must be made through the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR).