Press Release

Green energy and ESG practices are promoted by multiple consortia and initiatives in India: Santanu Mitra, Senior Economic Adviser, Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Green energy and ESG practices are promoted by multiple consortia and initiatives in India: Santanu Mitra, Senior Economic Adviser, Ministry of Corporate Affairs

ESG now has enough proof to be considered a Direct Business Sense. This has led to increased agreement among all kinds of stakeholders regarding the necessity of implementing ESG principles, said Mr. Santanu Mitra, Senior Economic Adviser, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, stated at the Global ESG Conclave 3.0, hosted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in New Delhi.

According to estimates, the ESG-led transformation is going to create opportunities worth $40 Trillion equal to the combined GDP of USA and China. Further, in 2022, employers worldwide offered 2.4 million ESG jobs.. By 2030, the number is predicted to rise to 24 million jobs, a tenfold increase in only seven years, highlighted Mr. Santanu Mitra, Senior Economic Adviser.

The organizations must operate as a steward of the environment and cover environmental issues like climate change, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), deforestation, biodiversity, carbon emissions, waste management and pollution.

Fossil Fuels—coal, oil and gas—are the largest contributors to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions, said Sr official from Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

“Net zero is exactly that. It is making pollution tradeable. We need to have total pollution-neutrality, in-situ solution for pollution. No single unit is to be allowed to allow any negative externality to escape the four corners of the unit. In other words, every unit has to incorporate the social cost into its actual cost. Otherwise, it should make an exist from market”.

Stakeholder engagement is another key pillar of ESG success. Actively involving stakeholders—employees, customers, suppliers, and investors—ensures that ESG strategies reflect broader societal needs. Noteworthily, India is the first country to   make Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandatory for a certain class of companies. For the FY 2022-23, 24392 number of companies have undertaken CSR with around 29,986 crores spent in the year. The top three states being Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka, noted, Senior Economic Adviser, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

India has been at the forefront in acknowledging the importance of responsible business practices and has implemented a host of policy and regulatory initiatives to drive them. Institutionally, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has assumed the proactive role in promoting responsible business practices in India and had introduced guidelines of the 'National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, 2011' (NVGs), setting out the importance of the ESG responsibilities of the corporate entities and the need to integrate them into business practices and investment decision-making processes, stated Ministry of Corporate Affairs Sr Economic Advisor. 

Mr. Søren Nørrelund Kannik-Marquardsen, Minister Counsellor-Trade, Commercial & Economic Affairs, Royal Danish Embassy- New Delhi & Director- Trade Council South Asia highlighted that India is growing tremendously, especially when it comes to infrastructure and industrial development.  He said that India is well on its way to becoming a developed nation by 2047. Therefore, he explained that India can make a global impact in the ESG domain. He was hopeful that the collaboration between India and Denmark will prove fruitful in creating a sustainable present and future.

Others who also spoke during the conference were Mr Manoj Rustagi, Chief Sustainability & Innovation Officer, JSW Cement; Mr. S.C. Aggarwal, Member, ASSOCHAM & CMD, SMC Group; Ms. Deepali Dhuliya, Director -Strategic Consulting, Cushman & Wakefield India; Ms. Swati Agrawal, CEO, CARE Advisory Research & Training Limited; Ms. Rakhi Sen, GM (EMD), SAIL; Ms. Aparajita Agarwal, Senior Manager- Regulatory Affairs, Tata Steel Ltd and Faisal Al Shimmari, Head- ESG, Mashreq Bank.