Emerging markets like India need to have their own independent view on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) matters: SEBI Chairperson

Mumbai, 29 November 2022: Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch today said that emerging markets like India need to have their own independent view on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) matters. The SEBI chairperson was speaking at a national conference on Environment, Social, Governance for Atmanirbhar Bharat organised by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and National Productivity Council, autonomous organisation under DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India in Mumbai.

 

The SEBI chairperson said that ESG rating will be an important aspect in the market like credit rating in the future. “As a regulator, it is imperative for SEBI that the ESG rating ecosystem should evolve in a well regulated manner; these ratings are going to play an important role in the future.”

 

Chairman of Mumbai Port Authority, Rajiv Jalota while addressing the conference said that all players should be future ready in terms of Environment-Social-Governance (ESG). “Mumbai Port has taken various steps in order to de-carbonise the port. The port is promoting use of renewable energy for its day to day operations”.

 

Speaking about the Nation Productivity Council, The Director General of NPC said “The NPC has been working in the field of environment, energy and waste management since the mid-nineties”.

 

The national conference on ESG discussed adoption of ESG into business strategies for competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience. 25 business leaders from different sectors of the industry addressed the ESG conference. Around 125 senior level executives dealing with ESG from different organizations participated in the conference. Discussion about reporting and compliance under Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) framework of SEBI were deliberated at length.

 

The objective of the conclave titled ‘ESG conference for Industry Transformation – ESG for Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is to facilitate the corporate sector and the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) achieve higher goals in ESG framework and to promote wider adoption of ESG measures by the industry.

 

Background of the ESG Conference

With the ever-changing business environment, the investors and stakeholders seek business to be not only responsible but to be sustainable towards the environment and society. In recent years, adapting to and mitigating climate change impact and transitioning to sustainable development have emerged as major issues globally. Further, Global sustainability challenges such as demographic shifts, flood risk and rising sea levels, privacy and data security, and regulatory pressures, are introducing new risk factors for investors that may not have been seen previously. As companies face rising complexity on a global scale, investors may revaluate traditional investment approaches. Therefore, the concept of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) which comprises the holistic approach for companies to remain responsible to its investors as well as stakeholders while complying with various environmental, social and governance regulatory risk.