• 1000

India has clearly set its agenda for a sustainable future through its commitment to achieve SDG goals by 2030 and Net Zero by 2070, the resolve is clearly visible through the recent green budget. Similarly, corporate strategy is now closely linked to the priorities on climate change, decarbonisation, ethical supply chain, circular economy, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), on a strong foundation of good governance, and supported by robust ESG measurement, reporting and assurance.

In this context – towards enabling greater dialogue and action, KPMG in India hosted its flagship event – KPMG ESG Conclave and Awards ’23, Powered by The Economic Times.

The theme for this year’s event was Thought|Action|Impact which denotes strategic thought, sustainable action, and stakeholder impact. The conclave featured thought leaders from the industry and various stakeholder groups and was aimed to facilitate discussion and debate and sharing of views and emerging practices on India’s journey in E, S and G transformation.

ESG
KPMG

In all, 15 awards were given to companies across seven key sectors. The winners are:

Hindustan Unilever Limited

ESG Champion
Consumer & Retail

Cipla Limited

ESG Champion
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare

Tata Power Company Limited

Social & Governance Initiatives
Energy, Natural Resources & Chemicals

UPL Limited

Environmental Initiatives
Energy, Natural Resources & Chemicals

HDFC Bank Limited

Social & Governance Initiatives
Financial Services

Hindalco Industries Limited

Environmental & Social Initiatives
Industrial Manufacturing & Automotive

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited

Governance Initiatives
Industrial Manufacturing & Automotive

Godrej Properties Limited

Environmental & Social Initiatives
Infrastructure & Real Estate

Tata Consultancy Services Limited

Environmental Initiatives
Technology, Media & Telecom

Wipro Limited

Social Initiatives
Technology, Media & Telecom

Infosys Limited

Governance Initiatives
Technology, Media & Telecom

Winners speak


The robust initiatives implemented by the Government towards ensuring a sustainable future have been commendable. Collective action by private sector companies, Government, multi-lateral agencies, and citizens of the nation will accelerate India's ESG prowess towards building a healthier, greener and a sustainable planet.- Umang Vohra, Cipla


The leaders of the industries should come together frequently to deliberate on ESG-related topics and discuss the best practices, sharing knowledge and learnings from each other to take the ESG effort to the next level. Now, climate clock is ticking fast, and we are running out of time. - Alok Kumar, Tata Consultancy Services Limited


Our EGS initiative denotes strategic thought, sustainable action, and creating value for stakeholders. We think that it is critical to engage with the social challenges that face humanity. It is our conviction that the engagement with social issues must be deep, meaningful, and formed on the bedrock of long-term commitment. - Jatin Dalal, Wipro Ltd


The litmus of good governance is ensuring stakeholders are at the heart of creating value from inception to planning, through execution and results. At Infosys, our vision for good governance has always been to serve the interests of all our stakeholders by leading through our core values. - Infosys


ESG is not a zero-sum game. All of us need to come together as an industry to make the world and society a better place. We need to put our resources together to crack technology and move ahead. Collaboration and participation across industries will genuinely take us multiple steps ahead in the area of ESG. - Ritesh Tiwari, Hindustan Unilever Limited


We believe that the real estate sector requires a sustainability framework across People, Process, Partnerships, Product, Profit and Planet for a comprehensive approach towards ESG parameters. A strong focus on ESG goals has the potential to translate into nationwide positive impact. - Anubhav Gupta, Godrej Properties Limited


Addressing climate change is one of the most urgent challenges of our times. We are reimagining sustainability by transforming agriculture into a climate positive industry – and that includes our own company. We are committed to continue to explore, learn and implement steps that would further accelerate our ESG performance. - Jai Shroff, UPL


When it comes to ESG, there is no competition. It is a noble work in which everyone should learn from each other and contribute. It is all about giving back to nature. Hence learning from each other is something that we all should be doing to propagate our footprint under each dimensions of ESG. - Satish Pai, Hindalco Industries


For us, this is not just a necessity, but a commitment to the society and people of this country on how we can have leadership, both in thought and in action, to bring about the transition to clean energy. I think businesses, policymakers, and society at large have the responsibility to make ESG the way of life. - Dr. Praveer Sinha, Tata Power Company Limited


There can be so much learning collectively for India Inc as it is a common agenda. India Inc also has huge collective financial power to be able to bring change to deal with environment and social aspects, and if we do it jointly with the government and policy makers, there is no looking back for our country. - Ashima Bhat, HDFC Bank


Businesses and policymakers have a very synergistic, mutually reinforcing role. Business and private sector have to take the lead because as it is their investments and initiatives that could really move the dial. But a supportive policy environment and government recognition of the need for financial and other forms of support is also important. - Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Mahindra and Mahindra


The KPMG ESG Conclave and Awards 2023 were aimed at the growing focus of ESG with the intent of collectively setting the narrative for holistic ESG transformation in India.

This pioneering initiative brought together diverse voices representing policymakers, investors, rating agencies, global think tanks, business owners, and business leaders to deliberate on pertinent subject issues, acknowledge best practices adopted by India Inc with regards to ESG., and influence change.

Read the highlights of the event on The Economic Times

Event Recording

Award categories

Awards were given for Environment, Social and Governance criteria across each of the seven sectors indicated below:

  • Consumer & Retail
  • Industrial Manufacturing & Automotive
  • Financial Services
  • Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare
  • Energy, Natural Resources & Chemicals
  • Infrastructure & Real Estate
  • Technology, Media & Telecom

Methodology

The awards selected Indian corporates based on their performance and achievements in Environment, Social and Governance domains. The winners in each of the categories were decided on the basis of a detailed, data-backed process with shortlisting of companies, followed by a jury process to identify deserving achievers and winners. Datasets from S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) and other publicly available information were also leveraged for evaluating the performance of the companies across the various sectors.

The award evaluation methodology involved:

  • Shortlisting was based on performance in E, S & G domain across identified sectors based on parameters such as ESG Scores / Ratings, other relevant rankings, public disclosures, and performance data
  • Compilation and review of relevant data points and performance indicators was done across identified parameters for all short-listed companies
  • Jury evaluation decided winners basis entities’ performance in the respective domain based on the above compilation of data as well as any additional information sought from the shortlisted companies
  • Jury evaluation was based on a variety of factors including materiality considerations, the policy frameworks, nature of initiatives undertaken, or best practices adopted, performance across key indicators, public disclosure and reporting, media reports and unstructured data, independent assurance, and overall impact in the specific domain
  • The jury followed strict guidelines on confidentiality as well as judging process to provide a fair and impartial evaluation. The jury may decide to not select a winner for a particular sector, or a domain based on their review. The jury's decision will be final and binding.

The curtain raiser was organised on 21 February in New Delhi. Mr. Amarjeet Singh, Executive Director, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) delivered the keynote address at the event. The curtain raiser was attended by several leaders from industry and other stakeholder groups, and included Aditi Haldar-Global Reporting Initiative; JB Mohapatra- Ex CBDT; Sean Kidney- Climate Bonds Initiative; to name a few. Read further in The Economic Times.


Leaders speak

  • CEO, KPMG in India


    “As the pace of ESG accelerates the world over, it is time to move from the headlines to developing a roadmap for change across each of the sub-dimensions within Environment, Social and Governance. Through this Conclave, we, at KPMG in India have planned to get some of the best minds together to contribute to India’s ESG journey. The awards aim to recognise organisations who are committed to this agenda and partner with stakeholders across the ESG ecosystem to effect real change.”

    Yezdi Nagporewalla
    CEO
    KPMG in India

  • Partner, KPMG in India


    “Many companies have approached ESG through reporting, while others approach ESG with a strategy and transformation lens. Through better governance, companies should bring greater convergence in strategy and reporting, and also take an integrated view to corporate reporting, rather than the current siloed financial reporting and ESG reporting, while also gearing up for mandatory assurance”

    Sai Venkateshwaran
    Partner
    KPMG in India

  • CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative


    “Some of the big wins in the past few years have been the dropping of renewable energy costs, increasing green finance – about $3.5 trillion of green social sustainable bonds and the opportunity narrative and the transition flowing out of these three wins.”

    Sean Kidney
    Co-Founder and CEO
    Climate Bonds Initiative

  • Independent Director


    “The downstream aspect in relation to Scope III is very important in your product design not just in its ability to reduce the carbon impact directly but how much of it is easily repairable and replaceable so that they have long-term lives, pointed out”

    Nawshir Mirza
    Independent Director

  • ESG Advisory, KPMG in India


    “The biggest challenge lies in Scope 3, which is also where the large MSMEs and the bunch of Agri sector resides. They require support in terms of technology and finance – large corporates along with the government can support them to help them achieve their net zero in Scope 3.”

    Shivananda Shetty
    Partner and Head, ESG Advisory
    KPMG in India

  • Former Chairman, CBDT


    "With tax transparency reporting coming in within the ESG framework, we will have a better and a stronger view of how the tax behaviour of a company whether it is transparently done, whether the approach is right, whether the tax litigation strategy is right and who is taking the call on the final tax strategy, will become very clear.”

    JB Mohapatra
    Former Chairman,
    CBDT

  • Chartered Accountant


    "Few companies have voluntarily embraced Tax Transparency Reporting. This is an opportunity for them to publish in the public domain their tax policy, their tax governance framework, and how they engage with a regulator when they do not agree with certain taxes. This is also an opportunity for corporates to layout the tax contributions they make to the government and effectively to the society.”

    Manoj Pardasani
    Chartered Accountant

  • TANYA SINGHAL, Kmart


    "We can’t think of ESG as CSR. You can put CSR for $100-200 but you can’t put $10 trillion for CSR. That is the code that needs to change. Today, proving renewables being subgrid and saving money is a core value of why it will grow and that’s where you need policy intervention, budget support, and economic analysis.”

    Tanya Singhal
    Founder
    Mynzo Carbon

  • CEO Kmart


    "This award is a great opportunity whereby we can encourage companies, regulators, and governments to see that this is not just technology and capital flow through investors which are important but equally important is life because businesses exist for life”

    Aditi Halder
    Director of South Asia
    Global Reporting Initiative

Expert views

LinkedInLive - The evolving ESG landscape: Getting ready for the requirements of the future. ESG is an evolutionary journey, and companies need to assess where they stand today versus where they aspire to get to, in the medium to long-term, accompanied by a clear roadmap. Our experts discuss!  

-Stine Lise Hattestad Bratsberg, Partner/Head of Strategy and Transformation in EMA ESG Hub, KPMG IN Norway
-Shivananda Shetty, Partner and Practice Lead – ESG, KPMG in India
-Sai Venkateshwaran, Partner, KPMG in India
-Apurba Mitra, Associate Partner, KPMG in India

LinkedInLive - Transitioning to a #netzero economy: Building effective #corporate strategies. Companies are under pressure to disclose their exposure to climate-related risks and explain their strategies to ensure resilience and competitive advantage in a net zero world.

- Mike Hayes, Climate Change and Decarbonisation Leader, Global Head of Renewable Energy, KPMG International
- Anish De, Global Head – Energy, Natural Resources and Chemicals (ENRC), KPMG International
- Shivananda Shetty, Partner and Practice Lead – ESG, KPMG in India
- Apurba Mitra, Associate Partner, KPMG in India

Focus on long-term, sustainable growth in complex and uncertain times 

Yezdi Nagporewalla
Chief Executive Officer
KPMG in India

How Indian CEOs have started to view ESG’s importance on businesses

Shivananda Shetty
Partner and Practice Lead, ESG Advisory
KPMG in India

ESG reporting in an increasingly volatile world - Relevance and evolution

Sai Venkateshwaran
Partner, Assurance
KPMG in India

How ESG landscape can help companies innovate and drive change

Apurba Mitra
Associate Partner
KPMG in India

Agenda

Opening
5:00 pm
Welcome
Opening remarks
Yezdi Nagporewalla
CEO, KPMG in India
5:15 pm
Guests of honour
Nitin Gadkari
Honourable Union Minister,
Road Transport and Highways, Government of India
5:30 pm
Sudhir Mungantiwar
Honourable Cabinet Minister,
Forests, Cultural Affairs, Fisheries, Government of Maharashtra
Panel discussions
Moderated by The Economic Times
5:50 pm

Topic: India Inc. Translating ESG vision into action

O.P. Bhatt
Independent Director and Former Chairman, State Bank of India

Praveer Sinha
CEO & MD, Tata Power

Aditi Haldar
Director of South Asia, Global Reportint Initiative

Farhad Forbes
Co-Chairman, Forbes Marshall

Zarin Daruwala
Cluster CEO, India and South Asia markets, Standard Chartered Bank

Arundhati Bhattacharya
Chairperson and CEO, Salesforce India

Shivananda Shetty
Partner and Head, ESG Advisory, KPMG in India

6:30 pm

Topic - Stakeholder capitalism: the new voices shaping the future of business

Joe Phelan
Executive Director – APAC, World Business Council for Sustainable Development

JB Mohapatra
Former Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes

Robert Dornau
Global Head of Corporate Engagement, S&P Global

Geena Malhotra
Global Chief Technology Officer, Cipla

Abanti Sankaranarayanan
Chief Group Public Affairs Officer and Member - Group Executive Board, Mahindra Group

Ian De Souza
CFO, Bank of Baroda

Gauthier Acket
Global Lead Partner – Global ESG, COO, KPMG

Awards and Felicitation
7:20 pm
Special address
Smriti Irani
Honourable Union Minister, Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs Government of India
7:25 pm Awards methodology and evaluation process
Sai Venkateshwaran
Partner, KPMG in India
7:30 pm Chief guest’s address
Eknath Shinde
Honourable chief minister, Government of Maharashtra
7:40 pm Awards ceremony
with the Honourable chief minister Eknath Shinde
Networking
8:00 pm Cocktails and dinner

Aditi Haldar, Director of South Asia,Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)


Amit Tandon, Founder and Managing Director, Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS)


Beroz Gazdar, Former Sr. VP- Group Sustainability, Mahindra & Mahindra Group


J B Mohapatra, Former Chairman,Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Ministry of Finance - Government of India


Joe Phelan, Executive Director Asia Pacific, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)


Kalpana Morparia, Independent Director & Former Chairman South & South East Asia J.P. Morgan & Co


Mukund Govind Rajan, Chairperson, ECube Investment Advisors


O.P. Bhatt, Independent Director and former Chairman, State Bank of India


Sean Kidney, Co Founder and CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative


Tanya Singhal, Founder Mynzo Carbon and Former Founder SolarArise


Tejinderpal Miglani, Founding Member, Climate Angels

Aditi Haldar,Director of South Asia, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

Aditi Haldar

Director of South Asia,
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

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Amit Tandon, Founder and Managing Director, Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS)

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Beroz Gazdar, Former Sr. VP- Group Sustainability, Mahindra & Mahindra Group

Beroz Gazdar

Former Sr. VP- Group Sustainability,
Mahindra & Mahindra Group

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J B Mohapatra, Former Chairman,Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Ministry of Finance - Government of India

J B Mohapatra

Former Chairman,
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT),
Ministry of Finance - Government of India

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Joe Phelan, Executive Director Asia Pacific, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

Joe Phelan

Executive Director Asia Pacific,
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

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Kalpana Morparia, Independent Director & Former Chairman South & South East Asia J.P. Morgan & Co

Kalpana Morparia

Independent Director & Former Chairman South & South East Asia
J.P. Morgan & Co

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Mukund Govind Rajan, Chairperson, ECube Investment Advisors

Mukund Govind Rajan

Chairperson,
ECube Investment Advisors

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O.P. Bhatt, Independent Director and former Chairman, State Bank of India

O.P. Bhatt

Independent Director and former Chairman,
State Bank of India

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Sean Kidney, Co Founder and CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative

Sean Kidney

Co Founder and CEO,
Climate Bonds Initiative

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Tanya Singhal, Founder Mynzo Carbon and Former Founder SolarArise

Tanya Singhal

Founder Mynzo Carbon and Former Founder SolarArise

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Tejinderpal Miglani, Founding Member, Climate Angels

Tejinderpal Miglani

Founding Member,
Climate Angels

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Please write to us at esg@kpmg.com for more information.