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.
In all, 15 awards were given to companies across seven key sectors. The winners are:
Hindustan Unilever LimitedESG ChampionConsumer & Retail |
Cipla LimitedESG ChampionPharmaceuticals & Healthcare |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Winners speak
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
-
“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 -
“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 -
“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 -
“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 -
“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 -
"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 -
"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 -
"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 -
"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 Praveer Sinha Aditi Haldar Farhad Forbes Zarin Daruwala Arundhati Bhattacharya Shivananda Shetty |
| 6:30 pm |
Topic - Stakeholder capitalism: the new voices shaping the future of business Joe Phelan JB Mohapatra Robert Dornau Geena Malhotra Abanti Sankaranarayanan Ian De Souza Gauthier Acket |
|
| 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)
Dr. Aditi Haldar is an expert on sustainable development with over twenty-four years of experience. Currently, she is the Director - GRI Regional Hub South Asia and her primary role is to advocate, research, communicate, dialogue with multi-stakeholder constituencies in making sustainability and transparency a standard practice amongst the South Asian region and the global community. Her focus is creating trustworthy conditions in the society through credible information exchange between businesses, governments, financial institutions, civil societies, labour, academia, media, that will enable constructive dialogue and informed decision making at the organisational, national and global levels. She had been part of various national, regional and global advisory committees, councils, task force for the government, regulatory bodies, professional and academic institutions and multi-stakeholder network-based organisations including the GRI Technical Advisory Committee, Multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee UNGC GRI on UNSDGs, BSI Certification Advisory Board, GAC World Economic Forum.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
Amit Tandon, Founder and Managing Director, Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS)
Mr. Amit Tandon is the founder of Institutional Investor Advisory Services India Limited (IiAS) and has been its managing director since July 2011. Before IiAS, he was the managing director and CEO of Fitch Ratings: India from October 2001 to June 2011. He also had oversight over Fitch Ratings Lanka. Prior to joining Fitch, he was with the ICICI group for 17 years (from May 1984 – September 2001), where he rotated through various roles and businesses including project finance, leasing, and the merchant banking division. His last role with the ICICI group was as head of investment banking at ICICI Securities. He has been a member of the Reserve Bank of India’s Technical Advisory Committee on Money, Foreign Exchange and Government Securities Markets, a member of one of the working groups convened by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to review comments received on the Companies Act and the Kotak Committee on Corporate Governance constituted by SEBI, and is a member of the SEBI constituted ESG Committee as well as the Takeover Committee. He is also a Member of the Governing Body of the Foundation for Audit Quality. He studied economics at St Stephens College, Delhi and has an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi and has an MPhil degree from the University of Cambridge, UK.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
Beroz Gazdar, Former Sr. VP- Group Sustainability, Mahindra & Mahindra Group
Beroz Gazdar
Former Sr. VP- Group Sustainability,
Mahindra & Mahindra Group
Ms. Beroz Gazdar is a sustainability professional and was Sr. Vice President - Group Sustainability, Mahindra Group, supporting the various businesses of the Group for integrating 'sustainability’ in business operations and strategies. Backed by a corporate career spanning almost 40 years across various industries like Banking, Financial services, Media & Entertainment, Manufacturing, Real Estate, etc., she headed various functions within organizations such as Secretarial, Legal, Resource Mobilization, Commercial, Logistics and preliminary co-ordination for setting up of SEZs. She also has experience in setting up International Operations, Negotiating Joint Ventures and driving Business Excellence. She is seen as a ‘sustainability practitioner’ for the last several years having a clear understanding of the new and emerging challenges arising from climate change and the ability to develop processes and action plans for mitigating risks arising therefrom. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai and is a qualified Company Secretary from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. She also holds a Diploma in CSR & Sustainability from the Swedish Institute of Management.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
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
Mr. JB Mohapatra, a 1985-batch Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer, was a member of the board that frames the policy for the Income Tax department. Mr. Mohapatra has served as a Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Ministry of Finance - Government of India from May 2021 to April 2022. He was with the Income Tax Department, AP & Telangana as a principal chief commissioner. He was also an Adviser to PSA (Principal Scientific Adviser) to the Government of India under the Cabinet Secretariat from May 2018-to February 2020. Mr. Mohapatra has also been a Joint Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Science and Technology and Department of Biotechnology from 2013-2018.His term also includes Joint Secretary in Judges Inquiry Committee constituted by the Upper House of Parliament to lay charges against a Chief Justice of a High Court from 2010-2012. His first appointment was with the Central, Head Quarter, Vigilance positions at Mumbai, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and Commissioner Appeals at Delhi as an Assistant Commissioner, Deputy, Joint and Additional Commissioner.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
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)
Mr. Joe Phelan is Executive Director, Asia Pacific for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the global, CEO-led community of the world’s leading sustainable businesses working together to realize a net-zero, nature-positive, more equitable future. He is responsible for the engagement of ambitious companies from across Asia and Australasia in the World Business Council. He has supported collective action projects by business with demonstrable outcomes in areas such as climate change, energy transition, water risk, mobility and more resilient agriculture. Prior to joining WBCSD, he held senior roles with the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum. Highlights included a series of special reports with the Financial Times on business and sustainable development, the development of the World Business & Development awards with the United Nations and International Chambers of Commerce, and delivery of programs in skills, inclusive business, and anti-corruption.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
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
Kalpana was Former Chairman of J.P. Morgan, South and Southeast Asia. Kalpana was also a member of JPMorgan’s Asia Pacific Management Committee. Kalpana serves as an Independent Director on the Boards of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited, Hindustan Unilever Limited HSBC Holdings plc and Philip Morris International Inc. Kalpana is also a Member of the Governing Board of Bharti Foundation and Foundation for Audit Quality (FAQ) and a Director of Generation India Foundation. Prior to joining JPMorgan, India, Kalpana served in ICICI Group since 1975. Her last assignment included Vice Chair on the Board of ICICI Group Companies and Joint Managing Director of ICICI Bank from 2001 to 2007. ICICI Bank is one of India’s largest private sector bank and has leadership positions in banking, insurance, asset management and private equity. A graduate in science and law from Bombay University, Kalpana has been recognized by several International and National media for her role as one of the leading women professionals.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
Mukund Govind Rajan, Chairperson, ECube Investment Advisors
Mukund Govind Rajan
Chairperson,
ECube Investment Advisors
Dr. Mukund Rajan is the Chairperson of ECube Investment Advisors Private Limited, which focusses on ESG issues, and supports the ESG and Climate transition of Indian companies. Prior to ECube, he served for 23 years with the Tata group, where he held a number of senior executive positions. He serves as the Chairperson of the Environment Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and is a member of the ESG Advisory Committee set up by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). He has also served as the Chair of the India@75 Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Chair of the CII Core Group on China. In 2007, the World Economic Forum honoured him as a Young Global Leader. He graduated from the Bachelor of Technology program at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1989. He received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University, where he completed a Masters and Doctorate in International Relations.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
O.P. Bhatt, Independent Director and former Chairman, State Bank of India
O.P. Bhatt
Independent Director and former Chairman,
State Bank of India
Mr. OP Bhatt is an Independent Director on the boards of a variety of multinationals, including Tata Consultancy Services Limited, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Tata Steel Limited, Tata Motors Limited and the non-executive Chairman of Greenko Energy Holdings, Mauritius, a leading Renewable Energy company and Aadhar Housing Finance Limited, which is one of the largest affordable housing finance companies in India. He retired as the Chairman of State Bank Group, which includes State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest commercial bank; five associate banks in India; five overseas banks; SBI Life, the country’s largest private life insurer; SBI Capital Markets, India’s leading investment bank; SBI Fund Management; and other subsidiaries spanning diverse activities, from general insurance to custodial services. He led SBI during challenging times. Under his leadership, SBI rose on the global list rankings of Fortune 500. He was also Chairman of Indian Banks’ Association, the apex body of Indian banks and has served as India’s economic diplomacy as government’s nominee on the India-US CEO Forum, Indo-French CEO Forum and Indo-Russia CEO Forum, forging links with a cross section of the world’s business leaders. He is a seasoned and thoughtful leader. He was nominated Banker of the Year by Business Standard and Indian of the Year for Business in 2007 by CNN-IBN. He is a Science graduate with a postgraduate in English Literature. He lives in Mumbai.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
Sean Kidney, Co Founder and CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative
Sean Kidney
Co Founder and CEO,
Climate Bonds Initiative
Sean Kidney is CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, an international NGO working to mobilize global capital for climate action. Projects include a green bond definitions and certification scheme with $34 trillion of assets represented on its Board and some 200 organizations involved in its development and governance; working with the Chinese central bank on how to grow green bonds in China; and market development programs in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Nigeria and East Africa. He is a member of the European Commission's Platform on Sustainable Finance, and was a member of its predecessors, the 2017 EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. He is also a member of green finance advisory groups in China, India, Mexico and Kazakhstan and an Advisory Board member of the International Sustainable Financial Centre in Prague.He has previously been a consultant on green bonds to the United Nations Secretary General, a member of the Peoples Bank of China Green Finance Task Force and a member of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Expert Committee on Climate Finance. Sean is also a Professor in Practice at SOAS University of London. For the past three years he has been voted GlobalCapital magazine’s “Most Influential Champion” of the sustainable finance market.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
Tanya Singhal, Founder Mynzo Carbon and Former Founder SolarArise
Tanya Singhal
Founder Mynzo Carbon and Former Founder SolarArise
Ms. Tanya Singhal is an entrepreneur & industry leader in the renewable energy sector. She founded and successfully sold SolarArise, a solar power producer, with its assets now listed as a part of a trust on the London Stock Exchange. Tanya started her entrepreneurial journey in her twenties and raised over Rs 2000 Cr of equity and debt capital. She built and led teams to develop, execute and operate large-scale grid-connected solar plants across India. She actively worked with the Indian Government (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) to shape and evolve India’s renewable energy policy over a decade. As one of the few successful women entrepreneurs in the climate and infrastructure space, she has been recognized through prestigious awards such as Business World 40 under 40, Asia’s Most Influential Women in Renewable Energy, Woman of the Year in Solar, etc. She started her career as a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and holds a Bachelor in Technology degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. Her goal is to move the world towards carbon neutrality, towards an emission-free lifestyle, and bring more women into this journey. She is also on the board of Milaan, an NGO supporting underprivileged adolescent girls who aspire to excel professionally.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
Tejinderpal Miglani, Founding Member, Climate Angels
Tejinderpal Miglani
Founding Member,
Climate Angels
Mr. Tejinderpal Miglani is an investor, advisor, and mentor to growing companies, helping passionate teams solve their growth challenges and achieve their potential. An angel investor for over a decade, Tejinder is a long-time member of the Indian Angel Network, a part of many syndicates, and a founding member of Climate Angels, an angel group focused on investing in climate tech. Extremely passionate about the environment, he believes that businesses need to be built without the assumption that nature is free. Also, that the solution to the world’s environmental challenges will be through innovation and entrepreneurship. Tejinderpal Miglani co-founded Incedo Inc., a global technology business focused on analytics and emerging technologies. His work at Incedo has helped him understand the mind of customers, where technology trends are moving, and how technology is being adopted by businesses. With a B. Tech degree in computer science and engineering from IIT Delhi and an MBA degree from IIM Calcutta, he is equal parts Tech enthusiast, environmentalist, and businessman. Prior to creating Incedo, he was the founding CTO of Indiabulls, where he worked on creating an Internet trading platform that became a technological benchmark for the industry.Tejinder has lived across all large metros of India, including Delhi and Calcutta, and spent extensive time traveling across the U.S. While traveling, he loves to discover the unique architectures of new places. He is also deeply involved with organizations that help families pay for expensive medical care to treat children with life-threatening illnesses.
<
>
How we can help
All Services
Share this
X
Please write to us at esg@kpmg.com for more information.