Corporate sustainability initiatives reporting: a study of India s most valuable companies

Abstract

This study analyses the sustainability initiatives of India's top 100 companies across multiple variables related to sustainability. The study reveals significant variance in reporting across sectors as well as on the variables reported. The highest reported variables were related to corporate governance, followed by those related to CSR initiatives and measures to improve operational efficiency. Most initiatives in the area of CSR focused on four areas-education, healthcare, community livelihood, and infrastructure development. Operations-related measures included resource conservation (energy, water, paper) and waste management (emissions, solid waste, water). Less than 20% of the companies that were surveyed currently disclose information on sustainability issues related to the supply chain. The sectoral differences in reporting were also striking. The cement, metals and mining, electric utilities, and information technology sectors outperformed the other sectors on most indicators. The realty, telecom and TV, pharmaceuticals, and banking and finance sectors had not disclosed as much as the others did. The study also highlights areas for improvement. Voluntary sustainability reporting was still limited. Disclosures on CSR finances and donations were also nearly non-existent.