National Productivity Council’s ‘Conclave on ESG for Industry Transformation in NER States - Environmental Social Governance (ESG) for Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ opens in Guwahati on January 30
The upcoming Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) conference by the National Productivity Council (NPC) in Guwahati is attracting participants and speakers not only from the North-Eastern Region (NER), but from other parts of the country.
NPC, an autonomous entity under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is organising the ‘Conclave on ESG for Industry Transformation in NER States - Environmental Social Governance (ESG) for Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in partnership with the Government of Assam at Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati, on January 30.
Sundeep Kumar Nayak, Director General, NPC, elaborates, "NPC has taken the initiative to organise a series of conferences on the subject of ESG. These conferences aim at industry transformation in the context of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”
NPC holds such conferences and workshops regularly to increase awareness on ESG. The workshops delve into various aspects of ESG and how it can be embedded in the operations of Public Sector Units (PSUs) or private sector companies. So far, NPC has conducted workshops in Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai.
Dr. Rajeev Ranjan, Director, ICRO, NPC, Delhi says, “The Indian corporate sector, both public and private, are increasingly getting interested in the ESG Framework. The companies/ corporations from the public and the private sector are getting involved in business responsibility and sustainability declarations as the ESG framework is getting traction, and transparency requirements are gaining ground. However, given the complexity of the different and vast numbers of parameters involved in the ESG framework, which need further standardising and harmonising, this is a challenging task. That is why more awareness building and training are needed.”
NPC has also come up with the framework called Saptapadi (Seven Steps), which is an end- to -end ESG programme. It consists of seven steps to be embraced by units to pursue their ESG journey. The steps include building the base, curating the human and technological aspects and formulating ESG framework, working on the deficiencies and strengths, developing ESG plan, implementation of ESG, reviewing and monitoring of policy and addressing scope of refinement and subsequent actions.
Sonali Ghosh, IFS, Chief Conservator of Forests, Research and Working Plan, Assam, says, “Understanding the ESG drivers to plan the framework and implementation early on will help support the above objectives. ESG has become even more relevant post India's Mission LiFE and net zero emission targets . Similarly the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) goal to achieve 30x 30 target also needs integration of ESG norms in all walks of life.”
During the technical session, attention will be drawn to the various frameworks like Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) that have populated the ESG landscape. ESG investing, ESG metrics, ESG policy and reporting certification will be other areas under focus.
Another session will enable corporate leaders, financial institutions and investors to share their learnings on implementing ESG, the challenges faced and the strategies employed to deal with the problems. The closing session will dive deep into implementation, intention and impact of ESG on functioning of companies in times to come.
Some of the other eminent speakers at the Guwahati workshop include Anil Wilson, Wilson Agro, Assam; B.P. Bakshi, President, Assam Productivity Council; Jishnu Barua, Retired Chairman, Assam Power Distribution Co Limited; Madhuparna Bhowmick, Director, Indian Chamber of Commerce; Mahabir Prasad Agarwal, President, All India Manufacturers Organisation; Nandini Roy, Rashtriya Mantri, Sahakar Bharati; R. S. Manku, Director, The Andrew Yule Group; Rajat Sharma Regional Head, National Productivity Council. Ranjit Rath, Chairman and Managing Director, Oil India Limited; Ravi S. Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment & Forest, Government of Assam; Surabhi Gupta, General Manager, SEBI; Vinay Raj, DGM, Emami Limited; and Vinod Sharma, Regional Director, North-Eastern Region, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
After this conference, the next upcoming ESG conference by NPC is in Dehradun. It is an indicator of the fact that such conferences are serving a useful purpose.