The SKOCH Group has released its report on 'India Involved Assessment—2023', measuring corporate commitment to developed India. The six-month study assessed companies across 231 indicators and ranked the top 20 corporations
The study evaluates the ESG efforts of the top 1,000 listed corporates to assess their digital transformation and how they are including marginalised communities while complying with privacy regulations. This is crucial for India to achieve dispersed, equitable, and sustainable growth to become a developed country by 2047.
Forty per cent of corporations focus on Digital Transformation, followed by Environmental Excellence (24 percent), Corporate Excellence (19 percent), Social Excellence (14 percent), and Governance Excellence (2 percent). The top three corporations are Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, and Adani Group, followed by Bank of India and Lupin. The study included sixteen sectors, with Financial Services (24 percent) and Information Technology (21 percent) being the largest. Food/FMCG, Banking, and Petroleum round out the top five.
India Involved Ranking – ESG
Hindustan Unilever tops India's Involved Rankings in ESG, followed by Adani Group and Britannia. Welspun India and Indian Oil Corporation take the fourth and fifth spots. Gujarat is the leading state in corporate progress reporting, followed by Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, and Delhi.
Food and FMCG (42 percent), Petroleum, Oil, Gas, and Refineries (11 percent), and Financial Services (9 percent) have the highest participation in ESG.
Hindustan Unilever, Adani Road Transport, and Indian Oil Corporation are the top organisations in Environmental Excellence. Dependence on Fossil Fuels (31 percent), Water Consumption (29 percent), and Energy Consumption (17 percent) are the top environmental problems. Shifting to Greener Options (46 percent), Technology Upgradation (16 percent), and Adopting Rainwater Harvesting (10 percent) are the solutions. The results of these initiatives have increased Green Energy Consumption (35 percent), Reduction in Carbon Emissions (26 percent), and Reduction in Energy Consumption (11 percent).
Hindustan Unilever is at the top in Social Excellence, followed by Ambuja Cement and Adani Connex. The study finds that the Lack of Proper Healthcare Facilities (17 percent) is the top social problem. Others include Imparting Digital Literacy/Quality Education/Employment and Unskilled Workforce. In response to these, the corporations are focused on education, health and diversity (34 percent), skill development (32 percent), and community development (15 percent). The outcomes are also visible. There is Enhanced Inclusivity in the Society, Treatment of Life-Threatening Diseases, and Digital Literacy.
Union Bank tops the charts on Governance Excellence. Indraprastha Gas comes second, and Gujarat Gas comes third. The participants address problems like Workplace Health and safety, Operational Risk, Obsolete Markets, and Reputational Risk. Their response to these has resulted in enhanced efforts to minimise the risk of mishaps, technological enhancement, convenience for employees, and awareness campaigns. The outcomes are Enhanced Convenience and Safety and a reduction in Workplace Accidents.
In Digital Formation, Jio Platforms bags the top spot. Lupin Limited and Heritage Foods follow this at #2 and #3, respectively. The study finds that Digital Platforms (24 percent) remain in focus among Digital Transformation Interventions. This is followed by Product Development (19 percent), AI/ML (16 percent), Innovation and Telecommunications (14 percent), and Data Analytics / Big Data (5 percent). Of the seven focus sectors, 47 percent of corporates focus on IT, AI, Robotics, and IoT; 21 percent are from financial services, and 19 percent belong to the banking sector.
In Corporate Excellence, Bank of India, HDFC Life Insurance and Aditya Birla Health Insurance are at #1, #2, and #3, respectively. Essentially, the study finds that Corporate Excellence interventions are in three areas, namely, Product (46 percent), Performance (38 percent), and Process (15 percent). Most active participation came from financial services, banking, hospitals, healthcare, automobiles, auto ancillaries, electric vehicles, and dealerships. 88 percent of participating industries belong to the Financial Services and Banking sectors.