India’s first and only ESG certified Director, Shailesh Haribhakti, in a freewheeling chat with Ritu Kant Ojha, Editor, Wiyld, says sustainability is no more just a tick mark in the boardroom discussion items. It is now right at the centre, with chief executives steering sustainability committees. Apart from being on Boards of 20 plus companies like L&T Finance, Bajaj Electricals and Torrent Pharma, he is also the Chairman, CSR and Sustainability Committee, ACC LTD, a Holcim subsidiary.
The entire set of Board members and CEOs that did not take sustainability seriously are being looked down upon, and they feel it. People do not want to join their companies, finance is not available and they are being singled out. Hence, there is an incentive to change. Now, everyone wants to be on the sustainability and CSR committees. The entire focus of CSR is changing. The top leaders are coming on the ESG committees now. Sustainable finance is growing at a really fast pace. Massive amount is being spent on rekilling and reeducation in the ESG space. It is changing the mindset of people. The whole value chain is being brought under the sustainability umbrella.
If you are carbon negative, you could be incurring lesser cost over the longer period of time. It is directly linked to profitability and data proves it. The greenwashing at board levels is seeing very carefully. The greenwashing does not make sense now. The penalty is immediate now. Energy transmission initiatives are happening at a large scale. The deserts are becoming a source of Gigawatts of energy. Entire grids built on renewable energy are being witnessed in India, China and the US. Watch the full video here.