Over the past one year, more than 50 organisations including leading national and multinational companies, PSUs, multilateral agencies, etc. participated in the workshops organised by TERI-BCSD India to include Sustainable Reporting practices within their companies due to growing importance on their non-financial performance (primarily environmental and social). Organisations are increasingly adopting the concept of corporate sustainability, which is focused on environmental, social, and economic performance, in place of the traditional principle of ?growth and profit maximization?. Reporting this to the public can happen only through proper measuring and monitoring procedures.
Thus, it is vital for companies to understand the evolving trend of sustainability reporting and its impact on their long-term viability. TERI – BCSD India, in association with one of its member company DNV (Det Norske Veritas), organised a training and capacity building workshop in Bangalore on ?Corporate sustainability: Measuring & reporting?.
Ms Annapurna Vancheswaran, Convener, BCSD India and Director Sustainable Development Outreach, TERI in her address emphasised that the subject of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has in the recent years received a substantial amount of attention from industry leaders as well as the members of the civil society. ?From the response that we have received from our sustainability reporting workshops in Delhi and Mumbai and the third of the series now in Bangalore, it is evident that companies are realising reporting to be an essential tool for competitiveness. It is now clear that corporates are likely to attract a great deal of scrutiny from the public, on the basis of which they will have to restructure their strategies, action and reporting systems. For corporates it?s a substance versus image driven exercise, where the focus must shift from viewing CSR as a damage control and PR or marketing exercise to a focused strategy with substance and sustainable social value.?
A special session with CEO?s and senior executives from Tata Council for Community Initiatives, GMR Group and Wipro Infrastructure Engineering provided a view from the top on sustainability reporting. The one- hour panel discussion provided their views and perspectives on corporate responsibility and the role of sustainability reporting.
The workshop was conducted by trainers from Det Norske Veritas (DNV), one of the leading certification bodies across the world, and a member company of TERI-BCSD India and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) ? who brought their international experience of working with major multinational companies in this field. The workshop demonstrated how sustainability reporting frameworks provide a broader context for linking priorities, rather than merely defining them as competing objectives.
The sessions provided detailed information on how a good sustainability report builds on the company?s core values and sets out decision-making principles that are consistent with these values. Some participants shared their experience while preparing their sustainability reports. The group work helped them put their learning to practice.
Over 20 senior managerial level representatives attended the two-day programme. These were TATA Chemicals, Infosys Technologies Ltd, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd, Suzlon Foundation, HPCL, ACC Limited, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, BPCL, etc.