Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Insights

The transition to net-zero is no longer just about setting targets, it’s about demonstrating how those targets will be achieved through credible transition plans, stronger governance, transparent disclosures, and verifiable progress.

Ira Gupta Tuteja

Advisor - CSR, Corporate Citizenship
KPMG in India                        

We believe that the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), is a powerful enabler of all other SDGs. Recognising this transformative potential, we support initiatives across education, employment, and entrepreneurship, aligned with our global commitment to empower 10 million disadvantaged youth by 2030, helping them build resilient futures and participate meaningfully in the economy and society.

Innovation-led CSR represents an important next frontier for creating impact at scale. While CSR capital has delivered meaningful grassroots outcomes, its ability to address complex systemic challenges will depend on building a strong and credible pipeline of innovation-led solutions.

This requires deeper ecosystem partnerships, sharper problem-solution fit, patient capital, and robust mechanisms to de-risk and measure impact. The roundtable reaffirmed that the opportunity ahead is not just to fund innovation, but to actively enable it to scale responsibly and sustainably.

AI and sustainability need to work hand in hand to create a better future for humanity. A better balance of both can help create a climate friendly future, green cities and positive social impact.

Circular economy depends on how everyday systems manage materials, waste and resources. The foundations of building a circular economy ecosystem in India have been underway for a few years now. However, without clear measurement, it becomes difficult to recognise the full value of these efforts.

Going ahead, we need improved mechanisms to track and quantify the environmental impact of circular activities. The challenge is to strengthen institutions and create reliable systems so that the environmental benefits generated can be clearly valued, verified and scaled.

Large infrastructure projects in major cities typically undergo robust ESG diligence aligned with environmental standards. The challenge becomes more complex in smaller cities, where projects such as water supply initiatives are often limited in scale. For these smaller projects, the cost of extensive project administration and compliance can be disproportionately high. There are also capacity constraints at the local level, across government agencies, private players, and advisors, particularly when it comes to having skilled resources to carry out consistent ESG diligence across multiple projects.

The absence of reliable data, established baselines, and mature models further adds to the complexity. In this context, automating diligence processes remains difficult until foundational data and capability gaps are addressed.

India’s development journey is entering a new phase, where the country’s growth story will be increasingly shaped by how efficiently we use our resources. The size of our population and the pace of economic activity are placing increasing pressure on natural resources, ecosystems, and waste management systems.

The circular economy offers an alternative to the 'take-make-dispose' model. The output of one industry becomes the input for another. As India works towards its net zero commitment by 2070, measurable environmental benefits become increasingly important. When emissions reductions from recycling, waste recovery, and resource efficiency are measured and recognised within credible carbon frameworks, they can also support economic value.