91% of Respondents Think Existing ESG Frameworks are Inadequate, Reveals Aspire Impact Survey

Aspire Impact and Aspire Circle, under the aegis of the Impact Future Project (IFP), a thought-leadership platform supported by global tech giant Capgemini, has launched its latest research publication, “Evolving ESG Frameworks: Sharpening & Segregating ESG Risk and ESG Opportunity.”

Aspire Impact has conducted a survey with participating working group members and co-authors of the research project. The survey reveals that a staggering 91% of respondents believe existing ESG frameworks are inadequate. The same survey highlighted that 82% advocate for greater peer-to-peer comparability, recognizing the importance of benchmarking against industry peers for meaningful insights. Additionally, 73% endorse the segregation of blended ratings into separate risk and opportunity assessments, underscoring a desire for clearer delineation of ESG performance metrics.

The publication recommends a significant advancement in the field of ESG measurement, offering a novel approach to evaluate corporate ESG performance by separating ESG ratings into two distinct categories of risk and opportunity scores. The publication introduces a new framework that combines industry-specific and industry-agnostic KPIs, providing a more nuanced understanding of ESG performance. This approach aims to enhance comparability and transparency, addressing the growing demand for accurate and actionable ESG data in the global markets.

Amit Bhatia, Founder of Aspire Impact & Aspire Circle stated, “India Inc.’s ambitions of carbon neutrality & Net Zero, circularity & SDGs, require rigorous measurement & prioritization of performance & initiatives across realms of Product, People, Planet and Policy impacts. Our twin ESG Risk and Opportunity Ratings, with both industry agnostic and industry-specific indicators, will evolve the prevailing practices in India’s $200 million ESG, Sustainability & Impact measurement market and will sharpen analysis by corporations and investors.”

This publication, co-authored by 15 industry experts, focuses on the core or industry-agnostic KPIs, presenting 43 opportunity and 36 risk indicators that will form the foundation for ESG evaluation across various sectors. The publication also demonstrates the impact of this evolved approach compared to existing embedded, single-score ESG ratings by featuring illustrative ratings for key industries including Healthcare, Information Technology, and Financial Services.

The development of this framework involved extensive collaboration between Aspire Impact’s product & knowledge teams with the 15-member industry working group, which included CEOs, Heads of ESG, Sustainability & Impact, and other CXOs from diverse sectors. This group conducted extensive deliberations and voted on each KPI included in the publication. Additionally, over 40 leaders from

Healthcare, Information Technology, and Financial Services contributed industry-specific KPIs,enhancing the framework’s relevance and applicability. Those publications will be released separately. Aspire Circle and Aspire Impact’s research is aimed at field development and advancement to support governments, regulators, service providers, and corporations in refining their ESG measurement and management frameworks. By contributing to the broader practice community, it will help drive the evolution of ESG practices, ultimately supporting India’s journey toward achieving Net Zero. It aims to support stakeholders, especially investors and corporates themselves, in making more informed decisions and drive progress towards sustainable business practices.

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