How are investors and businesses responding to climate change risks in India?

Treeni Sustainability Solutions has joined hands with Mahindra Group to present the 8th edition of Sustainability for Breakfast (S4B) in Mumbai. The intent was to engage with industry leaders from across sectors and discuss the drivers and best practices for risk mitigation from climate change.

Speaking about the session, Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group, highlighted that “There are two pillars to enabling a conversation on climate change related risks to the business. One is identifying the drivers for this conversation and the second the action by businesses to assess, collaborate and make an impact on addressing climate change risks. An important driver is the increased pressure that the investor community is applying to global companies to make commitments, including investments in a long-term approach to addressing climate change. We hope strategic conversations like this will lead to making the case for a long-term approach in the way organizations think and act in the future.”

On the panel “Understanding how climate change is influencing the way businesses approach ESG Risk & Performance Management, and Business Strategy”, Mr. Amit Lahiri, CSO, O. P. Jindal Global University said, “Sustainability for Breakfast co-hosted by Treeni Sustainability Solutions and Mahindra Group fostered an excellent combination of ESG, Finance, and Technology as 3 inter-connected themes and the panels to drive sustainability across industries and sectors in India. It was an excellent forum in the financial capital of the country to drive this, much necessary change in one of the fastest growing economies of the world.”

While sharing his experience about Sustainability for Breakfast, Mr. Navneet Munot, Chief Investment Officer, SBI Mutual Funds said, “India is just at $2000 per capita GDP and there is a need to grow more substantially over the coming years, but it has to be equitable and sustainable. Whether it is a business community, policy makers, investors, academicians, or civil society everyone will have to work in collaboration to ensure that India’s growth trajectory is equitable and sustainable. Given the challenges posed by climate change, our growth model has to be different than China. In the future investors will have to play a major role in this process with the conviction to include ESG impact into their portfolios for better risk-adjusted returns. If organisations do not comply with this there will be a negative impact on the companies and the economy’s growth prospects. Platforms like Sustainability for Breakfast can play an important role in conveying this message to all the relevant stakeholders”.

Speaking on the key takeaways from this edition of S4B, Ankush Patel, CEO & Co-founder, Treeni Sustainability Solutions said, “in the recent past climate change risks to businesses has taken on increased importance and urgency, investors are urging businesses to take a thoughtful, disciplined approach to include ESG Risks in an enterprise risk management framework. The takeaways from this edition of S4B helps enterprises understand the tangible reasons to address and mitigate climate change risks and provides clear approaches that include technology enablement in creating a 360 Degree view of enterprise ESG Risks.”

The event included panel discussions by domain experts including Amit Lahiri (Executive Director, CECRAS), Anupam Nidhi (Head Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability, Siemens), Himanshu Nautiyal (Head Business WCM, sustainability, Aditya Birla Group), Jayantt Manmadkar (Chief Financial Officer, Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Ltd.), Navneet Munot (Chief Investment Officer, SBI Mutual Funds), Nakul Zaveri (Managing Director, Trust- Private Equity) and Mahesh Chandak (India- Africa EHS & Human Rights Lead, Monsanto). The session was attended by sustainability executives, academia, and thought leaders from across Indian industries.