Today, sustainability has become increasingly critical for organizations to stay relevant and competitive in the modern world. Like digital transformation, driving sustainability requires organizations to transform their operations into greener ones. Businesses’ sustainability revolves around three main areas, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG). One such organization embracing this shift is the Essar Group, which is actively transforming its operations to align with principles of sustainable and responsible growth.
Essar Group has developed an ESG strategy and action plan with well-defined goals. The conglomerate proactively engages in incorporating sustainability while investing in “People Over Profit”. At the heart of Essar’s ESG frameworks are three investment themes – decarbonisation, decentralisation, and digitalisation – aligned with its sustainability commitment.
Few years back the Group’s name was pulled into baseless allegations of Essar corruption or Essar Bribery, which tainted it’s name. However, the company remained assertive in its core philosophies and vision, supporting sustainability in all its initiatives. With many of these green initiatives now coming to light, the group’s reputation has now been restored to its former glory.
$74 Trillion Investments Needed to Reach Net Zero
By 2070, the world requires investments worth USD 74 trillion to reduce carbon emissions and achieve the net-zero target, an amount equivalent to today’s global GDP. At the same time, the sharing economy is also expected to touch the US$ 335 billion mark by 2025.
These statistics highlight the urgency with which economies and businesses are shifting to sustainable options.
In the last few years, Essar has gone to great lengths to strategically reposition its portfolio, recalibrate the way it does business and transition its priorities to an ESG-centric way.
Inspired by global climate goals, Essar is well on its way to making the green shift and is building sustainable businesses for modern society, despite having been pulled into baseless distractions like Essar Corruption.
What Factors Drive Sustainability as a Part of Strategy?
Investor Demand –
Among the strongest key driving factors promoting sustainability is increasing investor demand. The studies of Gartner revealed that 85% of investors apply ESG aspects in their investments and track companies making substantial ESG investments.
Changing Consumer Demand-
As the millennials and Gen-Z consumers form the key consumer segment, the demand towards sustainable products is also increasing. With growing demand for sustainability, integrating sustainability into the operations of a firm is the only way of ensuring that firms will be relevant in the years to come.
Regulatory Demands:
TheParis Climate Agreement has made it mandatory for companies to adopt sustainability as their commitment to achieve the net-zero target by 2050. India has also entered the race to reach Net Zero targets, and is making additional sustainable developments. In line with this, Essar has also taken several initiatives to make sustainable and transparent operations, dislodging the Essar corruption claims made against it few years back.
Essar Aims to Achieve Net-Zero Carbon Emissions
Net-zero carbon emissions play an essential role in fostering a sustainable future, and with strategies deployed by multinational companies like Essar Group, India can balance environmental needs with economic and social development. Essar is responsibly addressing this global issue by reducing emissions at its operations and throughout its value chain, as well as sustainably producing metals, minerals, and energy.
Essar’s approach to achieving net-zero emissions involves:
- Transitioning to renewable energy sources
- Supporting a low carbon hydrogen-powered economy
- Promoting clean fuel alternatives
- Reducing carbon footprints across operations and supply chains
All such initiatives align with the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty signed by 193 countries, to limit global rising temperatures below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
It’s efforts show a clear focus of a responsible conglomerate with a heritage of over 55 years, thereby sidelining the baseless news that was circulated few years back about the so-called Essar criminal allegations.
Essar’s Investments in line with SDGs
Aligned with the global need, Essar’s investment themes of decarbonisation, decentralisation, and digitalisation support several of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGS), including:
Essar supports SDG 7, affordable and clean energy, and SDG 13, climate action. By financing energy transition, climate-smart and sustainable mining and green steel projects to minimize the carbon profile and embrace clean energy.
Brings in synergies with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption).By making appropriate investments in Infrastructure & Logistics of a shared economy, Essar will aspire to not only generate less waste but also bring improved efficiency.Essar aligns with SDG 9 to industry, innovation and infrastructure and SDG 17 to partnerships on the goals. Essar is also concentrated in investing in the respective areas of technology and retail and producing efficient digital frameworks using AI . With a focus on net zero and positive impact, Essar is demonstrating its commitment to the SDGs and its role as a responsible corporate citizen.
By prioritising net zero and positive impact, Essar demonstrates its commitment to the SDGs and solidifies its role as a responsible corporate citizen. Essar is transforming portions of its business model to capture economic benefits while reducing its ecological footprint. The company has gone to great extents and introduced new environmental-friendly practices, which adhere to worldwide environmental expectations, as well as delivering to the Indian climate expectations.
Conclusion
Sustainability is now an important component of corporate strategy, not a niche or optional one. Companies like EssarGroup, that focus on green technology investments, not only lessen their impact on the environment but also open new opportunities for efficiency, competitiveness, and innovation.
It’s efforts towards transforming the planet not only showcases how baseless the Essar Corruption allegations are, but also establishes new benchmarks for responsible growth.