Need to keep in mind ESG cost math: ITC's Sanjiv Puri
small enterprises need to be kept in mind so that they do not become inflationary and impact growth, Sanjiv Puri, chairman and managing director, ITC, told ET.
«We have to think of the solutions so that we are not creating a structurally inflationary environment, which will not be good for growth,» Puri said on the sidelines of the CII B20 Summit in New Delhi, pointing to the need for the development of models that are economically viable.
Puri, the head of the ESG in Business Action Council, noted technology accessibility, funding at attractive rates and sharing of cluster-based assets as solutions to control the cost of ESG compliance for MSMEs.
«If everything becomes cost plus, the environment is going to become inflationary, which will ultimately impact consumption,» Puri noted, highlighting that the finance minister, in her B20 address, also made the point of containing inflation.
Puri also highlighted that larger players also had a responsibility, and the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development was working on making a simplified ESG framework and ensuring that it percolates to the rest of the supply chain. «We have made a toolkit for MSMEs,» he said.
The chairman of the Indian multinational company noted that the market needed both incentives and disincentives to implement ESG and evolve into a regulatory pathway.
«It has to be mandated with market-based incentives and disincentives.
