Businesses should fine-tune strategies towards ESG issues: ITC Chairman
As extreme weather events are impacting the earth as well as human life and requires a lot of attention
New Delhi: The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are increasing globally and businesses should fine-tune their strategies towards Environment, Social and Governance issues, ITC Chairman Sanjiv Puri said on Sunday.
Addressing the B20 Summit organised by the CII here, Puri said extreme weather events are impacting the earth as well as human life and requires a lot of attention. Extreme weather events have a deep impact on nature and therefore also on the Global South. This also goes into the design of urban infrastructure and industrial ecosystem, Puri added.
This is also an area which is receiving a very small percentage of capital flows. It is certainly an area that requires lots of attention, Puri said. “This is a dynamic area and will require businesses also to adapt and fine-tune strategies in a dynamic way,” Puri said while moderating a session here. Puri, who is also the Chair of B20 Action Council on ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) in Business said, “this has also been flagged that it is an area, which has been not sufficiently covered through the evolving regulation in the ESG frameworks and it need to be done given the urgency.” It needs value creation activity and power of collaboration and otherwise the cost of funds will become more and more expensive, he added. “We have seen the manner in which things have changed between 1.1°C and 1.2°C. Extreme weather events are here to stay,” he said. Now decarbonisation is gaining currency and a lot of stuff is happening on that front but benefits of that will be available decades later.
“We have to learn to survive and do well in the hot new world,” he said, adding that this is also resulting in loss of life as it is putting stress on nature, agriculture. Food and nutrition, availability of water is going to be a serious issue. “Many places in the world are expected to be impacted by water stress overtime, displacement of population and coastlines are becoming riskier to live with. The situation is really very grim and I believe dealing with adaptation and resilience building is perhaps more urgent than anything else because we have to live on this earth,” he said. While referring to some extreme weather events this year, the ITC Chairman said it is multiplying with passage of time.
