PROJECT REPORT ON CORPORATE SUSTAINIBLITY 2019

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I take this opportunity to extend special mention to some people, for the completion of the research
work would have been impossible without their support. I am thankful to Prof.BHARAT, who provided
unconditional support and guidance in all forms that helped us to enable this study in writing and at
such a mature level. Also, I wish to thank the Library Staff, for providing us the research assistance in
material when required. Also, we wish to extend mention to the Faculty and my peers in general for
being around to guide.

DEEPAK SAROJ

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHAT IS CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY…………......……………………………………3

BACKGROUND OF DEVELOPMENT OF CONCEPT OF CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

……………………………....……………………………………..………………………………4

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING?.......…….........…………………………………..8

TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE …… ………….……………………………………………………….8

BRIEF SUMMARY OF GUIDELINES OF GRI ……………...……………..…………………12

BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY REPORT (BRR)- INDIAN SCENARIO …………......……...15

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS ……………………......................................………….17

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………..…………………………………………………………..……….18

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What is corporate sustainability?

Corporate sustainability is an approach aiming to create long-term stakeholder value through the
implementation of a business strategy that focuses on the ethical, social, environmental, cultural,
and economic dimensions of doing business. The strategies created are intended to foster
longevity, transparency, and proper employee development within business organizations.

Corporate sustainability is often confused with corporate social responsibility (CSR),

though the two are not the same. Bansal and DesJardine (2014) state that the notion of ‘time’
discriminates sustainability from CSR and other similar concepts. Whereas ethics, morality, and
norms permeate CSR, sustainability only obliges businesses to make intertemporal trade-offs to
safeguard intergenerational equity. Short-termism is the bane of sustainability.1

Key differences between CSR and Corporate Responsibility

Many a times people interchangeably use and consider CSR and Corporate Sustainability as one
and same thing but actually both of them are different concepts in which CSR can be understood
as part or parcel of Corporate Sustainibility. 2 Therefore, it is pertinent to distinguish these terms
which has been with as help of table as follows:

1. Vision Corporate Social Sustainability looks forward,

Responsibility (CSR) looks planning the changes a
backwards, reporting on what business might make to secure
a business has done, typically its future (reducing waste,
in the last 12 months, to make assuring supply chains,
a contribution to society. developing new markets,
building its brand).
2. Targets CSR tends to target opinion Sustainability targets the
formers – politicians, pressure whole value chain – from
groups, media. suppliers to operations to
partners to end-consumers.
3. Business CSR is becoming Sustainability is about
about compliance. business.
4. Management CSR gets managed by Sustainability by operations
communications teams. and marketing
5. Reward CSR investment is rewarded Sustainability investment is
by politicians. rewarded by the City or
location
6. Drive CSR is driven by the need to Sustainability is driven by the
protect reputations in need to create opportunities in
developed markets. emerging markets.
1
Bansal, Pratima, and Mark R. DesJardine. "Business sustainability: It is about time." Strategic Organization 12.1 (2014): 70-78.
2
Ashrafi, M., Adams, M., Walker, T. R., & Magnan, G. (2018). How corporate social responsibility can be integrated into
corporate sustainability: a theoretical review of their relationships. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World
Ecology, 25(8), 672-682.

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Background of development of concept of corporate sustainability

The phrase is derived from the concept of "sustainable development" and the "triple bottom
line." The Brundtland Commission's Report, Our Common Future, described sustainable
development as, "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This desire to grow without damaging
future generations' prospects gradually became central to business philosophies.The concept of
corporate sustainability borrows elements from four more established concepts3:

1) Sustainable development, 2) Corporate social responsibility, 3) Stakeholder Theory, and 4)

Corporate Accountability Theory. The contributions of these four concepts are and its
relationship to corporate sustainability, is discussed below:

1) Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is a broad, dialectical concept that balances the need for economic
growth with environmental protection and social equity. The term was first popularized in 1987,
in Our Common Future, a book published by the World Commission for Environment and
Development (WCED). The WCED described sustainable development as development that met
the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their needs. Or, as described in the book, it is “a process of change in which the exploitation of
resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and
institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet
human needs and aspirations.” Sustainable development is a broad concept in that it combines
economics, social justice, environmental science and management, business management,
politics and law. It is a dialectical concept in that, like justice, democracy, fairness, and other
important societal concepts, it defies a concise analytical definition, although one can often point
to examples that illustrate its principles.

In Our Common Future, (Oxford University Press, 1987) the WCED recognized that the
achievement of sustainable development could not be simply left to government regulators and
policy makers. It recognized that industry had a significant role to play. The authors argued that
while corporations have always been the engines for economic development, they needed to be
more proactive in balancing this drive with social equity and environmental protection, partly
because they have been the cause of some of the unsustainable conditions, but also because they
have access to the resources necessary to address the problems.

Industry’s response to the WCED’s call came in stages as everyone wrestled with what
sustainable development in action should look like. The first serious sign of support came from
the International Chamber of Commerce when it issued its Business Charter for Sustainable
Development in 1990. This was followed in 1992 by the book Changing Course, by Stephen
3
https://www.everbluetraining.com/blog/what-corporate-sustainability accessed on 14 NOV, 2019

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Schmidheiny and the Business Council for Sustainable Development (now the World Business
Council for Sustainable Development; MIT Press, 1992). Both publications focused on the role
of corporations in sustainable development, and the authors argued that supporting sustainable
development was as much an economic necessity as it was an environmental and social
necessity. Since then, many business leaders and corporations have come forward to show their
support for the principles of sustainable development.

The contribution of sustainable development to corporate sustainability is twofold. First, it helps

set out the areas that companies should focus on: environmental, social, and economic
performance. Second, it provides a common societal goal for corporations, governments, and
civil society to work toward: ecological, social, and economic sustainability. However,
sustainable development by itself does not provide the necessary arguments for why companies
should care about these issues. Those arguments come from corporate social responsibility and
stakeholder theory.

2) Corporate social responsibility

Like sustainable development, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is also a broad, dialectical
concept. In the most general terms, CSR deals with the role of business in society. Its basic
premise is that corporate managers have an ethical obligation to consider and address the needs
of society, not just to act solely in the interests of the shareholders or their own self-interest. In
many ways CSR can be considered a debate, and what is usually in question is not whether
corporate managers have an obligation to consider the needs of society, but the extent to which
they should consider these needs.

As a concept, CSR has been around much longer than sustainable development or the other
concepts discussed in this paper. A 1973 article by Nicholas Ebserstadt traced the history of CSR
back to ancient Greece, when governing bodies set out rules of conduct for businessmen and
merchants (Managing Corporate Social Responsibility, Little, Brown and Company, 1977). The
role of business in society has been debated ever since. According to Archie B. Carroll, one of
the most prolific authors on CSR, the modern era of CSR began with the publication of the book
Social Responsibilities of the Businessman by Howard Bowen in 1953. Since then, many authors
have written on the topic. For the first few decades after 1953, the main focus of these writings
was whether corporate managers had an ethical responsibility to consider the needs of society.
By 1980 it was generally agreed that corporate managers did have this ethical responsibility, and
the focus changed to what CSR looked like in practice

CSR contributes to corporate sustainability by providing ethical arguments as to why corporate

managers should work toward sustainable development: If society in general believes that
sustainable development is a worthwhile goal, corporations have an ethical obligation to help
society move in that direction.

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3) Stakeholder theory

Stakeholder theory, which is short for stakeholder theory of the firm, is a relatively modern
concept. It was first popularized by R. Edward Freeman in his 1984 book Strategic Management:
A Stakeholder Approach (Pitman Books, Boston, Mass, 1984). Freeman defined a stakeholder as
“any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization’s
objectives.” The basic premise of stakeholder theory is that the stronger your relationships are
with other external parties, the easier it will be to meet your corporate business objectives; the
worse your relationships, the harder it will be. Strong relationships with stakeholders are those
based on trust, respect, and cooperation. Unlike CSR, which is largely a philosophical concept,
stakeholder theory was originally, and is still primarily, a strategic management concept. The
goal of stakeholder theory is to help corporations strengthen relationships with external groups in
order to develop a competitive advantage.

One of the first challenges for companies is to identify their stakeholders. There appears to be
general agreement among companies that certain groups are stakeholders — shareholders and
investors, employees, customers, and suppliers. Beyond these, however, it becomes more
challenging because there are no clear criteria for defining stakeholders. Most authors agree that
if the term ‘stakeholder’ is to be meaningful, there must be some way of separating stakeholders
from non-stakeholders. Some authors have suggested that stakeholders are those that have a
stake in the company’s activities – something at risk. Other authors have suggested that if you
consider the global impacts of industry – such as climate change or cultural changes due to
marketing and advertising – everyone is a stakeholder. The issue of qualifying criteria for
stakeholder status is currently being debated.

The contribution of stakeholder theory to the corporate sustainability is the addition of business
arguments as to why companies should work toward sustainable development. Stakeholder
theory suggests that it is in the company’s own best economic interest to work in this direction
because doing so will strengthen its relationship with stakeholders, which in turn will help the
company meet its business objectives.

4) Corporate Accountability

The fourth and final concept underlying corporate sustainability is corporate accountability.
Accountability is the legal or ethical responsibility to provide an account or reckoning of the
actions for which one is held responsible. Accountability differs from responsibility in that the
latter refers to one’s duty to act in a certain way, whereas accountability refers to one’s duty to
explain, justify, or report on his or her actions.

In the corporate world, there are many different accountability relationships, but the relevant one
in the context of this paper is the relationship between corporate management and shareholders.
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This relationship is based on the fiduciary model, which in turn is based on agency theory and
agency law, wherein corporate management is the ‘agent’ and the shareholders the ‘principal’.
This relationship can be viewed as a contract in which the principal entrusts the agent with
capital and the agent is responsible for using that capital in the principal’s best interest. The
agent is also held accountable by the principal for how that capital is used and the return on the
investment.

Corporate accountability need not be restricted to the traditional fiduciary model, nor only to the
relationship between corporate management and shareholders. Companies enter into contracts
(both explicit and implicit) with other stakeholder groups as a matter of everyday business, and
these contractual arrangements can serve as the basis for accountability relationships. For
example, companies that receive environmental permits and approvals from regulators to operate
facilities are often held accountable by the regulators for whether the terms of the approval are
being met. Proponents of social contract theory often argue that corporations are given a ‘licence
to operate’ by society in exchange for good behaviour, and as such the corporations should be
accountable to society for their performance.

The contribution of corporate accountability theory to corporate sustainability is that it helps

define the nature of the relationship between corporate managers and the rest of society. It also
sets out the arguments as to why companies should report on their environmental, social, and
economic performance, not just financial performance.

Corporate sustainability is a new and evolving corporate management paradigm. Although the
concept acknowledges the need for profitability, it differs from the traditional growth and profit-
maximization model in that it places a much greater emphasis on environmental, social, and
economic performance, and the public reporting on this performance.

Corporate sustainability borrows elements from four other concepts. Sustainable development
sets out the performance areas that companies should focus on, and also contributes the vision
and societal goals that the corporation should work toward, namely environmental protection,
social justice and equity, and economic development. Corporate social responsibility contributes
ethical arguments and stakeholder theory provides business arguments as to why corporations
should work towards these goals. Corporate accountability provides the rationale as to why
companies should report to society on their performance in these areas.

Not all companies currently subscribe to the principles of corporate sustainability, and it is
unlikely that all will, at least not voluntarily. However, a significant number of companies have
made public commitments to environmental protection, social justice and equity, and economic
development. Their number continues to grow. This trend will be reinforced if shareholders and
other stakeholders support and reward companies that conduct their operations in the spirit of
sustainability.

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WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING?

A sustainability report is a report published by a company or organization about the economic,

environmental and social impacts caused by its everyday activities. A sustainability report also
presents the organization's values and governance model, and demonstrates the link between its
strategy and its commitment to a sustainable global economy.

Sustainability reporting can help organizations to measure, understand and communicate their
economic, environmental, social and governance performance, and then set goals, and manage
change more effectively. A sustainability report is the key platform for communicating
sustainability performance and impacts – whether positive or negative. It is also an intrinsic
element of corporate sustainbility; a more recent development that combines the analysis of
financial and non-financial performance.

Triple Bottom Line TBL: Major model of sustainability reporting

John Elkington strove to measure sustainability during the mid-1990s by encompassing a new
framework to measure performance in corporate America. 4 This accounting framework, called
the triple bottom line (TBL), went beyond the traditional measures of profits, return on
investment, and shareholder value to include environmental and social dimensions. By focusing
on comprehensive investment results— that is, with respect to performance along the interrelated
dimensions of profits, people and the planet— triple bottom line reporting can be an important
tool to support sustainability goals.

The Triple Bottom Line Defined

The TBL is an accounting framework that incorporates three dimensions of performance: social,
environmental and financial. This differs from traditional reporting frameworks as it includes
ecological (or environmental) and social measures that can be difficult to assign appropriate
4
John Elkington, “Towards the Sustainable Corporation: Win-Win-Win Business Strategies for Sustainable Development,”
California Management Review 36, no. 2 (1994): 90–100

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means of measurement. The TBL dimensions are also commonly called the three Ps: people,
planet and profits. We will refer to these as the 3Ps.

The TBL “captures the essence of sustainability by measuring the impact of an organization’s
activities on the world ... including both its profitability and shareholder values and its social,
human and environmental capital.”

What Measures Go into the Calculating the Triple Bottom Line?

There is no universal standard method for calculating the TBL. Neither is there a universally
accepted standard for the measures that comprise each of the three TBL categories. This can be
viewed as a strength because it allows a user to adapt the general framework to the needs of
different entities (businesses or nonprofits), different projects or policies (infrastructure
investment or educational programs), or different geographic boundaries (a city, region or
country).

The level of the entity, type of project and the geographic scope will drive many of the
decisions about what measures to include. That said, the set of measures will ultimately be
determined by stakeholders and subject matter experts and the ability to collect the necessary
data. While there is significant literature on the appropriate measures to use for sustainability at
the state or national levels, in the end, data availability will drive the TBL calculations. Many of
the traditional sustainability measures, measures vetted through academic discourse, are
presented below:

Key parameters of Triple Bottom Line

Economic Measures
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Economic variables ought to be variables that deal with the bottom line and the flow of money.
It could look at income or expenditures, taxes, business climate factors, employment, and
business diversity factors. Specific examples include:

• Personal income

• Cost of underemployment

• Establishment churn

• Establishment sizes

• Job growth

• Employment distribution by sector

Environmental Measures

Environmental variables should represent measurements of natural resources and reflect

potential influences to its viability. It could incorporate air and water quality, energy
consumption, natural resources, solid and toxic waste, and land use/land cover. Ideally, having
long-range trends available for each of the environmental variables would help organizations
identify the impacts a project or policy would have on the area. Specific examples include:

• Sulfur dioxide concentration

• Concentration of nitrogen oxides

• Selected priority pollutants

• Excessive nutrients

• Electricity consumption

• Fossil fuel consumption

• Solid waste management

• Hazardous waste management

• Change in land use/land cover

Social Measures

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Social variables refer to social dimensions of a community or region and could include
measurements of education, equity and access to social resources, health and well-being, quality
of life, and social capital. The examples listed below are a small snippet of potential variables:

• Unemployment rate

• Female labor force participation rate

• Median household income

• Relative poverty

• Percentage of population with a post-secondary degree or certificate

• Average commute time

• Violent crimes per capita

• Health-adjusted life expectancy

Who Uses the Triple Bottom Line?

Businesses, nonprofits and government entities alike can all use the TBL.

Businesses : The TBL and its core value of sustainability have become compelling in the
business world due to accumulating anecdotal evidence of greater long-term profitability. For
example, reducing waste from packaging can also reduce costs. Among the firms that have been
exemplars of these approaches are General Electric, Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, 3M and
Cascade Engineering.5

Nonprofits: Many nonprofit organizations have adopted the TBL and some have partnered with
private firms to address broad sustainability issues that affect mutual stakeholders. Companies
recognize that aligning with nonprofit organizations makes good business sense, particularly
those nonprofits with goals of economic prosperity, social well-being and environmental
protection. The Ford Foundation has funded studies that used variations of the TBL to measure
the effects of programs to increase wealth in dozens of rural regions across the United States.

Government: State, regional and local governments are increasingly adopting the TBL and
analogous sustainability assessment frameworks as decision making and performance-
monitoring tools. Policy-makers use these sustainability assessment frameworks to decide which
actions they should or should not take to make society more sustainable. Policy-makers want to
know the cause and effect relationship between actions— projects or policies—and whether the
results move society toward or away from sustainability.

5
Cascade Engineering, “The Triple Bottom Line Report,” 2009, www.cascadeng.com/ pdf/TBL_2009.pdf.

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How is TBL reporting accomplished?

Through the application of various standard guidelines recommended by various institutions

and initiatives which deals with the concept of corporate sustainability. One of prominent of such
initiatives is called the Global Reporting Initiative 2002 or GRI and is defined as “a common
framework for sustainability reporting”. Started in 1997 by the Coalition for Environmentally
Responsible Economies and the United Nations GRI became independent in 2002, and is an
official collaborating centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and works
in cooperation with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Global Compact. The most recent of
GRI’s reporting frameworks are the GRI Standards, launched in October 2016. Developed by the
Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), the GRI Standards are the first global standards
for sustainability reporting and are a free public good. 6 In contrast to the earlier reporting
frameworks, the GRI Standards have a modular structure, making them easier to update and
adapt.7

Brief Summary of guidelines of GRI

The GRI framework aims to enable third parties to assess environmental impact from the
activities of the company and its supply chain. 8 The standardized reporting guidelines concerning
the environment are contained within the GRI Indicator Protocol Set. The performance indicators
(PI) includes criteria on energy, biodiversity and emissions . some of which are as follows:

Strategy and Analysis

 Statement from the most senior decision-maker of the organization (such as CEO, chair,
or equivalent senior position) about therelevance of sustainability to the organization and
the organization’s strategy for addressing sustainability
 Description of key impacts, risks, and opportunities
Identified Material Aspects and Boundaries

 All entities included in the organization’s consolidated financial statements or equivalent

documents.
 Whether any entity included in the organization’s consolidated financial statements or
equivalent documents is not covered by thereport
 Process for defining the report content and the Aspect Boundaries.
 How the organization has implemented the Reporting Principles for Defining Report
Content
 Effect of any restatements of information provided in previous reports, and the reasons
for such restatements.
 Significant changes from previous reporting periods in the Scope and Aspect Boundaries.
6
"GRI Standards - Download Center". Retrieved 14 NOV 2019.
7
"Global Reporting Initiative -- Standards".
8
Willis, Alan (2003). "The Role of the Global Reporting Initiative's Sustainability Reporting Guidelines in the Social Screening
of Investments". Journal of Business Ethics. 43 (3): 233–237.

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Stakeholder Engagement
 List of stakeholder groups engaged by the organization.
 Basis for identification and selection of stakeholders with whom to engage.
 Key topics and concerns that have been raised through stakeholder engagement, and how
the organization has responded to thosekey topics and concerns, including through its
reporting. Stakeholder groups that raised each of the key topics and concerns.

Report Profile
 Reporting period (such as fiscal or calendar year) for information provided.
 Contact point for questions regarding the report or its contents.
 Reference to the External Assurance Report, if the report has been externally assured.
GRI recommends the use of externalassurance but it is not a requirement to be ‘in
accordance’ with the Guidelines.

Governance
 Governance structure of the organization, including committees of the highest
governance body.
 Processes for consultation between stakeholders and the highest governance body on
economic, environmental and social topics. If consultation is delegated, describe to whom
and any feedback processes to the highest governance body.
 Composition of the highest governance body and its committees by:
a) Executive or non-executive
b) Independence
c) Tenure on the governance body
d) Number of each individual’s other significant positions and commitments, and the
nature of the commitments
e) Gender
f) Membership of under-represented social groups
g) Competences relating to economic, environmental and social impacts
h) Stakeholder representation

Ethics and Integrity

 Organization’s values, principles, standards and norms of behavior such as codes of

conduct and codes of ethics.
 Internal and external mechanisms for seeking advice on ethical and lawful behavior, and
matters related to organizational integrity,such as helplines or advice lines.

Economic

 Direct economic value generated and distributed

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 Financial implications and other risks and opportunities for the organization’s activities
due to climate change
 Financial assistance received from government
 Indirect Economic Impacts

Environmental
 Materials used by weight or volume
 Energy consumption within and outside the organization
 Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water
 Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of
high biodiversity value outside protectedareas
 Total number of IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with
habitats in areas affected by operations, by level ofextinction risk
 Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity
 Weight of transported, imported, exported, or treated waste deemed hazardous under the
terms of the Basel Convention2 Annex I, II,III, and VIII, and percentage of transported
waste shipped internationally

Social
 Labor practices and decent work
 Human Rights protection, prevention and promoting activites
 Operations with significant actual and potential negative impacts on local communities
 Anti-corruption Anti-competitive Behavior
 Initiatives taken to address consumer greivences and other product responsibility

Some Other Similiar Guidelines and Indices

 Caux principles (1994)

 Global Corporate Responsibility Benchmarks (1999)
 Social Accountability 8000 (1998)
 Green Business Certification
 United Nations Global Compact (1999)
 Business Longevity Indicator (BLI)
 The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)
 OECD Guidelines for Multilateral Enterprises
 European Corporate Sustainability Framework
 Corporate Sustainability Management Framework
 Corporate Sustainability Commitment Index (CSCI)
 Ratings & Rankings based on customers’ perception

Business Responsibility Report (BRR)- Indian Scenario

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The first step taken by the law makers in India was the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social,
Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business. Ministry of Corporate Affairs
(MCA) in July 2011 published NVG guidelines. NVG elaborates on ‘9 Principles’ of responsible
business which should be adopted by the Companies as part of their practices. The “9 principles”
lay emphasis on different areas like the employees, stakeholders and environment. Collectively
these 9 principles enable the Company to follow responsible practices. Companies were asked to
prepare a Business Responsibility Report by providing stakeholder information about their
initiatives, impacts and future course of action across these principles. While, initially the
disclosures were voluntary for the listed companies from FY 2011-12. On the basis of these
Guidelines Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Regulator for the securities market in
India, vide its Circular dated 13th August 2012 mandated top 100 listed Companies, based on
their market capitalisation, to submit a Business Responsibility Report (BRR or BR Report).
Pursuant to notification of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and
Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, the circular dated August 13, 2012 was rescinded.
The requirement of publishing a BRR was made part of the Listing Regulations itself for the top
100 listed Companies by market capitalisation. As per clause (f) of sub regulation (2) of
regulation 34 of Listing Regulations the annual report shall contain a business responsibility
report describing the initiatives taken by the listed entity from an environmental, social and
governance perspective, in the format as specified by the Board. Further, SEBI LODR was
amended in 2015 and w.e.f. 1st April 2016 top 500 companies based on market capitalization
have to publish a BRR. BRR requires the Companies to make disclosure on the 9 principles of
Business Responsibility which includes Environmental, Social and Governance factors. Investors
are not only keen in seeing profitability or growth in financial terms, but their focus has now
shifted towards sustainability and corporate governance as well. For Indian companies to attract
future investments they will have to disclose their performance on ESG factors along with
financial factors. This would require them to publish BRR and sustainability reports. SEBI
Circular contains guidelines, and, also a template for preparing a BR report which is required to
be followed by the companies. Major sections of this template are viz. General Information about
the Company, Financial Details, Information related to Business Responsibility initiatives and
Principle wise performance of the Company. Standard format helps the companies to publish
their BR Report in a structured manner and it also helps in comparative analysis as it provides
the same parameters for all the companies to be compared. SEBI in its Circular dated 6th
February 2017 has discussed about the integrated reporting in India and suggested that the same
should be voluntarily adopted by listed entities. SEBI has stated in its Circular as follows: “It has
been observed that certain listed entities in India and other jurisdictions have been making
disclosures by following the principles of integrated reporting. Towards the objective of
improving disclosure standards, in consultation with industry bodies and stock exchanges, the
listed entities are advised to adhere to the following: a. Integrated Reporting may be adopted on a
voluntary basis from the financial year 2017-18 by top 500 companies which are required to
prepare BRR. b. The information related to Integrated Reporting may be provided in the annual

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report separately or by incorporating in Management Discussion & Analysis or by preparing a
separate report (annual report prepared as per IR framework).” In FY 2016-17, 10 companies and
in FY 17-18, 22 companies published their annual report following IIRC reporting. Few
companies have also provided sustainability report in GRI format and Annual report as
integrated report.

The Nine Principles of BRR

Collectively, these 9 principles represent the Environmental, Social and Economic factors. NVG
and SEBI both laid down the practices and objectives to be achieved from implementation of
these principles. The 9 principles of Business Responsibility are as follows:

1. Ethics, Transparency and Accountability: Businesses should conduct and govern

themselves with Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Principle
2. Product Life-Cycle Sustainability: Businesses should provide goods and services that are
safe and contribute to sustainability throughout their life cycle Principle
3. Employees' Well-being: Businesses should promote the wellbeing of all employees
Principle
4. Stakeholder Engagement: Businesses should respect the interests of, and be responsive
towards all stakeholders, especially those who are disadvantaged, vulnerable and
marginalized Principle
5. Human Rights: Businesses should respect and promote human rights Principle
6. Environment: Business should respect, protect, and make efforts to restore the
environment Principle
7. Public Advocacy: Businesses, when engaged in influencing public and regulatory policy,
should do so in a responsible manner Principle
8. Inclusive Growth: Businesses should support inclusive growth and equitable
development Principle
9. Customer Value: Businesses should engage with and provide value to their customers and
consumers in a responsible manner.

All companies which are required to prepare a Business Responsibility Report, must adhere to
these principles and disclose answers to all questions for all 9 principles.

Conclusion and Suggestions:

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Corporate Sustainability can be classified as those policies, activities, or behaviour undertaken by an
organization that goes beyond the traditional economic and legal obligations that the firm has with
its target internal and external stakeholders. Corporate sustainability is more than a business policy
or a response to issues raised by society. It is a governing business philosophy. Responding to the
ethical obligations must be voluntary in nature and if undertaken effectively should eventually
benefit and improve the overall welfare of the community in which the firm operates. The following
are the suggestions:

1. Identification of reasons and benefits of practicing Corporate S ustainability in different

sectors of business can have a scope for further research along with development of
company ethics programme, integration of business ethics and ethics training to the staff.
2. A study involving other independent variables such as Corporate Reputation,
Organizational Climate, and Sustainability can be undertaken to find out its effect on
Corporate Social Responsibility.
3. Further study may focus on identifying and comparing the perception of line managers,
staff managers, and employees on Corporate Sustainability practices of the company.
4. Future study can look into Corporate Sustainability practices and Business performance of
product oriented or services oriented companies in India.
5. Identification of programs and policies to enhance Corporate S ustainability practices is
also a relevant area of research
6. Companies and organisations should integrate social entrepreneurship into their core
culture by actively channelizing their research and development capabilities in the
direction of socially innovative products and services.

Until late in India, the mission of business firms was exclusively economic. But, with the
business environment being characterized by various developments including the shift of power
from capital to knowledge, increased levels of literacy, and, the shrinking of geographical
boundaries due to faster means of travel and communication, people are, by and large, becoming
conscious of their rights, which has led to a rise in the expectations of the common man from
business in India also. An organization receives inputs from society in the form of skilled /
unskilled labour, raw material and natural resources like air, water and space for its operation
and, in turn, offers goods and services to society. Thus, businesses depend on society for further
existence and it is, in their interest to take care of society. It cannot operate either in isolation or
in vacuum. Like individuals, businesses also need to live in the real world, i.e., in society.
Therefore, to be successful in business, companies also need to look after the basic needs of the
society, minimise harmful effects to environment, contribute in nation-building and comply with
the law of the land.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 PROJECT REPORT ON CORPORATE SUSTAINIBLITY 2019
 Brian D. Fitch, Law Enforcement Ethics, Sage Publications, Inc., 2014
 InderjitDube, Corporate Governance, Lexis NexisButterworthsWadhwa, 2009.
 Cadbury, Adrian, Corporate Governance and Chairmanship: a personal view, Oxford
University Press, 2003.
 Monks, Robert A.G., Corporate Governance, Blackwell Publishers, 2001.
 McGregor, Lynn, The human face of Corporate Governance, Palgrave Publishers, 2000.
 Goergen, Marc, Corporate Governance and Financial Performance, Edward Dlgar, 1998.

WEBLIOGRAPHY

 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kerry_Lee5/publication/258629632_So_What_is_th
e_%27Triple_Bottom_Line%27/links/5c0ffe0592851c39ebe6a08e/So-What-is-the-
Triple-Bottom-Line.pdf?origin=publication_detail accessed on 21 nov, 2019
 https://www.nse-india.com/content/equities/bbr_2017_18.pdf accessed on 21 nov, 2019
 https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/tutor2u-media/subjects/business/blogimages/bus-
csr-elkington-diagram-basic.png?mtime=20170414164715 accessed on 21 nov, 2019

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