IT, financial firms most ESG compliant; Infosys scores highest in CRISIL rankings

Information technology and financial services players are the most environmental, Soc­ial, and governance (ESG) com­pliant companies in the country, and second-largest soft­ware exporter Infosys sc­oring the highest on the key metric, according to scores prepared by Crisil.

Companies in oil and gas, chemicals, metals and mining, and cement companies have lower ESG scores, reflecting high natural-resource intensity, and thereby higher emission levels, extractive use of natural resources, potential adverse environmental and community impact, and generally more moderate levels of disclosure, it said.

"ESG is already playing a material role in the decisions of governments, regulators, investors, lenders, and corporates. This will not only tran­sform the investment management industry but also redefine corporate Ind­ia's approach to risk management for sustainable value creation," Crisil's MD and CEO Ashu Suyash said.

Scores for 225 companies computed by the agency pointed to scope for improvement on gender diversity as women's representation both on the boards and workforce remai­ns low at 17 per cent, independent directors and reliance on renewable sources of power, among others.

Infosys tops the list, with a score of 79 on 100, while among the financial sector players, Kotak Mahindra Ba­nk has a score of 75. There are many IT companies and also financial sector companies having an overall ESG score in the 70s.

"Our assessment is based on quantitative and qualitative disclosures of fir­ms. As this is an objective evaluation based on publicly available information, the qu­ality of disclosures made is an important determinant of the overall score," its COO Amish Mehta said.

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