GCCs enabling pathways to meet ESG Goals

In today’s everchanging business landscape, the imperative to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into corporate strategies has become increasingly apparent.

As global awareness of climate change, social inequalities and ethical business practices grows, organisations are recognising that addressing ESG factors is not only a moral obligation, but also a strategic necessity all through the value chain.

Embracing sustainability practices, fostering social responsibility, and upholding strong governance standards are integral components of contemporary business plans, ensuring long-term resilience and relevance in a world, where stakeholders demand more than just financial success.

Global Capability Centres (GCCs) today have the opportunity, to play a pivotal role in driving the ESG agenda for organisations. Closer home in India, this opportunity is even bigger as we are now witnessing an evolution when it comes to Indian GCCs, with most of them steadfast, in their commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.

GCCs on the path and aspiring to transform into an Innovation Centre of Excellence (CoE)

As we move forward, many of them are focusing on transforming themselves into a Centre of Excellence (CoE), capable of expanding their scope of work from the back to the front office, delivering greater value to global organisations they serve, and playing the role enablers in the overall ESG journey of an organisation a sentiment that was shared by a diverse range of participants at a recent round table, organised at KPMG in India’s Bengaluru office.

From reporting to steering, GCCs today can make use of their technology capabilities to manage the overall ESG journey for the HQ, and this journey can start with data management which can then lead businesses, to make decisions based on insights.

The CoE as mentioned above, would be well placed to drive technology initiatives in the ESG evolution and its governance. If designed with a central role and a ring-side view to an organisation’s operations and technology, GCCs can aid faster adoption of ESG strategy.

As custodians of vast operational and financial data, GCCs across the world, not just in India can also play a vital role in ensuring accuracy and availability of information for ESG reporting, and beyond. Instead of viewing environmental data as a regulatory obligation, businesses should embrace it as a strategic asset capable of driving innovation and fostering sustainable growth.

From a technology standpoint, GCC capabilities can be utilised to monitor, adapt and drive business decisions using various types of technology and data practices. IoT technology, along with digital twins and other capabilities, has the potential to revolutionise ESG strategies by providing real-time, data-driven insights into a company’s sustainability practices.

 “Today we are seeing immense global focus on the ESG agenda especially in the context of the increasingly transformative role GCCs can play, it was wonderful to brainstorm with the Bangalore GCC community recently on the opportunity before them. Though might be early days, but coming together to build on the capabilities established, while innovating to solve for emerging challenges is a significant opportunity. A good start to defining the contours of an ESG CoE within the GCCs” said Shalini Pillay, Partner and National Leader, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), KPMG in India

 GCCs can act as accelerators in enabling the ESG transition. Their ability to provide data, technology and world class processes are just what companies need, to scale ESG solutions and reporting” said, Namrata Rana, National Head, ESG, KPMG in India

 Way Forward

Lastly, everyone agreed that GCCs have the opportunity to drive transformative change and establish sustainable practices. They noted that with many global regulatory authorities prescribing ESG regulations, there exists an immediate need for global companies to report on a broader set of ESG metrics and with greater accuracy and transparency than ever before.

This indicates that India’s GCCs are proactively adopting the ESG agenda which signals a shift towards including ESG as a watermark across an organisation and as result of that sustainable innovation and responsible growth.