Strategy and Leadership

The CSM framework stands on elements of strategy and leadership, stakeholder engagement and sustainability reporting. Our assistance to the Indian
industry is through workshop, training, technical assistance and research. The tools developed by CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT will assist Indian industry to: 

 Develop a strategic perspective on 'Sustainability'.

 Identify critical success factors that determine business results with a sustainability approach.
 Develop knowledge and skills to leverage leadership capability to inculcate the sustainability culture
 Create sustainable business strategies and world-class execution capability to actualise sustainability.

Strategy and Leadership

ndian business is growing rapidly in size, scope and global reach. However, growth and continuance of business in the long term, in these times when the
nation is targeting higher levels of economic leap-frog, cannot be achieved at the cost of our already fragile environmental and weak social fabric. Rapid
geopolitical shifts, resource constraints, rising consumer and investor expectations, and social and environmental legacy issues; all these are occurring at
the same time as pressure grows for short time profit maximization. Today's business leaders operate in an increasingly complex world marked by
uncertainty and tougher climate to make accurate decisions for tomorrow. Strategic Repositioning for sustained competitiveness are required to manage the
complexity of business risks and opportunities that relate to a company's economic viability and capacity for social up liftment and environmental enrichment
imperatives.

The Strategy and Leadership component of CSM enables a company to establish strategies and tactical plans that reflect sustainable competitiveness
through:

he Strategy and Leadership component of CSM enables a company to establish strategies and tactical plans that reflect sustainable competitiveness
through:

 A set of risks and opportunities from a 'sustainability' context.

 A business case based on broad-based indicators.
 Action plan for strategic requirements of the new business paradigm

 Training Services:
o Inter-company: Two-day inter-company training that profiles the Business Case for Sustainable Competitiveness
o In-company: Two-day in-company training customized with a sectoral focus

 Technical Assistance Services:

o Benchmarking Service: Assessment of corporate preparedness for sustaining its competitiveness, benchmarked to international
sectoral best practices and leadership companies.
o Facilitation service: Transfer knowledge and skills by preparing its business case for sustainable competitiveness.

 Past Events:
o Several half day appreciation and consultative programmes have been conducted specifically for senior management of many
Indian companies.
o Five day residential Business Leaders Programme: Strategies and Leadership for Creating Sustainable Organisations; 10 - 14
August 2007: Agra, India.

 Sustainability Reporting

 Today, there is a greater understanding that corporate strategy can be crafted to encompass a larger picture that not only enhances
competitiveness but also ensures responsible and sustainable growth. It is important that such initiatives are encouraged through stakeholder
awareness and response. A key purpose of Sustainability Reporting is to assist organizations, both large and small, in identifying the cross-
cutting dimensions of triple bottom line performance and in understanding the process elements of accountability and engagements. It is through
this learning and change process that the organisations start to measure, report and improve on the way they make decisions and take actions.
And by doing so, they create sustainable value for the organisation and its stakeholders.

Global Reporting Initiative defines Sustainability Report as the practice of measuring, disclosing, and being accountable for organizational
performance while working towards the goal of sustainable development. A sustainability report provides a balanced and reasonable
representation of the sustainability performance of the reporting organization, including both positive and negative contributions.  

The Centre promotes Sustainability Reporting as a means to gain competitive advantage through informed decision-making and Sustainability
Reports are seen by decision-makers as evidence of good corporate citizenship, and are increasingly used by financial institutions seeking more
information to judge investment risk and opportunity.

he specific role of the Centre on Sustainability Reporting is to assist companies initiate or improve the process of reporting by measuring their economic
achievements, contribution to social up-liftment and environmental enrichment.

Sustainability Reporting: The Benefits

Sustainability reporting is generating considerable interest around the world and is becoming one of the basic criteria for judging the social responsibility of
organizations. Business leaders are starting to realize that comprehensive reporting helps support company strategy and shows commitment to sustainable
development. The corporate benefits of sustainable performance are also markedly reduced when key stakeholders do not know what you are doing. Thus
companies are issuing Sustainability Reports to enlarge the scope of conventional corporate financial reporting. The report helps them ensure transparent
communication and engagement with their stakeholders in respect to the company's sustainability performance. It has become imperative for the companies
to have stakeholder engagement due to the growing awareness of the stakeholder because of the easy and speedy access to information. The stakeholders
like government agencies, employees, investors, financial institutions, community, NGOs, consumers, etc. have become more demanding and ask the
company to disclose information on its social, environmental and economic impacts.
 e companies are also under peer pressure from their competitors to perform well their social responsibilities and report them to gain a competitive advantage
to be recognized as a socially responsible company.

Sustainability Reporting is also of benefit to the company internally by helping it identify and address business risks and opportunities.

The top management of Indian companies identify the following benefits of Sustainability Reporting:

 Focused attention - structured approach

 Motivating continual improvement & better data management
 Helps in becoming market leader
 Influencing policy makers
 Improves trust & enhances image / Investor confidence
 Marketing tool - demonstration effect
 Will assist in stakeholder dialogue
 Builds ownership and commitment

 Helps in thinking ahead - vision

Sustainability Reporting - Partnership with Global Reporting Initiative

CII has been continuously associated with GRI since its first South Asian Briefing Meet in Delhi and Mumbai in the year 1999. The organisation has been
contributing to the promotion of Sustainability Reporting though various Indian forums, motivating Indian companies to participate in structured feedback
processes and organize events like Sneak Peek Programmes. CII has been also providing advice and assistance on Sustainability Reporting for the past
four years. 

CII has been an organizational stakeholder and an active stakeholder council member to continuously dialogue with the GRI Secretariat and updating its
knowledge on the GRI Guidelines and Reporting processes. CII rolled out its first educational programme in the year 2005, benchmarked to the content and
intent of the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines 2002. 

The Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines 2002 were used to develop the Sustainability Reporting educational programmes with a larger objective to
institutionalise a reporting process among Indian industry using an internationally accepted standardized framework and sustainability indicators. CII and GRI
have signed an MoU in January 2006 at New Delhi. As follow up to this MoU, GRI endorsed the training materials developed by CII, based on GRI 2002
Guidelines in August 2006.

In 2006, CII-ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT developed educational programmes based on the new GRI Guidelines:
G3 Version. The training programmes based on these guidelines are already being organized. CII-ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT has been providing assistance to the Indian industry through:

 Training Programmes:
o Inter-company: Two-day inter-company training that profiles the GRI guideline principles and indicators for developing a Corporate
Sustainability Report.

 Technical Assistance Programmes:

o Benchmarking: Assessment of corporate preparedness and process for Sustainability Reporting with respect to the GRI Guidelines.
CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT has embarked on studies to benchmark Sustainability Reports of
several leading Indian companies with the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)'s Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting. The
emphasis was on the 'Process of Reporting', rather than the 'Report Content' alone as an output of such a methodology. Indian industry find
value-addition both in terms of reporting requirements as per GRI Guidelines as well as in an assessment of the extent to which the company
had succeeded in imbibing the sustainability context, as intended in the GRI, in the context of the company's operations.
o Facilitation of Report Preparation: Transfer knowledge and skills to the company for the drafting of a Sustainability Report.

CII has facilitated the development of the sustainability report of several companies in India. The key features of the CII ITC CENTRE OF
EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT methodology include:

o Structured, step-by-step approach by beginning with what the company already has.
o Establishing linkages with other aspects and tools of corporate sustainability management like identification of sustainability issues
and vision, stakeholder engagements, etc.
o Focusing on the value-addition to enhancing the company's business performance that the adoption of sustainability reporting
brings about.

 Completed/Ongoing Projects

The CII ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT) has promoted
Sustainability Reporting amongst Indian industries, including providing technical services (in terms of benchmarking and report preparation) to companies
including Larsen & Toubro, Vizag Steel, Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Sesa Goa, Tata Steel, Taj Hotels, Voltas Ltd, Tata TELCON, Tata Refractories Ltd, etc.

 Sustainability Reporting - Small and Medium Enterprises

CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT is now focussing a specific attention to promote the uptake of this tool among
small and medium companies of India. The Centre is providing assistance to SMEs though a special vehicle of public private partnership. Some of the SMEs
who are being assisted in report preparation include Victor Gaskets Ltd, Varroc Engineering Ltd and Sumaya HMX Pvt Ltd.
Sustainability Reporting in SMEs

In recent years, the world has witnessed a shift in what constitutes a business asset. The ownership of physical assets, like manufacturing facilities, is only
part of the market capitalization of a company today. Its value and the ability to grow in the long term is highly influenced by the natural, social and human
capital including intangible assets such as management skills, reputation, human and intellectual capital, and the ability to work in partnership with
stakeholders. Yet these capitals and assests are excluded from the balance sheet because of the difficulty in objectively valuing them. Globally, there is a
trend towards businesses providing economic, environment and social information into the public domain through Sustainability Reports. It has also been
internationally established that sustainability reporting leads to improved business performance through communication of information with stakeholder
groups like customers, suppliers, employees, financial institutions, regulators and communities on a company's economic, environmental and social
management and performance. Sustainability reporting addresses how societal trends are affecting the company, and how the company's presence and
operations are affecting society. As such, sustainability reporting can demonstrate a company's motivation and willingness to position itself in a broader
context. 

With India emerging as an economic giant amidst the Asian economies and the burgeoning globalization, Sustainability Reporting is emerging as a trend in
Indian and trans-national companies with operations in India. Gradually Indian companies are recognizing the challenge of going global and are bracing
themselves to keep up with the competition in the international markets with respect to voluntary reporting initiatives becoming market-based instruments.
The CII ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT) promotes
Sustainability Reporting amongst Indian industry as a means to gain competitive advantage through informed decision-making and Sustainability Reports are
seen by decision-makers as evidence of good corporate citizenship, and are increasingly used by financial institutions seeking more information to judge
investment risk and opportunity. The specific role of CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT on Sustainability Reporting
is to assist companies initiate or improve the process of reporting by measuring their economic achievements, their contribution to social up-liftment and
environmental enrichment. 

At present, several leading companies in India develop their Sustainability Reports, including Bhilai Steel Plant, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Ford India,
Indian Oil, Dr. Reddy's, Jubilant Organosys, and others. CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT is now focussing a
specific attention to promote the uptake of this tool among small and medium companies of India. CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT is providing assistance to SMEs though a special vehicle of public private partnership. 

World Resources Institute (WRI) - New Ventures 

The World Resources Institute's (WRI) New Ventures programme accelerates the transfer of capital to outstanding companies that incorporate social and
environmental benefits. By providing sound investment opportunities in emerging economies, New Ventures demonstrates that investing in sustainable
enterprises makes good business sense. After seven years of operations, WRI's New Ventures programme has launched a sustainability reporting pilot
project to better understand the social and environmental impacts of ten selected companies from their global portfolio. To ensure a manageable, replicable
self-reporting mechanism, the reporting process is drawing heavily on the GRI Reporting Framework. These select companies are working closely with WRI
and experienced consultants worldwide to design and implement a practical report that will examine each company's operations, products, community
engagement and governance. 

New Ventures has been supporting an Indian company Sumaya HMX Systems Ltd in establishing its business which provides a less costly and more
efficient alternatives to traditional air conditioning. Sumaya HMX offers innovative eco-friendly and energy efficient cooling solutions to its customers. The
first of its products, HMX Ambiator is an eco-friendly and energy-efficient alternative to air conditioning systems. HMX has successfully commercialized
Ambiator. The product has found a good acceptance among leading companies for various applications. Some of the key customers in different segments
include Polaris, Wipro, ABB, Ford, Taj Hotels, Glenmark Pharma, Bosch and others. The other product offered by Sumaya HMX is the Hybrid air
conditioners. Hybrid air conditioners, as the word indicates are hybrid systems. These are built on the company's core product - HMX Ambiator. The
incremental cooling is done with regular refrigeration cycle as in regular air conditioning systems. Since the basic cooling is done with Ambiator, only the
incremental cooling is with a compressor.

WRI engaged CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT to assist Sumaya HMX Systems Ltd to develop a sustainability
report that will enable the enterprise to improve their operations and use their resources more efficiently. The report will also serve as a communication tool
to better manage internal systems and attract new clients and customers. In addition, Sumaya HMX will receive specialized attention from New Ventures to
communicate the results to multinationals (potential buyers) and investors. CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT has
been extensively engaged with Sumaya HMX for the purpose of Sustainability Reporting and to assist Sumaya HMX in identifying its own business case of
reporting. Towards this end, an intensive workshop and site visit was carried out by CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT at the Sumaya HMX plant in Bangalore. 

The series of facilitated workshops by CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT provided Sumaya HMX an approach of
identifying the business case for corporate sustainability; and gain an in-depth knowledge of Sustainability Report content. The workshops also provided
knowledge about the features of the G3 Guidelines and how they can be used for Sustainability Report making. The various economic, environmental and
social indicators which will be reported by Sumaya HMX were also decided upon during the workshop. Stakeholder meetings were also organized with
Sumaya HMX's suppliers, employees and financial institutions, which were facilitated by CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT to understand the various issues and concerns of the stakeholders and would be further addressed though the reporting process. The
scope of report assurance and feedback was also discussed during the workshop. The process of report writing has been initiated by Sumaya HMX and the
report is expected to be complete in the next few months.

CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT looks forward to participation of other SMEs in such workshops and interactions
with the objective that this practice of Sustainability Reporting is a systematic and integrated approach to optimize and manage the key economic,
environmental and social impacts of a company's products/ services and processes. CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT is keen on assisting companies with an objective that developing sustainability reports lead to many tangible and intangible benefits linked
to the core business process including enhanced decision-making, reduced risks, reduced costs, increased options and innovation, and increased number
and loyalty of clients. These benefits position a company as partner of choice, attract talent and financial resources, and ultimately enhance competitiveness
and profitability.

Stakeholder Engagement
 The challenges businesses face from rapid changes in innovations and market conditions require inclusive management strategies that ensure businesses
opportunities for sustained growth. Internationally, stakeholder engagement is being used as a structured and systematic tool to gain stakeholder feedback
that will lead to reducing sustainability risks and harnessing sustainability opportunities. CII ITC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT offers technical assistance on how companies can use engagement to strengthen their relationship with their stakeholders, and to generate
ideas / initiatives that will lead to improvement of company's performance / existing practices and to better corporate sustainability management.

CSM Stakeholder Engagement provides the tools to develop relationships with key stakeholders and the models for increasing business opportunities
derived from enhanced reputation and legitimacy as a competitiveness advantage. These include:

 Mapping of stakeholders within a sustainable business context.

 Increasing stakeholder inputs for strategic decisions.
 Improving business performance (supply chain relationships, opportunities for innovation, resource optimisation).

Training Services:

 Inter-company: Two-day inter-company training that profiles Stakeholder Engagement as a strategy for 'Opportunity Management'.
 In-company: Two-day in-company training that profiles stakeholder engagement customized to the company's industrial sectoral focus.

Technical Assistance Services:

 Benchmarking Service: Mapping of the company's stakeholder engagement strategies benchmarked to international sectoral best practices and
performance leaders.
 Facilitation service: Transfer of knowledge and skills to the company of the tools to effectively undertake stakeholder engagement with key
stakeholders.

Research
Sustainability Reporting - The Indian Business Case 2007 

With India emerging as an economic giant amidst the Asian economies and the burgeoning globalization, Sustainability Reporting is emerging as a business
case for Indian and transnational companies with operations in India. Gradually some Indian companies are recognizing the challenge of going global and
are bracing themselves to keep up the competition in the international markets with respect to voluntary reporting initiatives becoming market-based
instruments.

CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development thus conducted a study to generate awareness of Sustainability Reporting in India. The study
aims to identify the drivers for the Indian companies to go in for reporting and the benefits derived by them. The study also aims to promote the
implementation of sustainability best practices in Indian businesses. Towards this end, a desk review was conducted for 80 Indian companies from various
sectors. This was followed by a detailed questionnaire surveys and telephonic discussions conducted with 25 companies. The study establishes that
Sustainability Reporting is an emerging concept in India and its adoption is still low as compared to many developed nations.

he study reflects the growing importance within the business community of corporate responsibility as both the key indicator of non-financial performance, as
well as a driver of financial performance. It also reflects the responsibility that business has to be transparent and accountable not just to shareholders but
also to the wider community and the environment.

Sustainability - Driver for Innovation and Profit

The business sector is set to play an increasingly important role in the global quest for sustainable development in the future. There exists a major
requirement for the exploration of new and innovative solutions that can provide welfare without a high level of natural resource consumption. Addressing
this requirement will call for approaches that look beyond incremental change and encourage companies to cooperate in the formulation of the type of
incentives required to ensure this transition.

India historically possesses a tradition of innovation contributing to significant changes, not the least seen in the area of information technology. The country
also possesses a young population capable of challenging existing ideas and participating in global discussions regarding sustainable development. English
skills are in abundant supply, allowing the creation of companies in the growing service sector that cater to clients all over the world.

Although a large proportion of the Indian population live in poverty, the country also possesses a rapidly growing middle class and a very influential group of
wealthy industrialists. Taken together, this situation makes India's domestic challenges very similar to global sustainability challenges, implying that business
solutions which are successfully implemented in India are also likely to be successful in other developing countries.

The objective of this initiative driven by WWF India and CII is to, in association with Indian companies; develop roadmaps which explore innovations that can
move society to a point beyond incremental improvements in sustainability. The outcomes of the initiative should be practical tools that can be used both to
develop new goods and services and to highlight the barriers that exist for companies to move towards sustainability. A report will be developed, based on
cases in India, for "sustainability as a driver for innovation and profit" is presented.

Illustrative List of Companies Assisted by CII for Design and Implementation of Corporate Sustainability

 Management
 Tata Steel
 Voltas Ltd
 ITC Ltd
 Telcon
 Larsen and Toubro
 Highland
 Sesa Goa Ltd
 Vizag Steel Plant
 Bhilai Steel Plant
 Taj Hotels
 National Thermal Power Corporation
 Gujarat Ambuja Cements
 Sumaya HMX Systems Ltd
 Varroc Engineering Pvt.Ltd
 Victor Gaskets India Ltd
 Rallis India
 Tata Refractories Ltd