The world has witnessed rapid globalisation over the last few decades, with both developed and developing nations stepping up efforts towards becoming part of one borderless global village.

While globalisation has served in the best interest of nations, there have also been some shortcomings in this entire process. For example, some developed nations have witnessed a weakening of national sovereignty as they outsource domestic jobs to countries where labour cost is low.

Then there are issues of rapid industrialisation that has led to unplanned urbanisation and larger environmental problems.

The climate change summit in France early this month touched upon an array of political, economic and legal subjects related to climate change.

But fundamentally, the talks focused on matters related to trust, transparency and money. While developed nations have pushed for more aggressive, legally binding measures that would necessitate governments to monitor, validate and report efforts towards emissions reduction to an international body, some of the developing nations viewed this approach as intrusive and a threat to sovereignty.

The new policy thrust being rolled out by the new government in India to regain the 7-8 per cent per annum GDP growth trajectory will simultaneously open up new environmental challenges.

Driving the challenge

So how can Indian corporates drive the country’s sustainable development agenda to counter the risks associated with globalisation and its negative bearing on societies and the environment? The private sector will have to work alongside governments in the area of environment and social development.

Earlier, social and environmental development and protection were seen as responsibilities of the government. But over the years, this perception has shifted. The Indian private sector has adopted social and environmental development work as an integral part of its core activity not just for its own sustainable growth but for the society at large.

According to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s India 200 Climate Change Report 2014, Indian companies have already embarked upon their journey towards the low carbon economy and 50 per cent of the companies who responded to the report survey have demonstrated that it is possible to decouple business growth from carbon emissions. Further, as a developing economy India can leverage innovations to start adopting smarter technologies directly without having to follow the upgradation path.

Today, corporates need to view sustainable development in a more holistic way. The concept of “triple bottomline” was first coined two decades back by John Elkington, the founder of a British consultancy called SustainAbility.

According to the triple bottomline concept, business success is no longer defined by monetary gains in isolation, but also by the impact of an organisation’s activities on the environment and societies at large. The triple bottomline encompasses the three Ps: people, planet and profit — the “three pillars of sustainability”.

Corporate responsibility

“People focus” is a measure of how responsible an organisation is throughout its operations in a society. “Planet” is concerned with environmentally sustainable actions, aimed at maximising benefits while minimising impairments. This can range from recycling electronics, to using renewable fuels to avoiding the use of hazardous chemicals or destructive operational practices. The two together change the meaning of profitability.

Corporates need to adopt a sustainable development vision that secures the resources and environment for the future. This cannot be brought about by policy intervention alone — it must be taken up by society at large, as a principle guiding the many choices each citizen makes every day, as well as macro political and economic decisions taken by nations.

It is clear that environmental degradation imposes these largest costs upon future generations. These generations are disadvantaged with regards to present generations because they risk inheriting an impoverished quality of life. Their interests are often neglected in present decisions and planning, even as it is important that we think about our generation.

Saving the environment and empowering the marginalised sections of the society are no longer matters of compliance. They are emerging as central principles to an organisation’s responsibility mandate.

The writer is the MD & CEO of Ambuja Cements Limited