FICCI Sustainability Reporting Knowledge Workshop

Hyderabad, November 27, 2012: "Enterprises are no longer seen as being accountable merely to their shareholders and always trying to maximise their short-term return on equity. Their responsibility also extends to the larger stakeholder community. Value delivered to stakeholders like the society is as important as profitability," said Mr. M T Krishna Babu IAS, Commissioner, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Government of Andhra Pradesh conveying the inaugural speech at the half-day Sustainability Reporting Knowledge Workshop organised by the FICCI Sustainable Development Subcommittee on Tuesday in Hyderabad. He was stressing the need for a more active adoption of responsible business practices in the interest of the social set-up and the environment as vital as corporates' financial and operational performance.
The Workshop was attended by speakers, senior managers from a cross section of industry such as Wipro, Sew Infra, ONGC, Bayer India, international experts from sustainability reporting, dignitaries from the Government and Foreign missions.

The half-day Workshop was divided into two parts: Capacity building session on sustainability reporting by Ernst & Young's Climate Change and Sustainability Group, Case Studies by industry pioneers in Sustainable Development — ONGC, Bayer and ITC followed by an interactive session.
The principal objective of the Workshop was to make a key contribution to corporate by making sustainability reporting a more understood and standardised practice.
In light of 'National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business,' brought out recently by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, top listed entities in India are now mandated to report on their Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") performance. In this context, Sustainability Reporting for Indian corporates is progressing from voluntary to mandatory.

ABOUT FICCI
Established in 1927, FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India. Its history is closely interwoven with India's struggle for independence, its industrialization, and its emergence as one of the most rapidly growing global economies. MCI has contributed to this historical process by encouraging debate, articulating the private sector's views and influencing policy. A non-government, not-for-profit organisation, FICCI is the voice of India's business and industry. FICCI draws its membership from the corporate sector, both private and public, including SMEs and MNCs; FICCI enjoys an indirect membership of over 2,50,000 companies from various regional chambers of commerce.