World Environment Day – How is India Performing?

5 June is World Environment Day.

As the world’s second most populated country, with 16 of the world’s top 25 most polluted cities, India’s business community has one of the greatest opportunities on the planet to lead environmental change.

As this article shows, spending for environmental sustainability by Indian companies has lagged spending on other worthy programs, like education, healthcare and rural development.

“Many companies respond to needs expressed by communities and/or governments, which largely prioritise urgent needs such as health, education livelihoods while undervaluing important needs such as gender equality, environmental sustainability, etc.,” said the report.

The issue is a failed understanding of environmental sustainability Return on Investment.  While education, healthcare and rural development are worthy users of funds, environmental sustainability, if done correctly, can be a producer of funds, as companies certified sustainable via a globally-recognized program are growing faster and producing more profit than their non-certified peers.

As such, a company that becomes environmentally certified sustainable can help improve the environment while also producing more money to commit to the other worthy programs it wishes to support.

This PPP explains what companies should be looking for in an environmental sustainability program.