Amid increasing focus on business transperancy, a survey has said that only 16% of the top-100 listed firms in India have a corporate responsibility strategy in place.
Corporate reporting is in a nascent stage among leading Indian firms, and companies have "minimal clarity when it comes to choosing projects to be involved in", according to KPMG India Corporate Responsibility Survey 2011.
The global scenario is much brighter, as 73% of the world's 250 largest companies have defined objectives, 65% have key performance indicators related to set objectives and around 60% report on such identified indicators.
The top drivers for Indian companies reporting corporate responsibility, in terms of revenue ,are 'strengthening reputation and brand' and 'ethical considerations', while, 'cost savings', 'economic considerations', 'innovation and learning' and 'employee motivation' rank very low in the drivers list.
However, for global companies, 'economic considerations' and 'innovation and employee motivation' are major drivers.
"Most companies start with a 'me too' approach with a focus on developing a good enough report. But during the journey many realise the benefits of embedding sustainability in terms of managing stakeholder expectations, finding alternative solutions to raw materials and fuels, designing benign products and services," KPMG India Director, Advisory-Climate Change and Sustainability Services Arvind Sharma said.
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Meanwhile, climate change has emerged as one of the most important global corporate responsibility issue amid pressure from media, consumers, investors, NGOs and the government.
Interestingly, only 23% of top-100 Indian firms report on the business risk of climate change, while, 26% report on the business opportunities related to it.
"It is an indication that the companies are focused on short-term goals and have not initiated focused actions towards addressing this issue in the longer term," KPMG said.
The survey further said that companies were willing to seek third party opinion on their reports with 52% of reports being externally assured.
"It is interesting to note that most reports are externally assured and find value in third party opinion, especially from professional services firms such as KPMG. This trend shows that companies are willing to change the way they run their business," Sharma added.
The report further said although corporate responsibility seems to be in the experimental phase in India as of now, it is likely to see a significant progress in both the number of reporters and quality of information reported, in the coming years.