BT launches Sustainable Development Index for India

NEW DELHI: Communications service provider BT on Tuesday announced the launch of its "Sustainable Development Index An Assessment of Business Performance in India".

The SD index report reveals that although Indian companies are taking positive steps towards sustainable development, the overall performance of the corporate sector is disappointing.

Forty-six per cent of India's opinion leaders surveyed blame a lack of awareness of sustainable development issues as the main cause of inaction.

Some 40 per cent of opinion leaders also cited a lack of political will as a major obstacle to making significant progress in this area.

According to the report, this lack of action means India lags behind China, Japan and the European Union when it comes to addressing key issues, such as tackling climate change, corporate governance practices and water resource management.

Interestingly, the country's largest cities were seen as making the strongest moves to improve sustainable development practices.

While there are negative views on India's progress, a majority of opinion leaders (57 per cent) feel that companies in India are now more active with regard to sustainable development compared to a year ago.

The corporate sector is considered to have made significantly stronger progress than either government or the general public, with the Tata Group considered the top corporate leader in sustainable development.

The SD index has been developed in partnership with GlobeScan, an independent public opinion and stakeholder research company.