CARROTS AND STICKS – PROMOTING ... - Global Reporting Initiative

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48 Carrots and Sticks - Promoting Transparency and Sustainability Country/Region Standards, Codes and Guidelines India Mandatory standards � The Companies Act, 1956 governs the overall regulation of companies in India and includes sections on disclosure and reporting on various aspects of company operations. Section 217 of the Act stipulates that the Board of Directors Report (attached to every balance sheet tabled at a company annual general meeting) shall contain information on conservation of energy. The latter is expected to include: energy conservation measures taken; additional investments and proposals, if any, being implemented for reduction of the consumption of energy; impact of the measures taken above for reduction of energy consumption and consequent impact on the cost of production of goods; and total energy consumption and energy consumption per unit of production in respect of specified industries. � Indian Chartered Accounts Institute (ICAI), 2008 promoted by the ICAI Accounting Research Foundation (ICAI-ARF), has undertaken a special project to suggest a suitable framework for sustainability reporting for Indian companies. It is compulsory for the companies to report on social, environmental and economic initiatives. A committee is being formed for the framework for standardising the disclosures related to sustainability reporting. Sustainability reporting has become mandatory for Indian companies that are planning to be listed abroad. www.icai.org � Pursuant to the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 the federal government has provided that each covered organisation should submit an annual ‘environmental audit report’ (in a prescribed format) to the relevant State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). <strong>Reporting</strong> in the environmental statement includes parameters such as water and raw material consumption, pollution generated (along with variations from prescribed standards), quantities and characteristics of hazardous and solid wastes, impact of pollution control measures on the conservation of natural resources and the cost of production, and additional investment proposals for environmental protection. http://envfor.nic.in/soer/1999/chap10.html � Indian Factories Act, 1948 (Amended in 1987). There are no clearly defined means for public disclosure. Ideally, every factory in India is required to sub-
Country/Region Standards, Codes and Guidelines mit reports to their relevant state governments in the format mentioned under the Act. It covers information relating to labour and employment, working hours, accidents, health and safety. While there is a statutory obligation to report data to the relevant authorities, publication of this information is not mandated under current legislation. � Other Acts policies, rules and notifications: India has an extensive environmental management system with a comprehensive set of environmental laws, specific statutory mandates, regulatory instruments, and institutional frameworks to implement and enforce environmental policy objectives. Voluntary standards Voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility Guide- � lines issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA) on 24 December 2009. The guidelines contain 6 core elements namely, (i) Care for all stakeholders; (ii) Ethical functioning; (iii) Respect for workers’ rights and welfare; (iv) Respect for human rights; (v) Respect for environment, and (vi) Activities for social and inclusive development. These are followed by guidelines for implementation which covers dissemination of information to stakeholders and the public. http://www.mca.gov.in/ Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Pro- � tection (CREP), 2003, is a charter promoted by the Central Pollution Control Board of India. It is an initiative which requires compliance by leading resource intensive industries. A notice to all commercial banks to embrace � principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development, 2007 was issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). RBI believes that there is inadequate awareness in India on sustainability issues and financial institutions can play a vital role in sensitising their clients to the issues related to human rights and environment. This directive draws particular attention to the Equator Principles and Carbon Trading. http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser. aspx?Id=3987&Mode=0 Carrots and Sticks - Promoting Transparency and Sustainability 49
Page 1 and 2: CARROTS AND STICKS - PROMOTING TRAN
Page 3 and 4: Contents Forewords 2 1 Executive Su
Page 5 and 6: Core environmental issues today - c
Page 7 and 8: in its regulatory role, to ensure a
Page 9 and 10: of the comprehensive “corporate s
Page 11 and 12: There is a large variety of regulat
Page 13 and 14: of the GRI sector supplements as we
Page 15 and 16: “The vision of the Danish Governm
Page 17 and 18: Emerging trends at the global level
Page 19 and 20: assurance standards are evolving wh
Page 21 and 22: Standards, Codes and Guidelines con
Page 23 and 24: Standards, Codes and Guidelines Eco
Page 25 and 26: Country/Region Standards, Codes and
Page 49: Country/Region Standards, Codes and
Page 77 and 78: 5. Country profiles Carrots and Sti
Page 79 and 80: In June 1997 Herbert De Souza, Beti
Page 81 and 82: well as a list of companies that vi
Page 83 and 84: market-based instruments. A small p
Page 85 and 86: Figure 1: Issues addressed in susta
Page 87 and 88: Stock Exchange (Brazil) and the Joh
Page 89 and 90: Annex 1 1. Carrots and Sticks - Pro
Page 91 and 92: Power’ Options: How Governments C
Page 93 and 94: An external Advisory Committee cons
Page 95 and 96: Production Printing process: Printe

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