Mr. Vineet Shastry,
Associate Director(ESG, Sustainable Finance),
PwC India ,
Sustainability is no longer a peripheral issue; it has become a core priority for businesses worldwide. Embracing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles is essential for companies aiming to future-proof their operations and build resilience against evolving market and regulatory pressures. However, the path to embedding ESG into the organizational fabric can be overwhelming. This article provides a clear roadmap for leaders to initiate their ESG journey, focusing on defining priorities, building capacity, and driving measurable action.
Defining Priorities: Laying the Foundation for ESG Success
The first step in ESG implementation is identifying and defining what matters most. A clear focus on material issues ensures that sustainability efforts align with the organization’s goals and stakeholder expectations, maximizing impact.
Understanding Materiality
Materiality assessment is the cornerstone of effective ESG planning. It identifies the areas that significantly affect the organization’s value creation and stakeholder priorities. Leaders must actively involve internal and external stakeholders—employees, investors, customers, and regulators—to determine critical ESG topics.
Steps to Define Priorities:
Developing a Multi-Year Roadmap
Defining ESG priorities is not a one-time exercise but the starting point of a long-term journey. Leaders must establish a phased roadmap that evolves as the organization matures.
Example in Action:
Unilever effectively uses materiality assessments to align its business goals with stakeholder expectations. By focusing on sustainable sourcing and climate action, the company has successfully driven both purpose and profitability.
Best Practices:
By clearly defining priorities and planning for the long term, leaders set the foundation for impactful and scalable ESG strategies.
Building Capacity: Empowering Teams to Lead ESG Initiatives
Even the most well-defined priorities require the right people and structures to bring them to life. ESG success hinges on an organization’s ability to mobilize its workforce, build specialized expertise, and embed sustainability into everyday decision-making.
Structuring for Success
A capable and empowered ESG team is essential to drive meaningful change. This team should combine specialized expertise with the ability to collaborate across departments.
Key Components of an ESG Team:
Building Internal Capacity
Sustainability is not just the responsibility of the ESG team—it requires active participation from the entire organization. Leaders must focus on developing the capacity of existing teams to integrate ESG principles into their workflows.
Visible Leadership from the Top
Leadership commitment is crucial for driving momentum and building trust. Senior executives must lead from the front by aligning ESG goals with corporate strategy and demonstrating accountability through regular reviews and transparent communication.
Example in Action:
Tata Group employs a centralized ESG strategy led by a core team while empowering business units to implement localized initiatives. This balance ensures alignment with overarching goals while retaining flexibility to address specific operational contexts.
Best Practices:
By creating a capable and motivated team, leaders ensure that ESG initiatives are effectively executed and embedded into the organization’s DNA.
Driving Action: Turning Plans into Measurable Impact
Execution is where plans and priorities transform into tangible outcomes. This requires a systematic approach to tracking progress, building confidence through assessments, and adopting data-driven targets.
Tracking Data for Continuous Improvement
Reliable data is the backbone of ESG implementation. Leaders need systems to monitor performance, identify gaps, and make informed decisions.
Example in Action:
Infosys employs smart technologies to track energy consumption and optimize resource use, enabling the company to meet ambitious efficiency targets while reducing costs.
Building Confidence Through Assurance and Assessment
To drive accountability and trust, organizations must validate their ESG data and processes. Confidence-building measures include internal audits, third-party assurance, and stakeholder transparency.
Example in Action:
Unilever regularly uses third-party audits to verify its sustainability data, ensuring transparency and maintaining its reputation as a leader in ESG reporting.
Analyzing Trends and Setting Targets
Setting targets is a critical step in driving ESG progress. Before establishing goals, organizations must analyze historical trends and benchmark performance against peers.
Example in Action:
Microsoft began its sustainability journey with internal carbon reduction targets. Over time, the company transitioned to ambitious public commitments, including becoming carbon-negative by 2030 and removing historical emissions by 2050.
Best Practices:
By focusing on data-driven execution and building confidence through validation, leaders can ensure their ESG strategies deliver measurable and lasting impact.
Conclusion: Leading the Way to a Sustainable Future
Sustainability is no longer optional—it is a strategic imperative for businesses to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Leaders play a pivotal role in defining priorities, building capacity, and driving action. By following this roadmap, they can position their organizations as resilient, innovative, and future-ready.
The journey toward sustainability is not without challenges, but it offers immense rewards. Beyond compliance and risk mitigation, ESG implementation creates long-term value for stakeholders, fosters innovation, and builds a legacy of positive impact. The time to act is now—leaders who embrace this challenge will shape a more sustainable and prosperous future for their organizations and the world
Our Journey
Vineet Shastry is an experienced Sustainability and ESG professional with over 14 years of expertise in helping organizations integrate sustainable practices. He has a proven track record in managing sustainability reporting, enhancing ESG performance, inducing sustainability in supply chain and supporting sustainable finance initiatives.
Vineet has held key roles at PwC, API Holdings (PharmEasy), Voltas Limited, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, where he led impactful sustainability programs. Currently he is serving as Deputy General Manager - ESG at Kalpataru Projects International Limited.
An alumnus of the Symbiosis Institute of International Business, with certifications from IIM - Ahmedabad & Bengaluru, IGBC and NISM, Vineet combines a strong academic foundation with practical experience to drive measurable progress in sustainability and corporate responsibility