Hyderabad / New Delhi, Dec 5 (Mayank Nigam) Wendy Werner, India Country Head, International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group, on Thursday said “In the past sustainability and profitability were seen as opposing forces but today we have to work to ensure that these two objectives co-exist. Delivering keynote address on the role of corporate strategies in achieving net-zero targets at a Conference on ‘Sustainable Future: The Net Zero Dialogue’ orgnaised by the FICCI Telangana State Council here, Werner said, Now the key question is how we can align sustainability with economic growth and business, so that we reinforce rather than undermine each other.
She said sustainability in the environment and social governance sphere is a core part of any financial sustainability and one can’t have one without the other. Sustainability is no longer an optional agenda for any corporation, she said customers, particularly younger customers increasingly favour brands and products that prioritise environment and social responsibilities. Governments and investors are placing a strong emphasis on the sustainability matrix. Any business that is not considering the impact of heat, the regulations, the requirements, and growing challenges to the climate is not going to have a clear understanding of business operational risks as well, she pointed out. She said providing more green financing is happening in the domestic financial sector in India, and also globally, though not enough is happening, but in India there is a strong emphasis for Financial Institutions to Finance Green enterprises and green projects and this is very much backed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Sustainability-linked lending and sustainability bonds become important financial tools that can incorporate the desired targets and matrix of a particular company. Green financing has a plethora of new options coming into the mainstream, she informed.
The digital transformation will be increasingly important in the sustainability agenda said Werner. Leveraging AI, IOT, and things like blockchain to optimize global energy efficiency and resource tracking will improve resource utilization and increasingly that’s how financiers, governments, and buyers will track the sustainability matrix. India is one of the largest country for IFC with a portfolio of $ 9 Bn investment in private companies, she said last year, we did more than a billion dollars in climate financing, we know what it means to find and invest in strong sustainability leaders and are very committed to seeing those sustainability leaders and green projects grow here in India. We are a strong investor in the renewable space,and look to partner with Greenco, she said. Renewable is a major space for growth, coming up across all the geographies, and are increasingly looking at new technologies to achieve round-the-clock fully renewable power, she said. We also look at Agriculture and innovations in agriculture. IFC has a strong focus on gender inclusion, which is an important aspect of sustainability, she added. Our theme today is balancing both sustainability and profitability and underscores the vital synergy required between the environment and economic growth. The Conference structure is built to achieve a meaningful engagement, he added. Mr. V V Rama Raju, Co-Chairman, FICCI Telangana State Council said, the way the world tackled COVID-19 gives the hope that we will be able to tackle and put our resources in place to address climate change.