By: Radhika Kalia, MD, RLG Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
The concept of sustainability seeks to balance environmental, social, and economic needs with the greater goal of preserving the planet’s natural resources. Policies and compliance enable the accomplishment of this goal through the establishment and enforcement of rules and standards that guide businesses and organizations. Reports suggest that policies and compliance play a vital role in driving sustainability, encouraging businesses and institutions to adopt eco-friendly practices. The discussion below highlights how policy and compliance enable sustainability.
Government and Organizational Efforts
Government regulations, such as the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) mandated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), require listed companies to report on their sustainability performance, including environmental impacts like carbon emissions. The reporting framework encourages companies to adopt sustainable practices. BRSR requires companies to disclose ESG performance, including environmental metrics like carbon emissions, energy consumption, and renewable energy usage. This reporting requirement incentivizes companies to improve their metrics to maintain investor confidence and comply with SEBI guidelines. The mandatory nature of essential indicators ensures companies cannot ignore sustainability, pushing them to set and achieve targets like renewable energy adoption.
The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) sets targets that indirectly pressure companies to align, such as India’s commitment to 50% non-fossil fuel-based energy by 2030. The NAPCC, introduced in 2008, draws strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. It includes missions like the National Solar Mission and National Water Mission, providing a comprehensive plan for ecological sustainability.
Laws like the Environment Protection Act 1986 empower the central government to lay down standards for emissions and effluents, which has led to regulations promoting energy efficiency and the adoption of cleaner energy sources.
To illustrate, ITC aims to meet 100% of its energy needs from renewables by 2030, already achieving over 50% in 2023-24. As of 2023-24, Wipro reported that approximately 75% of its electricity consumption in India was sourced from renewable energy. This underscores the company’s commitment to its goal of utilizing 100% renewable energy by 2030. These efforts align with the need to report favourably under BRSR. Companies like ITC and Wipro, as major players, contribute to the achievement of national sustainability goals through their sustainability initiatives, driven by the regulatory environment shaped by NAPCC. This shows that regulation is not a barrier, but a strategic tool to align corporate goals with climate imperatives.
Organizational Policies and Corporate Commitments
Organizations are increasingly adopting internal sustainability policies to align with government regulations, global goals and stakeholder expectations. For instance, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has committed to sourcing 100% of its electrical and thermal energy from renewable sources by 2030. As of March 2024, HUL achieved 100% renewable electricity usage across its own manufacturing sites, with 96% of the combined electrical and thermal energy being renewable. HUL reports its sustainability performance under the ESG and BRSR frameworks, demonstrating that corporate sustainability can be driven through internal commitment aligned with external compliance. Similarly, Infosys is committed to transitioning to 100% renewable energy for all its electricity needs, being the first Indian signatory to the RE100 global campaign. The company has made substantial progress; as reported in 2023–24, Infosys significantly advanced its renewable energy initiatives. The company met approximately 67.52% of its total electricity requirements in India through renewable sources.
The facts above thus lead us to the fact that compliance and policy drive sustainability through the following dimensions:
Mandated Transparency: Frameworks like the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) compel companies to disclose ESG metrics, including carbon emissions, energy use, and renewable adoption. This enforced transparency creates pressure to act rather than just promise—ensuring sustainability is measured, monitored, and made public.
Target-Driven Accountability: National policies such as the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) establish long-term goals like achieving 50% non-fossil fuel-based energy by 2030. These goals translate into sector-specific mandates, encouraging organizations to adopt measurable internal targets aligned with national climate agendas.
Regulatory Incentives and Penalties: Compliance with acts such as the Environment Protection Act helps avoid penalties and unlocks green certifications and benefits (e.g., higher occupancy rates, rental premiums in green real estate). This makes sustainability economically viable and strategically desirable.
Operational Integration through Internal Policy: Organizations like ITC, Wipro, and Infosys internalize compliance by building structured policies that govern procurement, energy sourcing, waste management, and reporting. This way, sustainability does not get reduced to merely a campaign, it becomes part of operational DNA.
Stakeholder Trust and Investor Confidence: Consistent adherence to policy-backed sustainability measures enhances brand credibility, investor interest, and public goodwill—especially in sectors under increasing ESG scrutiny. Thus, compliance becomes a competitive differentiator in capital and consumer markets.
Innovation Through Constraint: Regulatory requirements often stimulate innovation—as seen in the hospitality industry’s creative responses to waste reduction, or in Coca-Cola India’s repurposing of PET waste for visibility gear. Companies have shown that compliance can inspire solutions that are resourceful, culturally resonant, and scalable.
Conclusion Policy and compliance today serve as the strategic engine of sustainability. As India strives towards its ambitious climate targets, these frameworks determine intent and convert them into impact. Whether through mandates like BRSR or corporate roadmaps driven by RE100 and ESG standards, sustainability is now as much about accountability as it is about aspiration. Regulation, when aligned with purpose, becomes a determiner, not a constraint.