The SIDBI – Dun & Bradstreet SPeX (Sustainability Perception Index) will act as a reliable indicator of the state of ESG adoption in Indian companies
Monday, October 10th, 2022, Mumbai: Dun & Bradstreet, the global leading provider of business decisioning data and analytics, signed an MoU with SIDBI, to create the SIDBI – Dun & Bradstreet SPeX, short for Sustainability Perception Index. To be released every quarter, the index will be presented as a quantitative measurement for policy makers and enablers to nudge businesses towards adopting an ESG framework in their business strategy over the coming years.
SIDBI – Dun & Bradstreet SPeX will be measured through a survey of MSME owners across the country, capturing the sentiment of businesses on various business parameters that, when analysed at an aggregate level, will provide valuable insights on adoption of an ESG framework. The survey will also cover the views of the respondents about the preceding quarter and the outlook for the upcoming quarter. The survey will also capture information on critical events that have an impact on SMEs.
Speaking at an event held in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu for signing for the MoU, Avinash Gupta, Managing Director & CEO – India, Dun & Bradstreet said “Across the globe, ESG has become a mainstay conversation in corporate boardrooms and, more importantly, in the allocation of capital. According to a Dun & Bradstreet survey highlighting top compliance and procurement challenges, 51% respondents said they needed more data to verify entities and 43% said it is difficult to identify application of ESG guidelines within the due diligence processes of the customer. Inefficient data usage and management are at the core of such challenges.”
“Many Indian companies are still dependent on manual processes to collect internal ESG data such as water consumption, carbon emission, workforce demographics, etc., and therefore these data resources are often housed across databases in different formats. Digitizing these processes and products will save time and money, expediting the speed of decision making. The Survey will track the awareness and sentiment of MSMEs in manufacturing and services (including trading) across India. It will cover nearly 250 MSMEs every quarter,” added Gupta.
Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann, Chairman and Managing Director of SIDBI in his remarks at the opening event noted that Sustainability disclosure and reporting play an important role to help MSMEs and investors to reduce risks across their supply chain and enable an efficient decision-making process, toward greening MSMEs as well as lending institutions. He further added that understanding and awareness about ESG is gaining momentum in MSMEs and it is relevance in view of changing scenario related to climate aspects, ESG related compliances in coming days and remain competitive in global world. Mr Ramann said that the SIDBI – Dun & Bradstreet SPeX will help to gauge the understanding of sustainability within the sector. He hoped that the newly launched Index will help the stakeholders and enable MSMEs to integrate the sustainability good practices within their operation in the longer run and be part of national commitment on energy independence and carbon neutrality.
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