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Index rates Indian business
Tuesday November 18th 2008. Posted: 11:26
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India's performance in sustainable development offers opportunities for BT
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An initiative to measure how well companies in India are achieving sustainable development in their business operations is being launched by BT today (Tuesday) in Delhi.
The Sustainable Development Index (SDI) - an assessment of business performance in India - has been developed in partnership with GlobeScan, an independent public opinion and stakeholder research company. Its publication follows a survey of senior opinion leaders and IT employees in India. Today’s launch includes a live televised debate on “sustainability in a challenging economic environment”. BT Asia Pacific president Allen Ma is one of the five panellists in the debate. BT says the index is a means of assessing the current performance of the corporate sector in India in its progress towards sustainable development - and of helping companies prioritise the right actions for maximum impact. The SDI report findings indicate that, although the Indian corporate sector is taking positive steps towards sustainable development, its overall performance is disappointing. The report also reveals some clear opportunities for BT to play a role and demonstrate leadership in this area. Nearly half of those surveyed blamed a lack of awareness around sustainable development issues as the main cause of inaction. Some 40 per cent also cited a lack of political will as a major obstacle to making significant progress in this area. Nevertheless, a majority of opinion leaders feel that, compared with a year ago, companies in India are now more active than both the government and the general public in their progress towards sustainable development. Allen said: “At BT, we absolutely view sustainability as an international issue and businesses cannot succeed in societies that fail. It is vital that India’s commercial success is matched by a commitment to - and leadership in - corporate responsibility.”
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Last updated:
08:56