INTRODUCTION TO

ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT
MODULE 1
CONCEPT
• Environmental Management is an attempt to control human impact
on and interaction with the environment in order to preserve natural
resources.
• The management of interaction by the modern human societies with
and the impact upon the environment.
• The process to improve the relationship through check on destructive
activities of man, conservation, protection, regulation and
regeneration of nature.
• A rational adjustment involving judicious exploitation and utilization
of natural resources without disturbing the ecosystem balance and
ecosystem equilibrium.
DEFINITION
“A Systematic approach to resource utilization, whereby more of
renewable energy sources are replenished for optimum utilization over
non- renewable resources in a sustainable manner, such that one
complies with the laws and legal procedures as laid down by the
state, using an extensive Environmental Management System (EMS)
to achieve this goal”
Further Understanding……
Environmental management seeks to
➢development process to take advantage of opportunities,
➢avoid hazards,
➢mitigate problems, and
➢improving adaptability and resilience
(Erickson and King, 1999; International Network for Environmental Management website
http://www.inem.org – accessed January 2005).
Not a recent concept…..EVOLUTION OF THE
CONCEPT
• The first decade: origins in the USA
• National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (NEPA) in the United States
• The second decade: enhancement of the social dimension of
environmental assessment
• environment emerged as a globally important matter
• The third decade: emergence of sustainable development as a
global concept
• the publishing of Our Common Future (WCED, 1987)
• 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, commonly
known as the Rio Earth Summit (UNCED, 1992)
• Other events-“30 years ago, the international community gathered in Stockholm for
the UN Conference on Human Environment”
 Objectives
1 To identify the environmental problem and to find its solution.

2 To restrict and regulate the exploitation and utilization of natural resources.

3 To regenerate degraded environment and to renew natural resources (renewable)

4 To control environmental pollution and gradation.

5 To reduce the impacts of extreme events and natural disaster.

6 To make optimum utilization of natural resources.

7 To formulate laws for the implementation of environmental protection and conservation programmes..

To assess the impacts of proposed projects and activities on environment. To review and revise the
8 existing technologies and make them eco-friendly.
 Components of Environment
Components

Abiotic Factors Biotic Factors

Climatic Edaphic Producers Consumers Decomposers

Factors Factors
Plants, Bacteria
Primary
Autotroph , Fungi
Temperature, Soil, pH, s
Rainfall, Light Mineral Secondary
(Energy), s,
Atmospherics Topogra Tertiary
Pressures phy
Global Crisis….
1. POPULATION- Are there too many people on our
Planet Earth?
POPULATION EXPLOSION
• After the world population increased more than 400%
over the 20th century, population growth has slowed
• considerably. Over the course of the 21st century world
population will likely only rise by 50% and reach around
• 11 billion by 2100
• World population - exponential growth
• 1 billion in 1800
• 2.5 billion in 1950
• 6 billion in 2000
• 7.3 billion in 2015-16
• 8.5 billion+ by 2030
China and India remain the two largest - each with more than 1 billion
• 9.7 billion+ by 2050
people, representing 19 and 18 % of the world’s population, respectively.
• 11 billion+ by 2100 But by2022, the population of India is expected to surpass that of China.
(SOURCE: www.ourworldindata.com)
2. WATER AND SANITATION
• 2 billion people live in countries that are already water-stressed and
by 2025, two-thirds of the world population may suffer water stress.
• Some 80 countries suffer from serious water shortages now. Half of
the world population lacks proper sanitation facilities.
• During 1911-2014, India lost 50% of its lakes and wetlands to other uses.
• More than 60,000 villages are without a single source of drinking
water. Over 110 million rural households are without toilets at home.

A Composite Water Management Report found that most states scored below 50% on the index and that 21
cities are likely to run out of groundwater by 2020. If current trends continue, in upcoming 20 years an
estimated 50% of all India’s aquifers will be at critical or over-exploited levels. India could experience a drop
of 6% in its GDP due to water scarcity alone.
According to the report of Niti Ayog, Government of India, the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka,
Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Benguluru, Chennai have been facing
serious water crises since 2018.
 3. BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
• Worldwide, of the known species- 30% amphibians, 25% mammals, 12% birds , 25%
reptiles and 21% of fish species are threatened with extinction.
• The current extinction rate is estimated to be 100 to 1000 times the rate at which
species naturally disappear.
• More than 10% of India’s recorded wild Flora and Fauna are threatened and many are
on the verge of extinction
• During the decade 2000-2010, the world lost around 13 million ha of forest every year.
Tropical forests are being cleared at the rate of 70,000 to 1,70,000 sq. km
annually(equal to 20-50 soccer fields per minute)
• India has lost around 94 million ha of natural forests since 2000
4. LAND & AIR POLLUTION
• Each year 6 million hectare of agricultural land are lost due to desertification and soil
degradation. This loss affects 250 million people in the world.
• About 40% of India’s land has been degraded. We lose 5.3 billion tonnes of topsoil every year.
• During 2007- 2014, 57,000 ha of land were diverted for industrial and non-agricultural uses.
• At least 1 billion people in the world breathe unhealthy air and 3 million die annually due to
air pollution. Air pollution levels are still above the WHO guidelines in most developing
countries.
• Indian cities were having the highest levels of air pollution and India has the highest rate
of deaths caused by chronic respiratory diseases. (WHO Report)
5. OCEAN & COASTAL AREAS
• Overfishing and Acidification of Sea- marine life at risk
• Large areas of Ocean have become dead zones without any life.
• Worldwide 50% of coastal mangroves and corals reefs which perform vital
ecological functions have been destroyed.
• Industrial affluents, domestic waste, agricultural runoff, shipping activity, and offshore
(oil) exploration cause heavy pollution of the Arabian sea and the bay of Bengal.
• In last 40 years, India has lost more than 50% of its mangrove forests
• Example of Ghoramara island
 6. ENERGY CONSUMPTION & URBANIZATION
• More than 2 billion people world-wide go without adequate energy supplies.
• By 2030, more than 3 billion people in Asia & Africa would continue to rely on
fuelwood for cooking and heating while 1 billion people will have no access to
electricity.
• India imports 80 % of its oil needs to primarily feed its transportation sector.
Is there really a Global Environmental and Climate
Crisis?
• There are clear signs of Global Warming and the resultant climate change. Average global
temperatures are rising. Extreme weather including droughts, floods and storms have
become more common.
• In India, 8 out of 10 warmest years occurred during the decade 2001-2010. In 2013 ,
cyclone Phailin adversely affected 12 million people along Odisha coast.
 Global Warming- Concept
• Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-
industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil
fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s
atmosphere.
• Climate scientists speculated that our planet’s average temperature could reach
5.40C by 2100 than it was in 2012.
• An IPCC special report produced in 2018 noted that human beings and their
activities have been responsible for a worldwide average temperature increase
between 0.8 and 1.2 °C (1.4 and 2.2 °F) since preindustrial times, and most of the
warming over the second half of the 20th century could be attributed to human
activities.
• The Paris Agreement, 2015 set a goal to limit global warming to well below 2oC and
preferably to 1.5oC compared to the pre-industrial levels.
• According to a new climate update issued by the WMO, there is 50:50 chance of
global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5°C threshold in next five years.
CLIMATE CHANGE-Concept
• Long term shifts in temperature & weather patterns
• Nearly 200 nations have formally acknowledged in joint statements
and international agreements that human activity is responsible for
global climate change, incl. the national academies of Brazil, Canada,
France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom &
the U.S.
• About 97% of climate scientists agree that human activity is causing
climate change.
 CONSEQUENCES OF GREEN HOUSE GASES(GHGS)
• stay in the atmosphere for an
amount of years ranging from
decades to hundreds and thousands
of years
• Ozone layer depletion
• Occurs over the latitudes that include
Antarctica, North America, Europe,
Asia and much of Africa, Australia &
South America
Action taken & Assessment -Ozone Layer
Depletion
• 1985- Vienna Convention for protection of Ozone Layer
• 1987- Montreal Protocol
• to control consumption & production of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS)
• Stimulate the development of replacement substances- Hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs)
• The Antarctic and the upper stratosphere are now showing evidence
of recovery. The Antarctic ozone hole has diminished in size and
depth since the year 2000.
• Arctic springtime total ozone is expected to return to 1980 values
before mid-century (about 2030s).
 Effect of uses of alternatives to ODS

A faster phasedown of HFCs than required by the Kigali Amendment would further limit climate change
from HFCs. One way to achieve this phasedown Kigali Amendment would be more extensive replacement
of high-GWP HFCs with commercially available low-GWP alternatives in refrigeration and air-conditioning
equipment.
CO2 Emissions
• Cause most of the Warming since 1750. Concentration of CO2 is more
compared to other greenhouse gases.
• Stays in atmosphere than other green house gases.
CO2 Emissions Stats
• Global CO2 emissions declined by 5.8% in
2020– the largest ever decline and almost
five times greater than the 2009 decline.
• Emerging markets and developing
economies now account for more than
two-thirds of global CO2 emissions, while
emissions in advanced economies are in a
structural decline
• Economic recovery in India in 2021 is set
to push emissions almost 200 Mt higher
than 2020, leaving emissions 1.4% (or 30
Mt) above 2019 levels rebound in 2021.
• Countries which carry the least
responsibility were the most seriously
affected by climate change.
 Carbon Footprint
• Amount of CO2 emissions associated
with all activities of a person or other
entity (eg., building, corporation,
country, etc.)
• Also includes emissions of other
greenhouse gases such as methane,
nitrate oxide, CFCs.
• Related and grew out of the older
concept Ecological footprint
• The main difference between ecological
footprint and carbon footprint is that
ecological footprint is the total
resources people consume in areas of
land and water whereas carbon
footprint is the total greenhouse gas
emission.
Calculation
• Usually expressed as a measure of weight, as in tons of CO2
• Focus on GFGs emissions associated with production
• They include the emissions associated with goods that are imported
into country but produced elsewhere.
• Also takes into account emissions associated with international
transport and shipping
• Country’s carbon footprint can increase even as carbon emissions
within the borders decrease
Calculate your personal Carbon Footprint. Visit www.carbonfootprint.com
 Ecological footprint

• An ecological footprint is a measure of human impact on Earth's ecosystems.

• Its typically measured in the amount of natural capital consumed each year.
• At a global scale, it is used to estimate how rapidly we are depleting natural
capital.
• The Global Footprint Network calculates the global ecological footprint from
UN and other data. They estimate that as of now our planet has been using
natural capital 1.5 times as fast as nature can renew it.
 How the Ecological Footprint Works?
• The Ecological Footprint measures the supply of and demand on nature: On the supply side biocapacity
represents the planet’s biologically productive land areas including our forests, pastures, cropland and
fisheries. These areas, especially if left unharvested, can also absorb much of the waste we generate,
especially our carbon emissions.

• Biocapacity can then be compared with humanity’s demand on nature: our Ecological Footprint. The
Ecological Footprint represents the productive area required to provide the renewable resources humanity
is using and to absorb its waste. The productive area currently occupied by human infrastructure is also
included in this calculation, since built-up land is not available for resource regeneration.

• Our current global situation: Since the 1970s, humanity has been in ecological overshoot with annual
demand on resources exceeding what Earth can regenerate each year.
Ecological footprint
Footprint measurements
• Ecological footprints can be calculated at any scale: for an activity, a person, a community, a city, a region, a
nation or humanity as a whole.
• There is no fixed way to measuring such footprints

• Any attempts to describe the capacity of an ecosystem in a single number is a massive simplification of
thousands of key renewable resources, which are not used or replenished at the same rate.

• Footprint values at the end of a survey are categorized for Carbon, Food, Housing, and Goods and Services
as well as the total number of Earths needed to sustain the world's population at that level of consumption.

• Ecological footprint analysis is now widely used around the Earth as an indicator of environmental sustainability
CAUSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
1) Population Explosion
2) Unplanned Urban Land Use
3) TechnologicalAdvancements
4) Non-biodegradable Wastes
5) Industrialization
6) Generation Of Hazardous Wastes
7) Concept Of “Use & Throw” In Place Of “Use & Reuse”
8) Eg: Shaving Blades, Pens, Etc
9) Not In My Backyard (Nimby) Concept
10) Effects Of “Green Revolution” On The Agricultural Resources
11) “Damn The Dams” Projects Have Caused Environmental Damage
The Impact of Climate Change
• RISING SEA LEVELS
• CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS AND EXTREME WEATHER
• PRESSURE ON WATER AND FOOD
• POLITICAL AND SECURITY RISKS
RISING SEA LEVELS
• Two-thirds of the world’s largest cities are located in low-lying coastal
areas. By 2100 sea levels are projected to rise by 2 meters (6.6 feet)
• All over the world, countries consisting of small low-lying islands as
Tuvalu, Kiribati and Solomon Islands are facing the effects of the rising
sea.
• In India also islands of Sundarbans are also facing the effects of rising
sea.
CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS AND EXTREME
WEATHER
• Rising temperatures implies that atmosphere can hold more water
vapour and there is a shift in the rainfall patterns worldwide.
• In California, 2015 was the driest year on record.
• Somalia, Kenya and other East African countries have experienced
below-average rainfall since the late 1990’s- leading to 30% reduction
in crop yields and resultant famines in 2010, 2011 and 2016.
• An increase in the prevalence of hurricanes and other
destructive weather events.
PRESSURE ON WATER AND FOOD
• Food production is tightly coupled with water availability.
• In India, irrigation potential is 85 million hectares but nearly 45% of the
net cultivated area depends on rainfall.
• By 2030, overall demand for water may outstrip supply by 40%
• Global food production is also affected by warmer temperatures, increased CO2
levels and extreme weather events.
• By 2090s, without significant reductions in GHG emissions, the proportion of global
land surface in extreme drought could increase from 1-3% today to a whopping 30%.
• Crops grown under high levels of CO2 yield less of nutrients such as iron, zinc and
protein. (warmer weather also allows pests, weeds and parasites to thrive)
POLITICAL AND SECURITY RISKS
• Climate change has been linked to increased political instability worldwide.
• When food prices rose sharply in 2007-08, dozens of so-called “food-riots” caused
casualties in Argentina, Cameroon, Haiti and India.
• Both the Somalian civil war and the Syrian civil war have been linked to drought
and famine exacerbated by Climate Change.
• The US Military has suggested CLIMATE CHANGE is- “a salient national security
concern,” which could redraw maps ansd spheres of engagement while compounding
conflicts and resource constraints in some of the world’s already vulnerable
countries, leading to further instability and even war.”
Climate Change & Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development Climate Change

• Contradiction exist
Objective
• To achieve full employment by providing an ongoing means of
livelihood for all job seekers.
• Protect and restore the environment for the present and future
generation.
• Ensure healthy communities based on sustainable use of local
resources for local consumption and regional trade.
• Measure the success of the economy by improvement in the well-
being of all people and development of healthy, vibrant, diverse
communities.
Sustainable Development
“development that meets the needs of the present without comprising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
-WCED

• Dimensions-
The Triple Bottom Line
• Triple bottom line (or otherwise noted as TBL or 3BL)
is an accounting framework with three 3 P’s
• parts: social environmental, and financial.
• In traditional business accounting and common usage,
the "bottom line" refers to either the "profit" or "loss",
which is usually recorded at the very bottom line on a
statement of revenue and expenses.

• Over the last 50 years, environmentalists and "social

justice" advocates have struggled to bring a broader
definition of bottom line into public consciousness by
introducing full cost accounting method.
Three Elements of the Triple Bottom Line
• Economy – Economic variables ought to be variables that deal with the bottom line and the
flow of money. It could look at income or expenditures, taxes, business climate factors,
employment, and business diversity factors.
• Society - Social variables refer to social dimensions of a community or region and could
include measurements of education, equity and access to social resources, health and
well-being, quality of life, and social capital.
• Environment – Environmental variables should represent measurements of natural
resources and reflect potential influences to its viability. It could incorporate air and water
quality, energy consumption, natural resources, solid and toxic waste, and land use, would
help organizations identify the impacts a project or policy would have on the area.
Action Taken
• 1972-The UN Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm
• 1983-UN set up the World Commission on Environment & Development
(WCED)
• Our Common Future –emphasized on the need for an integration of economic and
ecological systems.
• 1992- Earth Summit- UN Conference on Environment & Development
(UNCED) held in Brazil.
• Came up with several documents. Some are-
• Rio Declaration on Environment & Development listed 27 principles
• Agenda 21- detailed action plan for sustainable development in the 21st Century
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• 2015-UN set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which would
follow and build on the established 8 Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) in UN Millennium Summit in 2000.
Role of World Community about Climate Change

Mitigation- Must limit the

global temperature to 20 C Adaptation- actions
undertaken by an individual,
& CO2 concentration to
community, or government
350ppm & eventually net to prepare for, or respond to
greenhouse gas emissions climate change impacts
to almost zero by 2050.
 Role of Business in Environmental Degradation
2nd December 1984- At least 30 tonnes of methyl
isocyanate gas killed more than 15,000 people
and affected over 600,000 workers.

Industry responsible- Union Carbide Industry Ltd. –

American Pesticide Company

Warnings- 1976- trade Unions complained about

pollution within the plant.
1982- 45 workers died

Bhopal Gas Tragedy- World's worst

industrial disaster.
Policies in India
• 1972- Stockholm Declaration on Environment
• India had enacted laws to control water (1974) & air (1981) pollution
• 1984- Bhopal gas tragedy
• 1986- Environment protection Act
• 1994- Environment Assessment Impact (EIA) Notification
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• described by UNEP as a method for decision-making that can be used to
determine the environmental, economic, and social effects of a project.
• Purpose is to evaluate the environmental effects of a proposed project or
development in relation to their interconnected socioeconomic, cultural, and
health effects.
• crucial management tool for making sure that natural resources are used as
effectively as possible for sustainable development.
• EIA’s main goal is to assess environmental consequences early in project design,
find strategies to lessen negative effects, adapt projects to the local environment,
and present projections and options to decision-makers.
• US was the first country to implement the programme in 1979.
• The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio officially acknowledged the EIA process’s
importance.
EIA in India
• According to the Environmental (Protection) Act of 1986, the Union
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) issued an EIA notification
in 1994 that made obtaining
• Environmental Clearance (EC) necessary for any activity’s extension or
modernization as well as for the establishment of new projects.
• Only Mega Projects like large nuclear plants or hydro-electric plants were
required to take clearance
• Since then many amendments & modification have been done to
improve or sometimes dilute the process.
Process
• set in place a Legal framework for regulating activities the access,
utilize and pollute natural resources
• Carried out by Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), which consist of
scientists, project management experts.
• It frames the scope of the EIA study and a preliminary report is
prepared an published
• Public consultation process takes place
• Final appraisal of the project is made and forwarded to the regulatory
authority which is the Ministry of Environment and Forest.
• MoEF accepts the decision of the EAC.
Dilemma
• Policy makers have to ensure that there is development not at the
cost of environmental loss
• Can not make the process and laws so difficult for the industrialist
that they get demoralised to operate
• Modification in EIA-2006- New EIA notification-
• Decentralisation of the process- reduced the time taken to conduct EIAs
• Size or capacity of the project was a criteria
For example—construction site of 20,000 sq. km. will require clearance
• Public consultation was allowed only after EIA report was submitted
EIA Notification 2020 draft
• Post-facto approval-
• The environmental Clearance can be given even if the construction has
started or in a running phase.
• Public consultation process-
• Time period for public to submit responses during hearing is reduced to 20
days
• Relaxation of monitoring requirement / compliance report-
• Only once a year
• “Strategic” project, the loophole
Three core values of EIA
• Integrity-It should be fair, objective, unbiased & balanced
• Utility- it should provide balanced credible information for decision
making
• Sustainability- it should result in environmental safegaurd
EIA Applicable
4 stages of EIA
• Screening
• Scoping
• Public hearing
• Appraisal
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
SEA –initiated in USA in 1970- as an extension of EIA
• In Europe certain changes were done to incorporate & accommodate
SEA
• China also had passed specific legislation in 2009 related with SEA
• In India- lot of debates and discussions on the implementation of SEA.
Definition
• “Strategic is a process that aims
to integrate environmental &
sustainability considerations”
-Therivel, 2010
• Stretch from EIA— It stretches
vertically & horizontally
• It takes care of not only projects,
but also policies plans &
programmes in a broad way.
• SEA can be said as EIA for policies
& plan
Difference between EIA & SEA
 •

Life Cycle Assessment

• Life cycle assessment is a technique for assessing the environmental
aspects associated with a product over its life cycle.
• It measures the environmental impact of a product through every
phase of its life- production to waste stage.
• The most important applications are these:
• analysis of the contribution of the life cycle stages to the overall
environmental load, usually with the aim to prioritize improvements on
products or processes.
• comparison between products for internal use
Goal of LCA
• A clear framework for measuring environmental impact.
• Goal-
• create data & facilitate decisions
• Always designed with a specific goal in mind.
• For example, to make a product more sustainable.
Why do we need LCA?
• Everybody needs it.
• Companies need it-
• It provides a groundwork for any sustainability or CSR strategy within a company.
• 4 departments responsible-
• Product Management / Research & Development:
1. Comply with regulations, 2. Develop new sustainable products
• Supply Chain Management & Procurement
• In many industries, the supply chain accounts for more than 80 % of the environmental impact.
• Find better suppliers
• Marketing & Sales
• Today, more than 81 % of consumers feel that companies should help improve the environment.
• Act on customer demand for sustainability
• Executive Level & Strategic Management
• Incorporate sustainability in the entire business
5Steps of a product life cycle
(Cradle to Grave)
• Raw Material Extraction
• Manufacturing & Processing
• Transportation
• Usage & Retail
• Waste Disposal
4 product lifecycles are
• Cradle-to-grave
• Cradle-to-gate
• Cradle-to-cradle
• Gate-to-gate
 Cradle-to-grave
• Analyse a product’s impact along the 5 product
lifecycle steps
• “from creation to disposal”
• At the end of a product’s lifecycle, C2G puts
emphasis on designing the product to NOT
become waste at the end of its “first life”. For
example, perhaps it can be reused in another
way, or truly recycled without the use of much
energy or additives.
• Organizations are only focused on hazardous
waste cradle to grave, but the general/domestic
waste could potentially also pose a risk; whether
it might be social, environmental or health.
The product lifecycle starts from the assumption that industrial products follow this path:
Extraction –> Transformation –> Use/Consumption –> Disposal (and hopefully some type of re-use).
Cradle-to-gate
• Assesses a product until it leaves the factory gates before it is
transported to the consumer.
• Measure when the product design is such that the product can be
easily recycled or composed, avoiding landfill.

Raw Material Manufacturing

Transportation Usage & Retail
Extraction & Processing
Cradle-to-cradle
• Cradle-to-cradle-is a concept often
referred to within the Circular
Economy. exchanging
the waste stage with a recycling
process that makes it reusable for
another product, essentially
“closing the loop”--closed-loop
recycling.
• One way to develop a “Cradle to
Cradle” mentality in our society is
to transition into a circular
economy.
Circular Economy
• A Circular Economy keeps resources in use
for as long as possible and regenerates
materials at the end of their life.
• The Circular Economy is based on three
principles:
• Designing out waste and pollution
• Keeping products and materials in use
• Regenerating goods using natural
systems.
PROCESS
Gate-to-gate
• sometimes used in product life
cycles with many value-adding
processes in the middle

A Gate-to-gate Case Study of the

Life Cycle Assessment of an Oil
Palm Seedling
Phases of a Life Cycle Assessment
• The phases of a Life Cycle
Assessment are defined in
the ISO standards 14040 and
14044.
• 4 Phases are-
• Goal & Scope Definition
• Inventory Analysis
• Impact Assessment
• Interpretation
THE 4 PHASES…..
1.Scope and goal -the definition of these shapes the assessment and
future actions
2.Overall inventory analysis-analyze environmental inputs like energy
use and raw materials, and outputs like emissions, scrap, and
wastewater so you see how your product affects the environment
3.Impact assessment-classify how your production impacts the
environment and evaluate each factor and how you will tackle it to
achieve the goals set out in stage 1
4.Interpretation -interpret the data to come to conclusions about your
current situation and how you need to make changes to improve
SDG PYRAMID
ESG Framework
• ESG is known by other names, such as environmental, social and
governance (ESG) or sustainable development reporting .
• ESG is a framework that helps stakeholders understand how an
organization is managing risks and opportunities related to
environmental, social, and governance criteria
• It is a systematic approach for identifying, assessing and integrating
the economic, environmental and social impacts of a business on
society as well as the environment.
• It can be used for setting goals, determining policies, implementing
strategies and more
• It can provide intelligence to inform decision making, which is
especially helpful for companies with a commitment to sustainability.
Objective criteria to track and measure ESG
performance
• Business performance on important aspects of ESG such as
decarbonization, workforce diversity and sourcing products through
ethical supply chains can be evaluated and measured. But it needs to
be done right.
• High-quality data requires articulation of a clear ESG strategy, strong
execution and access to the data through appropriate tools and
technology.
• We’ve seen how powerful the outcomes can be when organizations
start their journey with clear priorities.
ESG Framework in India
• ESG compliance is derived from a number of laws that are
implemented in India, including The Environment Protection Act of
1986, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974,
the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981, the
Hazardous Waste Rules of 2016, and the Factories Act of 1948.
ESG criteria
Example of Key ESG metrics

Source: Nasdaq
Environment ESG metrics
• Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: It is equal to the total emission of gasses
that leaps heat into the atmosphere like carbon dioxide, metan, nitrous oxide
and so on. One of the most important indications of a company’s impact on
climate change is the number of tons of GHG emissions it produces.
• Emissions intensity: It is the total GHG emissions of a company divided by its
total output. Emission intensity can be calculated in a variety of ways,
including per product or per dollar.
• Energy mix: Even if a corporation consumes a lot of energy, it can still be
carbon neutral if the electricity comes from renewable sources like wind or
solar energy. In this sense, a company’s energy mix reveals the percentage of
energy sources it employs.
• Total water consumption: As there is a shortage of safe drinking water, water
usage in relation to business consumption is an essential environmental factor
to address for stakeholders.
• To find out this
information, you can
use reputable data
providers like EPA for
transportation,
electricity and waste
emissions
Social ESG metrics
• CEO pay ratio: It is computed by dividing the CEO’s total earnings, including bonuses, by the company’s
median compensation. The higher the ratio, the less equal the distribution of turnover is, and it can cause
employee dissatisfaction.
• Gender diversity: It is the proportion of men and women who work for a company. Discrimination can be
measured using gender diversity as a parameter. Creditors and consumers, for example, can compare a
company’s gender diversity to the gender diversity of other companies in the same industry.
• Gender pay ratio: It is calculated by dividing the median male earnings in a company by the median female
earnings. It is an important statistic for stakeholders’ judgments of gender-based discrimination. If men hold
top-tier managerial positions or earn more money while doing the same job as women, this indicates
gender-based discrimination known as occupational segregation.
• Injury Rate: It is computed by frequency of injury events to total work time. Such data might be illuminative
to stakeholders to decide whether to further cooperate with your company or not. since they can compare
the injury rate of companies within the same industry.
• Child or forced labor: It assesses whether a corporation adheres to international standards about prevention
of child or forced labor.
• Human rights: It evaluates whether your organization adheres to an international human rights standard.
Governance ESG metrics
• ESG or any related reporting: It shows whether or not a corporation reports its
environmental impact orissue an ESG report.
• Incentives pay: It determines if executives have a bonus program as part of their
environmental or social development. Consider, the board of directors decides on
a 10% reduction in GHG emissions for the entire field sales team until the end of
the year. If the KPIs are aligned, those who contributed to this success should be
rewarded in order to encourage staff to work on other environmental and social
concerns.
• Supplier code of conduct: Businesses should nudge their supply chains to act
responsibly because our social and environmental problems can only be solved
collectively.
• External Audit: Financial regulations require corporations to declare their
financial variables under third-party evaluation. The same should be true for ESG
reporting. ESG reports are more credible when they are produced in consultation
with a third-party.
 Companies
Approach
• It has to be holistic
approach
• Cannot be defensive
(usual tendency) or
selective approach
 Sum up-
1) There is diversity of expectation of companies in different countries.
2) ‘Benchmark/ bar of good corporate practice’ is not just related to expectations around
‘quality’, but includes social and environmental impacts as well.
3) Companies should be able to measure and account for their performances.

It becomes easier for companies to enhance reputation and build trust in its business,
if company’s social and environmental principles are clear.
Recent Development related to ESG Framework of India
• Since 2009, The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) have offered recommendations to ensure that
businesses act responsibly and introduced National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environment and
Economic Responsibilities of Business.
• The 2013 Indian Companies Act formalised the responsibilities of directors with regard to their
obligations to the society and environment.
• 2015- SEBI implemented the Business Responsibility Report (“BRR”) requirement for the top 100
listed firms by market capitalization to include in their annual report so that the pertinent listed
entities could detail the activities done by them from an ESG viewpoint.
• India made a commitment at this meeting to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 (the Conference of
Parties (CoP26) , 2021).
• In 2021, SEBI implemented Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (“BRSR”) requirement
extended to 1000 companies recently according to market capitalization.
• In May 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) established a “Sustainable Finance Group” (SFG) to
coordinate with other national and international bodies on issues related to climate change and with
their goals. Additionally, the Indian Banks Association has developed a set of National Voluntary
Guidelines for Responsible Finance, which calls on its members to consider their commitment to
ethical business practices while making lending and investing decisions.
Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)
• Sebi issues Disclosure Requirements under BRSR- a significant step towards bringing
sustainability reporting at par with financial reporting.
• The filing of BRSR has been made mandatory for the top 1000 listed companies (by
market capitalization) with effect from the financial year 2022-2023.

Environment Related Disclosures: Social Disclosures:

• resource usage
(energy and water), air
pollution, pollutant emissions,
green-house (GHG) emissions,
transitioning to circular
economy, waste generated and
waste management practices,
bio-diversity.
• Additionally, Sustainability
related targets and
performance against the same
needs to mentioned in the
BRSR report.
• workforce, value chain, communities and consumers.
• gender and social diversity including measures for differently abled employees
and workers, turnover rates, median wages, welfare benefits to permanent and
contractual employees / workers, occupational health and safety, trainings.
• At communities level— make disclosures on Social Impact Assessments (SIA),
Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Corporate Social Responsibility, among
others.
• With respect to consumers – disclose on product labelling, product recall,
consumer complaints in respect of data privacy, cyber security among others.
• The BRSR report would also include an overview of the entity’s material ESG
risks and opportunities, approach to mitigate or adapt to the risks along-with
financial implications of the same.