iStockWith heightened interest from investors in businesses aligned with environmental, social and governance (ESG) values, companies are scouting for leaders to head this newly formed function, according to search firms.
The roles being offered for ESG functions include heads, directors and vice presidents at the top, as well as assistant VPs and general managers in the next level.
From almost negligible demand a year ago, executives at search firms like Transearch, EMA Partners and ABC Consultants together now have over a dozen mandates to fill such roles with pay packets running into crores for senior leaders.
According to Inderjeet Singh, director at Deloitte India, around 40% of the top 1,000 listed Indian companies have taken definite actions in walking the ESG path.
Companies like the Vedanta Group, Tata Steel, Welspun and Marico are hiring for these positions, their executives said. Even in the stock market, an ESG-focused business performs better than a company with no focus on ESG, DD Mishra, a senior director analyst at Gartner, told ET.
“Given the increased scrutiny of organisations on ESG parameters by analysts and rating agencies, ESG is evolving as a separate function. EMA is working on at least four such ESG-focused leadership roles,” said A Ramachandran, senior partner, EMA Partners.
Companies are looking at handing out pay packets of Rs 1.5-2 crore before stock options to leadership talent. The hunting ground for this pool is among consulting companies including the Big 4, as well as sustainability and CSR-focused enterprises. With a paucity of this talent pool, companies are also looking for people outside India and building talent within the organisations.
“Along with internal elevation and movement to critical roles, we are looking at external talent who can bring a global perspective to the business,” said Madhu Srivastava, chief HR officer at the Vedanta Group.
At the group level, Vedanta is in the process of developing an ESG advisory board that will work with the core team and senior management. CEOs of the business units at Vedanta have recently set up an ESG transformational office, made up of 10-12 young cross-functional leaders.
“We are also onboarding global consultants to provide external expertise, guide us … to become one of the leaders in the sector in this regard,” said Srivastava. The company has also recently appointed an internal high-level resource in a director-level position, handling a critical role encompassing ESG, carbon and social performance domain.
According to a Gartner global report, by 2025, around 50% of companies will have ESG among the top five business priority areas. “Research shows that business performance has only improved if a company is invested in ESG and helps reduce risks over a period of time,” said Mishra.
Marico’s ESG function is headed by a sustainability leader, who is a home-grown talent with over two decades of experience, and has a team of dedicated sustainability and CSR experts.
“The pandemic-induced disruptions in the business environment have propelled different stakeholder groups to accelerate their ESG strategies so as to future proof their value creation paradigms,” said Jitendra Mahajan, chief operating officer - supply chain, IT & MENA business - at Marico.
Marico is currently prioritising its “decade of action” goals towards climate action, restoration of natural assets, promoting eco-conscious consumerism and delivering socially inclusive growth.
In January 2021, Welspun adopted an ESG approach called ‘WELOCITY’ to propel the well-being of all stakeholders at each stage of operations.
“As we move forward, we are evaluating all our actions through the ESG lens,” chief HR officer Rajendra Mehta said. In line with the company's commitment to achieving ESG goals by 2030, Welspun India has appointed two independent directors to its board of members to enable a stronger framework for corporate governance and decision-making.
Tata Steel is also hiring senior executives to head specialised verticals like environment. As this is an evolving area, the company is also focusing on developing in-house talent, said a spokesperson.
Apollo Tyres has a dedicated team for ESG that is going to continue investing in the health programme for the trucking community, solid waste management and sanitation, community development and environment conservation, said its president, Sunam Sarkar.
The roles being offered for ESG functions include heads, directors and vice presidents at the top, as well as assistant VPs and general managers in the next level.
From almost negligible demand a year ago, executives at search firms like Transearch, EMA Partners and ABC Consultants together now have over a dozen mandates to fill such roles with pay packets running into crores for senior leaders.
According to Inderjeet Singh, director at Deloitte India, around 40% of the top 1,000 listed Indian companies have taken definite actions in walking the ESG path.
Companies like the Vedanta Group, Tata Steel, Welspun and Marico are hiring for these positions, their executives said. Even in the stock market, an ESG-focused business performs better than a company with no focus on ESG, DD Mishra, a senior director analyst at Gartner, told ET.
“Given the increased scrutiny of organisations on ESG parameters by analysts and rating agencies, ESG is evolving as a separate function. EMA is working on at least four such ESG-focused leadership roles,” said A Ramachandran, senior partner, EMA Partners.
Companies are looking at handing out pay packets of Rs 1.5-2 crore before stock options to leadership talent. The hunting ground for this pool is among consulting companies including the Big 4, as well as sustainability and CSR-focused enterprises. With a paucity of this talent pool, companies are also looking for people outside India and building talent within the organisations.
“Along with internal elevation and movement to critical roles, we are looking at external talent who can bring a global perspective to the business,” said Madhu Srivastava, chief HR officer at the Vedanta Group.
At the group level, Vedanta is in the process of developing an ESG advisory board that will work with the core team and senior management. CEOs of the business units at Vedanta have recently set up an ESG transformational office, made up of 10-12 young cross-functional leaders.
“We are also onboarding global consultants to provide external expertise, guide us … to become one of the leaders in the sector in this regard,” said Srivastava. The company has also recently appointed an internal high-level resource in a director-level position, handling a critical role encompassing ESG, carbon and social performance domain.
According to a Gartner global report, by 2025, around 50% of companies will have ESG among the top five business priority areas. “Research shows that business performance has only improved if a company is invested in ESG and helps reduce risks over a period of time,” said Mishra.
Marico’s ESG function is headed by a sustainability leader, who is a home-grown talent with over two decades of experience, and has a team of dedicated sustainability and CSR experts.
“The pandemic-induced disruptions in the business environment have propelled different stakeholder groups to accelerate their ESG strategies so as to future proof their value creation paradigms,” said Jitendra Mahajan, chief operating officer - supply chain, IT & MENA business - at Marico.
Marico is currently prioritising its “decade of action” goals towards climate action, restoration of natural assets, promoting eco-conscious consumerism and delivering socially inclusive growth.
In January 2021, Welspun adopted an ESG approach called ‘WELOCITY’ to propel the well-being of all stakeholders at each stage of operations.
“As we move forward, we are evaluating all our actions through the ESG lens,” chief HR officer Rajendra Mehta said. In line with the company's commitment to achieving ESG goals by 2030, Welspun India has appointed two independent directors to its board of members to enable a stronger framework for corporate governance and decision-making.
Tata Steel is also hiring senior executives to head specialised verticals like environment. As this is an evolving area, the company is also focusing on developing in-house talent, said a spokesperson.
Apollo Tyres has a dedicated team for ESG that is going to continue investing in the health programme for the trucking community, solid waste management and sanitation, community development and environment conservation, said its president, Sunam Sarkar.
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