Roundtable meeting on Making Cities ESG ready
January 2023
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures have become popular over the last decade in the corporate world. Investors now regularly apply non-financial, environmental and ethical considerations to drive investment decisions. In India, rapid urbanization, deteriorating environment and poor state of municipal finances suggest that Indian cities will need to explore funds from open market as well as new investors who focus on these aspects. Much of corporate financing is now increasingly based on ESG rating, and this will also be important for cities as they explore such market resources and impact investors.
CWAS and PwC India have collaborated on a pioneering initiative to develop an ESG assessment framework for Indian cities. It envisages support to Indian cities to become ESG-ready and attract investments.
A roundtable meeting on “Making Cities ESG Ready” was organized on 13th January, in New Delhi. The ESG framework for cities and key findings were discussed with participants. Mr. Parameswaran Iyer, CEO - NITI Aayog, who had agreed to chair, sent his best wishes for the meeting and expressed regret on not being able to attend due to urgent unforeseen meetings. Ms. D Thara, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs chaired the event. Participants included representatives from financial institutions, government, researchers, regulators, actively discussed the framework.
