New analysis of how companies in India are engaging with government climate policy reveals that corporations and industry associations in India are broadly more supportive of science-aligned climate policy than their global peers, but that this support tends to be top line in nature and is not translating into strategic engagement with the policymaking process to drive forward the energy transition.
InfluenceMap’s first analysis of the corporate sector in India reveals a lack of clear opposition to ambitious climate policy, contrasting with other nations such as Australia and the United States that have a high concentration of fossil fuel industries. This suggests there is a real opportunity for Indian companies to work with the government to become a global leader on climate action.
For this research, InfluenceMap analyzed the climate policy engagement of 20 of the largest companies in India from climate relevant sectors. The research showed that only one of the companies assessed, ReNew, currently demonstrates policy advocacy in line with science-based pathways to 1.5°C, 18 of the companies demonstrated ‘partially aligned’ advocacy.
Notably almost all companies assessed (17/20) had an engagement intensity below the 25% level that InfluenceMap considers to be ‘strategic engagement’, suggesting that top line commitments and positive messaging on climate are not translating into active policy advocacy that would help achieve these outcomes. For example, nine of the 20 companies assessed actively supported India’s 2030 500GW renewable energy target, whereas only five engaged with India’s Carbon Credit and Trading System (CCTS).
The analysis also covers the eight most influential industry associations in India including the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). None of the eight association fully aligned their advocacy with science-based policy pathways for delivering the 1.5°C warming goal of the Paris Agreement. However, seven out of eight did demonstrate partially aligned climate policy engagement. CII emerges as the leader in this group in contrast to InfluenceMap analysis of other key economies such as the US, EU and Japan where cross-sector industry associations are usually the laggards in climate policy engagement.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) obtains the lowest score of the industry associations assessed on climate policy engagement in India. Although it has supported recent EV policies, the low scores are driven by its historical opposition to fuel standards and advocacy for internal combustion engine vehicles. This is despite some of the members of SIAM for example –Mahindra & Mahindra– engaging much more positively on climate policy. This is in keeping with a global trend InfluenceMap has tracked of industry associations representing the ‘lowest common denominator’ position within their membership. Misalignments of this kind are a key concern for investors.
India is currently at a critical juncture in its efforts to move toward its goal of reducing emissions to net zero by 2070, with the government continuing to take positive steps by introducing new climate policy measures, including a new national carbon market. Corporate advocacy from companies and industry associations across the economy will play a key role in ensuring the effectiveness of these policy actions and the lack of concentrated opposition to the transition among businesses in India presents an opportunity for companies such as ReNew to demonstrate leadership on these issues globally.
Existing guidelines around Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) provide an excellent first step for companies to more transparently disclose climate policy engagement activities. However, in the latest reporting cycle InfluenceMap analysis finds only six companies responded to voluntary questions on advocacy in the BRSR that invited disclosure of direct climate policy engagement activities, despite responding to other mandatory questions on industry association memberships.
InfluenceMap will continue to track developments in the policy engagement landscape in India via its new India Platform.
Vivek Parekh, India Program Lead at InfluenceMap said
InfluenceMap’s first assessment of the corporate landscape in India has shown that there is no established opposition to climate policy and as such there is a huge opportunity for forward-looking companies to reap the first mover advantages of driving the energy transition in one of the largest economies in the world. It highlights what companies can start doing now to put themselves on this path - for example, taking stock of how their interests are being represented to governments – as the research shows these are currently misaligned with much of the top line ambition of the Indian business community - and fully utilizing the BRSR which provides a key mechanism for improving transparency in disclosures on engagement with climate policy.
Click here for full report & to download the appendix of companies tracked
Kitty Hatchley, Media Manager, InfluenceMap (London)
Email: kitty.hatchley {@} influencemap.org