Indian IT Companies Shine Again In Carbon Disclosure Project Ratings

Information technology companies continue to lead in India in terms of ranking achieved in the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index prepared by the Carbon Disclosure Project.

The number of Indian companies qualifying in the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) increased from 23 in 2014 to 31 in 2015, increasing despite the increase in  benchmark cut-off score from 80 to 90. Among the top 10 companies, four are from the information technology (IT) sector. Four companies achieved perfect score of 100 in the CDLI — ITC Limited, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro — with two of these companies from the IT sector.

Several leading IT companies in India have taken substantial measures to increase low-carbon growth. Wipro, for example, invested $400,000 to voluntarily sign a power purchase agreement with renewable energy projects. The company acquired 65.6 million kWh in 2014-15, resulting in offset of over 53,850 tonnes of CO2e emissions. Other IT companies like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services have also taken similar measures to increase their share of renewable energy in their power consumption.

Tata Consultancy Services, which earned a score of 99 in the CDLI, spent $5.5 million to incorporate green building concepts — including energy efficiency systems and rainwater harvesting systems — in all new buildings, helping the company reduce its electricity consumption.

While IT companies continued to be ranked quite well in the CDLI rankings, companies in other sectors also managed to improve their scores. As many as 12 companies from the “materials” sector reported their emissions to the CDP. These included companies involved in manufacturing of cement, iron & steel products, chemicals, and mining. Within the consumer discretionary sector automobile and auto ancillary companies led in terms of participation. Nine banks, most of them from the private sector, also reported their emissions.