With COP30 concluding in Brazil, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has pressed the need for a principle-based corporate response to climate change and highlighted the strategic importance of embedding Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles into business frameworks for long-term competitiveness.

As a statutory body advancing corporate governance best practices, ICSI has positioned stewardship as responsible management of assets and relationships for sustained value creation, introducing the ICSI Guiding Principles on Stewardship (IGPS). The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has recognised the IGPS for adoption by Fund Management Entities and Institutional Investors in IFSCs, safeguarding the interests of clients, beneficiaries and society.

Emphasising stewardship beyond compliance, the IGPS aims to harness the role of Institutional Investors and Fund Managers in encouraging companies to shift from short-term gains to long-term outcomes by insisting on robust ESG frameworks that prioritise sustainable growth.

To support practical adoption, ICSI has launched a Stakeholder Engagement Toolkit on ESG to supplement the IGPS and assist Company Secretaries and Boards in formulating comprehensive ESG policies. The Institute has also introduced the ICSI Principles on Climate Change Governance (IPCG), providing guidance on climate-related disclosures, metrics and target-setting to monitor sustainability performance.

Highlighting the Institute’s proactive role, CS Dhananjay Shukla, President, the ICSI, said, “Integrating climate consideration into business frameworks require a cohesive methodology of well-crafted principles, detailed guidance on climate and sustainability matters and equipped professionals who can coherently translate it into reality. As a leading force in promoting best practices, the ICSI is offering it all, through its various initiatives.”

CS Asish Mohan, Secretary, the ICSI, added, “In a world where climate change is requiring corporations and nations, investors and investees, to act strategically, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India aims to utilise the significant pedestals occupied by these investors and stewards and promote principles-based governance to support sustainable development.”