India companies increase focus on sustainability

08 April 2008 13:17  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--Indian chemical companies are becoming increasingly conscious about the environment with about 86% regarding sustainability as an important factor when selecting suppliers, a senior official said on Tuesday.

“According to our survey, about 50% of the entire industries in India felt that sustainability was a critical factor and 36% felt that the issue should be taken into account when selecting suppliers,” Jeremy Burks, Dow Corning's global industry executive director, said at a business outlook conference.

“This [India’s response towards sustainability] is a positive sign and indicates a trend towards the increasing awareness and a responsible conduct of the Indian companies,” another official said.

“Most companies want to appear responsible to the world and therefore build their reputation by associating with the clean planet drive,” he said, adding that this image helped in business deals.

According to the survey, 70% of the people felt that reducing waste was the most important enviornmental factor, followed by 65% people who felt that developing green and enviornment friendly products was most important, Burks said.

“Sustainability is the feature where people, planet and profitability overlap, and more and more companies in India are moving towards it,” Burks added.

ICIS Copyright © Reed Business Information 2009

Author: Isha Jha
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