Eight ways GCCs are anchoring global ESG initiatives

Global Capability Centers (GCCs) need to effectively implement and transform their operations at a large scale and with speed.

With 196 countries committing to combat climate change at the historic COP21, the global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving. European Union has enforced reporting obligations through the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive, while the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has mandated disclosure under Climate Regulations. Globally, countries are adopting diverse internationally recognized frameworks, compelling companies to report on a consistent set of non-financial metrics.

The scope of ESG is broad. Today, companies are facing significant challenges in the identification, collation and reporting of sustainability data points. Reporting on these metrics will require companies to build newer capabilities to support.

Insights from EY India's inaugural ESG GCC Survey 2024 highlight that 51% GCCs in India have initiated efforts to help their global counterparts to advance the ESG agenda. GCCs are working with global sustainability leaders in enabling the end-to-end ESG implementation journey across key capabilities such as project management, supplier risk management, process and controls enablement, reporting, technology, and analytics.

    ESG capabilities being built at GCCs                                           

From harnessing project management expertise to establishing data governance measures, harmonizing data collection processes, assessing the impact of carbon regulations, building predictive emission models, GCCs are at the forefront of sustainability innovation. For instance, an agro commodity GCC played a crucial role in streamlining data collection and monitoring processes for over 50 ESG metrics across seven business units. These metrics were integrated into the organization’s IT systems, where ESG frameworks, logics and rules were built into the organization’s data lake. 

Another GCC developed the entire framework for internal controls in data reporting. A leading alco-bev GCC designed a supplier engagement platform with interactive Power BI reports to gather and oversee GHG emissions. The platform includes self-assessment tools for suppliers and provides ways and means to improve the supplier’s ESG score. Two additional GCCs implemented processes, workflows, and monitoring systems to track circular economy metrics, such as recycling of beer bottles and insulin pins.

According to the report, 70% of GCCs are collaborating or planning to collaborate with technology and data analytics support. This involves not just improving current IT systems but also rethinking data integration methods to better incorporate ESG factors. By embracing innovative solutions, GCCs are poised to navigate the complexities of ESG integration with agility and precision.

How are GCCs anchoring the technology agenda