Indian firms are serious about ESG & tech is why they’re finally moving fast

Across India Inc., sustainability is no longer a branding add-on, it has become a measurable business mandate shaped by net-zero targets, disclosure requirements, and the mounting cost of climate impacts. As companies race to keep up, the challenge isn’t just intent but execution. This includes collecting trustworthy data, tracing supply chains, and converting climate commitments into action. The Indian ESG investing market is projected to grow from US$1,217.9 million in 2024 to US$4,109.6 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 23.3% opening up a huge opportunity.

Viral Thakker, after nearly three decades in consulting and four years leading Deloitte’s South Asia climate and sustainability practice, has now joined Credibl ESG to accelerate that execution using AI-powered tools designed for scale. He says the sustainability journey companies face today requires a technology platform.

 “One of the big realizations was that enabling client journeys through a technology platform or a tool becomes paramount,” Thakker told The Tech Panda.

At Credibl, he’s helping bring that platform approach to Indian corporate sustainability, using AI to speed reporting, assure data quality and surface where change matters most.

Platforms Over Powerpoint

Thakker spent the last four years building Deloitte’s South Asia climate and sustainability practice and saw repeatedly that clients across sectors share the same need.

“I found that what’s common with all of these clients is to say, I need to know where I’m at, and what are the smart interventions I can drive that will get me closer to my goal,” he recalls.

This, he argues, is where software wins. And Credibl’s stack, he explains, is designed to do exactly that.

“They’ve leveraged artificial intelligence not just as a tick in the box but genuine and authentic use of AI. They use AI for data assurance and quality, they use AI for peer benchmarking, and one of the most significant interventions is on supply-chain due diligence.”

“They’ve leveraged artificial intelligence not just as a tick in the box but genuine and authentic use of AI. They use AI for data assurance and quality, they use AI for peer benchmarking, and one of the most significant interventions is on supply-chain due diligence,” he adds.

He points to the “virtual auditor” feature, which flags sites that underperform on normalized metrics so companies can investigate outliers instead of chasing false positives. For large Indian manufacturers and exporters running dozens of plants, that kind of automation can cut weeks off reporting cycles and turn noisy spreadsheets into actionable insight.

“If I’m running 30, 40, 50 sites, because this tool has AI, it is able to determine if, on a normalized basis, a site seems to be slightly out of the range compared to others. This allows you to then investigate, if this is reasonable or otherwise”, he explains.

Market Moment: Scale Meets Regulation

The Indian ESG industry is in full swing. According to Outlook, more than 96% of Indian companies in a BRSR report disclosed their energy usage in FY 23, and many reported a 13% drop in energy intensity (energy per unit revenue) compared to FY 22.

Thakker frames India as a market at a crossroads, trying to grow rapidly while managing the impacts of climate change. He points to an estimated $1.5 trillion capex opportunity across energy, urban and water sectors alone.

“I’m calling this as an opportunity, not a cost for climate mitigation and this is across four-five big sectors such as energy, urban, water etc. But just in those sectors, there is an investment opportunity for Indian companies and others to invest in India, make in India, employ in India for these solutions.”

“I’m calling this as an opportunity, not a cost for climate mitigation and this is across four-five big sectors such as energy, urban, water etc. But just in those sectors, there is an investment opportunity for Indian companies and others to invest in India, make in India, employ in India for these solutions,” he says.

Policy is accelerating that demand. Thakker flags India’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) mandate as a strong regulatory lever.

“We have a strong regulatory regime, BRSR is probably one of the strongest regulations globally,” he says, adding that auditability requirements and schemes like PLI are nudging manufacturing and finance toward greener investment.

This is creating a market for platforms that can assure data and evidence across complex supplier networks.

“Supply chains these days are susceptible to geopolitics,” he observes. “A holistic view of a supply chain and understanding of that supply chain risk is also critical to growth, and this is where Credibl excels and that’s how the opportunity in my mind is substantial.”

Beyond Compliance: Sustainability as Brand & Strategy

The awareness of ESG catches on early in today’s Indian companies. According to PwC data, over 51% of India’s top 100 listed companies voluntarily disclosed their Scope 3 emissions in FY 23 under the BRSR framework, despite it being optional.

“Many of the newer companies are now starting to integrate sustainability into their operations from the get-go. That’s an important part because at the end of the day, it’s the posture from the founders, the promoters etc. that is also an important indicator of how serious the company is”.

Thakker says the next generation of companies is embedding sustainability from day one. “The younger companies are increasingly more aware and more proactive. Many of the newer companies are now starting to integrate sustainability into their operations from the get-go. That’s an important part because at the end of the day, it’s the posture from the founders, the promoters etc. that is also an important indicator of how serious the company is”.

He also suggests that customer preferences are shifting, after price and quality, brand purpose, increasingly defined by sustainability practices, is the next decision lever for many consumers. Credibl’s roadmap reflects this shift. Beyond traceability, he adds, the platform helps clients “report on these metrics and drive meaningful change in their trajectories,” and leverages its ecosystem to bring in financing and technical innovation at appropriate cost. That combination, he argues, helps companies not just tick boxes but deliver shareholder and customer value.

Why India Remains an ESG Growth Story

Environmentally speaking India has done better in 2025 than 2024 in several respects, with scaled-up solar manufacturing and competitively priced hybrid storage tenders, yet punctuated by visible climate impacts.

Looking ahead, Thakker is frank, “I expect things to get worse before they get better.”

But the efforts are visible. According to Altometa Consulting, the number of companies filing BRSR reports in India jumped from 170 in FY 21–22 to 1,073 in FY 22–23, showing rapid uptake.

Taken together, Thakker’s message is straightforward, India’s regulatory push, huge investment needs and a maturing corporate mindset have created a large, tangible market for ESG solutions, and AI-driven platforms are the accelerator.

Taken together, Thakker’s message is straightforward, India’s regulatory push, huge investment needs and a maturing corporate mindset have created a large, tangible market for ESG solutions, and AI-driven platforms are the accelerator. For firms that want to export to strict overseas markets or shore up supply-chain resilience, the math is compelling, measure, benchmark, act.

The Bottom Line: ESG Is Becoming Non-Negotiable

From regulatory expectations and consumer pressure to global supply-chain compliance, the tide is turning fast. And as Thakker’s move to a climate-tech startup suggests, the leaders who once shaped ESG strategy from the consulting side are now migrating to platforms that can operationalize those strategies.

India’s next decade of growth, it seems, will be green by design.

Whether driven by exports, regulation or customer expectations, the direction of travel for India Inc. is clear, ESG is becoming a hard-coded part of business strategy. With one of the world’s fastest-growing sustainability reporting ecosystems and a trillion-dollar climate transition opportunity ahead, Indian companies are entering a decisive decade. For Thakker, AI-backed platforms can help bridge the gap between commitment and measurable progress, turning sustainability from a compliance headache into a competitive advantage.