Mahindra & Mahindra is among the 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies in the world according to a recent ranking by The Wall Street Journal. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has been ranked 17th: the highest ranking for an automobile company, and the highest ranking for any Indian company on this prestigious list.
This ranking was produced by the Journal’s environment, social and governance research analysts, who assessed more than 5,500 publicly traded businesses based on sustainability metrics in such areas as business model and innovation, external social and product issues, employee and workplace issues, and the environment. The ranking’s methodology takes a broad view of sustainability, one which assesses a company’s leadership and governance practices for their ability to create value for shareholders over the long term.
The ranking reflects a company’s management of financially material issues related to the key areas, including the environment, human capital, social capital and innovation. The scores don’t measure a company’s overall impact on people or the planet; rather they focus on potentially leading indicators of performance, such as policies, initiatives and tracking metrics. To arrive at a score, the team combined up to 165 company-reported data items with an analysis of media coverage by over 8,800 media sources using a hybrid approach that combined AI with human validation by the Journal’s ESG research team.
M&M scored especially well on the human & social capitals metric. The company’s business model and its innovations in the sector were recognized and so was the work done on the environmental front. The Mahindra Group has already committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040, and this performance is one of the steps in ensuring the company’s long-term sustainability.
Commenting on this global recognition, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, said, “The Mahindra Group strongly believes that it is possible to do good and do well at the same time. This simple philosophy guides our decision making particularly in terms of our sustainability initiatives. It’s very clear that every business needs to step up its sustainability game if it expects to remain relevant in the future.”
M&M was the first company globally to commit to doubling its energy productivity through the EP 100 initiative. It is also the first Indian company to Introduce an internal carbon price of US$10 per ton of carbon emitted. The funds raised are then used to make investments in renewable energy, including solar, wind, heat recovery systems, and energy-efficient motors. In addition, 14 of M&M’s manufacturing plants are now certified as ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’.
