Pari joined the Hitotsubashi ICS MBA Class of 2022 as a Young Leaders Program (YLP) scholar, bringing with her an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit and a wealth of diverse industry experiences. Her passion for sustainability and her drive to make a positive impact on the world set her apart as an exceptional addition to the program.
After completing my Leading for Sustainability course with Jody Ono, I was eager to delve deeper into the subject of sustainability. Graciously, Jody Ono recommended Read the Air, a Tokyo-based sustainability consultancy. This referral opened up the opportunity for me to pursue an internship and gain a more comprehensive and practical understanding of the sustainability landscape. Being an entrepreneur, I wanted to be able to capture the complexity and enormity of the sustainability challenges in a concise manner.
Read The Air is a business advisory firm that helps organizations achieve their sustainability objectives by offering timely and relevant solutions. I met with the firm's founders – Trista Bridges and Donald Eubank and they offered to create a unique internship offering for me. I was interested in exploring the effect of new CSRD directives by the EU on Asian companies. My aim was to explore actionable measures that companies could adopt as they transitioned toward a more sustainable economy.
Amidst the noise of regulatory discussions, companies often struggle to grasp the essentials of new regulations and how to effectively respond to these changes. This gap in understanding propelled us to write a paper dedicated to examining the impact of the EU's CSRD on Asian companies. The CSRD necessitates companies to disclose impact data on the environment, society, and climate as part of their management reports. This would be the first concrete policy that would require companies to report “non-financial” data in a manner that is consistent, transparent, and comparable.
In writing this paper, my entrepreneurial perspective guided me to present the information in an accessible and actionable manner. Understanding that many companies face challenges in implementing policies, we focused on the best approaches for companies to respond to this regulatory shift. In doing so, we emphasized the pivotal roles of people, processes, and technology. To enhance comprehension, we provided illustrative examples from prominent companies such as Tata Steel, Sony, and Toyota. Additionally, we highlighted critical concepts like double-materiality (the reciprocal impact of external ESG issues on the company and the company's operations on society and the environment) and interoperability (simplifying data collection and reporting processes within this framework).
In a world experiencing rapid shifts in climate, environment, and society, it is crucial for businesses to prepare themselves for this impending transition. This paper serves as a guide, urging companies to proactively adapt and navigate this evolving sustainability landscape.
Check the Linked post on CSRD: The Long Arm of the EU Law.
You may download the paper here.
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Parineeta Bartakke Parineeta Bartakke recently graduated as a Young Leaders Program (YLP) scholar (ICS MBA Class of 2022). Born and raised in India, she runs her family business – Bartakke, which is involved in manufacturing enclosure solutions for pharma, oil & gas, and automation applications. Prior to enrolling for the MBA Program at Hitotsubashi ICS, she obtained her Master’s Degree in the Management of Bioeconomy, Innovation, and Governance from the University of Edinburgh, UK. She is passionate about implementing sustainability programs in her company. Today her manufacturing facilities are powered entirely by solar power. |
