India has witnessed a marginal dip in corporate responsibility-related reporting by the top- 100 companies, but continues to be among the best in the world in this aspect, a 49-country study has found. It also tops in the list of countries with highest rate of corporate responsibility (CR) related information in annual reports, it said, adding 98 per cent of the top 100 companies have the details. As against a 100 per cent compliance observed in 2015, the reporting rate dipped marginally to 99 per cent for 2017, the study by global consultancy major KPMG has said. It can be noted that under the amended Companies Act, 2013, corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting has been made mandatory for companies. Interestingly, it said regulation is driving reporting on human rights as well, it said.
“The Business Responsibility Report (BRR), an annual disclosure mandated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), requires the top 500 listed companies to report on nine core principles, one of which focuses on human rights,” Santhosh Jayaram, KPMG’s partner for sustainability services, said. India is ranked the highest, with 95 pf the top 100 companies acknowledging human rights in their CR reporting, the study said. From a global perspective, it said companies in the mining space have been found to be the most likely to acknowledge human rights in their reporting.
