ICSI Unveils International Sustainability Standards

Kolkata, Dec 6 (PTI) The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) is working on international standards on sustainability and will unveil them soon, its president Manish Gupta said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the inauguration of the institute's third centre of corporate governance, research, and training in Kolkata, he said the decision to develop such international standards is in line with the growing global emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting.

The centre, spread over 1.5 acres in New Town and built for Rs 35 crore, was inaugurated by West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose.

It aims at serving as a hub for company secretaries' education, research, and training for professionals and businesses in the region.

"We have begun the process to prepare international standards on sustainability and expect that it will take about six months to come out with the standards for reporting and audit. It will be exhaustive. Discussions will be held with the regulators and government for ESG reporting," Gupta told PTI.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated filings under the Business Reporting and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework from the financial year 2022-23.

The mandate applies to the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation.

Gupta also announced that ICSI has signed an MoU with the West Bengal government to offer a dedicated desk to support MSMEs of the state for registration, compliance, and fund-raising activities.

ICSI is the largest professional body of company secretaries in the world with over 1.05 lakh members, he claimed.

It has decided to introduce a 100 per cent fee waiver scheme for defence personnel, Agniveers, and families of martyrs. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government in this regard will be signed shortly, Gupta added.