Global consumers are increasingly preferring sustainable products, and this trend is reshaping business priorities. A 2024 consumer survey found that people are willing to pay 9.7% more for sustainably produced goods. Alongside this consumer shift, global regulations such as ISSB standards and the EU’s CSRD are raising the bar on disclosure and accountability. As a result, Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have begun embedding sustainability into their operations, making GCC ESG operations a core part of the business model.
what is ESG in Global Capability Centres?
ESG in Global Capability Centres is the translation of Environmental, Social and Governance priorities into the GCC’s operating model:
- Environmental priorities focus on managing energy and emissions, increasing resource efficiency, implementing circular policies for e-waste, and creating greener facilities.
- Social priorities promote health, safety and wellbeing, champion diversity and inclusion, uphold fair working practices, and encourage learning and community engagement.
- Governance priorities ensure ethical procurement, conduct thorough supplier due diligence, strengthen internal controls, and guarantee data integrity and assurance readiness in line with recognised standards.
GCCs integrate these priorities into core functions, including reporting and analytics, project management, vendor oversight, technology adoption, and compliance.
why is ESG central for GCCs now?
Rules around sustainability are becoming much stricter worldwide. Frameworks such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards, the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and due diligence rules are raising the bar for transparency and accountability globally. For example, in Europe, the CSRD now requires large companies to report on their environmental and social impacts for the 2024 financial year, with the first reports due in 2025.
ESG can act as a shield, helping companies reduce regulatory, reputational, and supply-chain risks. It can also create value by boosting efficiency, enhancing employer branding, and fostering innovation to fulfil investor and customer expectations for sustainability.
how GCCs are embedding ESG: key practices
Surveys and industry research show GCCs are already taking significant steps to embed ESG in operations:
- Strategy and governance: Many centres are setting up dedicated ESG teams, aligning with parent organisation goals, and integrating ESG into leadership accountability. For example, a 2024 survey revealed that 52% of GCCs already adopted ESG policies.
- Data and technology: GCCs are using analytics tools to track emissions, renewable energy use and supplier compliance. One industry research study showed that 70% of GCCs are seeking technology partnerships to implement ESG norms.
- Controls and compliance: GCCs are aligning with frameworks such as GRI and ISSB while developing processes and audit trails that support reliable reporting.
- Social and governance impact: GCCs are embedding diversity and inclusion, ethical vendor selection and community initiatives into operations. They are moving beyond PR into measurable commitments.
- Environmental levers: GCCs are increasingly including strategies related to energy efficiency, renewable sourcing, and circular economy measures to address climate risk.
integrating sustainable practices in GCC operations
Embedding ESG in GCCs is not a one-size-fits-all task. It requires role-based integration across teams, supported by measurable KPIs.
- Identify strengths and weaknesses: GCCs begin by defining what ESG means for their organisation and running gap analyses. This exercise helps map existing controls, identify risk areas, and set the baseline for future reporting.
- Assess the ESG landscape: ESG teams evaluate risks, strategy gaps, and regulatory standards such as ISSB, CSRD, and GRI to ensure their plans align with both regulation and market demand. This phase also sets the context for GCC-specific priorities such as digitalisation, automation, and supply-chain due diligence.
- Set priorities and roadmap: Teams convert insights from the assessment into a phased roadmap. The roadmap includes short-term pilots, mid-term scaling, and long-term integration. GCCs act as hubs to align enterprise-level goals with compliance requirements and industry benchmarks.
- Implement ESG controls: Controls differ by function. For example:
- Cloud and infrastructure teams are engineering carbon-efficient architectures and shifting workloads to data centres powered by renewable energy.
- Finance and risk functions are introducing ESG-linked lending standards and automating disclosure processes that align with ISSB and other standards frameworks.
- Data and analytics specialists use advanced dashboards and machine learning to predict and track emissions, water usage, and energy consumption.
- HR and talent departments develop diversity metrics, inclusion KPIs, and community engagement programmes designed to build local workforce capabilities.
- Procurement and legal teams implement blockchain-based systems for monitoring supplier compliance and ensuring adherence to regulations like the Modern Slavery Act and GHG Protocols.
- Define metrics and report progress: Regular reporting ensures accountability and demonstrates impact. ESG KPIs include:
- Environmental: energy intensity per employee, renewable share, project-level carbon footprint, and e-waste diverted.
- Social: diversity ratios, wellbeing indicators, training hours per FTE, and community engagement initiatives.
- Governance: suppliers covered by ESG audits, compliance breaches, and audit readiness of ESG data.
how can Infosys BPM help in embedding GCC ESG operations?
Infosys BPM brings expertise in sustainability reporting and specialised ESG services. We offer AI-first frameworks, proven accelerators, and in-depth domain knowledge to integrate sustainability practices into GCC operations. We ensure compliance with evolving regulations and deliver transparent, decision-ready disclosures that drive long-term business value.
