62% of Nifty50 Companies have set carbon neutrality or net zero targets: IiAS Sustain

Most companies in the hard to abate sectors, which comprise a significant portion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, have disclosed climate targets with Coal India being the sole exception, said the report.

Sixty two percent or 31 of Nifty50 companies have a carbon neutrality or net zero target, said a report by a proxy advisory.

For these companies, the median year to meet these targets is 2040. India has committed to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and for the entire economy to be net zero by 2070.

According to a Insitutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) Sustain's report, 20 of the Nifty50 companies have a net zero target and 11 have a carbon neutrality target. A net zero target aims to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions why carbon neutrality target aims to balance emissions produced and emissions removed.

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Among these, 20 companies have set a net zero target with a median year of 2040. For 11 companies that have declared a carbon neutral target, the median year is 2032.

Interestingly, most companies in the hard to abate sectors, which comprise a significant portion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, have disclosed climate targets with Coal India being the sole exception, said the report.

This information was taken from the disclosures made by the Nifty50 constituents upto 30 September 2024.

Of the 19 companies, which not have not committed to either a net zero or a carbon neutrality target year, a few have articulated a de-carbonization strategy.

General observations
Three of the ten financial sector companies have disclosed a target year. SBI is the first and expects to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Two of the four PSUs in the NIFTY50 have disclosed net zero targets. BPCL has a Net zero target by 2040. NTPC has a Net zero target by 2070.

All six IT services companies have disclosed a net zero target; Infosys has been carbon neutral since 2020.

Climate Targets
Infosys has been Carbon Neutral since 2020. Of the carbon neutrality target for the balance, the earliest target is for Cipla (2025) and the longest-dated target is for Maruti Suzuki (2070). For net zero, the earliest target is for Tata Consultancy Services (2030), while NTPC states it will achieve net zero by 2070.