Online Registration

ISO 9001:2015

INSPIRA-JOURNAL OF MODERN MANAGEMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP(JMME) [ Vol. 16 | No. 1(II) | January - March, 2026 ]

Environmental Stewardship in Corporate India: A Comparative Case Study Approach

Dr. Srilakshmi Ramu, Chavali Venkata Sesha Sreenidhi, Chavali Venkata Venu Sai Kartheek & Palak Nandkeuliar

Environmental stewardship is the proper use and protection of the natural environment through conservation and sustainability. It involves the ecologically conscious conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources that contribute to ecological balance and the safety of environmental integrity for current and future generations, alongside socio-economic development. Therefore, it underlines the importance of cooperation between people, local communities, states, and businesses in solving the worldwide environmental issues like the loss of biodiversity, global climate change, and resource erosion. It refers to individual, organizational, and government participation in the management of natural resources. The current research highlights the increasing importance of local stewardship action, which is enhanced by international systems, including community-based conservation (CBC), integrated conservation-development projects (ICDPs), and corporate environmental programs. The current paper targets three large Indian companies, including Adani Green Energy, Mahindra and Mahindra, and Hindustan Unilever (HUL), that belong to various segments but have a high degree of environmental stewardship orientation. Adani has been spending heavily on large-scale renewable energy ventures, Mahindra has incorporated sustainability in its automobile and agricultural business, and HUL has been promoting stewardship through supply chain optimization, waste minimization, and inclusion. Collectively, these cases illuminate how Indian companies are finding the balance between the sustainability challenges and global frameworks. The article concludes that stewardship needs to be synergistic with corporate strategies, government policy, and community involvement in order to achieve a balance between economic growth and ecological sustainability. And finally, environmental stewardship needs to go beyond compliance-based efforts to transformative frameworks that incorporate social equity, ecological regeneration, and business innovation.

  1. Bennett, N.J. & Whitty, T.S., 2018. Environmental management. Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-017-0993-2.
  2. Bramston, P., Pretty, G. & Zammit, C., n.d. Assessing environmental stewardship motivation. Environment and Behavior. https://journals.sagepub.com/home/eab.
  3. Arakawa, S., Sachdeva, S. & Shandas, V., 2018. Pathways to community cohesion and cultivating meaningful engagement. In: Human-Environment Interactions. 16 March. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53121-2_37-1.
  4. Dobbs, T.L. & Pretty, J.N., 2004. Agri-environmental stewardship schemes and multifunctionality. Review of Agricultural Economics, 26(2), pp.220–237. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9353.2004.00172.x.
  5. Agyeman, J., Bullard, R.D. & Evans, B., 2010. Exploring the nexus: Bringing together sustainability, environmental justice, and equity. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 25 August. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13562570220137907.
  6. Ikeme, J., 2003. Equity, environmental justice, and sustainability: Incomplete approaches in climate change politics. Global Environmental Change, 13(3), pp.195–206. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378003000475.
  7. Lee, S. & Jamal, T., 2011. Environmental justice and environmental equity in tourism: Missing links to sustainability. Journal of Ecotourism, 10(1), pp.77–85. 3 February. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2167/joe191.0.
  8. Molsher, R. & Townsend, M., 2015. Improving wellbeing and environmental stewardship through volunteering in nature. EcoHealth, 13, pp.151–155. 17 December. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10393-015-1089-1.
  9. Selvarajah, S., Maioli, C., Deivanayagam, T.A., et al., 2023. Envisioning environmental equity: Climate change, health, and racial justice. The Lancet. 29 May. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00919-4.
  10. Williams, S.D. & Shulman, P.J., 2011. Environmental justice and environmental equity in tourism: Missing links to sustainability. Journal of Ecotourism, 10(1), pp.86–92. 3 February. https://doi.org/10.2167/joe191.0.
  11. Malhotra, K., 2023. Conceptualizing environmental justice in the construction of road transport infrastructure in the Global South: An Indian context. Built Environment Project and Asset Management. 13 September. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2023.2257505.
  12. Kruize, H. & Driessen, P.P.J., 2007. Environmental equity and the role of public policy: Experiences in the Rijnmond region. Environmental Management, 40, pp.578–595. 10 August. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0378-9.

Website links

  1. Wikipedia contributors, n.d. Environmental stewardship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_stewardship.

  1. James Madison University, n.d. What is environmental stewardship?

https://www.jmu.edu/stewardship/what-is-environmental-stewardship.shtml.

  1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), n.d. Stewardship definitions. https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/noaa-education-council/monitoring-resources/common-measure-definitions/stewardship-definitions.
  2. Adani Green Energy Ltd., 2024. Sustainability report. https://www.adanigreenenergy.com/-/media/Project/GreenEnergy/Sustainability/latest-report.pdf.
  3. Unilever, 2024. Environmental performance report.

https://www.unilever.com/files/origin/80d2f1353d592edadb562d433afa5e38bb7ae928.pdf/es_environmental.pdf.

  1. Science Based Targets initiative, n.d. Case study: Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.

https://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies-taking-action/case-studies/mahindra-and-mahindra-ltd.

  1. Science Based Targets initiative, n.d. Case study: Tech Mahindra.

https://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies-taking-action/case-studies/tech-mahindra.

  1. The Economic Times, 2025. Adani AGM 2025: Key highlights. 23 July.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/adani-agm-2025-key-highlights-outcome-airport-green-energy-adani-ports-shipping-shares-gautam-adani-speech/articleshow/122038581.cms.

  1. Harvard Business School, 2025. IFC India 2025: Unilever. April.

https://www.hbs.edu/environment/blog/post/IFC-India-2025-Unilever.

  1. Tech Mahindra, n.d. Sustainability at Tech Mahindra. https://www.techmahindra.com/about-us/sustainability/.
  2. Reuters, 2025. India’s Adani Green Energy posts quarterly profit jump on strong power sales. 28 July. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/indias-adani-green-energy-posts-quarterly-profit-jump-strong-power-sales-2025-07-28/.
  3. Angel One, 2025. Adani Group set for major expansion with $100 billion capex. June. https://www.angelone.in/news/stocks-share-market/adani-group-set-for-major-expansion-with-100-billion-capex.
  4. Ali, A. & Hussain, T., 2021. Environmental management and corporate social responsibility in India: The missing block in sustainability. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal. https://www.uowoajournals.org/aabfj/article/958/galley/952/download/.
  5. Shafique, M. & Khan, M., 2021. Corporate sustainability reporting and disclosure practices: Evidence from India. Sustainability, 13(21), 11663. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11663.
  6. SES Governance, 2022. ESG scores: Top 100 listed companies in India.

https://www.sesgovernance.com/pdf/home-reports/1649043402_ESG-Scores---Top-100-Listed-Companies-in-India.pdf.

  1. Qiu, Y., Yin, H. & Ma, L., 2023. ESG disclosure and corporate environmental performance in emerging markets: Evidence from India. Journal of Environmental Management, 336, 117621. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666764923000097.
  2. Shah, S., 2011. India. Journal of Human Values, 17(1), pp.1–9.

https://doi.org/10.1177/097168581001700102.

  1. Homavazir, Z. & Kinny, S., 2024. HUL’s sustainable initiatives and SDGs. ISME Management Journal – Xplore. https://ismej-xplore.org/huls-sustainable-initiatives-sdgs.
  2. Tuba, M., et al., 2024. ICT systems and sustainability: Proceedings of ICT4SD 2024. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-2855-5.
  3. Unilever, 2010. Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living-plan/.

DOI:

Article DOI:

DOI URL:

Download Full Paper:

Download