The garment exporting industry in Tiruppur, led by the Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA), aims to become an ESG-compliant cluster.

With European Union expected to implement the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) mandatory norms from 2027, the garment exporting units of Tiruppur have taken several measures to be ESG-compliant.

At a recent meeting organised by the TEA, P.S. Kamalakannan, director of Azibo Infotech, spoke in detail about the ESG-related frameworks and disclosure standards. The TEA is working to get recognition for the Tiruppur cluster as ESG compliant, he said.

Association president K.M. Subramanian said the sustainability sub-committee has been working for the last four years on making Tiruppur ESG compliant. It is essential to aggregate data through relevant platforms and present it on the global stage, he said.

R. Gopalakrishnan, treasurer of TEA, said the cluster has implemented successfully the social components of the ESG and is now focusing on environment-related initiatives. Tapping wind and solar energy is on the rise and water conservation efforts are also gaining momentum. “The industry’s primary challenge going forward will be the accurate recording and documentation of data related to key metrics, such as energy conservation,” he said.

Joint secretary of the Association M. Anand said the TEA is continually consulting experts to understand and implement the ESG requirements effectively. Based on its efforts of GRI standards, Tiruppur aims to public comprehensive ESG reports so that there is data-based evidence for its sustainability claims.