As of 2026, Adani, Tata, and Reliance are three of the biggest companies to ever exist in India.
Reliance, the brainchild of Dhirubhai Ambani, germinated as a trading firm named ‘Reliance Commercial Corporation’ in 1958, which dealt in spices and polyester yarn. It was later taken to stratospheric heights by his elder son Mukesh Ambani, who remains the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.
Tata was founded in 1868, nearly a century before Reliance Industries, as a private trading firm by Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. What began with a capital of INR 21,000 has reached a total valuation of more than INR 3 lakh crores ($3.1 billion USD). Headquartered in Mumbai, the Tata Group has several branches today, although Tata Sons remains its holding group, with Natarajan Chandrasekaran as its chairman.
And as for Adani Group, it is the newest of the three companies, founded in 1988 by Gautam Adani himself. Despite being relatively new, the Adani Group is a rapidly rising multinational conglomerate whose business interests span a diversified range of sectors, including sea and airport management, electricity generation and transmission, mining, natural gas, food, weapons, and infrastructure. It is headquartered in Ahmedabad and is one of the fastest-growing companies in the world.
While these three conglomerates have had their own areas of interest, while getting into minor business conflicts with one another, there is a factor they all share passionately. Over the years, its importance has grown in the corporate world and is now a boardroom priority – The ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance).
So let’s learn about ESG first, and dive into its benefits that made it a boardroom policy. ESG used to be a reporting function within a core strategic driver for long-term value. It was also crucial for risk management and carried competitive advantages. From there, it has become a top boardroom priority.
Boards are increasing their focus on ESG competency, regulatory compliance, and transparent, audited disclosures to meet rising demands from investors and stakeholders. The most important of the three factors in ESG is S, i.e., Sustainability. It was a peripheral compliance activity once, one that was simply talked about in water cooler circles. Companies have come a long way since then to turn it into a core boardroom strategy.
Let’s be honest, it is actually a failure on us humans as a collective species that we have to think of sustainability with such grave concern and gravitas. Three of India’s biggest conglomerates – Adani, Tata, and Reliance – are investing heavily to meet net zero targets and ESG benchmarks by 2030 – 2035. It’s 2026 now, and ESG capital bears a direct impact and correlation to capital access, supply chain resilience, and competitive edge. These three companies are now setting measurable targets for renewable energy, water conservation, and social responsibility.
Let’s look at each of these companies and how they are utilizing and maximizing ESG
1. Adani Group: Green Energy and Circularity Focus
India is on a net-zero ambition by 2070. With 44 years still to go, the Adani Group is focusing massively on renewable energy expansion to support this ambition and ensure the mission comes true. Here are some pointers behind their initiatives:
- Net Zero Progress – Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) is developing the world’s largest renewable plant at Khavda, Gujarat. It aims for a 30 GW capacity by 2029.
- ESG Targets (2026) – Adani Power aims to use 100% single-use plastic-free sites. As of 2026, they want to reduce the CO2 emission intensity to 0.84 tCO2e/MWh.
- Boardroom Oversight – A total of 100% independent directors forms the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee that manages the framework of Adani Energy Solutions’ ESG framework.
- Water Management – The Adani Group is deploying waterless robotic cleaning for solar modules. It saves nearly 1700 million litres every year.
2. Tata Group: Project Aalingana & Net-Zero 2045
Tata Group has consolidated its sustainable efforts under a project named “Project Aalingana.” Aalingana is Sanskrit for ‘Embrace,’ thus highlighting how they are embracing the ESG factor. They are targeting net-zero emissions by 2045. These are some of the pointers that summarize their work in this regard:
- Focus Areas – Decarbonization, circular economy principles, and biodiversity preservation are some of their focus areas.
- EV Leadership – With as many as 3000+ charging points across 350+ cities across India, Tata Power is leading in EV infrastructure. Tata Motors is the branch that accelerates the electric mobility.
- Sustainability Ranking – Tata Group is the leader in India across all ESG pillars. This is according to Brand Finance’s Sustainability Perceptions.
- Green Steel – Tata Steel is implementing ‘Green Steel’ production techniques.
3. Reliance Industries: Net-Zero 2035 and Giga Factories
Between the three companies discussed here, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) is the one that’s targeting a net-zero carbon footprint the earliest by 2035. They aim to solve the trifecta of energy problems – Affordability, Sustainability, and Security.
These are the pointers that summarize their work in this area:
- Carbon Capture – Reliance’s mission is to convert toxic CO2 emissions into high-value products. For that, they are developing photosynthetic biological pathways.
- Targets – Reliance aims to generate 100 GW of renewable energy by 2030. They also plan to deploy bio-energy and plan to build 500+ Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants by 2030.
- Green Energy Giga Complex – The Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex is situated in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Reliance Industries is investing heavily in this complex. It focuses on solar cells, batteries, fuel cells, and green hydrogen, among others.
- Governance: Reliance Industries Limited’s ESG Committee directly oversees sustainability initiatives to ensure transparency and accountability.
ESG is becoming a boardroom priority for the following reasons
- Executive Compensation
- Data-Driven Reporting
- Investor Scrutiny
- Strategic Risk
- Strategic Integration over Compliance
- Mandatory Disclosures and Accountability
- Building ESG Competency
- Linking ESG to Capital Markets
- Active Oversight of Strategy
- Diverse and Capable Leadership
The core areas of boardroom focus in each of the facets of ESG are – Environmental (Emissions, Decarbonization, Resource Efficiency), Social (Overseeing human capital, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Safety Standards), and Governance (Better Transparency, Ethics, and Alignment of Executive Compensation).
