Corporate Environmental Strategy for Improved Competitiveness: The Case of Tata Group

Proactive industrial houses in India have progressed rapidly in promoting environmental sustainability and incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values. However, despite their continued efforts, the complex challenge of climate change has made it extremely difficult for these businesses to balance their environmental and economic objectives. So far, only a few studies have attempted to understand how industrial houses can achieve eco-synergy and how achieving eco-synergies can impact their environmental performance and international competitiveness. In our study, we point out this gap in the literature and apply the Agility-Benchmarking-Convergence-Dedication (ABCD) framework to an Indian conglomerate to address the same. Our findings hint at the possibility that the ability of a conglomerate to achieve eco-synergy helps it improve its group-level environmental performance. Moreover, improved environmental performance helps conglomerates climb the ladder of international competitiveness, possibly initiating a virtuous loop.