Abstract Description: The worldwide environmental crisis has led to an upsurge in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure activities.Companies are under pressure to minimize carbon footprints and adopt sustainable practices in line with global targets such as the Paris Agreement.Disclosures regarding ESG are on the rise due to a combination of growing stakeholder’s demand for accurate and pertinent data and rising legal requirements.ESG is no more an option, but a strategic requirement. It highlights a company’s dedication towards ethical conduct, environmental sustainability and effective governance while providing benefit to stakeholders.Transparency in ESG performance can influence brand loyalty and purchasing decisions.Globally, listed firms are now focusing more on achieving long-term ESG aims than on short-term profit maximization. For this study, the ESG scores of top 100 Indian companies listed on NSE, has been extracted from CRISIL database for the FY 2022-23. The goal of this study is to investigate the relationship between ESG scores and profitability, ROCE (Return on capital employed). The outcome shows that there exists a positive relationship of ESG scores with profitability.This emphasizes the financial longevity of sustainable practices, fostering an upward trend of investment in ESG efforts and increased revenue. It also conveys to investors that ESG-focused organizations may yield higher financial returns, which influence their capital allocation decisions encouraging firms to incorporate ESG concepts into their strategic and operational frameworks. Additionally, the companies are analyzed using cluster analysis based on their ESG scores where it reveals that information technology sector are doing well in all the aspects of ESG.This sector strengthens its position as a major facilitator of sustainable development by encouraging innovation, fostering inclusivity and minimizing environmental impacts. This sets IT firms in a position to play a crucial role in the shift to a more just and sustainable global economy. The IT industry’s ESG performance serves as an example of how sustainable practices and technology can coexist, inspiring other sectors to do the same. Firms that incorporate ESG into their operations not only assist global sustainability aims but also enhance their total value, competitiveness and resilience in a market that evolves rapidly.
