Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies

Sustainability as an imperative and an opportunity: the case of Infosys Limited

Saji K. Mathew Thillai Rajan

Article information:

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

To cite this document:

Saji K. Mathew Thillai Rajan, (2013),"Sustainability as an imperative and an opportunity: the case of Infosys Limited",
Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, Vol. 3 Iss 2 pp. 1 - 21
Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-10-2012-0189
Downloaded on: 22 February 2016, At: 23:15 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 11 other documents.
To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 414 times since 2013*

Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:

Soo Chiat Hwang, Havovi Joshi, (2013),"City Developments Limited: a journey in sustainable business development",
Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, Vol. 3 Iss 8 pp. 1-13 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EEMC-11-2013-0049
Anjana Singh, Meghna Rishi, Rati Shukla, (2011),"Green management and environmental sustainability: a case of ITC
Green Center", Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, Vol. 1 Iss 2 pp. 1-20 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/20450621111159859
John Luiz, Amanda Bowen, Claire Beswick, (2011),"Woolworths South Africa: making sustainability sustainable", Emerald
Emerging Markets Case Studies, Vol. 1 Iss 1 pp. 1-21 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/20450621111113534

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:608317 []

For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service
information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please
visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.

About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com

Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of
more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online
products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication
Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.
*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

Sustainability as an imperative and

an opportunity: the case of Infosys Limited

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

Saji K. Mathew and Thillai Rajan

Saji K. Mathew and

Thillai Rajan are both based
in the Assistant Professors,
Management Studies, at the
Indian Institute of
Technology Madras,
Madras, India.

Sustainability is the only future for the world and for business. The urgency is to advance this
reality rather than wait for time to take its course (Kris Gopalakrishnan, Executive Co-Chairman
and Co-Founder, Infosys) (The Economic Times, 2012a).
Sustainability is not a reaction to our risks. It is our core value (S.D. Shibulal, Chief Executive
Officer and Co-Founder, and formerly Chief Operating Officer, Infosys)[1].

Infosys Limited, headquartered in Bangalore, was the second largest ITservices company in
India. For several years, Infosys was considered the bellwether of the Indian IT services
industry and its performance and guidance were keenly watched by not only other IT firms
but other businesses in India as well. The founders of Infosys were driven by the vision of
being a globally respected corporation[2]. They felt that their vision could be realized only by
consciously following strong value systems and ethics. Sustainability was a core component
of that value system and the overall business philosophy of the company.
The business philosophy of the company wrested on four major tenets, namely,
predictability, sustainability, profitability, and de-risking (which was in short referred as
PSPD within the organization). These components of the business philosophy formed the
basis of the business decisions taken by the company since its inception. Including
sustainability as an integral part of its business philosophy indicated the importance that the
company attached to this activity. In the 1980s sustainability did not galvanize the attention
and imagination of policy makers and business leaders as it did during the first decade of
the twenty-first century. A company which was founded with the vision of earning global
respect from all its stakeholders, Infosys conceived its environmental sustainability initiative
in the larger context of business performance and social responsibility. Sustainability actions
at Infosys rested on three pillars, namely, social contract, resource intensity and green
innovation. In the initial years, much of the sustainability activities were centered around the
social contract theme, which was to meet the ethical, social, and environmental expectations
of local communities, social organizations and the society. However, over time, the footprint
of sustainability related activities substantially expanded. New areas such as resource
intensity and green innovation, which enabled reduction in consumption, became important
priority areas for top management.

The authors gratefully

acknowledge the financial
support received from IIT
Madras Alumni office for the
preparation of this case study.
Disclaimer. This case is written
solely for educational purposes
and is not intended to represent
successful or unsuccessful
managerial decision making.
The author/s may have
disguised names; financial and
other recognizable information
to protect confidentiality.

DOI 10.1108/EEMCS-10-2012-0189

While Infosys had been doing several activities related to sustainability in an informal way for
a long time, the formal rollout of the environmental sustainability initiatives was started in
January 2008. Since then the progress has been rapid. Parallel to the annual report, Infosys
started publishing a sustainability report from FY08 which outlined the previous years
performance and achievements of the company on various sustainability initiatives and the
goals for the forthcoming year. The sustainability reports complied with the global reporting
initiative (GRI), a widely accepted industry standard to report sustainability initiatives.
In 2012, Infosys was identified as one of the top 25 performers in the caring for climate
initiative[3] by UN Global Compact and UN Environment Program. As part of the top 25
performances Infosys had achieved the greatest absolute emission reduction percentage
over 2009-2010 period[4].

VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013, pp. 1-16, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2045-0621

EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES

PAGE 1

In FY12, the company used 47.83 million units of green power, while achieving a reduction of
12 percent in per capita per month electricity consumption. Similarly, the company has been
able to achieve a reduction of 18.27 percent in per capita per month fresh water consumption.
Besides building significant resources with industry and academia, green innovation has
helped some of its clients save substantial costs. For example, Infosys Green Innovation helped
a UK based client to reduce energy consumption up to 90 percent through the implementation
of cloud solutions[5]. The company also won prestigious awards and recognitions including the
National Award for Excellence in Energy Management by the confederation of Indian Industry in
2010 and the Green IT Company of the Year at the 19th Annual ITsAP awards.
Sustainability activities, specifically those pertaining to resource intensity and green
innovation, gained additional momentum during this five year period from 2008 under the
leadership of Kris Gopalakrishnan, a Co-Founder of the firm. Apart from being a core value
system of the company, Kris felt that sustainability represents a large business opportunity
for both the domestic and export markets[6].

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

2012 marked a five year period since the company started publishing its annual
sustainability reports. It was also an appropriate time for the company to assess its progress
and achievements, and how it could leverage its expertise to capitalize on the evolving
opportunities (Exhibits 1-9).

Company background
Infosys Technologies Ltd was founded in 1981 by N.R. Narayana Murthy and six other
professionals with an initial investment of US$250 at Pune, near to Mumbai. By 1983 Motor
Industries Co Ltd (MICO), a Bangalore based spark plug manufacturing company and a
member of the Bosch Group became one of the first clients of Infosys and subsequently the
company moved to Bangalore in the Karnataka state of Southern India. During the same
decade the company tried several businesses including telecom equipment manufacturing,
manufacturing automation solutions and software. During 1984-1989 Rajiv Gandhi the Prime
Minister of India recognized the role of science and technology in building modern India. He
introduced two landmark legislations which had a significant impact in the development of
Indias IT industry: The New Computer Policy of 1984 and the Policy on Computer Software
Export, Development and Training in 1986. The New Computer Policy protected domestic
producers from foreign competition while the 1986 policy facilitated import of foreign
software and provided Indian IT companies exposure to multinationals. During this period
when Infosys seemed to be losing its core business focus in software development, the
company explored several innovative methods in software development comparable to the
assembly line process in manufacturing.
Infosys 1.0
By 1987 the Infosys had an office in Boston, and by 1994 the company convinced some
MNCs to move maintenance and migration project activities to India. The advent of internet
and information and communication technologies and infrastructure providing faster and
cheaper means for international communication helped Infosys grow its offshoring revenue.
Almost at the same time Infosys leveraged the economic liberalization policy advanced by
the Indian Government in 1991, and steadily progressed in its global foot print, particularly in
the USA. Infosys focus on quality leading to capability maturity model (CMM) Level 5
certification further facilitated by favorable environmental changes in the 1990s helped the
company build the confidence of several Fortune 500 companies. By 1999 the company was
listed in NASDAQ, which further gained the confidence of US clients. To further its fortunes,
the imaginary Y2K bug as the new millennium was approaching found many MNCs
placing their confidence in Indias technical talent to prepare for the new millennium. By year
2004, Infosys employed about 32,000 people and crossed the landmark US$1 billion in
revenues (Exhibit 1). Crossing the tipping point, the company reached US$2 billion in 2006.
By 2008 Infosys client base included over 500 global Fortune 2000 companies and revenues
increased to US$4 billion. North America contributed 60 percent of its revenues and Europe
about 26 percent (Exhibit 2).

PAGE 2 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013

Infosys was one of the first software companies to successfully pioneer global delivery
model (GDM) distributing development activities between onsite and offshore based on the
phase of development process. According to Nandan Nilekani, one of the founders of
Infosys, GDM at Infosys was about sourcing capital where it was cheapest, producing
where it is most cost effective, and selling where it is most profitable, all without being
constrained by national boundaries. In software development it involved assembling of
different parts of the software distributed and developed in various geographical locations
and delivering it to the client at its desired location. According to S.K. Shibulal, COO and
Director of Infosys, this innovation of Infosys is called Infosys 1.0.

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

Infosys 2.0
As Infosys client base increased and nature of engagements in IT services widened to cover
package software implementation, R&D, infrastructure management, system integration,
testing as a service and business process outsourcing. With the expansion of the bouquet of
services to its clients, the companys relationship with clients became more complex. The
company wanted to receive repeat projects from its clients and at the same wanted to widen its
engagements with them. By the end of 1990s Infosys identified a key opportunity to enter a
client relationship early in lifecycle to help the client define its problem, identify solutions and
further implement a solution as a natural extension of this engagement. The company thus
wanted to foray into IT consulting business, directly in competition with existing IT consulting
firms such as Accenture and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Infosys chose an organic way of
developing this capability when company founded Infosys Consulting in 2004 as its fully owned
subsidiary in the USA. Shibulal calls this phase of the company as Infosys 2.0 where Infosys
integrated GDM with consulting, brought in vertical focus and expanded beyond ADM
(Application Development and Maintenance) to offer end-to-end services.
Infosys 3.0: the sustainability initiative
In year 2007 Infosys decided to examine long term risks to the company. For a company that
followed PSPD as a central theme in engaging with business, the exercise was deeply
significant. How is the global business environment changing? What would its impact be on
Infosys business? A significant change that could not miss the attention of Infosys leadership
was the environment itself. Active debate advanced by United Nations on sustainable
development particularly after United Nations 2005 World Summit in the back drop of global
warming was catching the attention of countries and corporations at that time, together with the
growing emphasis on sustainability, emission and triple bottom line reporting.
Green IT buzz seemed to herald an era of environmentally sensitive information technology.
In the year 2007, market research firm Gartner highlighted[7] Green IT (Exhibit 3) as one of
the top 10 strategic technologies for 2008, which continued to occupy the top 10 list till 2010.
A 2009 Business Council and Conference Board survey indicates that almost two-thirds of
CEOs in the USA believe sustainability has become a mainstream concern for
businesses[8]. Infosys did not miss the opportunity to focus its attention and resources on
sustainability as a key area of future strategy. Around 2010, Infosys realized the business
potential for providing sustainability related services. It was felt that implementing
sustainability related solutions lends a green quotient to brands that influences stock
prices and market value[9]. Since 2009, NewsWeek has been publishing an annual ranking
of global companies based on their environmental performance[10]. Leading companies
aspire for the top rankings in that list as it was perceived to enhance their brand equity and
generate substantial goodwill among stakeholders.
In addition to contributing to brand value, Green-IT solutions directly impacted the
competitiveness of companies by reducing costs, such as energy and water conservation,
and waste reduction. For example, Yahoo opened a data centre in New York State that
consumed 40 percent less electricity and 94 percent less water than previous centres. Dell
had reduced the energy consumption of its desktop and laptop computers by 25 percent
during 2010-2012, saving its customers more than $5 billion in electricity costs[11]. Green
ranking, a ranking of global companies on the basis of their green and environmental
management practices that was published by NewsWeek, indicated that the move to

VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 3

embrace sustainability was seen across sectors and was not restricted to just the information
technology and services sector[12]. There was increasing evidence that many companies
that implemented Green-IT solutions had started realising impressive benefits (Exhibit 4).
Academic studies also provided support for adopting sustainability as a business
imperative. A study done by Harvard Business School, which tracked the performance of
180 companies over 18 years, found that firms that adopted environmentally and socially
responsible policies significantly outperformed their peers. The study estimated that every
dollar invested in a portfolio of sustainable companies in 1993 would have grown to $22.60
by 2011, as compared to the $15.40 for a portfolio of companies less focused on
sustainability[13]. Proponents of the resource based view have argued that CSR can provide
various benefits like enhancing firms relationships and reputation among various
stakeholders such as customers, employees, regulators, and suppliers (Porter and
Kramer, 2006; Berman et al., 1999; Brammer and Pavalin, 2006; Haley, 1991; Orlitzky et al.,
2003; Waddock and Graves, 1997). It is also believed that CSR activities can be a source of
innovation and further help firms to improve their competitive context.
Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

In the backdrop of the studies that showed the positive influence of CSR activities on firm
performance, several firms started viewing environmental sustainability as an extension of
corporate social responsibility. Over the years, environmental and sustainability
consciousness have increased among companies. Leading organizations such as
McKinsey, Gartner, HP and WWF found that though the ICT industry is responsible only
for 2 percent of the global CO2 emissions, they have the potential to develop solutions that
can significantly enable the reduction of the remaining 98 percent of the CO2 emissions by
non-ICT industries[14]. Sensing the market opportunity, software companies started offering
various Green-IT solutions that provided a variety of benefits (Exhibit 5). Rohan M. Parikh,
Head Green Initiatives, Infosys observed:
In the case of Infosys sustainability initiative, I did not have to go and get the top management
buy-in anytime. It was initiated and supported by the founding fathers of the company.

Infosys policy on sustainability did not emerge as a knee jerk reaction to the environment,
but was formulated purposefully by the top management, by thoughtfully recognizing that
sustainability also makes business sense and could be embedded in the strategic purpose
of the organization. Infosys identified sustainable tomorrow as a key theme among the
seven strategic themes for the future[15] and recognized that a smart enterprise can grow
sustainably through a focus on social contracts, effective resource utilization and green
innovation. According to the sustainability policy adopted by Infosys, social contracts stand
for the companys implicit responsibility to the larger society, and seek to include the social
and environmental dimensions of the companys business. Resource intensity focuses on
doing more business with less resources, covering energy, water or material. Green
innovation seeks to leverage the opportunity for business leadership through sustainability.
The SBU is organized to develop, test and implement sustainability projects internally and
then convert the learning from the internal projects as solutions for clients.
Notwithstanding the potential benefits that the company could derive from implementing a
sustainability program, there were also concerns about the costs involved and how benefits
could be justified financially. Several benefits of a sustainability initiative were intangible in
nature and not useful for an objective cost-benefit analysis. In this context, the top
management of the company had to take a very informed view of the initiative to steer the
sustainability initiative forward.
Top management: leading by example
Sustainability was a key agenda at Infosys and it was deeply ingrained in the companys ethos
and the way in which it operated. Infosys top management has been committed both
professionally and personally to the realization of Infosys sustainability goals. Formulated
under the leadership of its Chairman Emeritus, N.R. Narayan Murthy, Infosys sustainability
policy focuses not only on making its business sustainable, but also those of its clients as well as
Infosys ecosystem and life styles[16]. Kris Gopalakrishnan, the Co-Chairman took the

PAGE 4 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013

responsibility for sustainability initiatives at the board level. His compassion in championing the
cause of sustainability was evident even at the time of his tenure as CEO. He had stated:
I am fortunate to be able to lead Infosys at a time when it has created a sustainability policy and
has taken concrete steps to build a sustainable tomorrow. I am personally committed to
communicating this message to all stakeholders especially to infoscions and their families. I walk
the talk and lead by example in my personal life too[17].

T.V. Mohandas Pai, former board member and Head of Administration and Human
Resources remarked, As leaders, we need to lead by example and imbibe sustainability in
our personal lives such that it becomes part of who we are and what we stand for[18].

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

The companys commitment to sustainability elevated even further after Kris started
championing the cause of sustainability at leading international organizations. When Kris
was part of the executive committee of the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBSCD)[19] he made a voluntary commitment to achieve carbon neutrality
by 2018. Aruna Newton, Associate Vice president and member of the Infosys Sustainability
Executive Council (ISEC) remarked:
This public commitment reflects the ethos of the leadership and the organization. We have now
translated this into goals and actions that form part of the Corporate Scorecard of the corporation.

An active participant and leader in sustainable actions Infosys was honored when Kris was
invited to chair UNGCs Business Action for Sustainable Development. In his address at the
UNGCs Global Conference at Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, Kris asserted that:
Most solutions for sustainable development will [have to] come from business. Solutions exist with
the ability to have profound impacts on areas including energy and climate, water, biodiversity,
agriculture and food, corruption and gender equality. Despite positive developments and shifting
trends, corporate sustainability as practiced today is insufficient a quantum leap is needed.
With the right incentives and enabling environments, business can make significant and lasting
contributions to sustainable development (The Economic Times, 2012a).

Internal focus: green solutions development

The Infosys Sustainability Business Unit is headed by a Vice President who reports to the
Senior VP products, platforms and services (PPS) division (Exhibit 6). PPS is one among
the three divisions of the horizontal structure of the company; the other two are consulting
and systems integration (CSI) and business IT solutions (BITS). Five specific activity groups
consisting of consulting, delivery, research and sales report to the VP and unit head of the
sustainability group. ISEC oversees the planning and progress of all sustainability initiatives.
Internal focus of Infosys Green Initiatives resonated with the context in which the company
operated. Infosys owned and operated a large proportion of real estate assets in India, the
total fixed cost pertaining to land holding, buildings, plant and machinery, computer
equipment and furniture was INR 73.32 billion in 2001[20]. The company recognized that
resource intensity would serve to protect the environment and also lead to large cost
savings. These key insights formed the guiding principles for Infosys internal focus on
environmental sustainability leading to a number of programs to optimize the use of energy,
water, materials and waste.
Infosys campus in Bangalore was developed as an exemplar of environment friendly and
energy efficient facility using measures such as renewable energy, low pollution transport
facility and efficient water and waste management. Infosys identified and engaged with
suitable partners in the development of energy management solutions for its building
infrastructure. The company partnered with IIT Bombay in co-developing energy monitoring
and management solutions for its buildings. It also conducted a number of experiments in its
campus to identify appropriate solutions for optimal energy use. For example, it conducted
experiments to switch between air conditioning and ceiling fans for optimal energy
consumption. It also restricted the number of white papers that could be used by an
employee to certain pre-defined quantity based on the position of the employee in the
organization. The company also focused on developing Green-IT solutions such as cloud
computing, server utilization and management for reducing its carbon footprint.

VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 5

As the company engaged more in identifying and implementing solutions that lead to less
consumption of energy and protection of environment, the executives involved in the
projects recognized that green solutions involved some trade off with comfort. Since
employee comfort was involved in the initiative it was imperative to involve all employees for
the successful implementation of green solutions. As Aruna Newton, Associate Vice
President Education and Research noted: sustainability in Infosys is everybodys
business. With employee involvement in focus the company initiated an awareness drive
which was called ecolittles and also formed ecoclubs with a core team of size 25-50
people. These groups met periodically to spread employee awareness about sustainability
and involve in the green solutions projects in progress.
Reflecting on the achievements of Infosys Green programs, Aruna Newton observed:

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

An important aspect of earning the respect of your stakeholders is walking the talk and Infosys
has done just that. The implementation of our Resource Intensity initiatives have given us
considerable saving created an engaged workforce and allowed us to become an integral part of
our clients green supply chain. A committed leadership under the guidance of our executive
co-chairman enables us to engage in an informed and sustainable manner in these initiatives.

The sustainability business unit. Encouraged by the successes of its internal efforts with
resource intensity and implementing Green IT, and the market potential for solutions among
the clients, Infosys started a business unit to provide solutions that met the sustainability
needs of clients. Not only did the sustainability business unit go to market with the solutions
that Infosys had implemented internally, it also started to offer other solutions and system
integration services based on the various OEM products available in the marketplace based
on the needs of the client. As indicated by Tan:
The perspective gets different when looked at from the point of sustainability. While clients
previously talked about reducing costs, when looking from a sustainability perspective they
talked about reducing their carbon footprint. While both might at the end of the day, achieve the
same purpose, the pathways might be different. For example, if we look at sustainability under
product lifecycle management, we not only design a product, but we also ensure that that it has
been designed to recycle. By starting the sustainability business unit, we wanted to address the
sustainability needs of the client from a technology perspective.

By the end of March 2012, the SU team at Infosys had a strength of 100, which was expected
to grow to about 1,000 in a year or two. The composition of the SU team was also very
different when compared to other business units of Infosys. While 80-85 percent of the team
had technology background like what was seen in other business units, the nature of their
experience was very specific to the unit. Many of them had experience in implementing and
integrating products made by OEMs such as Siemens, Schneider Electric, etc. Consultants,
who accounted for the remaining 15-20 percent of the team, had very different backgrounds
from consultants in other business units. In keeping with the business focus of the unit, the
consultants in the sustainability unit had previous experience in facilities management,
building management, etc.
In 2012, the SU had four service offerings and two solution offerings[21]. Service offerings
were:
1. Corporate sustainability services. Help organizations to define their sustainability strategy
and formulate an organizational structure and governance model that supported the
enterprises sustainability strategy and execution. This also included helping enterprises
with corporate social responsibility reporting using established principles, procedures
and tools.
2. Energy management services. This include energy consumption base-lining, enterprise
energy audit services, use of technologies that capture energy consumption data from
multiple third party building management systems, help set optimal consumption limits
and policies to manage energy use, etc.
3. Green IT services. These services range from strategy formulation to implementation
advisory to re-assess the IT infrastructure from the perspective of reducing CO2 and

PAGE 6 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It helps clients to reduce energy consumption on their
IT infrastructure resulting in a low carbon footprint; lower total cost of ownership of IT
assets; and lower IT operational expenses, leading to reduction in overall cost of business
operations.

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

4. Supply chain services. GRI had introduced new standards for measuring Scope 3 emissions
that largely apply to supply chains. While there are clearly defined standards and methods
for quantifying Scopes 1 and 2 emissions, organizations that do provide sustainability
reporting under GRI have to assess the sustainability of their supply chain as well. Infosys
services were designed to evaluate and create sustainable procurement strategies.
The solution offerings were the enterprise sustainability reporting solution (ESRS) and the
utility bill automation and processing solution (UBAP). The ESRS was an enterprise-wide
solution that managed workflow, integrated with business transaction systems, provided
real-time reporting, and enhanced operational efficiency to improve sustainability. The ESRS
solution managed sustainability data such as incidents, waste management, water
management, energy consumption and GHG emissions with a comprehensive mechanism
for data collection, aggregation, analysis, and reporting, which complied with rules and
regulations. The solution reduced time and effort required to calculate the environmental
footprint because of the integration with the existing ERP systems of the organization.
Infosys had developed and implemented a sustainability reporting system for a global
independent energy company with revenues exceeding $29 billion. The project took 12
months and 46 person months of effort for completion[22].
The UBAP solution was aimed to transform and streamline utility bill processing, by
completely digitizing and automating the complete cycle of utility bill processing starting
from invoice receipt to posting data in ERP, resulting in reduced efforts, quick processing
and high flexibility. It provides seamless integration with the existing ERP systems and
enterprise carbon, energy and resource management (ECERM) tools of the client
organization. The solution helped clients optimize the utility bill payment process, improve
energy management and reduce environmental impacts through sustainability initiatives.

The way aheads sustaining the motion

In 2011 and 2012, the leadership position of Infosys was under threat like never before.
Cognizant, a competing IT services company was growing very fast and was expected to
replace Infosys as the second largest ITservices company in terms of revenues, a position that
Infosys had occupied for several years[23]. But more importantly, Infosys which used to be the
industry leader in terms of revenue and profit growth rates, started lagging behind TCS, the
industry leader. While the profitability of Infosys continued to be the highest as compared to its
peers, questions were being asked about the effectiveness of profitability driven business
model in an increasingly competitive scenario. Not only did Infosys reduce its revenue
guidance for 2012 from previously announced 8-10 to 5 percent, it also did not provide the
quarterly revenue guidance as in the past, citing volatile conditions. On the other hand, National
Association for Software Services Companies (NASSCOM), the industry body differed with the
Infosys forecast on the growth. It predicted a growth rate of 11-13 percent for the year ending
March 2013. Shibulal said that, Infosys will be ahead of the game soon. There are short term
challenges and the results of the transformation are yet to be seen. Expectedly, these
developments invited criticism from the media. TCS takes over as IT bellwether from Infy,
declared The Economic Times (2012b), citing the opinion of Gartner India research. IT poster
boys sing contrasting tunes, commented The Hindu (2012).
The current developments could have a bearing on the sustainability agenda of the company
and requires corporate attention. The role of the sustainability initiatives in Infosys
transformation as suggested by Shibulal would require more clarity. Further, sustainability
and its relation to competitive advantage and profitability and sustainability of the
sustainability initiative itself in reaping cost savings at the current level remain open issues
before the organization. Leveraging internal improvements further through sustainability
initiative to provide solution offerings to clients is yet another challenge. However, given that

VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 7

sustainability is a theme that is close to the hearts of the top management and forms an integral
part of the companys DNA, they were confident that the sustainability initiatives would
continue to remain a priority, even as other more pressing issues related to the business
environment confront the top management. However, business benefits needed to be
demonstrated sooner than later, if the pace of the sustainability initiatives has to be sustained
in the long run. This is where the sustainability business unit is expected to play a key role.

Notes
1. Infosys Sustainability Report, 2009-2010, p. 8.
2. www.infosys.com/about/Pages/index.aspx (accessed September 7, 2012).

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

3. Caring for climate initiative is aimed at advancing the role of businesses in addressing climate
change. It recognizes companies that demonstrate leadership in reducing greenhouse gas
emissions that improve their efficiency and that of their supply chain, set targets and transparently
report verifiable data on current emissions; furthering the understanding of corporate sectors
environmental impact and its role in developing leading solutions to build a low-carbon, climate
resilient economy; working to engage stakeholders and policy makers to encourage scaled up
climate action.
4. www.infosys.com/newsroom/press-releases/Documents/2012/caring-climate-initiative.pdf
(accessed July 17, 2012).
5. Infosys Sustainability Report 2011-2012, p. 41, www.infosys.com/sustainability/Pages/
sustainability-report.aspx (accessed October 8, 2012).
6. Sustainability is a huge business opportunity for India, http://managementnext.com/index.
php?option com_content&view article&id 231:leadershipconversation&catid 13:july-12
(accessed September 7, 2012).
7. www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id530109
8. www.infosys.com/building-tomorrows-enterprise/sustainable-tomorrow/Pages/index.aspx
(accessed October 9, 2012).
9. www.infosys.com/industries/utilities/industry-offerings/Pages/corporate-sustainability-solution.
aspx (accessed June 27, 2012).
10. www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/green-rankings/2011/international.html (accessed
June 27, 2012).
11. http://livinggreenmag.com/2012/01/23/green-business/newsweek-magazine-lists-the-100greenest-companies-in-america/ (accessed June 27, 2012).
12. www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/green-rankings/2011/international.html (accessed
June 27, 2012).
13. www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-17/saints-beat-sinners-for-sustainable-investing-stock-chart.
html (accessed June 27, 2012).
14. Infosys White Paper titled, Towards environmental sustainability environmental resources
management, available at: www.infosys.com/microsoft/resource-center/Documents/environmentalsustainability.pdf (accessed June 27, 2012).
15. www.infosys.com/building-tomorrows-enterprise/seven-innovation-themes/Pages/index.aspx
(accessed October 9, 2012).
16. Infosys Business Responsibility Report 2011-2012, www.infosys.com/sustainability/Documents/
growing-responsibly.pdf (accessed October 9, 2012).
17. Infosys Sustainability Report, 2009-2010, p. 4.
18. Infosys Sustainability Report, 2009-2010, p. 6.
19. World Business Council for Sustainable Development is an advocacy organization on sustainability
with 200 member companies from different sectors and countries having combined revenue of $7
trillion to share best practices on sustainable development issues, www.wbcsd.org/about/overview.
aspx (accessed July 17, 2012).

PAGE 8 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013

20.
Keywords:
Sustainability,
Green IT,
21.
Corporate social responsibility,
22.
India,
Sustainable development,
Information industry,
23.
Information technology

Infosys Annual Report 2010-2011, www.infosys.com/investors/reports-filings/annual-report/annual/

Documents/AR-2011/index.html (accessed July 20, 2012).
www.infosys.com/sustainability-services/offerings/Pages/index.aspx (accessed June 27, 2012).
www.infosys.com/industries/utilities/case-studies/Documents/sustainability-reporting-system.pdf
(accessed June 27, 2012).
NASSCOM, Industry ranking, www.nasscom.org/industry-ranking (accessed March 14, 2013).

References

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

Berman, S.L., Wicks, A.C., Kotha, S. and Jones, T.M. (1999), Does stakeholder orientation matter? The
relationship between stakeholder management models and firm financial performance, Academy of
Management Journal, Vol. 42, pp. 488-506.
Brammer, S. and Pavalin, S. (2006), Corporate reputation and social performance: the importance of
fit, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 43, pp. 435-455.
(The) Economic Times (2012a), India Inc must have ambition beyond Rio 20, The Economic Times,
July 16.
(The) Economic Times (2012b), TCS takes over as IT bellwether from Infy, The Economic Times, July 13.
Green Data Center Blog (2012), available at: www.greenm3.com/gdcblog/2010/10/19/gartner-dropsgreen-data-center-as-top-10-strategy-for-2011.html (accessed July 9, 2012).
Haley, U.C.V. (1991), Corporate contributions as managerial masques: reframing corporate
contributions as strategies to influence society, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 28, pp. 485-509.
(The) Hindu (2012), IT poster boys sing contrasting tunes, The Hindu, July 13.
Jaswal, A. (2011), Adopting and implementing green, SetLabs Briefings, Vol. 9 No. 1, p. 4.
Orlitzky, M., Schmidt, F.L. and Rynes, S.L. (2003), Corporate social and financial performance: a meta
analysis, Organization Studies, Vol. 24, pp. 403-441.
Porter, M.E. and Kramer, M.R. (2006), Strategy & society, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84 No. 12,
pp. 78-92.
Waddock, S.A. and Graves, S.B. (1997), The corporate social performance-financial performance
link, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 18, pp. 303-319.

Exhibit 1
Table EI Historical data of Infosys financial results
Infosys consolidated performance
($ million, except as otherwise mentioned)
Revenues
Gross profit
Operating income
Net income
Market capitalization
Number of employees
Personnel cost/total revenue (%)
Return on average capital invested (%)
Price/earning at end of the year
Revenue/invested capital
Technology investment/total revenue (%)
Basic number of shares (million)
EPS ($ per share)

FY12

FY11

FY10

FY09

FY08

FY07

6,994
2,876
2,013
1,716
32,349
1,49,994
55%
61%
20
3
2%
571.37
3.00

6,041
2,554
1,779
1,499
41,625
1,30,820
54%
63%
27
3
2%
571.18
2.62

4,804
2,055
1,460
1,313
33,747
1,13,796
53%
55%
26
2
2%
570.48
1.86

4,663
1,964
1,374
1,281
15,254
1,04,850
53%
67%
12
3
3%
569.66
1.73

4,176
1,723
1,151
1,155
20,460
91,187
50
41
18
1
3
571
2

3,090
1,313
852
850
28,703
72,241
48
46
30
1
3
557
2

Note: Infosys consolidated performance

VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 9

PAGE 10 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013

j
1,752
1,771
1,806
1,746
1,671
1,602
1,585
1,496
1,358
1,296
1,232
1,154
1,122
1,121
1,171
1,216
1,155
1,142
1,084
1,022

Source: Company web sites, case writer estimates

April-June 2012
January-March 2012
October-December 2011
July-September 2011
April-June 2011
January-March 2011
October-December 2010
July-September 2010
April-June 2010
January-March 2010
October-December 2009
July-September 2009
April-June 2009
January-March 2009
October-December 2008
July-September 2008
April-June 2008
January-March 2008
October-December 2007
July-September 2007

Quarter
416
463
458
411
384
402
397
374
326
349
334
317
313
321
332
320
308
311
312
273

Infosys
Revenues
Net income
($, million)
($, million)
2,728
2,640
2,586
2,525
2,412
2,244
2,144
2,004
1,794
1,686
1,635
1,538
1,480
1,433
1,483
1,574
1,525
1,520
1,484
1,416

Revenues
($, million)

TCS

611
585
568
528
532
526
520
465
407
423
384
336
311
264
276
287
298
314
337
313

Net income
($, million)
1,795
1,711
1,663
1,601
1,485
1,370
1,310
1,217
1,105
960
903
854
777
746
753
735
685
643
600
559

252
244
240
227
208
208
206
204
172
152
144
137
141
113
112
113
104
102
96
96

Cognizant
Revenues
Net income
($, million)
($, million)

Table EII Quarter-wise revenues and profits for the largest IT services companies in India

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

1,920
1,940
1,890
1,850
1,920
1,860
1,750
1,730
1,560
1,550
1,500
1,440
1,310
1,290
1,350
1,380
1,390
1,400
1,330
1,190

Revenues
($, million)

1,515
1,536
1,505
1,472
1,408
1,400
1,344
1,273
1,204
1,180
1,127
1,065
1,033
1,058
1,100
1,110
1,067
960
910
797

Wipro
IT revenues
($, million)

284
291
275
266
299
309
294
288
284
269
259
243
212
178
185
177
190
219
210
204

Net income
($, million)

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 3

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

Table EIII Gartner projections for top 10 technologies (2010 vs 2011)

Top 10 strategic technology areas of 2010

Top 10 strategic technology areas of 2011

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Cloud computing
Advanced analytics
Client computing
IT for green
Reshaping the data centre
Social computing
Security-activity monitoring
Flash memory
Virtualization for availability
Mobile applications

Cloud computing
Mobile applications and media tablets
Next generation analytics
Social analytics
Social communications and collaboration
Video
Context-aware computing
Ubiquitous computing
Storage class memory
Fabric based infrastructure and computers

Source: Green Data Center Blog (2012)

Exhibit 4
Table EIV Examples of reduction in resource utilization from implementing Green-IT solutions
Name of the organization

Green IT initiative

Benefits realized

CSC

NightWatchman software to automatically power

off desktop PCs during non-working hours

25 million KWHs of electricity saved per year

VistaPrint

Used virtual servers to reduce servers energy

consumption

Huntsvillle Hospital

VMware virtual desktop infrastructure for desktop

PC manageability

23 kilo-tons of CO2 emissions eliminated

Replacing blade servers in data centres with
virtual servers resulted in 75 percent reduction in
energy usage
Saving of 450 k USD annually
Virtual desktop-based infrastructure helped to
secure HIPPA-regulated patient information in a
hosted data centre
72 percent reduction in power costs to run
desktop environment due to thin client
infrastructure
Desktop provisioning time reduced to 15

Source: Jaswal (2011)

VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 11

PAGE 12 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013

Source: Jaswal (2011)

To virtualize desktop operating systems,

applications and personal settings in a data
centre

Virtual desktop services

Administer power management policies

Altiris client management

To reduce costs on printing and document

management

Archive emails and unstructured content

Enterprise vault

Enterprise print solution

Central visibility and control of storage resources

Veritas CommandCentral storage

CSC

To quantify potential energy cost savings for an

organization

IT energy rol tool

Symantec

Usage

Green IT initiative

Name of the organization

Table EV Illustrative Green IT software solutions offered by various companies

Quantify energy consumption reduction, energy

expenditure reductions, carbon foot print
reductions, comparative geographic benefits
analysis
Helps to identify and reclaim unused storage
capacity, helping overall reduction in hardware
resources and energy consumption
Reduce duplicate date, optimize archiving/tier
availability by application
Remote power management of virtual servers
and desktops helping to have an effective power
management policies to reduce and control
power consumption
Integrated print solution helping to move to pay
as you go service, saving 30 percent on print
costs, visibility on hidden costs, reduced carbon
foot print with reduced power consumption and
paper/toner costs
Reduces desktop management costs by 25-40
percent. Easy refresh of hardware and software
at the data centre

Key benefits

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

Exhibit 5

Exhibit 6

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

Figure E1 Excerpts from a press release dated July 12, 2012 on Infosys organization change

VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 13

PAGE 14 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013

Note: Figures for FY08 pertain to only Indian operations

Source: Infosys sustainability reports for various years

Total energy consumption (GJ)

Out of which
Grid power
Fuel
Electricity consumption (million kwh)
Out of which
Grid power
Captive power
Green power
Electricity consumption, per capita per month
(kwh)
Emissions by source (CO2e in KT)
Out of which
Grid power
Fuel and SF6
Business travel and employee commute
GHG emissions (per capita per month in kg of
CO2e)
Total fresh water consumption (million litres)
Out of which
Municipal supply
Private providers
Ground water
Fresh water consumption, per capita per
month (KL)
Trees on campus (nos)
Hazardous waste disposed
Used oil (litres)
Cotton waste (kg)
Diesel generator filters (nos)
E-waste (metric tons)
Batteries (nos)

11,43,813.48
9,06,816.99
2,36,996.49
265.06
231.48
19.06
14.51
229.72
295.78
179.87
16.44
99.47
256.34
3,447.06
1,958.62
682.84
805.61
3.01
1,80,000
29,295.00
349.00
517.00
68.18
3,090.00

9,14,603.19
2,84,320.49
273.21
206.23
19.19
47.83
202.9
324.96
158.66
20.29
146.00
237.40
3,441.42
1,982.81
661.45
797.16
2.47
2,26,000
36,000.00
273.00
852.00
129
50,223

FY11

11,98,923.68

FY12

Table EVI Internal environmental improvements at Infosys through green initiatives

30,680.00
340.00
708.00
103.80
2,650.00

3.32
1,41,700

1,816.77
612.25
910.84

253.80
3,339.86

164.18
22.12
69.03

246.23
255.33

222.70
26.40
3.60

249.24

FY10

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

22,130.00
227.00
319.00
59.00
2,888.00

3.30
1,18,000

1,872.39
717.75
530.51

277.83
3,120.65

175.91
19.23
74.08

266.51
269.22

234.92
23.62

258.53

FY09

20,000
638
487
5.41
1,315

3.28
1,00,000

1,658.44
571.73
256.17

319.49
2,486.35

158.90
11.97
71.34

296.51
242.21

210.40
14.37

224.78

FY08

Exhibit 7

Electricity consumption (million kwh)

Out of which
Grid power (%)
Captive power (%)
Green power (%)
Electricity consumption, per capita per month (kwh)
Emissions by source (tCO2e per capita per annum)
Grid power (fuel and SF6 (Scope 1 2))
Grid power only (Scope 2)
Business air travel (Scope 3)
Total fresh water consumption (million litres)
Out of which
Municipal supply (%)
Private providers (%)
Ground water (%)
%
Fresh water consumption, per capita per month (KL)
Hazardous waste disposed
Used oil (litre s)
Batteries (nos)

VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 15

2.35
2.09
0.44
1,600
49
27
23
1
1.10

2.12
1.89
0.42
2,030
51
28
20
1
1.07

18,723
6,711

91
7
2
246

90
7
3
231

16,596
7,147

365.06

FY11

436.69

FY12

Table EVII Internal environmental improvements at TCS through various initiatives

12,563
5,182

61
17
21
1
1.25

2.44
2.19
0.52
1,555

87
8
5
267

331.44

FY10

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

21,240
2,755

1.24

70
6
24

2.71
2.42
0.44

275

82
18

FY09

7,095
1,346

1.23

25

75

3.00
2.75
0.8

319

FY08

Exhibit 8

Exhibit 9
Table EVIII Performance of green initiatives at Infosys
Goals and achievements

Downloaded by Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation At 23:15 22 February 2016 (PT)

Reduction in per capita

per month consumption
of electricity (%)
Reduction in per capita
per month consumption
of fresh water (%)
Reduction in per capita
per month of GHG
emissions (%)

Trees (nos)

FY13
Goal

Goal

FY12
FY11
Achieved Goal Achieved

FY10
Goal Achieved

11.6

3.85

18.2

6.82

6.8

40,000

46,000

21

FY09
Goal

7.61

8.97

38,300

Achieved

10

1.80

5
Plant a tree for
every new
employee

13
16,000 trees in
Mangalore
campus

Source: Infosys sustainability reports for various years

Table EIX Performance of green initiatives at TCS

FY12
Goals and achievements
Reduction in per capita per month consumption
of electricity (%)
Reduction in per capita per month consumption
of fresh water (%)
Reduction in carbon footprint (%)

FY11
Achieved

Achieved

Goal

5.8

7.75

2.92

12
8 (Scope 2)

11.50

2
5

11.85
6.77

2
2

0.88
14.07

Source: TCS sustainability reports for various years

Corresponding author
Saji K. Mathew can be contacted at: saji@iitm.ac.in

PAGE 16 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 3 NO. 2 2013

Goal

FY10
Achieved

Goal

FY09
Goal