Gautam Adani-led Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has topped the list of Asian companies in the renewable energy sector and is among top 10 RE companies globally for ESG performance, said Institutional Shareholder Services ESG on Thursday.

Adani Green Energy has been placed in the ‘Prime’ (B+) band, recognising its robust ESG disclosure practices and high level of transparency. Earlier, Adani Green Energy has already been ranked in the world’s top 10 companies in the Renewable Energy sector by Sustainalytics in FY23.

With this milestone, Adani Green Energy is now closer to achieving its target of being rated among the top 10 ESG companies in the world in the electric utility sector by FY25, a company statement stated.

The Adani Group company has the largest operating renewable portfolio in India with 8,216 MW. Its operations provide clear environmental benefits through its contribution to fighting climate change and by enabling the transition to a more sustainable energy system. Relevant social and environmental risks are addressed through dedicated management systems.

“At AGEL, there are four pillars to the ESG framework – guiding principles, policies, commitment and assurance – helping the company align with UN Global Compact, UN Sustainable Goals, India Business and Biodiversity Initiatives, Green Bond Principles, and IFC’s E&S Performance,” said Vneet S Jaain, MD, Adani Green Energy.

“Our policies are aligned with these guidelines and ESG targets have been set keeping these policies in mind. Our aim is to be among the top 10 companies of the world in the ESG benchmarking of the electric utility sector by FY25,” Jaain added.

At 1 PM, the shares of Adani Green Energy were trading at Rs 975.40, up by 1.90 per cent.

In May, the Adani Group firm reported a four-fold surge in profit for March quarter. The Gautam Adani-led company said its consolidated profit grew 319 per cent at Rs 507 crore for the quarter, led by surge in revenues. It reported consolidated net profit of Rs 121 crore in the same quarter period.

Total income, the Adani group firm said, rose 88 per cent to Rs 2,988 crore from Rs 1,587 crore in the same quarter last year. The robust growth in revenues, Ebitda and cash profit was primarily driven by capacity addition of 2,676 MW, Adani Green Energy said while presenting its quarterly and annual results.

“Our business model has demonstrated remarkable resilience as evidenced by our strong financial performance,” said Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group, after the Q4 results. “We are leaders in the green energy space and have consistently set new industry standards in efficiency, performance and capacity development. We are expediting the transition to sustainable energy and playing a pivotal role in fulfilling India’s obligations to a greener future.”

In a business update in the same month, Adani Green Energy said its sale of solar energy went up 6 per cent in the March quarter backed by 212 mw commissioned in Rajasthan during FY23 and 40 bps improvement in capacity utilisation factor (CUF).

Improved CUF performance was backed by 10 bps improvement in plant availability, 40 bps improvement in grid availability and improved solar irradiation, it said.

In its wind portfolio, the sale of wind energy was up 69 per cent on the back of a capacity increase from 497 MW to 971 MW. CUF reduced led by lower wind speed. Plant availability was lower primarily on account of proactive shutdown as part of preventive maintenance to enable uninterrupted operation during high wind season YoY, it said.

Meanwhile, 700 MW solar-wind hybrid project operationalised in Q4 FY23 taking the total Hybrid Capacity to 2,140 MW, Adani Green said.