There were four categories for the inaugural Sustainability 100+ Corporate Awards: Water Stewardship, Circular Economy, Smart Agriculture, and Climate Action.

The organisers received thousands of submissions, which a distinguished jury comprised of Professor Micheal Braungart, co-founder of Greenpeace International's chemistry section and co-author of the best-selling sustainability book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things, Prof. Utkarsh Majumdar, member Board of Governors, IIM Raipur, and Ashwin Kak, Sustainability Head, ABinBev, shortlisted in two rounds.

The award was given to Surya Valluri, Chief Sustainability Officer, Grasim Industries Ltd., by Sheeren Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC TV18.

The Jury recognised our commitment to sustainability, particularly concerning water management. Viscose produced by Grasim now uses 55% less water during production than it did in FY15, exceeding the target of reducing water consumption by 50% by 2025. Innovative technology, good water management, strong governance, and the 4R Principles of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Regenerate have all been used to achieve this. Globally, Grasim is the lowest consumer of water in the viscose industry.