When we think of ESG done right, our minds often turn to companies with the budgets to back it: Tata Projects, Flipkart, Godrej Properties. These firms are building AI-backed traceability systems, embedding sustainability into global supply chains, and putting ESG at the heart of corporate governance.

It’s impressive. But it also creates a dangerous illusion—that ESG is a game for the big players.

So, what about the others? The lean firms. The startups. The mid-sized industrial plants. The businesses that care about their footprint but don't have a fund set aside to offset it?

This is the harder half of the ESG conversation—and also the more urgent one. Because if the net-zero transition is to be equitable and scalable, it must work not only for those with resources, but also for those with constraints.

So what does ESG look like when there’s no blueprint, no dedicated department, no million-dollar sustainability budget?

The reality: Lean ESG is tough

Implementing meaningful ESG in a resource-constrained setting is rarely glamorous. It’s not about solar panels on headquarters or public sustainability dashboards. It’s about unsexy, often invisible shifts—retrofitting processes, reusing wastewater, redesigning systems to squeeze out just a little more impact.

There’s often no external pressure, either. Smaller firms are less likely to be held to ESG reporting standards, and many operate in supply chains where sustainability is aspirational, not contractual.

Yet some are still finding ways to act. Not by replicating what large firms do, but by asking: What can we do with what we have?

Rethinking ESG as process, not project

Dr. Sangeeta Srivastava, Executive Director at Godavari Biorefineries Ltd, leads one of India’s oldest and most innovative integrated biorefineries. Her approach to ESG is refreshingly grounded.

“At our Sameerwadi plant, we’ve achieved over 99.95% waste recovery,” she shares. “Through composting, biogas generation, and reusing ash in brick-making, we’ve found circular models that generate economic value from what was once waste.”

With over 88% of treated water recycled through zero-liquid discharge systems and 10,000+ kilolitres of rainwater harvested, the company has shown how low-tech interventions can drive high-impact outcomes.

What’s notable here isn’t just the outcome—but the mindset. “ESG is not an afterthought,” says Srivastava. “It’s embedded in our growth and innovation strategy. It guides every decision, from expanding ethanol capacity to restoring degraded land.”

Designing ESG into the core

For Satyukt Analytics, a farm-focused tech startup, ESG isn’t just a principle—it’s the product. Co-founder and CEO Dr. Sat Kumar Tomer puts it plainly: “Our whole mission is built around environmental sustainability. It’s not a separate vertical—it’s what we do.”

Their app, Sat2Farm, delivers hyperlocal insights that help smallholder farmers reduce water use, apply fertilisers more efficiently, and navigate climate shocks. “That’s real-time ESG impact without a large footprint,” he explains.

Without traditional ESG infrastructure, the company embeds sustainability into design and operations. “We didn’t hire a sustainability officer—we built sustainability into the user experience,” says Tomer. “That’s what lean ESG looks like.”

Building environment-thinking teams

Maria John, Senior HR Manager at WRMS Global, has a different vantage point. At a company that works across 20+ countries to advance climate resilience, she focuses on embedding environmental thinking into workplace culture.

“From day one, we introduce employees to our sustainability ethos,” she says. “Every function is purpose-driven. Our engineers, our field staff, our support teams—everyone is trained to see the environmental impact of their decisions.”

WRMS doesn’t treat ESG as an add-on. Its products, like SecuFarm and SecuRisk, are designed to help farmers navigate climate risks. Internally, Maria’s team runs sustainability workshops, sets ESG KPIs, and shares field stories that emotionally connect employees to the mission.

“Authenticity matters,” she emphasises. “ESG can’t be performative—it has to be in your DNA.”

Lessons from the field

Across these stories, a few themes emerge—insightful not because they’re scalable, but because they’re adaptable.

• Focus on what you control. Whether it’s energy use, water, or waste, ESG starts with the parts of the operation you already run. Waiting for external funding is often a delay tactic.

• Build quietly. The most effective sustainability moves in smaller firms are usually the least visible. Internal water systems. Supply-side changes. Employee training. These compound quietly—and matter more than annual reports.

• Use your size to your advantage. Lean firms can adapt faster. They can try, fail, adjust. Larger firms can’t always afford to.

• Make it real for people. Internal stories—about a factory worker saving water, a farmer avoiding crop loss, or a field officer leading a climate workshop—often drive more buy-in than PowerPoint decks. Storytelling is strategy.

• Purpose drives participation. When ESG is part of the company’s reason to exist, it doesn’t need a separate budget line. It becomes the filter through which decisions are made.

One of the biggest risks for lean firms is performative ESG—small gestures designed for optics rather than outcomes. A tree-planting drive. A sustainability slogan on the website. But without embedding sustainability into operations or product decisions, these acts don’t travel far.

True ESG creativity lies in solving a real operational or community problem in a way that also benefits the environment. Can you reduce waste and save on costs? Improve safety while lowering emissions? Help customers reduce their footprint as a value-add?

The firms doing this well tend to keep a low profile. They don’t call it ESG. They call it work.

Why this matters now

As we mark World Environment Day, the spotlight will naturally land on those with big goals and bigger budgets. But the harder—and perhaps more transformative—work is happening in quieter corners.

Lean ESG is where intent is tested. It’s where innovation happens out of necessity, not scale. And it’s where the next wave of climate resilience will either succeed or stall.

Because the sustainability challenge isn’t just a race for the biggest targets. It’s a test of imagination. Of whether we can do better, not just bigger.

And that starts with asking: What’s the most sustainable thing we can do today—with what we already have?