During ICA Conclave 2026, Nikunj Dube was also honoured with an Author Award for his debut book The Sustainability Dividend, recognising his contribution as an author and marking another meaningful milestone in his journey of bringing boardroom perspectives on sustainability and ESG into practical business writing.
Nikunj’s journey towards becoming an author emerged from years of sitting across the table from company boards and senior executives. Over time, his experience of analysing companies, participating in rating deliberations and observing boardroom decision-making led him to identify recurring patterns in how organisations approached sustainability. What was often discussed in rating committees and closed-room deliberations, he felt, needed to be translated into a practical resource for business leaders.
Today, Nikunj serves as Chief Rating Officer of CareEdge-ESG, with responsibility for P&L and reporting to the company’s Board. He also chairs rating committee deliberations on company performance across risk and impact. His experience on both sides of the table forms the foundation of his debut book.
The Sustainability Dividend presents itself as a playbook for boards and business leaders rather than a conventional discussion of sustainability. The book challenges the tendency to view ESG primarily as a cost, compliance requirement, or reporting exercise and makes the case for considering sustainability decisions through the same business lens applied to capital, margins, growth, and risk.
The book is structured around seven Boardroom Plays: Capital, Margin, Growth, Resilience, Premium, Talent and First-Mover. Each play explores a different way in which ESG-related decisions can potentially contribute to business value, while connecting the discussion to the financial and strategic considerations that boards regularly evaluate.
“I’ve sat across both sides of the table. As a leader, I’ve answered to a Board for P&L, strategy and results. As a rating officer, I’ve judged hundreds of companies from the outside. Again and again, I saw capable boards manage sustainability as a compliance burden and walk past real value. I wrote this book to change that frame at the only level where it really matters: the board.” Nikunj said.
A key proposition of the book is that sustainability needs to be discussed in the language of business. Rather than presenting ESG as a moral lecture, Nikunj connects it with concepts such as cost of capital, margins, valuation, risk and long-term competitiveness.
The book also takes a deliberately practical approach. Each of the seven plays concludes with questions that boards can consider before making decisions, while a dedicated Board’s Checklist provides seven questions designed to encourage more meaningful discussion at the board level.
Nikunj also addresses the limitations and potential failure points of each approach. The intention, he says, is to move beyond broad sustainability claims and focus on actions that can be measured, evaluated and supported by evidence.
“Sustainability isn’t a cost the board has to absorb. It’s a return the board is choosing not to collect. Lead it the way you lead any profit engine. Be genuinely good, make it visible and measurable, and never claim more than you can prove.” Nikunj said.
The book is primarily aimed at board members, independent directors, CEOs, CFOs and managing directors, along with aspiring directors preparing for board responsibilities. It also seeks to offer investors and lenders a financial framework through which they can engage with boards on sustainability and business performance.
For Dube, writing the book was a natural extension of his professional journey. After years of assessing companies from the outside and taking leadership responsibility from within organisations, the book allowed him to bring these two perspectives together in one framework.
“For over a decade and a half, my job has been to assess, analyse and judge companies: first their credit risk, then their ESG performance. I’ve sat across the table from hundreds of boards and CXOs, and over time I kept seeing a pattern. I felt it had to be written down, not just discussed in rating committees or closed-room deliberations. Writing a book was the natural next step: the rating analyst became an author.” Nikunj said.
The launch at ICA Conclave 2026 in Goa marked a different kind of milestone for Dube, who has previously worked on products, businesses and rating frameworks. The occasion brought his professional experience into the world of authorship and gave the book an opportunity to reach a wider community of authors, professionals and readers.
“I’ve launched products, businesses and rating frameworks, but launching my own book in Goa was different and enthralling. I’m grateful to ICA for that stage. A book about boardrooms found its first home in a room full of storytellers, and that was the best start I could have asked for as an author building his authority.” Nikunj said.
The book carries ISBN 9789375009160 and marks Dube’s debut as an author. Through The Sustainability Dividend, he seeks to contribute to the ongoing conversation around how organisations can integrate sustainability into business strategy, boardroom decision-making and long-term value creation.
About Mr. Nikunj Dube
Nikunj Dube is the Chief Rating Officer of CareEdge-ESG with over 15 years of experience in business leadership, ESG ratings, sustainable organisations and climate finance. A Macquarie and IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, he has led business turnarounds, built high-performing teams and contributed to industry discussions through articles and speaking engagements. The Sustainability Dividend is his debut book.
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