CB BureauOne of India’s leading digital commerce entities, Flipkart Group is looking to decarbonise its own operations by 2030 and the larger value chain by 2040. This is in line with the global Science-based Targets initiative (SBTi) of keeping the global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius per the Paris Climate Agreement. With this, the Group claims to have become the only Indian e-commerce company in India to commit to this environmental goal.
As part of this commitment, Flipkart Group will take measures in its own operations to reduce 100% of emissions by increasing energy efficiency at its corporate office and supply-chain facilities and powering its energy requirements through renewable sources such as solar. Recognising that the majority of the climate impact comes from Flipkart’s extended value chain of suppliers, waste in operations, transportation and logistics, and product end-of-life, it will also work with sellers, consumers and partners to reach the 2040 goal.
The Group’s CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy says: ‘This commitment is a significant undertaking in our journey towards building a sustainable business, and we want to play our part in adopting a proactive approach to create shared value across the ecosystem. As part of our Net Zero efforts, our sustainability initiatives will include the larger ecosystem, comprising our sellers, customers and brands, to bring about an industry-wide shift. We recognise the importance of working collaboratively to reduce climate impact and will continue to steer our efforts towards this commitment and to decarbonise the e-commerce value chain.’
Flipkart Group will be focusing on the following key areas of impact:
a) Sustainable platform: Drive consumer awareness and initiatives to support sustainable products while creating circular business models
b) Responsible value chain: Through electrification of logistics, incorporating renewable energy, environment-friendly packaging, waste-management initiatives and responsible sourcing in business practices, establishment of green infrastructure and supplier engagement and seller education
c) Impact-positive collaborations: Fostering industry partnerships on developing innovative solutions for creating a sustainable e-commerce model
Climate-change mitigation and adaptation have emerged as some of the most significant challenges in recent history. Transitioning to a net-zero world calls for a complete transformation of how we produce, consume, and move about. The Flipkart Group is committed to contributing to this transformation and has taken several steps over the past several years, including large-scale adoption of electric vehicles in its supply chain, elimination of single-use plastic packaging, introduction of paper packaging through sustainable forest-derived materials, and development of warehousing infrastructure to reduce its carbon footprint.
In this endeavour, the Flipkart Group has joined hands with initiatives such as the Climate Group’s EV100 initiative to deploy 25,000 electric vehicles across the country by 2030, and not-for-profit environmental organisation Canopy for responsible sourcing of sustainable packaging and man-made cellulosic fibres to offer sustainable products to customers.