CB BureauIn the run-up to World Environment Day (WED), CB was bombarded with emails from multiple companies with details of their ‘innovative’ sustainability and environment-friendly policies and initiatives. This mad rush was partly due to the special focus on India this year (it was the global host) and partly due to the fact that going green has become fashionable in corporate circles, even if much of it may be mere lip service. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana governments pledged to join this new green, plastic-free revolution. The ministry for environment, forest and climate change launched multiple initiatives including banning plastic around the Taj Mahal. Companies across sectors, including ITC, RB, PepsiCo, Nestle and Hyundai, announced their newfound dislike for plastic. Infosys joined the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to celebrate WED at its Hyderabad SEZ campus in Pocharam, pledging to make its campuses non-recyclable-plastics-free by 2020.
Here’s a round-up of what companies have been and are doing for the environment.
Marico: Covering all green bases
While it’s not clear if special initiatives were launched for WED, energy management, water management, farm productivity improvement, use of renewable energy, optimum utilisation of resources, and reduced water consumption are some of the key sustainability practices of Marico. Some of its key initiatives are:
- Marico’s Baddi unit in North India secured a Gold Certification under the GreenCo Rating system (accredited by CII), the first company in Himachal Pradesh to do so. The Marico R&D Centre building received the Indian Green Building Code (IGBC) certification for its innovative and efficient use of energy and water, facility management and health standards.
- Project Encon has been rolled out across all Marico manufacturing sites and is aimed at improving energy efficiencies. It facilitated a 7.81 per cent reduction in energy consumption last year.
- Marico has followed the group captive model and moved its energy source from Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) to renewable power from wind energy. This change resulted in a reduction in GHG emissions of 1,700 tonnes of CO2e/year. The contribution of biomass is increasing year on year, with 86.3 per cent of the thermal energy used in manufacturing products coming from renewable sources.
- The company aims to become a water-positive organisation and so far it has been able to reduce water consumption by 21 per cent at their Baddi plant. It has also worked towards water conservation in adjacent villages located around its plants in Puducherry and Baddi.
- Marico’s product life cycle, right from the R&D stage, strives to work on conserving raw materials and promoting usage of sustainable packaging material.
- Waste management involves segregating solid, liquid and hazardous waste and giving the same to the authorised waste-processing agencies for further treatment.
- The coconut extension programme is Marico’s study on prevalent farming practices and best cultivation methods so that farmers can produce 25 per cent more in their fields by adopting these practices. Initiatives include farmer training, awareness on coconut cultivation, soil testing, automation of processes and management practices.
CB’s questions to Marico related to sustainability targets, data on key achievements, and impact assessment of its programmes went unanswered.
Hilton: Carbon is bad and so is plastic
Plastic straws will be eliminated across all hotels managed by Hilton in Asia Pacific by end of this year. The hotels will also transition away from plastic bottles from its conference and event spaces, as per an announcement made by the company last month. This is part of the company’s global commitment to cut its environmental footprint in half and double its social impact investment by 2030.
Other related targets include doubling the amount it spends with local and minority-owned suppliers as well as investments in programmes to help women and youth. All of these form part of Hilton’s Travel with Purpose CSR strategy, in accordance with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Since 2008, the company has reduced carbon emissions and waste by 30 per cent, and energy and water consumption by 20 per cent. Its 2030 goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 61 per cent across its portfolio and this is in line with the Paris Accord and approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). LightStay, a performance measurement system calculates, analyses and reports the environmental impact at each of Hilton’s 5,300-plus hotels.
Other environmental targets are reducing water consumption and produced waste by 50 per cent and expanding the existing soap-recycling programme to all hotels, and sending zero soap to landfill. CSR goals include contributing 10 million volunteer hours through team initiatives and doubling monetary support for natural-disaster relief efforts.
Enquiries on the India-specific targets and CSR programmes did not receive any response from the company.
In a press release shared with CB, Alan Watts, executive president and president, Asia Pacific, Hilton, said, ‘As a global hospitality company operating more than 5,300 hotels in over 100 countries and territories, we are committed to have a positive impact on the communities we operate our hotels in. We believe waste is a solvable problem. By focusing first on plastic straws and plastic bottled water, we take another step forward in our journey to ensure that the destinations where travelers work, relax, learn and explore are vibrant and resilient for future generations to come.’
Legrand Group: Electrifying green
Participating in UNDP’s Environment Day Exhibit in New Delhi was Legrand Group, a leader in electrical and digital building infrastructure. It presented its energy-efficient product solutions that reduce consumption and minimise environmental impact. To celebrate World Environment Day this year while involving its employees, the company organised local events across its manufacturing sites and offices, conducted educational workshops for employees, and organised a campaign across all Group companies to bring together ideas and initiatives on this topic from employees themselves. All offices and manufacturing sites also observed an hour of no air conditioning.
The Group claims to adhere to sustainability principles not just in its sites but also through the entire product life cycle. Some environmental goals pursued by Legrand India are:
- Reduction of manufacturing waste by 10 per cent year on year
- Making its plants solar energy-efficient
- Achieve 68 per cent of sales through products that have a product environmental profile (PEP) or minimum environmental impact
- Strict adherence to RoHS compliance, restricting of the use of certain hazardous substances in procuring and manufacturing electrical and electronic equipment
However, questions related to the specifics of its targets (by when do they expect to achieve their goals), specific achievements, and investments made went unanswered.
As per the press release, Jean Charles Thuard, CEO, Legrand India, said, ‘As a global leader in the electrical and digital building infrastructure we should be leading by example and for that the Group remains committed. Legrand India has always strived to do their bit to reduce carbon footprint and make the environment a better place to be.’
Volvo: No to single-use plastic
All single-use plastics will be removed from Volvo Car’s offices, canteens and events across the globe by the end of 2019 in support of the UN Environment’s Clean Seas campaign. The 20 million single-use plastic items such as cups, food containers and cutlery will be replaced with more sustainable alternatives, including biodegradable products made of paper, pulp and wood. This equates to the removal of over 500 plastic items per employee per year.
The company has laid out a roadmap towards achieving this. By the end of 2018, single-use plastics will be removed from global events such as car launches, offices and restaurants in facilities in China, Belgium, the United States, Sweden and Malaysia. Next year, all national sales companies (NSCs) will stop using single-use plastics from their operations. The company estimates that in 2018 more than 140 tonnes of single-use plastic items will be removed.
In 2017, the company’s announcement that it would electrify all new Volvo cars launched after 2019 made news across the globe. Last month, Volvo Cars stated that it was targeting fully electric cars to make up 50 per cent of its global sales in addition to climate-neutral manufacturing operations by 2025. Queries on India-specific targets and programmes did not receive a response.
In the press release shared, Lisa Emelia Svensson, Director of Ocean at UN Environment, said, ‘Action from the private sector is key to making progress in the fight against plastic pollution and raising awareness. We cannot wait for a binding legislative agreement. In the next 10 to 15 years global plastic production is projected to nearly double, parts of which will end up in oceans if we do not change today. We welcome Volvo Cars saying no to single-use plastics and it’s great to see it leading by example.’
‘Plastics pollution is one of the great environmental challenges of our time,’ said Stuart Templar, director for sustainability at Volvo Cars. ‘We take our responsibility seriously. We must play our part in helping tackle this global problem.’
Make My Trip: Jute and hashtags for plastic
Joining the cause of WWF-India’s #GiveUp initiative against plastic, MakeMyTrip (MMT) has launched the GIVE UP TO GIVE BACK CHALLENGE to spread awareness about single-use plastic. The company has removed single-use plastic from its office and distributed over 10,000 durable jute bags to all employees and other companies as well. It is also installing plastic-crushing machines in various locations like Andamans, Ladakh, Gurugram and Bengaluru. To offset its carbon footprint, MMT has planted over half a million trees near Udaipur from the contributions of its customers.
To promote the initiative, MMT Founder and Group CEO Deep Kalra posted a video and extended the chain further by tagging his peers from India Inc. and requesting them to support the #QuitPlasticMovement. Globally, WWF is supporting UN Environment’s ‘tag game’ on social media, with staff and network offices all over the world showcasing various ways to #BeatPlasticPollution and encouraging others to do the same.
Strangely enough, when pressed for details on MMT’s sustainability initiatives and targets, CB was provided with a more detailed press release than the summarised version shared earlier.
Maruti Suzuki: Fuel efficiency is equal to green efficiency?
A series of innovations have been implemented across the products and manufacturing processes of Maruti Suzuki to reduce emission and water use, as per the company’s statement. According to its estimates, over 8.3 lakh tonnes of CO2 emission over the past decade have been saved through introduction of CNG, LPG and smart hybrid vehicles.
Maruti Suzuki’s efforts in fuel efficiency have resulted in nearly 20 per cent improvement in compact cars through methods such as new-generation platforms, friction reduction in drive train, and improvement in drive-line losses. The next generation HEARTECT platform lowers CO2 emission by 6″8 per cent while offering better performance and safety.
At its manufacturing facilities, the company has reduced water consumption per vehicle manufactured by 6 per cent in 2017″18, compared to the previous year, and also managed a 1 per cent reduction in CO2 emission per vehicle in the same year. Its ‘dry wash’ system has saved 285 million litres of water in 2017″18, cleaning nearly 3 million vehicles through this method. Currently, 588 Maruti Suzuki workshops across 186 cities use this system.
On product designing, it has developed the full vehicle virtual validation capability which has introduced efficiency in the product development processes and reduced carbon footprint. Its ‘green procurement’ policy encourages partners to align with green procurement guidelines. More than 85 per cent vendor plants have already acquired ISO 14001 certification.
The company will soon adopt International Material Data capturing system to study parameters like RRR (reuse, recycle, and recover) and substances of concern (like Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr) so that prohibited substances can be identified and eliminated. For exports, it plans to align with the European Union system of classification, labelling and packaging of chemical substances.
This fiscal year, the company plans to install a 5MW solar power plant at the Gurgaon campus, while the existing 1MW solar power plant at Manesar will be complemented by an additional 0.5MW solar plant.
However, CB’s questions on its environmental goals and targets as well as how the company is doing compared to other auto companies in terms of its hybrid, electric and fuel-efficient car mix did not receive any response.
In a press release, Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki, said, ‘Maruti Suzuki is working systematically to reduce vehicle emissions and the impact of manufacturing on the environment. The company has been consciously introducing innovative technologies to make products environment-friendly. Going forward, we will continue our focus on investing in new technologies and further bring down CO2 emissions per vehicle.’
Tetra Pak: Getting citizens to care
An initiative called Cartons Le Aao, Classroom Banao, which encourages Mumbaikars to deposit empty cartons at the 175 collection centres spread across Mumbai, was launched by Tetra Pak in partnership with RUR Greenlife, Sahakari Bhandar and Reliance Retail. The collected cartons are sent to recyclers and repurposed into school desks, stationery and other items. A collection centre is where Mumbaikars can deposit used cartons in specially designed bins (made of recycled cartons) that are kept at easily accessible locations.
Launched in 2010, the initiative’s target is to collect 8 lakh cartons and reach 200 collection centres by the end of this year. Tetra Pak is also running a digital and on-ground campaign to raise awareness about this initiative. To date, over 26 lakh used cartons have been collected and recycled.
Today, Mumbaikars have access to 45 Sahakari Bhandar, Reliance Fresh and Reliance Smart stores, public access points, and 130 private access points like RWAs and schools to deposit used cartons. Details of the access points can be found here: www.cartonsleaao.com. Interested RWAs/organisations/institutions can write to [email protected] for more information.
However, when questioned about the future plans of this initiative, involvement of local government bodies, and details of the awareness campaign, Tetra Pak’s spokespersons mysteriously kept mum.
In a press release shared with CB, Asif Zakharia, corporator of H West Ward, Bandra, said, ‘Right from waste generators to waste managers, everybody has to take the responsibility for waste management. Through the Cartons Le Aao, Classroom Banao initiative, we hope to bring in an impactful change. Each of us individually are taking responsible measures to spread awareness and catalyse the carton-collection drive. It is so beautiful to witness how Tetra Pak cartons can be recycled and transformed into something so useful.’