‘A little effort towards saving the environment is better than no effort.’ While we all know that June 5, marks the World Environment Day, do you know that for 2024, the United Nations is focusing on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience. Let’s have a look at how the companies have been contributing towards this initiative:
Travellers are prioritising positive experiences and to commemorate this ITC Hotels has created a chain of LEED Platinum Certified properties. The company currently has 23 such hotels with 12 being zero carbon certified and 4 being water certified. “ITC Hotels source more than 50 per cent of its produce locally, mitigating Single Use Plastic and introducing water in glass bottles. In fact, ITC Hotels have surpassed 2030 sectoral emission targets set as per COP 21 consecutively for 3rd Year,” HC Vinayaka, Vice President – Technical, EHS and Sustainability, ITC Hotels said.
According to Aditi Balbir, Co-founder, EcoRatings, climate disasters are upon us and yet countries, companies and people are slow to change. GenAI technologies can analyse vast sets of unrelated data, create patterns and give us insights in real-time to make decisions. “What is the quality of our soil, what are the unique techniques for regeneration specific to small and large farmers? Where is the new desert likely to emerge? What land is subject to which sort of climate risk and how can it be mitigated? GenAI gives insights into a specific location, using macro data, satellite imagery and factors unique to a particular part of the world,” Balbir explained.
GST probe wing set to widen scrutiny of pharma companies
Election 2024 Results: Continuity or change? Corporate India speaks on the 2024 poll results
Big export push on top of govt agenda
India Inc expects rework on policy priorities in its most watched ballot count
F&B Sector
The Food and Beverage industry has always been into the debates either for the packaging or for the food wastage. While these companies may fail to fulfil these, their contribution towards sustaining the environment often goes unnoticed. Two giants in the F&B industry, McDonalds and KFC have been working towards their sustainability goals.
In fact, McDonald’s India – North and East transitioned 24 per cent of its restaurants in Delhi to solar energy in 2023, by commissioning a solar plant with a capacity of 3.2 MW and an annual output of 4.2 million units of power. Rajeev Ranjan, Managing Director, McDonald’s India – North and East, said, “Whether it is using sustainably sourced ingredients for our products and packaging material, or reducing carbon footprint using renewable energy at our restaurants, conserving water across the value chain, repurposing used cooking oil, we have remain committed to and invested in sustainable earth intention.”
Meanwhile, KFC India has over 400 restaurants with Energy Management Systems installed, which helps in enhancing efficiency and reducing emissions. “We’ve adopted 80 per cent sustainable and compostable KFC branded packaging, with a target of reaching 100 per cent by end of year. As we grow our footprint, we’re ensuring all new restaurants are built keeping KFC’s best global green practices and our 11 ‘green building must haves’ in mind. We even launched our first entirely sustainable restaurant in 2022,” Moksh Chopra, General Manager, KFC India & Partner Countries, added.
Meanwhile, the largest chocolate producer, Mondelez, has rooted its commitment through its CSR program ‘Shubh Aarambh’. As part of this, the company rolled out a comprehensive Cocoa Agroforestry Program in states including Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. “To tackle the larger issue of water scarcity and overuse of groundwater, we are converting defunct wells into injection wells to effectively replenish underground water tables and rejuvenate the land. Another example is our tree plantation initiative in Malanpur, where we planted 6000 saplings last year to promote land restoration,” Ophira Bhatia, Senior Director, India & Lead, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Corporate & Government Affairs- Mondelez International, claimed.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
