ITC reaffirms commitment for greener earth
New Delhi: On this World Environment Day, ITC reaffirmed its commitment towards a Greener Earth through its bold Sustainability 2.0 agenda.
Building on its sustainability journey of over two decades, ITC, under the leadership of its Chairman Sanjiv Puri, has articulated an ambitious Vision to scale up its efforts in fighting climate change, whilst supporting large scale sustainable livelihoods.
Commenting on ITC's multidimensional sustainability initiatives, S Sivakumar, Group Head, Agri, IT and Sustainability, ITC Ltd, said "ITC has, over the years, implemented innovative business models which synergise the building of economic, environmental, and social capital as a unified strategy. Today, our ambitious Sustainability 2.0 agenda aims to further strengthen ITC's efforts towards decarbonisation, building green infrastructure, promoting climate-smart and regenerative agriculture, ensuring water security for all, restoring biodiversity through nature-based solutions, creating an effective circular economy, creating sustainable packaging solutions and enabling the transition to a net zero economy. We believe this will go a long way in combating the climate crisis and supporting meaningful livelihood opportunities."
ITC is today the only Company of comparable dimensions to be water, carbon, and solid waste recycling positive for over a decade and a half. In recognition of its superior Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) models, the Company has been rated 'A -' at the Leadership Level for both Climate Change and Water Security by CDP, 'AA' by MSCI-ESG (the highest amongst peers) and was also included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Markets Index.
As a part of its efforts to transition towards Net Zero, ITC has made significant investments in renewable energy. Currently, clean energy powers 24 factories, 14 hotels, and 5 office buildings of the Company across 14 states. Last year, ITC set a target to meet 100 per cent of its grid electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2030. Currently, it meets around 42 per cent of all its electrical energy requirements through renewable means. With a focus on solar energy, the Company has commissioned both onsite and offsite plants across states. ITC has maximized usage of rooftops of its Integrated Consumer Goods Manufacturing and Logistics (ICML) facilities, factories and warehouses for solar power generation. As many as 39 properties of ITC are Platinum rated green buildings by USGBC-LEED/IGBC. ITC's Windsor Hotel in Bengaluru became the first hotel in the world to be LEED® Zero Carbon certified, followed by ITC Grand Chola and ITC Gardenia.
To contribute to a 'Greener Earth', ITC has also been running an integrated water stewardship programme, covering over 1.33 million acres of land and creating a total rainwater harvesting potential which was over 3 times the net water consumed by its operations during last year. The demand management interventions for promoting water efficiency in agriculture have resulted in potential water savings to the tune of 496.5 million cubic metres till date.
