India’s first Carbon Neutral manufacturing plant in Igatpuri

While the international COP24 conference continues, there is another piece of good news on climate change action from a corporate house in India.

The Mahindra Group took a big step forward in its commitment to becoming Carbon Neutral by 2040, with its Igatpuri manufacturing plant recently becoming India’s first Carbon Neutral manufacturing facility. This was certified by Bureau Veritas (India) Pvt. Ltd. a global leader in Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC).

Vijay Kalra CEO – Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd. & Chief Manufacturing Operations at Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, said, “This is the first plant within the Mahindra Group to be certified as carbon neutral. We have been able to achieve this through energy efficiency, a sharp focus on the use of renewable energy and the planting of trees to absorb residual carbon.”

Mahindra & Mahindra was the first company in the world to commit to doubling its energy productivity by 2030, signing on to The Climate Group’s EP100 program, reports liveMint. Using energy efficient lighting, efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), motors and heat recovery projects, M&M has doubled the energy productivity of its automotive business almost 12 years ahead of schedule.

Of the achievement Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group and a columnist with The CSR Journal added, “Through the work we are doing on carbon neutrality we are not only responding on the climate change challenge but our work also results in improved efficiency, innovation and more importantly delivers on the business case for sustainability.”indra

Mahindra was also the first Indian company to announce its internal Carbon Price of $10 per ton of carbon emitted to fund investments required to pursue the path of carbon neutrality. The price was carefully arrived at based on international benchmarks and an assessment of what was required to achieve the goals set by the business on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The company has over 10 years of experience in creating carbon sinks which has helped it to achieve this goal. M&M will be working on its carbon neutrality commitment with the international non-profit organization Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which works with leading companies to raise the bar for corporate sustainability leadership. It will continue to work with EDF and other leading partners as it implements actions towards achieving carbon neutrality.

M&M is also a signatory of the Science Based Targets initiative which provides companies with a clear pathway for reducing emissions in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

All these commitments are helping the company on its path toward carbon neutrality.

This article is part of a series on climate change action in view of COP24.

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