Vedanta Signs Declaration on Climate Change, Pledges to Carbon Neutrality

Vedanta, a leading natural resources company, has signed a declaration on climate change by pledging to move towards carbon neutrality.

Vedanta, a leading natural resources company, has signed a declaration on climate change by pledging to move towards carbon neutrality at the Second India CEO Forum on Climate Change. 

The firm stated that the mission is to take the country to net zero emission goal through specific emission measures, including the promotion of renewable energy, enhanced energy efficiency, water-efficient processes, green mobility, planned afforestation, and waste management & recycling.

Sunil Duggal, CEO, Vedanta Group said, “we as a company remain fully supportive of the government initiative to work towards a net zero emission goal and are committed to minimise our carbon footprint. At Vedanta, we have a philosophy of ‘Zero Harm, Zero Waste & Zero Discharge’. We are well on course to substantially de-carbonise our operations over the next decade. I would like to congratulate the Government of India for this important initiative and assure our full support to help India achieve its carbon commitments”

Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Information & Broadcasting; & Heavy Industries & Public Enterprise, addressed the CEO Forum on Climate Change.

The firms’ in-house Carbon Forum and Innovation Cells comprise of Global experts who are actively working on solutions that can help the company reduce its carbon footprint. With a continuous focus on responsible mining, as of March 2020, the company has successfully reduced their GHG emissions by almost 14 percent from 2012 baseline levels, this will help reduce more than 9 Million Tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. 

They generated 582 million nits of renewable energy last year and have achieved 6 million gigajoules of energy savings in the last 3 years. 70 projects have been implemented across various locations for the conservation of energy. In addition to setting up 40 MW solar project, wind farms with capacity of 274 MW were installed in 5 states across India.

With its strong commitment to its guiding principle of ‘Zero Harm, Zero Waste and Zero Discharge’, the company is striving to achieve the concept of the circular economy by recycling 88 percent of high-volume waste and by achieving 105 percent fly ash utilisation.

Vedanta’s Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) ranking in the metals and mining sector has risen to #12 this year, as against #21 in 2019. Vedanta has been ranked #2 in the metals and Sensitivity: Internal (C3) mining category in the Asia Pacific region this year, as compared to #7 last year. Vedanta’s subsidiary, HZL, is ranked #5 globally and #1 in Asia Pacific Region in the Metal & Mining Sector by Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Hindustan Zinc (HZL) has also been declared water positive – a significant achievement in its fight against climate change.