HUL is another company with big plans to fight emissions. It is targeting net zero emissions for all products from sourcing to point of sale by 2039. “We recently announced collaboration with chemical companies for pilot production of near-zero emission synthetic soda ash, a key ingredient in laundry powder. We asked some suppliers to join our global supplier climate programme under which we will provide tailored support, upskill them, develop their emission reduction plans and measure (carbon) footprint for raw materials we buy,” says Rohit Jawa, CEO & MD, HUL. The company says it reduced CO2 emissions by 98%, water use by 47% and factory waste by 58% in FY24 compared to 2008. It sourced 48.1% key crops, including 81% tomatoes and 79% tea, in a sustainable manner. These efforts are reducing emissions by stakeholders and, hence, fall in Scope 3 category. Also, 94% paper and board in packaging was eco-friendly. The company used post consumer recycled plastic in packaging of brands such as Surf Excel, Comfort and Vim Dishwash Liquid. In FY24, 9.5% R&D expenditure and 25% capex went to green projects.
Priorities Matter
Not all companies are aiming for net zero emissions in one go. Some are following a staggered plan for different units. Others have specific targets for different levels of compliance. For instance, Adani Enterprises (AEL) wants airport and data centre businesses to achieve emission targets first, while Tata Motors wants passenger vehicle (PV) business to lead, followed by commercial vehicle (CV) business. IT major Wipro is planning net zero Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by 2030 and Scope 3 by 2040. Dr. Reddy’s is aiming for partial reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2030.
AEL’s Mumbai International Airport recently achieved Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 4+ certification, showing transition to ‘net zero’ and compensation for residual emissions with offsets. A carbon offset means reduction in GHG emissions or increase in carbon storage (e.g., through planting trees) that is used to compensate for emissions elsewhere. It wants other airports — Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram — to get this certification by next year. The airports will use only green electricity and electric vehicles. The aim is to make the business operationally ‘net zero’ by 2029. The company has announced a $100 billion energy transition plan across the value chain. According to AEL’s FY24 BRSR report, more than 40% vehicles in six airports (other than Mumbai, which is 100%) are electric, while 11.45% energy consumed by data centres comes from renewable sources. The data centre business is also working towards ‘net zero’ status by 2030. The New Energy Ecosystem, which leads manufacturing of green hydrogen, solar cells, modules and wind manufacturing, accounts for 9% turnover.