Studies by the United Nations'
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have established that man-made emissions of
greenhouse gases are adversely impacting global climate. ITC shares the international
concern about global warming and is committed to the pursuit of net emission reduction.
Emanating from its concern for the
environment, ITC has initiated efforts to measure its GHG emission and sequestration
(fixing of carbon) to work towards becoming a carbon-positive company - reducing emissions
through efficient technologies and sequestering more carbon than emitting.
In addition to energy conservation, use of
renewable energy sources and tree plantation at all its units, ITC has undertaken
extensive afforestation under its farm and social forestry programmes (details in earlier
part of this feature). These efforts have resulted in significant sequestration of carbon
dioxide. During 2002-03, ITC sequestered over 20% of the total CO2 generated by its
manufacturing operations.
ITC's endeavour to develop plantations on
another 100,000 hectares through social and farm forestry in the next decade would make
ITC a carbon-positive enterprise.
ECF pulping is endorsed as the best available
technology by the European Community. The ECF technology also complies with the
Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Cluster Rules of USA.