• Management Approach

    Air pollution is one of the problems directly linked to rapid industrialisation and urbanisation that is severely impacting human health. According to the International Energy Agency1, combustion of coal and oil are major source of air pollution with combustion of coal being responsible for majority of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) emissions. Further, vehicular exhaust emissions contribute more than half of the global Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions. Both SO2 and NOx forms secondary pollutants leading to respiratory problems.

    Industrial and vehicular emissions are the top causes of air pollution in India. Advancement in processes and air pollution control equipment, and use of alternate sources of energy contributes to reduction in industrial air emissions. Vehicular emissions are, however, steadily increasing due to rising number of vehicles along with traffic congestion. According to World Bank2 estimates, about 3% of the GDP in India is being lost due to effects of air pollution.

    India has taken a number of steps to address the concerns of increasing air pollution by enacting stricter emissions norms on industries and improving vehicular emissions standards among others. India has also developed its own Air Quality Index (AQI) covering major pollutants: Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), SO2, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Ammonia (NH3), Lead (Pb) and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions. Though a number of steps are being taken by the Government, air pollution remains a challenge as 21 out of 56 cities are falling under poor or below poor air quality category3.

    ITC's approach of energy conservation and increasing utilisation of energy from alternate sources such as wind and solar contribute to reduction in air emissions. ITC appropriately invests in state-of-the-art pollution control equipment and a robust system of monitoring, measurement and reporting is in place to conform with environmental standards.

    1///www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/
    WorldEnergyOutlookSpecialReport2016Energyand AirPollution.pdf

    2///documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/220721468268504319/pdf/
    700040v10ESW0P0box0374379B00PUBLIC0.pdf

    3Bulletin of Ambient Air Quality National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) Manual monitoring system, May 2016, prepared by Central Pollution Control Board. (///www.cpcb.nic.in/AQI_NAMP_Rep_Mar2016.pdf)

  • ITC's Performance

  • The Road Ahead