A "green' ITC heralds in a fresh beginning

With an aim to reduce carbon footprint across the company's operations and on its premises, ITC Ltd is on a green mantra these days. Spurred by its goals to achieve "Platinum LEED' ratings, the highest global certification for environment-friendly buildings, the company whose biz interests loop tobacco to FMCG and hotels, is now on an in-principle verdict ” to build greener homes. For every major construction work that the company will take up from now on, they will be "green' in concept, highly placed sources in the company said. Platinum LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environment Design, and is a US Buildings Council certification.

Other green initiatives of ITC are being built around each business model and through corporate social responsibility around each unit. When faced with the options whether to import wood pulp from Indonesia or to take up social forestry for its paper and packaging business, ITC chose to plant trees, a move that passed the test in flying "green' colours. It emerged as one of the champion initiatives in carbon sequestration. Almost 30% of this unit's energy today comes from renewable sources.