The Oil Palm Plantation (OPP) Division of Godrej Agrovet Ltd. was honoured with the Bombay Civic award for Sustainable Environment Initiatives by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industries. The award was presented to the OPP division headed by Mr.Nasim Ali, CEO, Oil Palm Plantation Business, Godrej Agrovet.
This award was in recognition of continuous efforts by Oil Palm Division to promote environmental sustainability through their initiatives such as increasing use of renewable energy (99%), resource conservation, moving towards water use neutrality, reduction of Greenhouse gases etc.
Elated at receiving this award, Mr Balram Yadav, Managing Director, Godrej Agrovet said, “At Godrej, our initiatives are broadly classified under GOOD – Community CSR initiatives and GREEN – Environmental Sustainability Initiatives. It is driven by the desire to create a more inclusive and greener India. 2019 was a good fiscal year in terms of our environmental performance. The increased participation and involvement from the cross-functional team along with the awareness and motivation to reduce the environmental impacts of our operations has led us to achieve this prestigious feat.”
The OPP business was also recently honoured with “Silver Award” by Society of Energy Engineers and Managers (SEEM) to recognize efforts taken by various sectors for improving energy efficiency, thereby supporting India’s journey towards climate change mitigation and sustainable development. Unlike other awards, SEEM National Energy Management Awards does not focus on the percentage of energy-saving achieved during the assessment year, instead, systematic actions towards sustainable energy performance are considered for recognition. This approach ensures that the assessment does not get skewed based on production levels.
In addition, the business was also conferred with a verification certificate for compliance of the Indian Palm Oil Sustainability (IPOS) framework. IPOS framework is similar to RSPO (Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil)/MSPO (Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil)/ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil). The IPOS code covers social, agronomic, occupational health & safety and environmental criteria.
Moreover, Godrej Agrovet Limited is a diversified, Research & Development focused agri-business company, dedicated to improving the productivity of Indian farmers by innovating products and services that sustainably increase crop and livestock yields. Innovation is a key driver of its strategy. GAVL is constantly experimenting and looking for research-based solutions to improve farm productivity and thereby, the profitability of farmers.
GAVL has developed a four-fold approach for CSR programmes. They are Women, Water, Work and Wellbeing. Women, as change agents, are the main stakeholders of the program. Through this program, GAVL aims to introduce new technology, reduce input costs, increase savings, create new income streams, and provide access to better and more stable market channels.
