Kannan Devan Hill Plantation (KDHP) Company, largest tea plantation firm in South India and an associate company of Tata Consumer Products, announced Monday that it has received carbon neutral certification and net negative emission status.
This is a testament to KDHP's sustainability credentials, and it is one of the first large tea plantation companies to achieve this milestone, according to a company statement.
Nansen Environmental Research Centre (India), a member of the Norwegian Nansen Group, conducted a nine-month survey of KDHP plantations in Munnar and reported that the total amount of carbon sequestered from KDHP's landscape was nearly four times greater than what it emitted. KDHP plantations cover 59,000 acres and employ over 10,000 people.
The carbon pool at KDHP was evaluated using the PAS 2060 standard, a global standard published by the British Standard Institution (BSI) under 'other party validation.' Direct emissions from the company's operations (scope 1), indirect emissions (scope 2), and third-party emissions related to the company's activities (scope 3) were calculated in accordance with ISO 14064-1.
To estimate the sequestration of carbon from all aspects of its landscape, a multi-pronged approach was used. The Nansen Centre has used remote sensing data, a GIS tool for analysis, and ground-truthing to verify and quantify carbon sequestration. According to the study, KDHP releases approximately 3.90 lakh tonnes of oxygen per year from its landscape as a result of its environmentally friendly initiatives.
"KDHP has consistently demonstrated its commitment to environmental conservation, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and sustainable growth while meeting our commitments to all of our stakeholders." The plantation industry is critical to the rural economy and continues to provide significant social and environmental benefits. We wanted to scientifically quantify the environmental contribution made by our plantation landscape through this endeavour," said KDHP managing director and CEO, K Mathew Abraham.
KDHP was able to achieve these major milestones due to its conscious efforts in bolstering natural vegetation conservation while also following sustainable agricultural practices that have increased the carbon sink functions of the company's Munnar landscape.
The fact that its plantations have received 100 percent Rainforest Alliance and Trustea certification attest to its unwavering commitment to sustainability in all aspects of its operations.
As part of its emission-reduction initiatives, KDHP has increased its hydel power production, improved fleet fuel efficiency through the use of better technology, increased energy efficiencies by reducing transmission losses through the upgrade of Munnar's electrical distribution network, and modernized its 17 factories, all of which have received either FSSC 22000 or ISO 22000 certification.
