Tatas move to lower carbon emissions

The Tata group has formed panels to work towards reducing carbon emissions, which threaten climate globally. The move is part of the group's global effort at finding solutions for a low carbon economy.

"Tata Group has admitted that it is a contributor to carbon emissions. Tata Steel (TATASTL.BO : 544.9 +1.45), Tata Motors (TATAMOTORS.BO : 634.85 -8.85), Tata Power and Tata Chemicals are among the bigger ones," said JJ Irani, director, Tata Sons.

Irani, who is also co-chairman of The Global Leadership and Technology Exchange (GLTE), was speaking at a conference to announce the launch of a framework along with the UK-based Xynteo, a firm engaged in advising companies to reduce environmental impact of operations, to create growth solutions for a low carbon economy. He said the group companies would individually launch programmes to reduce carbon emissions.

"Carbon credits (a mechanism where entities in the developing world adopt environmentally safer methods to accumulate credits and sell them to companies in the developed world) are an interim measure. The solution is reduction in carbon emissions," Irani said.

He said a captive power plant of Tata Steel in Orissa would recover the entire project cost in the next 6-7 years by selling carbon credits generated. He did not give further details.

For over a year, GLTE, a consortium of global companies have been engaging with scientists, policy-makers and thought leaders to create a framework required to map out a new low carbon agenda.

The companies involved in GLTE include the Tata group, Deutsche Bank, Unilever and General Motors. The next global exchange will be held in Berlin in June hosted by Deutsche Bank.