ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar today released the Company’s first Sustainability Report highlighting its contribution across the economic, ecological and social dimensions, commonly referred to as the `triple bottom line’. ITC is one of the first Indian companies to come out with such a detailed and comprehensive Sustainability Report conforming to the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) Guidelines of 2002. The guidelines were jointly formulated by the US NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) `Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies’ (CERES) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

ITC’s commitment to being a `Citizen First’ finds fitting expression in its sustainable development philosophy. The concept of sustainability pinpoints the paramount need for corporations to responsibly use all the economic, environmental and social resources that they have been entrusted with, while pursuing their business objectives of making profits and creating wealth. They will have to take care to preserve and enrich the environment, and also serve society, while being engaged in their business operations.

ITC’s concerted efforts to conserve natural resources have made the Company a ‘water-positive’ corporation through all-round water conservation and the creation of rainwater harvesting potential. In 2004, the Company created a total rainwater harvesting potential of 16.1 million kilolitres. ITC’s own net consumption was only half of that, 8.4 million kilolitres.

ITC is also well on its way to becoming ‘carbon-positive’ through energy conservation and carbon sequestration. The large-scale plantations reared under the Company’s farm and social forestry projects enabled the sequestration of as much as 31% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the Company’s operations during 2003-04. The forestry projects greened 19,500 hectares with 66 million saplings in 2003-04. CO2 emissions have been substantially reduced by meeting energy requirements from climate-neutral fuels.

ITC sources only 3% of its energy requirement from the grid. The remaining 97% of the Company’s energy requirement is met through captive generation. The Company’s Paperboard Unit in Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh is one of the most energy-efficient paperboard producers internationally. The Bhadrachalam Unit’s specific energy consumption is 36.1 Giga Joules (GJ) per tonne of paperboard manufactured, as compared to the international benchmark of nearly 41 GJ per tonne of paperboard manufactured.

All ITC Units are continually striving to minimise and recycle all solid wastes to eliminate any residual impact on the environment. The Company already recycles over 53% of the solid waste it generates. Individual ITC businesses have made significant progress towards achieving ‘Zero Solid Waste’.

ITC’s celebrated e-Choupal initiative is elevating India’s farmers to a new order of empowerment, creatively using Information Technology (IT) to enhance the competitiveness of Indian agriculture, by improving crop quality and increasing productivity. The Company’s social and farm forestry projects are creating a sustainable source of high quality raw materials for ITC’s paperboards business. But more importantly, the programmes also help tribals rejuvenate their wastelands, thus generating invaluable livelihood opportunities. By 2004, an estimated 200,000 people had benefited from these employment opportunities. ITC’s integrated watershed development programme achieves the two critical objectives of water conservation and soil enrichment. Water-harvesting structures constructed under ITC’s developmental initiatives provided critical irrigation to 8000 hectares in 2003-04. ITC’s other significant social initiatives include imparting skills training to women, supporting women’s micro credit groups, aiding government-run schools in rural India, and enhancing livestock quality through artificial insemination.

ITC’s social initiatives, reaching out to over 3 million people in rural India, have successfully achieved a rare and unique synergy between the creation of shareholder value and rendering substantial service to society.