Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL), India’s largest stainless steel manufacturer, said it is set to achieve its mid-term target of 50% carbon emissions reduction well before the target year of 2035, as it marked its presence at the prestigious United Nations Confederation of Parties (COP) 28 climate summit for the first time.
The company was invited by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India to showcase its decarbonisation initiatives at a side event organised by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India at the India Pavilion in Dubai. The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) was assigned as the nodal ministry for the event titled ‘Forging a carbon-free future: The Indian Steel Sector’s Transition’ on Day 6. This coincided with the thematic day of ‘Energy, Industry/ Just Transition/ Indigenous Peoples’ of the global platform.
Managing Director, Mr Abhyuday Jindal said, “We are privileged to have been invited by the Indian government for the COP28 event. We are proud of our decarbonisation efforts, and an event of this stature is an opportune moment to reaffirm our global commitments. We are investing INR 700 crores in various sustainability projects aimed at reducing 1.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year. We are helping in building a modern, sustainable world with the best-in-class technology, innovation, investment in R&D in order to meet the evolving customer requirements to offer high-class stainless steel solutions.”
Chief Sustainability Officer Mr Kalyan Bhattacherjee, while addressing the event, spoke about the company’s efforts in establishing low carbon pathways as leading player in a hard to abate sector.
“We have undertaken several measures, including internal improvements and tie-ups with external partners, to reduce our carbon footprint. We’ve strategically aligned our decarbonization initiatives to meet the goal of Net Zero by 2050. We have also introduced digitalization for sustainability data management through a unique ESG digital platform, which automatically collects production, energy, material consumption and carbon emissions-related data directly from our ERP system SAP S4 HANA. This helps in accuracy and transparency of GHG accounting and reporting. We are actively addressing our Scope 3 environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance through Sustainable Procurement, Logistics Decarbonization and circular economy,” Mr Bhattacherjee said.
The company signed an MoU with Renew Power for a 100 megawatt (MW) wind-solar hybrid renewable energy (RE) round-the-clock (RTC) project, due for commissioning in 2024. Other RE RTC projects underway will help the company achieve an overall capacity of 300 MW hybrid RE. These projects along with the green hydrogen plant will be game-changing in achieving the mid-term targets as the level of carbon emissions will begin to decline once the projects are integrated.
In line with its commitment to its Net Zero goals, Jindal Stainless also released its short film on corporate sustainability in the public domain today. The film, which was played at the COP28 event on Tuesday, can be accessed here.
Heads of States, negotiators, and officials from nearly 200 countries converged at the COP 28, also known as the UN Climate Change Conference, which is being held in the United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 12, 2023.
