environment

Being a responsible environment steward

Our operations strive to reduce GHG emissions while transitioning to a balanced portfolio of low-carbon energy assets. We are expanding and innovating our business solutions to promote a circular economy while also providing more efficient operations to avoid or minimise resource waste. We seek to minimise negative environmental impacts and maintain the highest environmental management standards by conducting Environmental Impact Assessments.

Despite the legal exemption, we have conducted project Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for our wind energy projects in India. The EIAs adhere to the performance requirements established by the International Finance Corporation (of the World Bank Group) and the Asian Development Bank.

Taking precautionary mitigation measures

Topography, climate, loss of fertile soil, water resources, social environment, air, noise, soil quality, biological traits, adverse social and gender impacts, and other sensitive cultural and environmental attributes are all taken into account during the EIAs. It is expected to guide the development of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) that will ensure the timely implementation of environmental and social mitigation measures. The ESMP serves as the foundation for the project’s community investment and development programme.

The primary goal of the EIAs is to assess the baseline environmental conditions along the project corridor using primary and secondary data sources to evaluate the impacts on relevant environmental and social attributes arising from the construction and operation of our proposed project and to recommend adequate mitigation measures to minimise / reduce adverse impacts. During the operating phase, additional biodiversity monitoring is also carried out and the monitoring report is shared with the relevant stakeholders. For example, our wind projects in India have reduced environmental effects by maintaining shadow flicker and noise levels below predetermined levels. We also avoid placing our wind turbines in areas with significant biodiversity value, such as globally protected areas, critical biodiversity areas, and RAMSAR Wetland sites.

Restoring water levels

It is one of the flagship community investment programmes introduced in FY22 that aims at enhancing water storage capacity and recharging groundwater levels. The programme strives to increase the catchment area through desilting and promoting the fertile desilt as organic manure for agricultural fields.

Through an anchor NGO partner, the activity entails farmer demand generation for desilts, permissions, project resourcing, site supervision, and documentation. The partner further engages local NGOs to improve farmer demand generations. The farmers then take the silt directly to their agricultural fields and use it as organic manure. The programme is scalable and sustainable, and it is in accordance with India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and the Amrit Sarovar initiative.