Page 13 - Seniors Today - July 2021 Issue
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We have collection centres; we also buy at Q: It’s expensive to be sustainable…
our factory gate. And now we have started doesn’t come cheap.
working with farmers to improve their A: No, actually it is not. Many think it’s
productivity. More than 50,000 farmers very expensive. But actually, the paybacks
are enrolled with us, and because of better are good. And there is a strong rub-off on
farming practices their productivity has your image also. I don’t think it’s a cost
gone up by 15 per cent. And converted into issue.
value it means about Rs 200 crore per year,
every year. Q: In a country like India, does image
really matter?
A: Like I said earlier, if you want to be
a good corporate citizen, if you want to
attract good talent, good board, good
shareholders, it’s very crucial. These days
customers are also demanding more and
more of sustainable brands, and this is
going to increase the demand from them.
I don’t want to hear people saying that
you’re using plastic and causing so much
environmental damage. Of course we’re
using a lot of plastics but I think with
recyclable plastics we can reduce the
negative impact of plastics.
Q: And what do you think corporate
India can do in this respect?
A: I think they have to take it very
The drying yard for copra, the largest selling product seriously. You have to have full-time people
Q: What about sustainability, what does looking after sustainability. They have
it mean to you? to work at all the factories, and identify
A: It’s crucial. One is, sustainability in projects, track them, get the organisation
terms of our own factories, whether it is the to invest and it has to start from the top.
water effluent or the kind of fuel used and The organisation’s ESG agenda now gets
what emissions are happening. In many discussed today by all the boards.
locations, we have solar energy and we will
be emission neutral also. The bigger one is Q: You mentioned about organisational
plastics, because we use a lot of plastics 95 culture, in what way has it really helped
per cent of plastic bottles we use are either you in business?
recycled or reused. And within the next A: Good question. I think any culture has
three years, we want to ensure this with to be tailormade to the kind of business
100 per cent of plastics and we stopped you are in, and it has to be a source of
using plastics which cannot be reused or competitive advantage. It cannot be a
recycled. standalone culture which is good but is
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #25 | JULY 2021 13
