Industry
Mint Primer: Climate targets: How do Nifty-50 companies fare?
Summary
- Contributions from the corporate sector are going to be vital if India is to reach net-zero carbon emission target by 2070 as it is committed to doing. Here are the climate targets of Nifty-50 companies, as per a report by Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS)
Are Nifty-50 firms going green?
Out of the Nifty-50 constituents, an alarming 19 companies are yet to publicly state a target year for becoming net-zero emitters or carbon neutral. Another 20 companies have publicly announced a net-zero target and 11 have committed to a carbon neutral target year. Adani Ports & SEZ, Infosys, Tata Consumer Products and Tech Mahindra have stated both net-zero and carbon neutral timelines. For the companies having a net-zero target, the median year is 2040. The median target year for carbon neutrality is 2032. Of the 19 with no target, a few have articulated some strategies, IiAS noted.
What’s the difference between the two?
Net zero means balancing the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted and the amount removed from the atmosphere. Net-zero includes all GHGs like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides. To reach net-zero, companies must significantly cut their GHG emissions and may use methods like carbon capture or afforestation to offset residual emissions. Carbon neutrality is focussed mainly on offsetting carbon dioxide emissions. A company may do so through purchasing carbon credits or through investing in emission avoidance technologies without direct reductions in emissions.
Also read: Climate Change and the New Green Economy: The big questions for 2025
How do the targets of top companies compare?
Infosys has been carbon neutral since 2020, the first Nifty-50 firm to achieve the status. It plans to be net-zero by 2040. Among companies setting carbon neutral targets, the earliest is for Cipla (2025) and the last is Maruti Suzuki (2070). For net- zero, the earliest target is for Tata Consultancy Services (2030), while NTPC states it will achieve this by 2070.
Do the targets very across sectors?
IT companies are the best performers, given their lower emission intensity. All six IT firms in the Nifty-50 have disclosed a net -zero target, with the earliest in 2030 and latest by 2040. Most companies in the hard-to-abate sectors have also disclosed climate targets, with Coal India being the sole exception. Among the two auto companies, Tata Motors has a net-zero target (2045) while M&M has a carbon neutral target (2040). Tata Steel has a net zero target (2045) while JSW Steel is looking to go carbon neutral by 2050.
Also read: Climate change is now a real and pressing economic threat
Which companies have no stated targets?
Surprisingly, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) firms have the highest representation among those with no publicly stated climate goals. SBI (2030), HDFC Bank (2032) and IndusInd Bank (2032) are the only companies in this space to have declared carbon neutral target years. No BFSI firm in Nifty 50 has so far stated a net zero target. There are also automakers, consumer goods firms and healthcare & pharmaceuticals players in the set of companies without a stated climate target.
