Jun 4 2008
Wipro Technologies, the global IT services division of Wipro Limited hosted the first ever Carbon Neutral event by an Indian IT company at Florida recently. Wipro as a responsible and an ecologically conscious organization made Mandala 2008, an annual customer forum event, completely carbon neutral.
“Mandala, Wipro's customer forum, was the right platform for us to look at all aspects of an event through a green lens and embrace climate friendly alternatives wherever possible. Making this event carbon neutral by strictly following ISO 14064 guidelines for Green House Gases accounting, strengthens our commitment for climate mitigation,” said Jessie Paul, Chief Marketing Officer, Wipro Technologies. Mandala is a global customer forum where Wipro’s customers, thought leaders and senior management meet to debate, exchange ideas and share best practices in key areas that will shape the future of the global industry. Wipro also plans on extending its carbon neutral initiatives to other customer events in the future.
Carbon Neutral refers to offsetting carbon-dioxide emissions that are produced by an organization or an event with investment in technologies that reduce future carbon-dioxide emissions. Wipro along with event’s climate partner Emergent Ventures India (EVI) conducted a detailed carbon footprinting exercise of the event to quantify the carbon emissions that needed to be offset to attain carbon neutrality. The foot printing exercise was done in compliance with ISO 14064 guidelines to ensure that all possible sources of emissions were identified and accounted for including emissions from delegates air travel, hotel stay and airport related traveling.
The sustainable development project chosen for offsetting carbon emissions from this event was for Energy Efficiency of Farmers Cooperative. Wipro’s investments in Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) will go towards this project for the farmers’ cooperative through purchase of voluntary emission reduction from UNFCCC accredited agencies.
This is an extension of Wipro’s Green IT campaign which has been investing in projects that promote sustainable development through numerous Green measures. Energy and Water Conservation, Efficient Waste Disposal, Use of Eco-friendly manufacturing fuels, substitution of hazardous components, Recycling and Eco-friendly facilities are some of the initiatives that have been already implemented by the IT major. Wipro has also been helping its customers go green by means of its eco friendly product designs, Green Data Centers, Energy Efficiency Solutions, Virtualization in Testing and other initiatives.