This World Environment Day is set to take place on 5th June ’24 with the theme “Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience”.
According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40% of the land has already undergone degradation directly impacting 50% of the global population and putting nearly 50% of global GDP at risk. The droughts have increased in frequency by 29% since the year 2000 and may impact 3/4th of the world’s population by 2050 if immediate actions are not taken.
Where does ReNew fit in this scenario?
ReNew has been spreading awareness about environmental issues on the World Environment Day in India and globally. As a renewable energy company and decarbonization solutions provider, ReNew is committed towards reducing the dependence on the conventional sources of energy and hence is contributing in going green for the environment and driving real changes on the ground.
ReNew is one of the largest renewable energy companies globally. We provide decarbonization solutions through a mix of green energy (Solar, Wind & Hydro), green hydrogen, intelligent (data-driven) solutions, energy storage, manufacturing, and carbon markets. ReNew collaborates closely with communities as a responsible corporate citizen to make a difference at the local level. Our social initiatives have impacted 1 million lives. ReNew is one of only 17 companies in the list of 2023 Terra Carta Seal winners, recognized for its efforts towards conservation of water in its operations. By 2040, ReNew aims to become a net zero company.
Water conservation efforts
At ReNew, we take environmental responsibility seriously. We feel it necessary to institutionalize water conversation measures at our sites to conserve a significant amount of water. By 2030, ReNew aims to significantly reduce its water consumption by 85%, compared to the business-as-usual scenario. A significant amount of water consumption at ReNew is attributable to the cleaning of solar panels. Starting in FY21, ReNew has implemented robotic cleaning across several of its operating locations to reduce the water consumed at solar sites. It is a boon for the state of Rajasthan, which is one of the high water stressed zones. Nearly 318,708 KL of water was conserved in FY22-23 . It also reduced operational cost and led to enhanced energy production due to more efficient cleaning of panels.
Afforestation and agroforestry
Renew participates as a member in the WEF – 1t.org Global Advisory Council aiming to conserve, restore and grow 1 trillion trees by 2030. ReNew has pledged 1 million trees by 2030. As part of different projects, ReNew will support the growth of 10 million trees in Assam, 20 million trees trees in Gujarat and also finance 0.2 million trees in 400 hectares in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. This is not only helpful in rehabilitating the local fauna but also generating seasonal income for the farmers and local residents and empowering women through employment. ReNew resorts to no development on forest land and biodiversity hotspots till there are alternate and environmentally beneficial options.
Forest conservation
ReNew’s carbon finance projects aims to support the protection of 300,000 hectares of forest by empowering communities, which will in turn preserve forest biodiversity. The projects aim to sequester 5 million tonnes of CO2. The projects will positively impact ~2 lac lives.
Addressing water scarcity
According to a NITI Aayog assessment, 40% of Indians would not have access to drinking water by 2030 and 54% of the country’s ground wells are depleting. Renew’s water security programme focuses on conserving and recharging ground water through indigenous water harvesting methods/technologies like de-silting lakes, construction of household taankas, and developing bio-sand filters which makes the communities in arid regions of India better equipped to fight water shortage. 120 Taankas have been constructed, 10 lakes de-silted, and 52 RO units installed so far.
Other initiatives
ReNew has taken yet another step towards advancing sustainability by using green buildings for ReNew’s headquarters and manufacturing site, offering savings in water and energy usage.
The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is strongly related to both SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Deforestation, rapid land use change as well as unsustainable ways of development have seriously caused harm to the natural environment, harshly impacting the air quality, availability of water, degradation of land, loss of biodiversity and destructive changes in the temperature of the planet. It’s the need of the hour to protect, restore & promote sustainable use of the planet’s resources for a flourishing life on land.
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