Sustance — Issue 19
A weekly newsletter on the sum and substance of Sustainability.
Here’s what MakeMyTrip does with your contribution of Rs 5
MakeMyTrip announced that it has supported the plantation of one million trees through MakeMyTrip Foundation in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand and Udaipur districts, as part of its efforts to support responsible travel.
At the ‘Responsible Tourism’ event held in Delhi, the company said that the drive has been carried out in partnership with Seva Mandir, an NGO that works with local communities on development projects, especially focusing on sustainability. The tree plantation, which was started last year, covers 2,350 hectares of land at present. The drive has been carried out with the contribution (Rs 5) made by customers to MakeMyTrip foundation each time they have booked their flights and hotels on the platform.
Noida joins Global SDG 2025 plan
Noida and Greater Noida were invited to participate in this showcase ‘race to sustainability’ held in Noida. The twin cities are among the 25 global cities to become fully compliant with the sustainable development goals by 2025 under the UN Global Sustainable Goals (SDG) Cities initiative.
The twin-cities, the only from India, will be competing in the University City’s category.
“The decision of the government of Uttar Pradesh was conveyed by B N Singh, the district magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar, after getting approval on the proposal by the government,” the district administration said in the statement.
An acceptance letter was formally handed over to UNGSII chief Roland Schatz in the presence of UN Director General Michael Moller and leaders of other cities participating in the flagship programme at SDG Lab in Davos, Switzerland, the official statement said.
SBI to Extend Digital Platform ‘YONO’ to Farmers
SBI Chairman, Rajnish Kumar said “For farmers, the ‘YONO Farmer’ service will offer several agriculture-related services such as seeds, climate or weather information, KCC (Kisan Credit Card) loans, gold loans and online market information.
Kumar said, “This platform will be rolled out originally in 6 vernacular languages”.YONO, since its launch in the year 2017 has recorded around 61 lakh users and registrations and daily 5000 applications are logged in and Rs 50 crore disbursals are made.
Bengalurean launches organic feminine hygiene brand & starts a dialogue
The IT City is now home to its own Padman-like Coimbatore’s Muruganantham. He, however, is tech-savvy and a crusader for organic menstruation care. Keeping with the times, he has even released a song (The Period Song) and an initiative online to break the taboo revolving around menstruation in the society.
Meet Dhruv K. Talera who has launched a feminine hygiene care brand called Peach that promotes going green with organic cotton tampons that claim to be biodegradable, compostable and and sustainable. Vegan and cruelty free are added pointers.
Talera says, “Witnessing the plight of my family members during their menstruation, I was inspired to start a dialogue on the subject that is long overdue in India. When organic food is preferred for a healthy lifestyle then why not the same with organic tampons?”
The product, apparently, does not contain synthetic fibres, chemical additives, fragrance, dyes, or any pesticides. Talera aims is to start a dialogue around menstruation now. The idea is to bring about a positive change by addressing the misconceptions and taboos around tampons and menstrual cycles. Earlier this month, he launched an online initiative called The Period Story Campaign where several women shared their period stories and wore womanhood as a badge with pride.
Azim Premji urges organisations to spell out profits of sustainability
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said the financial benefits of sustainability for any organisation needs to be spelt out in a bid to encourage more people towards exercising their duties.
The software services industry veteran believes industries and businesses should focus on “pervasive implementation” of policies and nudge people to act upon sustainability efforts.
He added that there is a clear profit motive in efforts such as conservation of water, energy, recycling of waste. “That keeps us going.”
Premji also said that Wipro’s upcoming office facility at Kodathi on Sarjapur Road would be a real example of a sustainable and energy efficient workplace.
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