Godrej, Tata Chem in the right shade of Green

On the 10th of November, two captains of industry and an army commander will proudly accept the honour for transcending their role from mere statutory compliance to setting standards in sustainability. There will be no bottom line profitability discussed nor other standard measures of corporate success.

They will be the first ever winners of the Corporate Green Governance Awards, accorded by the Bombay Natural History Society - Godrej and Boyce for conservation of habitat, Tata Chemicals for protection of fauna, and the 8 Mountain Division, Kargil, for flora.

Said Deepak Apte, conservation officer Bombay Natural History Society, "With increasing global conciousness towards the need for environmetal protection, it will be imperative for large players to set an example for smaller brothers to follow. This award goes out to industries making extraordinary efforts towards following the path of sustainability; the nominations go through several stages of critical scrutiny, field visits, technical verifications, and detailed discussion. Conceived in the 1980s, the Godrej Mangrove Project went beyond just protecting the 1750 acre mangrove land adjoining the Godrej & Boyce township in Vikhroli, a North Mumbai suburb, allowing it to regenerate. "It was not just the protection of mangroves but also the promotion of mangrove conservation through educational programs and infusion of science into policy," says Apte.

The area where the mangroves existed was secured, infiltration of people was phased out, plantation of new species was undertaken to improve the bio-diversity on land and the inter-tidal regions where the mangroves stood.

What enhances the unique quality of this project is the fact that it has been possible to conserve it in an original habitat and eco-system sheltering several species of migratory birds and micro-organisms.

For volunteers at Tata Chemicals' (TCL) Soda Ash plant in Mithapur working with the Wildlife Trust of India on curbing the large-scale hunting of whale sharks off the shores of Gujarat, meant transforming attitudes.

Incorporating theatre, religion and community initiatives the project took on an approach of inclusivity, involving fishing communities, civic bodies, the Coast Guard, the Forest Department, thousands of school children and even Morari Bapu, a revered spiritual leader in Gujarat, who was key in creating an emotional connect, by likening the whale shark to a daughter coming home to her parents' home for child birth. Today, people call the whale shark 'Vhali' (dear one in Gujarati) and four coastal towns have adopted the whale shark as their mascot.

"For us the most significant indicators were when several crew of fishing vessels cut open their nets in which a whale shark was accidentally trapped, destroying equipment worth thousands, apart from the opportunity of harvesting an illegal catch worth about a lakh of rupees," says Vivek

Talwar, Corporate Quality Head, TCL. Laudably, no whale shark carcasses have been sighted in several months.

The third award actually didn't go to a corporate. It went to 8 Mountain Division, Kargil for their demonstration of human endurance to restore high-altitude flora of an area ravaged by Operation Vijay defying all physical and environmental challenges. "The Army is a vital partner in our Green Governance Programme, since some of the best forest areas are under its control such as the Rann of Kutch".

"These are three extraordinary efforts by industry and government agencies but I hope that for the next award we will receive many more nominations," said an upbeat Apte.