It’s No Vehicle Day for Hindustan Zinc

PTI, Dec 16, 2021, 6:52 PM IST

Udaipur : CEO and all employees either walked, rode their bikes, took public transit, shared rickshaw, or carpool with their co-workers to get to work

As part of ESG commitment, on Energy Conservation Day, the company spread awareness on reducing carbon footprint and promoting energy conservation in a unique way

Hindustan Zinc, India’s largest producer of zinc, lead, and silver, observed “No Vehicle Day” by adopting eco-friendly alternatives for transportation on National Energy Conservation Day’. The day was celebrated in a unique way by spreading awareness on reducing the carbon footprint, promoting energy conservation, and reducing pollution generated by automobiles. All the senior personnel, employees, and staff including the CEO, throughout the business’s operational sites, travelled to their office either on foot, via bicycle, shared rickshaw, public transportation, or through carpooling with their colleagues on Tuesday.

Rallies were held at the company’s unit sites to raise awareness, and other activities such as quiz competitions, plant distribution, commitment board signing, and a skit performance were also organised. These diverse activities piqued the employees’ interest, and many pledged to limit the usage of their private vehicles as much as possible. In India, the transportation sector emits an estimated 261 tonnes of CO2, with road transport accounting for 94.5%. A typical passenger vehicle emits around 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. By avoiding driving for even a single day, one can minimise their carbon footprint by around 0.5 tonnes over a year.

Mr. Arun Misra, CEO of Hindustan Zinc, expressing his thoughts on this remarkable way of commemorating Energy Conservation Day, said, “The primary objective of honouring this day is to raise awareness and understanding among all employees regarding the significance of curtailing their carbon footprint and encourage them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding the use of fossil fuels. We also encouraged all to use cycles and public transportation on a daily basis in order to contribute to a pollution-free environment and be the environmentally conscious citizens of India. Hindustan Zinc is committed to the cause of sustainability and to ensure GHG emission reductions in a substantive number in the next four to five years.”

Hindustan Zinc is dedicated to reducing carbon emissions on a continuous basis, with sustainability as an overriding goal of its growth objectives. Through a series of innovative and emerging initiatives, the company is taking proactive steps toward attaining its target of reducing its carbon footprint by 500,000 tons of CO2. These include the deployment of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in underground mining, the installation of variable frequency drives to minimise auxiliary power usage, and the revamping of CPP turbines, among other things.

About Hindustan Zinc Limited

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group Company, is one of the world’s largest and India’s only integrated producers of Zinc-Lead and Silver. The Company has its Headquarter at Udaipur in the State of Rajasthan where it has its Zinc-Lead mines and smelting complexes. Hindustan Zinc is self-sufficient in power with captive thermal power plants and has ventured into green energy by setting up wind power plants. The Company is ranked 1st in Asia-Pacific and globally 5th in Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2021 amongst Mining & Metal companies. Hindustan Zinc is a certified Water Positive Company, a member of the FTSE4Good Index and has scored A’ rating by CDP for climate change.

Being a people-first company, Hindustan Zinc believes in inculcating the values of Trust and Excellence to have a culture of high-performance in its workforce. The company takes pride in having some of the best-in-class people practices and employee centric initiatives, which have certified Hindustan Zinc as Great Place to Work 2021′, Company with Great Managers 2021′ by People Business and the People First HR Excellence Award.

As a socially responsible corporate, Hindustan Zinc has been relentlessly working to improve the lives of rural and tribal people residing near its business locations. The company is amongst the Top 15 CSR Spenders in India and are currently reaching out to 700,000 people in 184 villages of Rajasthan, 5 in Uttarakhand and 16 villages in Gujarat. As a market leader, Hindustan Zinc governs about 78% of growing Zinc market in India.