In a world grappling with environmental challenges, a shining beacon of hope emerged on October 25, 2023, as India’s largest integrated logistics services provider, Allcargo Group, celebrated a remarkable milestone – the fulfilment of a commitment to plant a million trees!
Shloka Shetty, Head – Innovation, planted the millionth tree in the presence of Allcargo Group’s Founder and Executive Chairman, Mr Shashi Kiran Shetty, and other team members at Allcargo’s head office in Mumbai.
With Care for Environment and Society, enshrined in its core values Allcargo Group’s CSR arm, Avashya Foundation, had initiated Project Maitree – a unique project to green the earth’s cover while simultaneously boosting the livelihoods of tribal farmers, who are able to sell the produce of the fruit bearing trees, which are planted in the districts around Mumbai – Thane, Karjat and Igatpuri.
A sustainable solution
Sustainability is at the heart of this project, with a remarkable 90% survival rate of our trees. A significant reason for this being the active involvement of the tribal farmers, who are not only provided the resources but also the requisite skills to nurture these trees and ensure they mature into adulthood.
For rural communities the world over the survival of trees is closely linked to the flourishing of the local community. Since trees play a crucial role in averting issues such as flooding, loss of biodiversity, and climate change, they secure the local ecosystem which has a cascading impact on various other factors like health and income, and on women as well since as primary caregivers it directly impacts their ability to provide, survive, and thrive.
The road ahead
Allcargo Group has been taking substantial steps to mitigate its impact on the environment. Having embarked on a structured Environment Social and Governance (ESG) journey, the company aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, and is continuously on the lookout to adopt greener ways in its operations.
In fact, the group’s express distribution wing, Gati has been enabling businesses with green mobility through its alternate fuel vehicles initiative, plans to convert the entire pickup and delivery fleet to alternative fuel by 2025.
With deforestation contributing to an estimated 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions on the planet, organizations like Allcargo Group are adopting a multipronged approach to reduce carbon emissions – a holistic approach that can be replicated across the industry.