Securing water in the heart of India
Issue 70
April, 2024
ESG
“What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants a friend of sun and sky;
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;”
These iconic lines from Henry Cuyler Bunner’s poem ‘The Heart of the Tree’ still hold true well over a century after they were written.
It’s surprising just how many issues can be tackled by planting trees, as evidenced by the various communities where Allcargo has planted its 1 million trees.
With desertification contributing to around 10% of global warming, a holistic re-think, strong intent followed by committed action is necessary to arrest the negative effects. While climate change is experienced by all, local communities dependent on trees are the worst affected.
Making farming sustainable
As an organization that prioritises tangible results and measurable practices, Allcargo Group conceptualised Maitree, a sustainable twofold solution to the problem of dwindling tree cover and under or low employment in rural areas.
Farmers from tribal communities traditionally are not well-versed with farming practices, nor is their land the most amenable to yield results. Consequently, income security is a very big cause for concern.
Allcargo’s Maitree project provided these farmers from Palghar, Karjat, Jawar, and Mokhada district in Maharashtra with saplings of key cash crops and timber-yielding species such as mango, guava, cashew, lemon, moringa, and teak. Subsequently, a team of agriculture experts provided in-depth training on nurturing these trees to adulthood. As a consequence, the trees planted under Maitree have a 90% survival rate.
Reaping the fruits
These trees are securing the local ecology through the natural impact they have on precipitation, enriching the soil, preventing soil erosion, and on the local flora and fauna. While the farmers have earned new skills and are earning a steady income of Rs. 50,000 – Rs. 60,000 annually. Over 20,000 farmers have been impacted, and the total number of beneficiaries is over 1 lakh individuals.
In recognition of the tangible impact of these consistent efforts, Allcargo was conferred the Best Environment Protection Initiative of the Year” award at the Indian Social Impact Awards 2024 in New Delhi, February 2024.
Standing up for the environment
Initiatives like the Environmental Rights Initiative, championed by organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme, mark a crucial step towards advocating, safeguarding, and respecting environmental rights globally. In India, governmental endeavours such as the National Auto-fuel policy and the Energy Conservation Act reflect a concerted push to mitigate environmental impact. In the realm of business, it’s paramount to acknowledge the profound consequences of actions on the environment. Corporations bear a critical responsibility to minimize their ecological footprint and actively contribute to global sustainability efforts.
As an organization that recognises its ethical obligation to safeguard the planet for future generations and foster societal well-being, “Care for the Environment and Society” stands as a core value, with a vision to achieve its ESG goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.
To know more about Allcargo’s sustainability intitiaitves click to read Allcargo’s ESG report 2022-23
