MoU signed between Indian Railways and CII to promote and facilitate green initiatives
MoU signed between Indian Railways and CII to promote and facilitate green initiatives
Indian Railways has signed an MoU with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to reduce energy and water consumption lowering GHG emissions. IR and CII have renewed their MoU for third consecutive term.
The MoU was signed and exchanged on 4th January, 2024 between Shri. Shailendra Singh, Principal Executive Director/ME (EnHM & Project), Rly. Board and Smt. Seema Arora, Deputy Director General, CII in the presence of Smt. Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Railway Board, Board Members and other senior officers.
Indian Railways, as a major stakeholder of transportation sector in India shared the responsibility of environment protection. IR, itself has set “Net Zero Carbon Emission” target by the year 2030.Indian Railways have significant number of Railway stations, Production units, major workshops and other establishments, for which various green initiatives have been taken with the objective of environment protection and reducing the carbon footprints.
CII has been actively partnering with IR since July 2016 to promote and facilitate green initiatives over Indian Railways. First MoU was signed in year 2016 for 03 years and upon its expiry another MoU was signed in year 2019 for further 03 years.
Significant progress has been made so far under above 02 MoUs in achieving:
Smt. Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Railway Board expressed optimism about the renewed collaboration, stating, “Indian Railways has consistently demonstrated its commitment to sustainable practices. This renewed MoU with CII-GBC marks a significant step towards our collective goal of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions”. She emphasized that Green is the most desirable option, incorporated as fundamental in ‘Planning, design, development and operations’ of Indian Railway.
Deputy Director General of CII, Ms. Seema Arora, appreciated Indian Railways efforts in implementing green measures, reducing energy and water consumption and promoting sustainable practices across built environment. She accentuated the importance of this partnership in driving sustainable development, stating, “Our renewed partnership with Indian Railways signifies a strategic shift towards the Net Zero framework. This alignment with global sustainability goals underscores our dedication to creating a greener, cleaner and more sustainable future for generations to come. We look forward to implementing cutting-edge solutions that will pave the way for a more environmentally responsible railway network”
Under this MoU, besides initiatives already being under taken, CII will collaborate in bringing new/relevant technologies and its implementation, assistance for achieving ISO 50001 certification of workshops/production units, development of Net-Zero Energy Railway station framework and an information dashboard will also be created to highlight the advancement in green initiatives throughout the year taken jointly by IR and CII.