Carbon Footprint Reduction
What is a Carbon Footprint?
A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment,
and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced
in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.
A carbon footprint is made up of the primary footprint and the secondary footprint.
The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of CO2
from the burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption
and transportation (e.g. car and plane). We have direct control of these.
The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from
the whole lifecycle of products we use - those associated with their manufacture
and eventual breakdown. To put it very simply – the more we buy the more emissions
will be caused on our behalf.
Reducing Carbon Footprint
There are many things individuals and organizations
can do to reduce their carbon footprint, many of these
measures prove to be cost effective while being beneficial to the environment.
At an organizational level many businesses are becoming conscious and
reflecting this new found commitment to the planet in environmental
policies and actions. Individuals can do simple things to reduce their
primary carbon footprint like turning off electrical appliances not in use,
hanging out laundry instead of using dryers, using energy saving light bulbs
and many more. We can just as easily reduce our secondary carbon
footprint by recycling as much as possible, buying locally grown seasonal foods, opting for organically grown produce and the like.
Carbon Credits
Carbon credit is a term referring to the value assigned to the reduction or offset of greenhouse gas emissions,
which occur due to emissions of gases from the burning of fossil fuels
(coal, electricity derived from coal, natural gas and oil), and the haphazard dumping of untreated waste.
Mathematically, one carbon credit equals one ton of carbon dioxide.
In order to obtain other green house gases’ equivalent of one ton of carbon dioxide,
they have to be multiplied by the global warming potential of gas. For methane, the global
warming potential is 21; therefore reduction of 1 ton of methane gas is equivalent to 21 carbon credits.
Carbon Footprint Reduction Measures at Tatva
As an environmentally conscious global player, Tatva has deployed cutting-edge technology and risen to
the challenge of reducing its own carbon footprint. Tatva manages integrated waste management facilities
at Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Coimbatore. The municipal waste collected at these sites is processed using state-of-the-art
technologies like scientific dump site closure, bio-methanation, composting, and RDF (refuse derived fuel).
These lead to valuable reductions in GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, which are a good source of renewable energy.
By creating and using its own renewable energy, Tatva offsets its greenhouse gas emissions, thus reducing its carbon footprint and generating carbon credits. Till date, Tatva has treated approximately 49,247 million litres of waste and has disposed 884,324 tons of CO2.
Priorities
Find out the steps we're taking to reduce our impact on the environment.
Carbon Footprint Reduction
Read about the many challenges that our environment is facing.
