Leading digital transformation solutions company UST has joined The Climate Pledge, a cross-sector business community effort to crack the climate crisis and solve the challenges of decarbonising the economy.

Co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism, the commitment calls on new signatories to be net-zero carbon across their businesses by 2040, decade ahead of the Paris Accord’s goal of 2050. 

Environmental stewardship

Krishna Sudheendra, Chief Executive Officer, UST, said that the company is thrilled to join and support The Climate Pledge. “From our inception, we have always endeavored to transform the lives of our employees, clients, end customers, and the community we live in,” he said.

“Environmental stewardship has also been a foundational part of this journey. Together with Amazon, Global Optimism and the other signatories, we are fully committed to driving tangible progress and jointly take action to limit global warming,” Sudheendra added.

According to Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge less than two years ago calling on others to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early. “Today, more than 100 companies with over $1.4 trillion in global annual revenues and more than five million employees have signed the pledge.”

UST pledges commitment

As a signatory of The Climate Pledge, UST commits to:

-Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis

-Implement decarbonisation strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business change and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies

-Take actions to neutralise any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040

-Switch to renewable energy for 25 per cent of power needs by 2025 and 50 per cent by 2030

-Use electric vehicles only for movement within its global campuses

-Create own solar power plant to generate 1.2MW of power by 2023

In Amazon's company

Nandagopal Ramachandran, General Manager-Operations, UST, said that the mission has always been to transform not just businesses, but the people and communities they touch. “As we advance in our sustainability goals, this effort enables us to make a truly boundless impact. We proudly stand with Amazon, Global Optimism, and the other signatories of The Climate Pledge, in a commitment to being a net-zero carbon company by 2040.”

Joining this initiative marks UST’s unwavering commitment to sustainability, a company spokesman said. It invests an average of two per cent of net profit in impact-based outcomes annually and implements science-based, high-impact changes to business initiatives that support the UN Sustainable Development Goals of 2030.

UST has always striven to drop its carbon emissions and has been innovating to address climate change and environmental issues with a focus on global sustainability and socio-economic development. Since its humble beginnings in 1999, it has invested in improving society through several CSR projects, the spokesman said.

Thiruvananthapuram campus

These initiatives range from planting trees and restoring mangrove forests to rescuing and rehabilitating people impacted by natural disasters. UST’s ‘Step It Up America’ and ‘Impact India’ programmes provide career training and employment opportunities.

The company’s IGBC LEED Gold-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) 6.5-acre campus in Thiruvananthapuram has one-third of the area with waterbody/lake channeling. It continues to seek opportunities to protect the planet and commit to transforming lives for communities.

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