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The Environment Ministry has pitched for Corporate Environment Policy.
The Ministry has asked all major public sector units and proponents of large projects such as thermal power and integrated steel plants to adopt such a Policy for protection of environment.
This is being done to integrate the environmental concerns into the mainstream corporate policies, the Ministry has said.
Major projects such as coal based thermal power projects with capacity of 500 MW and above, integrated steel plants with capacity of over 1 million tonne per annum (mtpa), cement plants with capacity of over 3 mtpa and petroleum refining industries need to adopt such policy, the Ministry said.
These companies should ensure, as part of the policy, adherence with the environmental clearances and forestry clearances, wherever applicable, granted to the company.
Further, the companies should report any deviations of the policy and violation of environmental and forestry clearance conditions to its board and report them on their Web site and annual reports, it said.
They should also identify and designate responsible persons at all levels for ensuring adherence to this policy and compliance with environmental laws and regulations.
The Environment Ministry believes that these measures promote environmental consciousness and secure compliance and will protect the stakeholders' interest just like the financial systems and audit mechanism protect the shareholders of the company.
The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) would henceforth incorporate the appropriate terms of reference with respect to the Corporate Environment Policy and its implementation that need to be addressed in the environment impact assessment reports.
Further, all project proposals at the appraisal stage by the Ministry would deliberate on the aspects related to corporate environment policy.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has said that all proponents of all mining and non-mining projects which involve more than 40 hectares of forest land should submit a high resolution satellite imagery showing the land use of the proposed area while seeking environmental clearance.
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