ITC Ltd has signed an MoU with IIT Delhi to support research in identified STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) areas to accelerate India’s journey towards achieving its Sustainable Development Goals.
The areas identified for research include energy storage, low carbon cold transportation, and plastic bio-degradation, said a press statement issued by the company.
Executive Vice-President and Head - Social Investments, ITC, Prabhakar Lingareddy, said, “ITC has over the years pursued a mission of environmental stewardship through a spectrum of large-scale interventions, together with a mosaic of programmes for societal development. The company has embarked on the next horizon of sustainable excellence with a comprehensive Sustainability 2.0 vision, which resolves to ‘Build Back Better’. The redefined Sustainability 2.0 Vision with ambitious targets calls for inclusive strategies that can support even more livelihoods, pursue newer pathways to fight climate change, support the circular economy and enable transition to a net zero ecosystem, thus contributing meaningfully to the nation’s NDC commitments and SDG Goals.”
While the company has taken rapid strides towards achieving these goals, there are several areas that require development of viable technology solutions to enable scale-up and a transformational impact, he said, and added that it is the company’s objective to leverage the technical expertise of institutions such as the IITs and support R&D activities in identified areas, which would accelerate India’s journey towards achieving its SDGs.
According to Sunil Khare, Dean, Research & Development, IIT Delhi, industry is undergoing a massive transformation with an ever-increasing need for sustainable and functional products that drive new innovations. The collaboration will combine cutting-edge research at IIT Delhi with ITC’s application know-how to accelerate innovation and develop solutions for a variety of end-use applications for society at large.