Infosys signs Climate pledge

BENGALURU: Amazon and Global Optimism on Tuesday announced that tech giant Infosys became the second major signatory to 'The Climate Pledge, making a commitment to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early.

The Climate Pledge calls on new signatories to be net-zero carbon across their businesses by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris Accords goal of 2050, the three organizations said in a statement.

Infosys and other companies that sign The Climate Pledge agree to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis, it said.

They will have to implement decarbonisation strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.

They also need to neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent and socially- beneficial offsets to achieve net zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.

Commenting on it, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said "Infosys is showing bold leadership by signing up to The Climate Pledge and committing to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement ten years early."

Infosys CEO and MD Salil Parekh was quoted as saying, "At Infosys, we recognised climate change as a serious threat to our planet early on, and realised our responsibility as a corporate institution to mitigate its impact by taking concrete steps."

Christiana Figueres, the UNs former climate change chief and founding partner of Global Optimism said, By committing to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, Infosys is not just making a statement of commitment to the future, it is committing to significant actions and investments that will create jobs, spur innovation, regenerate the natural environment and help consumers to buy better in the short term.