Indian IT industry big contributor to business-driven air travel and carbon footprint: Report

Enforcing sustainable travel policies such as flying economy, choosing non-stop flights, trains or buses, and capping frequent flyer trips are among the recommendations made to IT companies in a report on the “Urgency and Potential of Aviation Impact Mitigation In India.”

cBalance.in, a knowledge-centric solutions hub specialising in tool building and strategy development to support the management and mitigation of the impact of climate crisis which prepared the report, said that the Indian IT industry is a major contributor to business-driven air travel.

Climate-polluting way

“Over a 1,000 km journey, an air traveller emits 285 kg of CO₂ per kilometre, while a railway passenger in even an air conditioned executive-class compartment emits 30 kg and in a comfortable AC bus the same passenger emits 70 kg. Clearly, air travel, irrespective of its efficiency benefits, is the most climate-polluting way to travel,” it said.

Aligning to emission targets recommended by Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), motivating employees via incentives e.g. bonuses for adhering to company emission targets and using low-carbon travel modes are among the other recommendations for IT companies.

Carbon reduction goals

cBalance.in further said that among eight global IT companies assessed based on their carbon reduction emission goals and business travel reduction performance (study period 2019-20 to 2023-24), five of the companies have indicated the need for more efforts towards meeting their climate goals.

“Wipro Technologies has proven to be a pioneer in business travel emission reduction among the Indian-headquartered IT companies, since 2015. Its travel policy is inclusive of train travel,” it said.

Introduction of policies to cap aviation emissions, levy carbon taxes on air travel, discourage airlines from operating short-distance flights, and prioritising investment in high-speed and enhancement of regional rail infrastructure to encourage train travel were among the recommendations it made for policy makers and administrators.

Protests by communities

The report also evaluated the impacts and resistance and protests by local communities towards the same, through studying two airport expansion projects - Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru, and an airport proposed in Parandur situated in Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu.

“The primary source of income for many of the displaced villages in the case of the KIA was agriculture. With the acquisition of their land, they lost their primary means of livelihood. Approximately 4,000 acres of land were acquired, displacing numerous families. The residents who were displaced faced issues like inadequate compensation, loss of livelihoods, and limited opportunities for resettlement,” the report stated.