23rd September, 2021: UltraTech Cement Limited, the largest manufacturer of grey cement, white cement and ready-mix concrete in India, has announced its commitment to Climate Group’s RE100 initiative at Climate Week NYC 2021. As part of this commitment, UltraTech targets to meet 100 per cent of its electricity requirement through renewables sources by 2050.
RE100, led by Climate Group in partnership with CDP, brings together the world’s most influential businesses committed to 100 per cent renewable electricity. UltraTech has set a 100 per cent renewable electricity target for its entire global operations by 2050.
In the last two years, UltraTech has scaled up its contracted renewable energy capacity by 2.5 times. The Company has already set a target to scale up its green energy mix to 34 per cent of its total power requirement by 2024, from the current levels of 13 per cent.
“We have made tremendous progress in scaling up the use of green energy in our operations. The commitment to move to 100 per cent renewable energy to meet our electrical energy requirements by 2050 is both a reflection of our confidence on the progress we have made, as well as our commitment to overcome the challenges ahead. With us now joining the RE100 group, UltraTech will become part of a high-profile global campaign that advocates for a strong business case in transitioning to renewable energy sources in building a decarbonized economy,” said Kailash Jhanwar, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement.
“The RE100 announcement is in line with UltraTech’s focus to institutionalise its carbon reduction initiatives through measurable targets and commitments. RE100 provides us with an opportunity to access knowledge on emerging technologies. These would help us fast track the transition to 100% RE for our electrical energy requirements,” said E. R. Raj Narayanan, Business Head and Chief Manufacturing Officer, UltraTech Cement.
In FY21, UltraTech took another important step with the validation of its GHG emission reduction targets by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). The Company is committed to reduce its Scope 1 GHG intensity by 27 per cent and Scope 2 GHG intensity by 69 per cent, both by 2032 from the base year of 2017. UltraTech’s GHG reduction targets also include UltraTech’s target to lower its CO2 intensity in cement to 462 kg net CO2 per ton of cementitious material (net CO2/t.cem.) by 2032. So far, a total of 6 per cent reduction in Scope-1 CO2 emissions has been achieved with the base year of 2017. UltraTech is also the first company in India and the second company in Asia to link its financial commitments with sustainability targets through the issuance of dollar-based sustainability linked bonds.
About UltraTech Cement Limited
UltraTech Cement Limited is the cement flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group. A USD 5.9 billion building solutions powerhouse, UltraTech is the largest manufacturer of grey cement, ready mix concrete (RMC) and white cement in India. With a consolidated grey cement capacity of 116.75 MTPA, it is the third largest cement producer in the world, excluding China. UltraTech has the distinction of being the only company globally (outside of China) to have 100+ MTPA of cement manufacturing capacity in a single country. The Company’s business operations span UAE, Bahrain, Sri Lanka and India.
UltraTech is a founding member of Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA). It is a signatory to the GCCA Climate Ambition 2050, a sectoral aspiration to deliver carbon neutral concrete by 2050. UltraTech has adopted new age tools like the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), Internal Carbon Price and Energy Productivity (#EP100) as part of its efforts to accelerate adoption of low carbon technologies and processes across its value chain and thus reduce carbon footprint over the life cycle. UltraTech is the first company in India and the second company in Asia to issue dollar-based sustainability linked bonds. As part of its CSR, UltraTech reaches out to more than 2.1 million beneficiaries in over 500 villages in 16 states across India covering areas of education, healthcare, sustainable livelihoods, community infrastructure and social causes.
About RE100
A global group of influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. Its purpose is to accelerate change towards zero carbon grids, at scale.