Yara India, a part of Norwegian multinational Yara International - the world’s leading crop nutrition company and a provider of agricultural, industrial, and environmental solutions, today announced the release of its first India Sustainability Report. The report describes Yara’s approach to enhancing the sustainability of its business processes in India and progress towards change.
The sustainability report centres on the 5C approach to sustainability at Yara: Commit, Channelize, Care, Concern, and Contribute. These pillars align well with UN SDGs, while addressing areas like GHG emission reduction, energy conservation, water stewardship, circularity, and biodiversity.
The company developed a plan to invest in initiatives and programme creation in areas that will lower operating costs, induct higher female workforce across value chain, provide revenue opportunities, and lower operating risks.
On the occasion Sanjiv Kanwar, Managing Director, Yara South Asia said, “We are pleased to launch our first India Sustainability Report, which underscores our commitment to sustainable growth and operations in the country and the world. Our work enables us to impact sustainably along the manufacturing and agricultural value chains, while offering high-tech solutions to the farmers feeding the globe. Our teams are also assisting us consistently in this endeavor and we are also relying on them for innovative ideas to enhance productivity, eradicate waste, and reduce costs. Through our initiatives, we have been able to reach out to 11.6Mn farmers and directly support 68,000 members of the farming community across 13 states.”
The company is already creating and developing solutions that cater to the changing needs of farmers and reduce environmental impacts. The report, which aligns with the Global Reporting Initiative, highlights company accomplishments such as:
1. Commit: 11.6 Mn farmers reached through online sessions, partnerships with more than 125 FPOs across 13 states enable us to directly connect with and support around 68,000 members of the farmer community. Yara Crop Nutrition Centres (YCNC) attracts 0.7- 1.0 million farmers monthly.
2. Channelize: Created opportunities for women in customer-facing roles such as agronomy and sales and as agri-entrepreneurs; partnered with 7 women-only FPOs and Women formed 50% of the Yara India Advisory Council, which has been established to guide the organization across various strategic business imperatives.
3. Care: Impacted 65,000 lives through our CSR initiatives; special initiatives for physical, mental & emotional well-being of our people. 99% of full-time employees covered through training sessions during the year.
4. Concern: Measures towards, reducing scope 1 GHG emissions are being undertaken along with rigorous process for waste segregation and recycling. Installation of 600 KLD MBR based sewage treatment plant for water treatment is underway.
5. Contribute: Generated employment for 1535 people. Supported 55 small businesses
Going forward, Yara will continue to reinforce sustainability reporting practices defining standards that can set the benchmarks for the fertilizer industry in the country and aim to focus on increasing the participation of women in agriculture from within Yara India and outside the wider ecosystem. As part of the ongoing efforts, Yara will continue to strengthen digital farming solutions to give more farmers access to banks of cutting-edge agronomy knowledge.
In line with the UN SDG’, Yara will work towards reducing carbon footprint by minimizing GHG emissions, and by introducing renewable and greener energy sources such as green ammonia. The company will aim to increase its social footprint by contributing more towards nation-building and community development.
