US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says
ITC Green Centre is a "Monument to the future"
July 19, 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose the LEED Platinum rated ITC Green Centre to announce a vision for Indo-US collaboration on climate change. Secretary Clinton, after a tour of ITC's green building, said that,''The ITC Green Centre is a monument to the future. This Centre is a model of environmental stewardship and economic development, which provides inspiration as we approach the Copenhagen discussions.'' Secretary Clinton said that if buildings across the globe replicated ITC Green Centre's example, global energy use would be reduced by 20 %. She expressed her admiration for ITC's commitment and work on sustainability issues which underscored the fact that there was no conflict between poverty and economic development.
The ITC Green Centre is one of the world's first largest green buildings to receive the top-most Platinum rating from the US Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The building, which has utilized innovation, cutting edge technology and design integration to achieve new benchmarks in energy efficiency and water conservation, is a manifestation of ITC's leadership in Sustainability Practices.
An exemplar from the developing world, ITC's Sustainability Vision has enabled it to become the only company in the world to be carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive, the three major global environmental distinctions. By embedding inclusive corporate strategies, its businesses have generated nearly 5 million livelihoods, many of whom represent the weakest sections in India.
ITC's Green Centre uses CO2 monitoring systems to enhance Indoor Air Quality to provide the freshest air, uses natural lighting to reduce energy load, has zero water discharge, and even uses natural plants that need minimum water.
Amongst ITC's sustainability initiatives are the e-Choupal, the world's largest rural digital infrastructure that empowers 4 million farmers, Social and Farm Forestry programs that have cumulatively generated 40 million mandays of employment for poor tribals and marginal farmers, and Watershed Development programmes that irrigate nearly 44,000 hectares. The Company's community engagement projects encompass Rural Supplementary Education reaching out to over 1,80,000 children, Women Empowerment programmes that have created over 20,000 rural women entrepreneurs and Integrated Livestock Development services provided to over 2,70,000 milch animals.
