Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organisation, has announced plans to reduce absolute greenhouse-gas emissions across Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 70% by 2025 (from 2016 base year), and to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.
In its recently published Integrated Annual Report 2020-21, the company sets forth this new carbon-reduction goal. This comes after TCS achieved its previous target of halving its specific carbon footprint by 2020 (versus baseline 2008) ahead of schedule. In 2021, TCS’s specific carbon footprint across Scope 1 and Scope 2 was 61.6% lower than 2008.
At the core of the TCS strategy to reduce its carbon footprint is improved energy efficiency through more green buildings; reducing IT system power usage; and the use of TCS Clever Energy™, which leverages IoT, machine learning and AI to optimise energy consumption across campuses. TCS Vision 25×25 is a strategic lever that delinks TCS business growth from campus expansion and brings down emissions related to employee commutes and business travel. Other elements of its net-zero aspiration include greater use of renewable energy and carbon-removal offsets.
“The TCS initiative of net-zero emissions by 2030 will help us become purpose-led partners for customers in the Middle East and South Africa,” said Sumanta Roy, Vice President & Regional Head, TCS Middle East and Africa. “Countries in the region have individual visions for 2030, focusing on quality of life, less dependence on hydrocarbons and food security. Our initiative augments this vision.”
Over the past 20 years, TCS has established a significant presence in the Middle East and South Africa. Besides being an active player in community development in South Africa, the company also has a well-defined,progressive Diversity and Inclusion Policy, with a focus on gender diversity, persons with disability and neuro diversity, sexual orientation, diversity of the mind, and generational diversity.
The TCS environmental footprint was significantly reduced in FY 2021 due to the large-scale switch to remote working, enabled by its Secure Borderless Workspaces™ operating model. With more than 97% of employees working from home throughout the year, resource consumption, emissions and wastes were significantly lower. During the year, the company’s absolute energy consumption came down by 46.6% over the prior year, and absolute carbon footprint (Scope 1 + Scope 2) by 48.8%.
TCS will also continue its efforts in water conservation and waste management through reduction and recycling initiatives. All its campuses ensure zero biodegradable waste to landfill and zero water discharge. TCS has also eliminated the use of single-use plastics across campuses and ensured the recycling of all recyclable plastic waste.
TCS is ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System certified across 120 locations globally, and was recently awarded a Gold rating in the EcoVadis 2021 Sustainability Assessment, for the eighth consecutive year. TCS outperformed its peers in all four key areas of measurement: Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement.
