Dr Reddy's joins Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), sets 2030 GHG emission targets

Dr Reddy's Laboratories has joined the Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) business ambition for 1.5 degrees celsius, becoming the first Indian and third Asian pharmaceutical company to minimise environmental impact.

The company has committed to reducing its scope one and two greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 from an FY 2017-18 base year, which are in line with the latest climate science of limiting global warming to below 1 .5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

"Continuous improvement in our environmental performance is a notable aspect of our sustainability journey," said G V Prasad, Co-chairman and Managing Director of Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

"We are delighted to join SBTi in taking a science-based approach to set our GHG emission reduction targets and accelerating our efforts to creating a positive impact on our planet."

As of FY 2019-20, Dr Reddy's has reduced its scope one emissions by 8.6 per cent and scope two emissions by 20.7 per cent over the baseline of FY 2017-18. The combined scope one and two emissions have been reduced by 13 per cent over the same base year, putting it on a fast track to achieving GHG reduction targets.

Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a joint initiative of Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institutes (WRI) and World Wide Fund (WWF), provides compes with a clearly-defined pathway to future-proof growth by specifying how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

A total of 472 compes have already set their targets as per SBTi. In the pharmaceutical and biotech sector globally, 17 compes have successfully set their emission reduction targets affirming their pledge to mitigate climate change impacts.

( With inputs from ANI )