How did BPCL feature in the top-10 of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index?
#BPCL #Sustainability #ESGPro MFG Media in conversation with Mr. Ashish Gupta, DGM - HSSE (Corporate) BPCL to unravel the secret of their success!
Oil Companies have always been treated as polluting companies because of their products – petroleum. They provide the means to mobility, a necessity, which in turn creates emissions and eventually pollution. BPCL, India’s second largest oil PSU, had the almost impossible task of reinventing themselves as a green company and after years of sustained efforts, have managed to make big inroads towards a greener and sustainable future.
“We are the best company in India in the Oil and Gas sector on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and also rank 10th in the list of top-30 Oil and Gas companies across the world”, said Mr. Ashish Gupta with pride. With all 30 of them being Fortune 500 companies, it is a task that not only deserves accolades but also an accomplishment that should inspire the Indian manufacturing sector to look at a greener and sustainable future.
While sustainability as a concept began emerging in the early 2000s, BPCL was one of the early-adopters in India, starting their journey in 2006-07. The actual process for certification began a couple of years ago when BPCL started benchmarking their initiatives against ESG parameters to analyze their performance.
“Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) was one of our first attempts at documentation and while we did that we were also looking for a more comprehensive benchmarking procedure. That is when we found DJSI and we decided to go for both the platforms in the next year” explained Mr. Ashish on how BPCL arrived at choosing the platforms to benchmark their initiatives.
The major steps taken by BPCL towards sustainability include induction of wind & solar power as a ;art of renewable energy, saving water which includes rainwater harvesting and recycling of used water, composting of solid green waste and nurturing bio-diversity, plantation of more trees and also the creation of an environmental cell. These steps have been implemented over the years and now have percolated across each BU of Bharat Petroleum.
Speaking about their journey, Mr. Gupta shared that “Earlier we managed to achieve the disclosure levels but with experience we could also project ourselves in a better way, align ourselves with the global standards and the results were amazing. We jumped a stage from D to B in the CDP. We are now at the management level globally and the next target is to achieve A in the CDP and take a leadership position.”
BPCL has already chalked out their long-term plan which includes planting over 10 lakh trees across BPCL premises and different parts of the country. Modern techniques like the Miyawaki method is being used to create small-scale bio-diversified forests where the land availability is limited. BPCL will also use seed-bombing technique another innovative method to plant trees in the otherwise barren hinterland to increase bio diversity and carbon sink across country
The conscious switch from fossil-fuel based sources of energy to renewable sources has also begun with BPCL outlets/Refinery and Marketing Business units harnessing solar energy of over 43.4 MW across the country in 2020. BPCL has further conducted detailed feasibility for 57 more Depots and LPG plants where Solarisation will take place in the year 2021-22. BPCL is now aggressively implementing solar energy with a target of 50% of their 16,000 retail outlets in the next five years.
BPCL has devised a scientific way to calculate GHG inventory by using Cloud based portal from each of their location in the country and also carbon footprint by calculating emission reduction using renewable energy and carbon reduction by planting trees. BPCL alone has cut down quantum of Sulphur in air pollution by 800 metric tons with the switchover to BS-VI fuels from 1st of April 2020. The various initiatives of BPCL which includes implementation of renewable energy, use of bio fuels, sustainable transportation through pipelines and PMUY LPG implementation has cut down GHG emissions by 17,91,000 MT CO2 in the year 2019-20. In terms of effluents, BPCL has already mandated ZLD (Zero Liquid Discharge) for all their locations and are also working towards Zero-Waste Landfill for disposal of Hazardous and Non hazardous waste. BPCL is extensively using policy of reduce , reuse and recycle of all types of waste to keep the land free from contamination.
Speaking about the future of Oil and Gas companies like BPCL, especially with the advent of electric mobility, Mr. Gupta shared that BPCL has been actively working towards the paradigm shift and have developed both the Battery Swapping model with pilots already running in Lucknow and Kochi , as well as Charging Station model for which Pilot is operating in Nagpur and on Mumbai Nasik Highway .
“This is not one of those subjects where you can take a target and achieve it and sit back. It is a continuous process that evolves as we move further. If tomorrow BPCL becomes carbon-neutral, the next-target would be to become partner-neutral. Which means, making sure that all partners of BPCL also achieve carbon-neutrality.” said Mr. Gupta while chalking out BPCL’s long-term strategy in Sustainability.
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