In your opinion, how serious is the issue of climate change and global warming?
Global warming is a critical aspect of climate change, along with changes in weather patterns and the melting of the polar icecaps. Today, it is a global crisis with the potential to irreversibly change our planet and the way humanity lives and survives. Climate change can permanently and negatively affect a variety of issues that are important for our survival as a species. It will, for instance, impact crop cultivation and yields, drinking water availability, the bio-diversity of our planet, sea levels, and lead to devastating weather events all over the world.

With the Copenhagen meeting coming up in December 2009, the world’s political leaders will be negotiating permissible emission levels. What are the implications for Indian industry?
The reality is that Indian emission levels are far below those of the US and China. However, the fact remains that global warming will impact the way everyone does business and India is no exception. This is a reality that we must gear up for.

How committed are Tata companies to the cause of climate change?
The Tata's have taken a firm stance on climate change. We want to take the leadership position on this issue. We want to be proactive and lead the thinking on how to deal with climate change within our industries. We are doing it because it’s the right thing to do as the environment is a shared resource. Also, it will give us competitive advantage, absolve the business of future risks in a carbon tax regime and help us explore new business opportunities. The Tata companies are completely committed to the cause of climate change.

What is the core message being highlighted in the climate change journey?
The over-arching message for all Tata companies is best summed up as follows: ‘Tata companies will play a leadership role in climate change by being knowledgeable, responsive and trustworthy and by adopting environment-friendly technologies, business practices and innovation, while pursuing their own growth aspirations.’

To convey this message we are using multiple media options. We are running print campaigns, films, organising pledges for employees and arranging special events that spread the word such as quizzes on climate change. A very specific element of the communication exercise has been the launch of a special logo for the climate change initiative that encapsulates the Tata philosophy and policy. The message from the Tatas is clear: We are going from grey to green in our climate change journey.

How do you see individual Tata companies driving the climate change initiative?
Broadly speaking, each company will map its carbon footprint and identify abatement strategies. The policy for Tata companies is that each company will strive to:

• Be the benchmark in their segment of industry on carbon footprint, for their plants as well as operations.
• Develop and incorporate a ‘green’ perspective in all key organisational processes.
• Actively engage in climate change advocacy and the shaping of regulations in their respective business sectors.
  

How has TQMS tackled the issue of climate change from the perspective of all Tata companies?
The Tatas have appointed a high-level steering committee comprising senior leaders to oversee the climate change initiative. This group interacts regularly with leading consultants and experts, internal as well as external. We have a working group with 11 domain experts in charge of taking the movement across all Tata companies. When we first started talking about climate change and the implications for industry, we also started a number of initiatives to:

• Determine the extent of our carbon footprint.
• Create awareness of the criticality of the issue.
• Make climate change a core component of corporate performance.
• Identify new business opportunities present in the green area.
  

How has the climate change movement been internalised by Tata companies?
Climate change is now an integral part of the Tata Business Excellence Model, a methodology that maps and guides Tata companies on their journey to performance improvement. It is a part of the assessment process. We have also implemented a phased study to establish the carbon footprint of Tata companies. In Phase I, we covered the big five companies — Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals, Tata Power, Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services.

In Phase II we covered another seven companies. The carbon footprint of these 12 companies has been mapped. We will soon start Phase III of carbon mapping, covering another 11 companies.

Having mapped the footprint, the next step was to develop abatement strategies, both for the short term and the long term. This has already been done for the companies in Phase I and II. This exercise has also helped the companies identify new business opportunities arising out of going green.

What are the new green business opportunities that the Tata companies are looking at?
There are several opportunities being explored. To get down to specific examples, Tata companies are exploring new opportunities like: nano coating for glass, solar component manufacturing and solar photovoltaics. They are also actively looking at bio fuels, bio diesel, eco-friendly solutions in the lighting business, setting up green buildings and smart grids.

Climate change calls for a drastic shift in attitudes and mindsets. What steps has TQMS taken to increase awareness and obtain buy-in among Tata companies?
During the last two years, we have undertaken a number of communication exercises which have focused solely on climate change. We have invited global experts — Gabrielle Walker among others — to come in to deliver strong messages on climate change and the need for abatement and mitigation strategies. There have been workshops and programmes tailor-made for CEOs and line managers.

Nearly all the Tata CEOs have attended workshops on this subject. More than 750 line managers have participated in conferences and programmes dealing with the issue. Today there are about 100 climate change champions in Tata companies whose role is to drive the message within their organisations.

With all this, is climate change a trigger for shifting to a new business paradigm? How is the environment for business
changing?
Yes, climate change is a gateway to reap the benefits in a new and future economy. There are several major drivers for this change to happen. Factors such as energy and depleting natural resources, green branding, changes in consumer preferences, pressure from investor groups, policies, legislations and regulations, creation of new carbon markets and others will play a huge role in the coming months and years.

We have also seen institutional changes in public governance like the formation of ministries to deal with climate change; growing academic interest in the issues and the setting up of NGOs and institutes to tackle the problems.

Many collaborative efforts and public private partnerships have emerged, leading to breakthrough innovations. Therefore, business leaders have to articulate and deal with the many dimensions of a low-carbon economy affecting their business. Naturally, climate change will become a key part of business strategy and will perhaps be the strongest lever of innovation.

Welcome to the low carbon economy of innovation, modernisation and growth!