Collaboration & Learnings Will Support Net Zero Practices: Venkat Garimella, Schneider Electric

“The best way to practice net zero is through collaboration and learnings from each other,” said Venkat Garimella, Vice President - Sustainability, Schneider Electric, India Zone. He was speaking at the Sustainable World Conclave 2023, organised by BW Businessworld in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Garimella said, "Today the biggest issue is the climate crisis and we are majorly aware of it, experiencing a climatic change in many ways. The changing season is so grave that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), labelled the crisis as code red, a planetary emergency, added Garimella."

The Schneider Electric VP further urged every corporate organisation and individual to carry measures to control the climatic danger which is likely to turn adverse in the near future. He stressed the fact that ‘greenhouse gases’ are the root cause of concern as they are emitted in the range of 59 giga tonne (GT) every year, globally.

Subsequently, he said that the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions account for a majority of our total energy consumption, which is as high as 36 GT in a year (81 per cent).

Furthermore, Garimella suggested that the path of net zero seems difficult since our energy consumption has increased by 50 times and so there arises a call to work, think, live and implement our actions towards energy saving.

He highlighted that 8 billion tonne of coal and 4 billion tonne of oil are mined and consumed worldwide, which majorly contribute to greenhouse emissions. It’s the fossil footprint we need to change for a better tomorrow, Garimella said. According to him, humanity needs to adopt the use of electricity in line with the path of energy efficiency, which includes using electric appliances in the kitchen and switching to electronic vehicles and more.

He underlined technology is so advanced today that it contributes to energy savings greatly. And concluded that it is about “technology plus electricity, which equals to sustainability” - the formula for the net zero path.