Powering A Green Future

In existence for more than a hundred years, Tata Power is one of India’s largest integrated power companies, with many firsts to its credit. The company has grown from a commodity player to a service provider for the end consumer through rooftop solar systems, solar pumps, microgrids, EV ecosystems, home automation, and other new-age energy solutions.

Decarbonisation Commitments
Tata Power has installed 950 MW of rooftop solar capacity and has served 30,000 customers across 100 cities in India. The company has installed EV charging facilities in 352 cities and over 3,000 homes and has provided over 2,200 public EV charging points.

The company’s EV charging initiative is estimated to have saved 2 million tonnes in CO2 emissions on a per-year basis. They aim to increase their renewable portfolio from 13.5 GW to over 30 GW generation capacity in 2027 and are targeting the installation of more than 5 lakh solar pumps across India by 2027.

A major waste stream is an ash (fly ash and bottom ash), and Tata Power has achieved 100 per cent fly-ash utilisation in FY22. Additionally, measures are being taken to increase bottom ash utilisation.

The company’s smart home solution, Tata Power EZ Home, provides a unique value proposition of energy management based on energy analytics, with users saving up to 20 per cent of their electricity bill. The company’s ‘Know Your Electricity Consumption’ is part of the value-added services to help consumers monitor and analyse energy usage.

Tata Power has committed to setting emission reduction targets in line with the Science Based Targets (SBT) initiative. It aims to transition to decarbonised energy models, accelerate the phase-out of coal-based capacity, and achieve an 80 per cent clean and green portfolio by FY30. Tata Power is the first Indian power company to commit to carbon neutrality before 2050, playing a pivotal role in global decarbonisation efforts and promoting sustainable development through smart and green technologies.

Tata Power’s ESG evaluation ensures that its suppliers endorse the need for adherence to ESG policies that are also consistent with its values. In order to implement this, the power utility ensures that its vendors/contractors/suppliers are on the same platform and undertake sustainable practices in their business activities.

Vendors are assessed based on specific ESG parameters with a preferred above-average score greater than 50 eligible for onboarding.

For example, in FY20, 100 per cent of their new suppliers, with a purchase order (PO) value above Rs 5 crore, were screened through these ESG criteria. These vendors represent 83 per cent of the total value of POs issued in FY20. None of the suppliers were found to have significant actual potential negative social impacts.

“There is a buzz within Tata Power on sustainability. What is interesting and exciting, it is no longer a one-week information dissemination programme. There is a formal language on sustainability that is getting developed, and therefore business decisions are becoming more conscious and considering ESG measures. There are multiple other initiatives where we have involved our employees in being able to do little things every day to make a smarter, cleaner, and greener tomorrow,” says Vaishnavi Prabhakaran, Head – Corporate Sustainability, Tata Power.

Employee wellness is at the top of the agenda of the company. The turnover rate among permanent employees is low at 1.89 per cent for men and 5.92 per cent for women, the total being 2.20 per cent.

Tata Power has 22 per cent gender diversity in sales and customer-facing roles, 34 per cent in finance and accounting, and 40 per cent in digital and technology. Tata Power’s policies to support diversity includes an exclusive one-year sabbatical for meeting family requirements and several benefits under the health and wellness policy.

Risk management
The company employs a risk mitigation completion index (RMCI) to determine and monitor the level of completion of mitigation actions. A designated risk owner and champion is responsible for structuring mitigation plans against identified risks; when the RMCI percentage is lower than the target, the deviation in mitigation action areas is reviewed for requisite intervention. The company has identified climate change, water, and business continuity as one of the risk categories and has adopted the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework and is strengthening strategy, internal governance, and risk management while transitioning to a cleaner and greener portfolio.

“All our initiatives are aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and at Tata Power, we have an index comprising all these sustainable development goals. This is tracked across all the teams. We have also undertaken a digitalisation exercise so that there is greater authenticity on all of the ESG parameters,” says Prabhakaran.

Community Impact
The Tata Power Community Development Trust complemented the government’s efforts with its unprecedented support in the fight against COVID-19 and undertook several relief measures in 16 states, benefitting over 2.87 lakh individuals. The company also extended direct aid to public health facilities across 63 locations in the country, covering 158 primary health centres.