From birthday celebrations to getting an increment letter, from starting a fitness regime to a great quarter at work, no matter what the occasion - #CelebrateDifferently.

On World Environment Day, June 5, the Mahindra Group reinforced its long-term commitment toward the environment with the launch of a unique new citizens’ movement, #CelebrateDifferently. Marking the initiation of the campaign, a bilingual digital film was launched that urges people to celebrate the key milestones and achievements of their lives by planting a tree and giving back to nature.

Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group, said, “We are delighted to provide a platform for fellow Indians, particularly millennials, to contribute towards building a greener India. This would also enable the nation to meet its commitment to create a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tons as promised in the Paris Climate Change Agreement. We are all in it together to #CelebrateDifferently by giving back more than we take from our planet!”

Turning jubilant occasions into the perfect reason to #RiseAgainstClimateChange, the Mahindra Group united individuals across generations, sections of society, age, economic and geographical boundaries to come together and #CelebrateDifferently. Alternately, individuals not able to plant a tree themselves can simply like, share or comment on #CelebrateDifferently and Mahindra will plant one on their behalf. Under the Mahindra Hariyali initiative, over 16 million trees have been planted in the past 12 years, with a commitment of planting 1 million trees every year.

Ruzbeh Irani, President Group Communications and Ethics & Chief Brand Officer, Mahindra Group, said, ““The World will always need people who think differently – what better way to celebrate a birthday than by planting a tree? Our commitment is to support them, for the benefit of everyone.”

Trees can be so much more than what they already are. Watch the video to see for yourself.

Come April 2020, all vehicles in India will have to meet stringent new Bharat Stage 6 (BS VI) emission norms equivalent to the Euro 6 standards prevalent in Europe. Much ahead of this deadline, the Mahindra Group is ready to launch its BS-VI compliant vehicles next year, and will in fact be able to roll out the petrol range in 2019 itself.

The Bharat Stage Emissions Standards (BSES), introduced in the year 2000 are automotive emissions standards mandated by the Government of India, to keep a check on air pollutants from internal combustion engines- both petrol and diesel.

At a substantial investment of Rs 1,000 crores, Mahindra has developed 8 diesel and 8 petrol engines (most petrol engines will be CNG ready) over the past 3.5 years to prepare for the BS-VI mandate. In the process, Mahindra has filed for over 30 patents, as it worked with 125 vendors (including 32 technology vendors) developing 1,482 and 543 engine parts for its diesel and petrol powertrain platforms respectively.

Pawan Goenka, MD, M&M, said, “We are ready and we see no technical risk in taking BS VI vehicles to the market from 1 April, 2020. The team work between our engineers, suppliers and our consultants, was the best that I have ever seen. All worked like a mission chasing a challenge, which nobody in the world has ever achieved. We have achieved our time targets; cost targets and are ready with the product well in time so that there is enough time to conduct full validation, which was a major concern initially.”

A vital difference between BS-VI and the outgoing BS-IV fuel is that the former contains 5 times fewer sulphur traces (10 parts per million) compared to BS-IV (50 ppm). This stricter, more restrictive norm will bring down NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) emission levels by a staggering 70% for diesel engines and 25% for petrol engines. With the rollout of the new norms, India will come on par with the US and European equivalent emissions norms.

Mahindra Susten has entered into a partnership with one of the largest and most prominent global trading and investment companies, Mitsui & Co. Ltd of Japan to jointly develop and operate distributed solar power generation projects in India. Mahindra Susten will continue to hold a 51% stake in Marvel Solren Private Limited (“Marvel”) a unit of the Mahindra Group’s clean-technology arm, with Mitsui holding the balance equity.

Compared to power generated from average Indian coal-fired power plant, the four projects can collectively reduce CO2 emissions by about 20,000 tons per year and contribute to the Indian government’s annual renewable energy targets. The country currently stands with ~25 GW of grid-connected solar power capacity as compared to 9 GW in 2015. Marvel currently operates four distributed solar projects in India with a combined capacity of 16MW that help private clients reduce their carbon footprint.

Basant Jain, Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Susten, said, “We are excited to partner with Mitsui on our path to becoming the most admired brand in sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy. This collaboration between two leading groups will help us target opportunities in the commercial and industrial sectors, which are going to play a key role in meeting India’s ambitious renewable energy targets.”

According to a study on the off-grid solar power industry, the solar energy sector in the country is slated for a threefold growth, touching USD 1.4 billion by 2023. Empowered by a wide portfolio of services and industry expertise, Mahindra Susten is constantly catalyzing the shift towards new energy capacity additions in the country. In terms of solar power installations, India has already overtaken the US and has become the second largest solar power market in the world.

As the demand for shared mobility continues to grow, driven by three mega trends: urbanization, sustainability and the growth of the sharing economy, a simple choice to ensure that our cities can breathe cleaner air is to push for the greater adoption of EVs in India.

On World Environment Day, June 5, Mahindra joined hands with all-electric ride sharing service, Blu Smart to drive the electric mobility revolution in India. As a part of this strategic partnership, Blu Smart Mobility will initially induct 70 Mahindra eVerito premium sedans, across Delhi/ NCR including Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and

Faridabad. Commuters from these regions will now be able to book all-electric rides using the Blu Smart Mobility app.

Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric said, “Mahindra’s electric vehicles have already crossed the landmark figure of 100 million electric kilometres, which in turn has helped to save over 11,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions across the country. Today, we are proud to flag off our zero-emissions, all-electric Mahindra eVerito sedans and make them available on the Blu Smart App. This marks another big step forward in the electric mobility revolution in India.”

Countries from all over the world are combining efforts to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals through innovative solutions. Launched by the UN in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 global goals aimed at transforming our world by 2030.

As the global population continues to grow and economic growth escalates in emerging markets, the planet is straining its physical limits to keep up with the existing model of production and consumption. Through goals such as eradicating poverty, reduced inequality, and responsible consumption and production, the SDGs make the route to a better world more tangible and actionable.

In accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Global Compact Network India – the local arm of the UN Global Compact, New York, concluded its 14th edition of the National Convention in Mumbai, recently.

This year’s convention titled - ‘Pioneering Solutions for India’ sought solutions that would drive the wider implementation of sustainable innovations, and focused on real, on-ground actions that businesses need to take.

Rajeev Dubey, Convener, GCNI 14th National Convention and Group President (HR and Corporate Services) & CEO (Aftermarket Sector) & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, said, “SDGs present a large business opportunity and if India’s progress is so crucial to achieving the SDGs, it is easy to understand that corporations like Mahindra will play a key role in the way forward.”

With evolving business practices in India, the focus is rapidly shifting towards sustainability, conscious capitalism and positive social impact. Mahindra and Mahindra through its various sustainable practices is not only transforming its businesses globally, but also providing innovative solutions to tackle environmental damage.

From planting over 15 million trees to committing to science-based targets, the Mahindra Group has been leading the global fight against climate change. It’s ‘Rise against Climate Change’ campaign has been inspiring others to take charge and join in the fight against climate change.

At the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, USA, in 2018, the Mahindra Group made a commitment to go carbon neutral by 2040 and is the first company in the world to sign on to the EP100 program, which is the global, collaborative initiative of influential businesses that pledges to double energy productivity by 2030.

When the sun’s first rays hit the small village of Tembha in Maharashtra, 50-year-old Gulab Ghatal starts with her kitchen chores. After collecting firewood and twigs to light the traditional clay oven, Gulab noisily churns out meals for the family, while the kilns fill up the cramped kitchen with toxic fumes.

This image however, is now a thing of the past. With Mahindra Logistics providing LPG cylinders to Thakurpada and Bhospada, in the adopted village of Tembha near Shahpur, Maharashtra, as part of its initiative on World Environment Day, the lives of Gulab and many such families will change.

Mr. Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Mahindra Logistics Ltd., said, “We aim to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel. We wish to provide maximum LPG connections in FY20, and not only empower these women, but transform their lives towards a healthy and pollution-free environment.”

On World Environment Day, governments, industries, communities and individuals from across the globe came together to take concrete steps and beat air pollution. India could make a major dent in air pollution and save lives by curbing emissions from household fuels such as wood, dung, coal and kerosene.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), Mahindra Logistics has already processed 39 applications for LPG connections so far, and 45 more are underway.