Infosys named ET carbon ranking leader for reducing carbon footprint

Indian IT company Infosys became Environmental Tracking (ET) carbon ranking leader in 2013 for its emissions reduction and disclosure practices.

The Environmental Investment Organisation (EIO), a London-based climate change and finance think-tank, also ranked Infosys among top five of the 300 large firms it assessed for carbon footprint.

The company's carbon reduction projects include the first use of radiant cooling air-conditioning in a commercial building; utilising a new technique that involves circulating water in embedded pipes to chill rooms and reduce energy use.

The IT firm has also set up a 250-kilowatt (KW) solar plant on a campus in Jaipur in Rajasthan and a 125 KW solar photo voltaic plant at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

Similarly, rainwater harvesting in its sprawling 300-acre Mysore campus reduced fresh water consumption by 18 per cent in its first year, saving nearly 300 million litres. Mysore is about 140 km from this tech hub.

EIO chief executive Sam Gill said while effective greenhouse gas emissions reporting was not an easy task, it was heartening to see some firms demonstrating it could be done.