ESG is not ‘good to do’ today but a ‘must do’ for everyone in our society. An organization’s responsibility toward the greater good of the community and planet must reflect in the core functioning of businesses today and not as an afterthought. The pandemic taught us that sustainability is not just about tackling environmental risks, it is about creating resilience in the social and corporate infrastructure of the country.
Through my years of experience in the corporate industry, I noticed that, initially, green business practices were often discarded due to lack of awareness. Recently however, sustainable business practices have started to receive greater recognition as they favorably offer environmental gains, employee satisfaction, and help the society progress. The elevator and escalator (E&E) industry has several touchpoints across ESG priorities that can be integrated through:
Uplifting communities
With E&E players increasingly setting up their manufacturing facilities in India owing to the benefits of localization, it is essential that businesses in turn benefit the surrounding communities by contributing to their environmental protection, people welfare (skilling and employability) and infrastructure development.
As a matter of fact, India was the first country in the world to make CSR mandatory in 2014 basis as part of an amendment in the Companies Act. A business’ social responsibility is to build a more inclusive, progressive, and sustainable society. Businesses can invest their profits in the areas of education, gender equality, uplifting disadvantaged communities, etc.
Therefore, leading E&E companies in the country are sponsoring and tailoring skill development courses and offering scholarships to locals to help advance their professional journeys. Through these endeavors, some companies are also offering jobs in advance to aspiring students to build quality lives for themselves.
Employee safety
In the E&E industry, everyone plays an integral part in delivering a safe and unmatched elevator travel experience to customers and passengers. Employees are the strongest pillar of our industry and so it is important for us to prioritize the health and safety of employees especially those at manufacturing facilities, installing new elevators and servicing elevators at customer sites by eliminating any exposure to risks as part of their job.
Field professionals must work with heavy machinery, chemicals, electrical equipment, etc. and while we aim toward zero accidents, there are always risks. Therefore, at corporate policy level, we must do our best to mitigate those risks through robust safety programs, and ensure employees are properly supported so they are able to report each day ready to do the task at hand.
Now, with digitalization, many companies have adopted remote servicing. This service, at most times eliminates the need of an on-site service team as it detects and fixes the issue remotely and thus partly reduces the probability of danger at the job.
Reducing environmental impact
Building construction in India is a major source of CO2 emissions. Therefore, developers and real estate related industries are looking at adopting green concepts and techniques that increase energy efficiency and reduce fossil fuel consumption and waste. As each aspect of the building contributes to the overall score in rating systems like Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), elevators and escalators cannot be ignored
In terms of manufacturing, the E&E industry in India is reaffirming a clear commitment to the environment by setting up factories in the country. Since these manufacturing hubs are closer to local markets, there’s an increase in local procurement of raw materials. Here, we as an industry are reducing the distance raw materials and finished products are shipped. This results in shorter supply chains that reduce the carbon footprint of a business. Firstly, the integration of digital technologies in elevator factories is helping in getting rid of heavy machines.
Secondly, with customers being more environmentally conscious, they prefer more environmentally friendly products. New elevator designs incorporate green features such as LED lights, water soluble paint and recycled construction materials.
And lastly, environmental concerns extend beyond the manufacturing process and products themselves – responsible manufacturing means also having considerations for what to do with a product after its useful life. This includes repair, reuse, refurbish, re-manufacture, and recycle. Some elevators are made with recyclable materials. This approach optimizes use of natural resources and reduces waste going to landfills.
The social impact of a company is far reaching and can be wide ranging. ESG is all about helping the many aspects of our society. In the E&E industry, business and sustainability go hand in hand and leading players are working for the benefit of all.
