Flipkart Commits To 100% Transition To Electric Vehicles By 2030 For this initiative, the Walmart-owned e-commerce firm is committing a phased integration of electric vehicles into its entire fleet by 2030
By Debarghya Sil •
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In a bid to reduce carbon emission, India's homegrown e-commerce website on Tuesday announced it's joining the Climate Group's global electric mobility initiative EV100. This initiative brings together promising companies that are committed to accelerating the transition of electric vehicles and making electric vehicle transport the new normal by 2030.
For this initiative, the Walmart-owned e-commerce firm is committing a phased integration of electric vehicles into its entire fleet by 2030. The company will achieve so through placing requirements in service contracts, setting up charging infrastructure close to its 1,400 supply chain premises. It will also conduct awareness programmes and incentivize delivery executives towards the use of electric vehicles. With all these efforts, the e-commerce giant wishes to contribute to India's ambition of 30 per cent of electric mobility
Commenting on the commitment, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, chief executive officer, Flipkart group, said, "As a homegrown company, we always pride ourselves in making e-commerce more inclusive, progressive and impactful for all our stakeholders, which also includes communities and the planet. We have been applying this ethos to the indigenous market to serve our consumer's needs responsibly and consciously. Our commitment to the Climate Group's EV100 initiative ties in with this larger vision of environmental sustainability and allows us to learn from the most forward-thinking global perspectives as part of the EV100 ecosystem. With our scale & scope and intense focus on Sustainability agenda, we believe we can play a significant role in not just fast tracking the adoption of electric vehicles but also making clean mobility mainstream."
Over the past year, Flipkart has worked towards creating a wide network of ecosystem partners across charging providers, regulators, policymakers, skill development agencies, aggregators and OEMs to work on various areas. These include designing and the manufacturing of EVs optimized for e-commerce while supporting market demand for EVs to emerge as a mainstream mobility solution.
Divya Sharma, India executive director, Climate Group, said, "The Climate Group is thrilled to see Flipkart signing up to EV100 and step up to lead the adoption of electric vehicles in the e-commerce sector in India. Flipkart will play a significant role in fostering innovation in technology and exchanging knowledge on e-mobility within our global network of committed businesses. To help make swift emissions cuts and improve air quality for the long-term, we urge more Indian companies to follow suit, sending a powerful signal of support to policymakers wishing to see a faster roll-out of EVs."
Other Green Initiative By Flipkart
Founded in 2007, the startup has over the years has adopted multiple sustainable practices across its business and value chain. The startup has earlier announced its firm commitment of reducing single-use plastics and till date has removed 51 per cent of it in plastic packaging. The Bangalore-headquartered company also has an extended producer responsibility (EPR) authorization, where the e-commerce has committed to collect back the entire weight of the plastic packaging used. It has also leveraged a renewable source of energy for the power requirements. It has also encouraged zero liquid discharge of wastewater in warehouses. The company's strategic facilities have also received ISO 14001 certification, certification which is considered an important benchmark to prevent environmental pollution in the workplace.
Amazon's Way To Go Green
Another e-commerce giant Amazon on June 30 to achieve sustainability, announced that it has eliminated all single-use plastic in packaging originating from its 50-plus fulfilment centres across the country. The e-commerce operator in September 2019 had pledged to meet this goal by June 2020 to build an environmentally sustainable supply chain.
