UPL Ltd has recently joined The Climate Pledge (‘TCP’), a commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040. As of September 2021, The Climate Pledge has more than 200 signatories across 26 industries and 21 countries. UPL is the first signatory from the agricultural inputs, solutions, and technologies sector.
The Climate Pledge was co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019. It is a commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, and meet The Paris Agreement 10 years early.
UPL is a global provider of sustainable agriculture products and solutions, bringing biologicals and traditional crop protection solutions to more than 138 countries around the world. UPL is re-imagining sustainability through OpenAg, feeding sustainable growth for all – no limits, no borders. “With farmers at our centre, we are building a network that redefines the way the entire industry thinks and works – open to innovative ideas and new answers as we strive to make every single food product more sustainable,”
Highlighting the development, Jai Shroff, Global CEO, UPL said, “At UPL we believe that global agriculture is about to play its most important role yet – having first nourished the planet with abundant food, it will now sustain us through a transformational role tackling climate change. Achieving this will rely on re-imagining sustainability through the power of partnerships, and by joining The Climate Pledge we are reinforcing our commitment to collaboration, to sustainability, and to leadership in our industry. We are excited to join a community that will share knowledge, ideas, and best practices.”
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“The recent report released by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) is the starkest warning yet that the systems supporting human life are reaching tipping points and that the window of time to act decisively is narrowing,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former climate chief and now a founding partner of Global Optimism.
“This wake-up call from science must be faced with courage and conviction. In this light, it’s encouraging that 86 more companies – some of the largest household names in the world – are now joining The Climate Pledge, committing to accelerate their actions to tackle climate change in a timely fashion, and playing their part in building a low-carbon economy. I look forward to the fruits of the leadership we will see from this collective of 200 signatories that are now part of The Climate Pledge,” Figueres added.
“Joining TCP emphasises on a wider commitment led by UPL to re-imagine sustainability, and transform the role of agriculture as a positive contributor to meeting the challenges presented by climate change, food security, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity. In addition, over the last 5 years, UPL has reduced its carbon emissions by 26 per cent and have taken a goal to reduce our carbon emissions by an additional 25 per cent by 2025. UPL has made extensive use of sustainability-linked loans as a part of our capital structure to ensure that the link between actions and its impact is clearly established,” UPL has said.
UPL’s commitment to TCP builds on the company’s existing memberships and associations through which it continues to re-imagine sustainability, including as members or signatories of: The Food and Land Use Coalition; United Nations Global Compact; World Business Council for Sustainable Development; World Economic Forum: Food Action Alliance; IGD; International Food and Policy Research Institute; World Cocoa Foundation; Cocoa and Forests Initiative; European Cocoa Association.
