Biodiversity Week celebrated with great verve and fervor at BALCO
Balconagar; 21st May, 2022: Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer, organized several programmes like Srishti Sanrakshan Sammelan, Fruit Orchard Development, Pond Restoration etc in commemoration of World Biodiversity Day, 22 May in line with this year’s theme, ‘Building a shared a future for all’.
The celebration started with the inception of a three day long fest, ‘Srishti Sanrakshan Sammelan’ in the BALCO township premises with objective of disseminating awareness to the larger mass and sensitizing them to undertake sincere steps towards biodiversity conservation at an individual level. The fest entailed various stalls such as a Transformation Stall which displayed informative documentaries on the subject of Biodiversity for the visitors, a plant stall where locally grown products produced by local farmers through organic farming were kept for distribution. Also two stalls of Korba forest department were installed to distribute ayurvedic products and medicinal plants along with edifying the visitors regarding their utility. Apart from this, a jungle trail was conducted for the kids to inform them and sensitise them towards the rich biodiversity present around them.
In order to engage extended members of the BALCO family, fruit bearing plants were planted by the employees and their family members to develop a fruit orchard. With the objective of rejuvenating nearby natural water resources, around 21 ponds were taken under the ‘Pond Restoration’ project. An interdepartmental selfie contest ‘Nature Connect, Social Connect’ has also been organized to further increase the enthusiasm of the workforce towards this crucial subject.
Speaking on the importance of biodiversity conservation, Mr. Abhijit Pati, CEO & Director, BALCO, said, “World Biodiversity Day is an appropriate occasion to remind all of us to introspect and evaluate whether our activities are aligned in the direction of biodiversity conservation or not. Today, when the world is facing challenges on multiple fronts, it becomes all the more pertinent and important for all of us to focus on conservation of biodiversity. As right action at right time can bring transformative results, BALCO is committed towards fulfilling its ESG goals and to transform the society for good. The efforts at individual level are equally important along with the efforts at organizational level. Hence, BALCO is also committed to sensitise each member of the BALCO family to take small steps to preserve the biodiversity in our surroundings and contribute towards, ‘Building a shared future for all’.”
BALCO has recently been awarded numerous prestigious awards for its environmental conservation efforts such as ‘Golden Peacock Sustainability Award’, ‘CII HSE Excellence Award, Chhattisgarh’, ‘CII Energy Excellence Award’, ‘Sustainable business of the year Award’ and ‘Energy & Environment Global Environment Award’ in recent years. This year BALCO has been conferred with ‘Best Green Business Award’ and ‘Best Green Excellence Award’.
Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) is India’s iconic aluminium producer. It is owned 49% by the Government of India and 51% by Vedanta Limited. BALCO is part of Vedanta’s Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited, which is India’s largest manufacturer of aluminium. BALCO operates a 0.57 million tonne per annum aluminium smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh. It is also a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. With its world-class smelter and power plants, the company fulfills its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
About Vedanta Limited
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa, Namibia, and Australia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. Under the aegis of Vedanta Cares, the flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Vedanta and its group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2020, and were conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, CII Environmental Best Practices Award 2020, CSR Health Impact Award 2020, CII National Award 2020 for Excellence in Water Management, CII Digital Transformation Award 2020, ICSI National Award 2020 for excellence in Corporate Governance, People First HR Excellence Award 2020, ‘Company with Great Managers 2020’ by People Business and certified as a Great Place to Work 2021. Vedanta’s flagship Nand Ghar Project was identified as best CSR project by the Government of Rajasthan. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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