The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow recently conducted a comprehensive environmental sustainability report, shedding light on resource footprints and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across both its Lucknow and Noida campuses.

The assessment undertaken for the year 2023 as the baseline will serve as a fulcrum to identify avenues to curtail its ecological footprint, stated a press release from the institute.

The report has been prepared by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the institute’s project was spearheaded by Prof Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay and Prof Dipti Gupta at the Centre for Business Sustainability (CBS), a Centre of Excellence at IIM Lucknow.

The assessment employed a mixed-method approach, amalgamating qualitative and quantitative data analysis based on questionnaire-based surveys, insights from secondary literature, and comprehensive onsite assessments.

The assessment's scope spanned a wide arena including:

· Estimation of energy consumption and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions

· Inventorisation of carbon sink to assess the carbon sequestration potential

· GHG emission avoided through renewable energy usage

· Solid waste generation and utilisation

· Water consumption

· Taking stock of conservation initiatives through groundwater recharge and wastewater treatment

· Paper consumption

· Biodiversity assessment

The report highlights key findings across several critical areas. It estimates the carbon footprint of both campuses, identifying both direct and indirect emissions.

Speaking about the need to develop such sustainability reports, Prof Dipti Gupta, Assistant Professor, Centre for Business Sustainability, IIM Lucknow, remarked, “Sustainability assessment reporting provides a comprehensive understanding of the current situation and the concomitant gap in shaping a sustainable scenario. It acts as an aid for developing future strategies and policies and helps maintain compliance records for environmental integrity.”