HDFC Bank to launch -- green banking in India

Mumbai, Jun 8 (UNI) India's second largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, is all set to launch 'green banking', for which it has constituted an Environment Management Committee to implement its green banking initiatives.

The bank has rolled out gamut of initiatives on the environment front that promise to make it India's only ''green'' bank. A high level three-member committee has been formed to drive the organisation-wide campaign that will encompasses both organisation and employee level initiatives, the bank spokesperson told UNI.

Headed by the bank's Executive Director Paresh Sukthankar, the high power committee will have HR Head Mandeep Maitra and Finance Head Sashi Jagdishan respectively, of the bank and will be responsible for planning and implementation of environment-friendly initiatives across the country through bank's branches, the spokesperson said.

Consultants will be appointed to help identify areas of work, work out a concrete plan and diligently implement it across the organisation. ''The consultant will carry out foot print study and identify areas for us where changes can be brought about,'' the bank said.

While the organisation level initiatives would include working on areas like alternate energy sources and watershed management, at the employees level, these would include planting trees, and using car pool to commute. Green Clubs will be formed within the bank across regions, while environment managers will be appointed for every office, branch, and floor (for corporate offices where there are multiple floors), the bank said.

The Bank will tie up with environmental organisations and NGOs to the areas of tree plantation, watershed management, alternate energy. ''Beginning with Nasik, Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai and New Delhi, we plan to take our tree plantation initiative to other parts of the country in due course. We'll have some 5,000 sapling planted in the first days itself,'' the bank added.

UNI PP GR SM1445