Wipro, the Green Leader of the IT Industry

TCS has been rated A+ for its sustainability report by Global Reporting
Initiative. HCL is one of the top five greenest companies in India, and
Microsoft is known for its green complexes and practices. But, there is one IT
company that seems to have outshone others when it comes to green efforts. And,
that happens to be Wipro. However, in Wipros case, its not the numbers that
are speaking. Its simply the visibility and the activity on the green front
that is doing it for the company. And of course, its translating into accolades
and awards.

Greenpeaces Guide to Greener Electronics recently named Wipro as the number
one company in terms of green. Wipro shares the slot with Nokia. The NGO rates
leading electronic brands on a wide range of chemical, e-waste and new energy
criteria. Wipro is tied with Finnish mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia at a score
of 7.5 out of 10, up from 6.9 last September.

Wipro has moved up because of its performance in the chemical criterion and
for using recycled plastic. Besides, the company has recently launched GreenWare
range of desktops which are not only 100% recyclable, but also toxin free. The
GreenWare range has a 13% share of the companys total hardware output.

Green Grounds

Out of the twenty-five green buildings that IT industry has to its credit in
India, as many as nine belong to Wipro, even going by sheer numbers thats
almost 40% of the pie. And of course, such numbers entail a huge amount of
investments too.

The #2 Indian IT company has gone overwhelmingly for these buildings with
most of its new centers having the rating. While its Gurgaon center is platinum
rated (highest); it has gold ratings for six of its buildings: one in Kochi, two
in Hyderabad, two in Pune, and one in Vizag. The rest four silver rated
buildings are: one in Chennai, two in Bengaluru and one in Bhubaneswar.

According to Wipro, they are not only trying to make all their existing
buildings green, but are also committed towards making all their future premises
green too. The Wipro complex in Gurgaon, like almost all its complexes, uses
solar panels and recycles all the water within its premises.

Wipro, as a company has also started practicing what they preach. While they
are championing the cause of e-waste recycling, they have also put up e-waste
collection boxes within their premises where employees can drop in their private
e-wastes and ensure its responsible disposal.

Virtually Friendly

Like a final nail in the wall to drive its point home, Wipro has made almost
all its online presence center around green. Click on their website and there is
a green link; and once you click on that, there is a whole world of green that
Wipro has to offer. The page has links to emissions management, green FAQs,
green ecosystem and even a green helpline.

This site ( http://www.wiprogreentech.com/index.html) makes Wipro the first
ever IT company to make so much noise about green. Although, finding green links
on websites of IT joints is now common, a dedicated page hasnt been on the
forefront. While the quantitative green effect cannot be estimated as of now,
definitely Wipro is one IT giant that is taking the green wave in all its
seriousness!

Mehak Chawla

mehakc@cybermedia.co.in