‘Throw and grow’ initiative in Margalla Hills

By Our Correspondent
January 02, 2022

Islamabad : To address climate change, under its flagship initiative, afforestation, which is the largest private sector afforestation programme in the country, this year the PTC planted and distributed over 55 million saplings.

This was achieved through aerial seeding of seed balls in Barakahu Forest Reserve in collaboration with Ministry of Climate Change, a first of its kind ‘throw and grow’ initiative in the Margalla Hills Forest reserve in collaboration with Islamabad District Government, block affores­tation in collaboration with National Rural Support Programme and issuance of free of cost saplings through its 6 plant nurseries across KP & Punjab.

Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited (PTC), following the footsteps of its parent organisation BAT Group, has moved from an organisation where sustainability was a part of our business to an organisation where it is front and centre of everything that it does. Sami Zaman, Head of External Affairs, while briefing the journalists about the company’s initiatives told that our Sustainability Agen­da has been refreshed to reflect the changing external environment.

In its efforts to keep the manufacturing operations environment friendly and reducing the carbon emissions, PTC’s Jhelum & Akora Khattak factories recently installed 3.1 MW of renewable energy, which is the largest on-site solar in any BAT end market in the region. This will help PTC to improve further on its Green Energy landscape by generating 16,000 GJ and reducing 1,700 tons of CO2 annually from the Carbon footprint of both PTC factories. Beyond its operations facilities, PTC has also expanded its Solar Energy footprint to its Leaf depots, logistics Warehouses and have initiated a partnership with our its rural distributors to provide subsidised solar set up to ensure regular supply of electricity, while ensuring minimum impact on environment. Cognisant of the growing water crisis, the company is recycling 92 million liters of water per annum to reduce its reliance on water withdrawn.