Greenply Industries walks the talk on conserving the environment, promoting sustainable operations through its ‘Green Rise’ project. Dhananjay Sardeshpande reports after a recent visit to one such company site in Tizit, Nagaland

Greenply has attained Forest Management Certification from the Forest Stewardship Council for its sustainable plantation unit in Tizit, Nagaland.

One of the leading players in India’s wood panels manufacturing sector, Greenply Industries, has for long believed in inclusive growth for all its stakeholder and the environment. Showing care and responsibility towards the environment and sustainability of its operations nationwide is one of the key brand ethos of the company.

“Besides environmental protection, the plantation activity helps maintain the sustainability and financial viability of the ecosystem and generates employment for the local inhabitants,” pointed out Manoj Tuslian, Joint Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Greenply.

Led by this sustainability-oriented approach, Greenply has been undertaking extensive plantation activities in the catchment of its manufacturing units over the past several decades, he added.

The company is focused on promoting massive plantations which will help with the sourcing of raw materials for its consumption and usage, as well as the conservation of natural resources.

To date, Greenply has nurtured around 42 million saplings covering an area of nearly 52,983 acres of plantations, according to Jinendra Jain, National Head of Plantations and Special Projects at Greenply. It is the company’s aim to plant 50 million saplings by 2025.

The company’s investments in plantations are helping it nurture the sustainability-led growth model. The model is built on a long-term perspective of uninterrupted raw material supply for its products and steers the all-encompassing development of its farmer community.

Greenply is also developing a plantation around its new MDF unit in Vadodara (Gujarat), much in line with its strategy to invest in sustainable development in the catchment of all its manufacturing facilities.

Forest certification

Greenply has attained Forest Management Certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for its sustainable plantation unit in Tizit, Nagaland. It claims to be the first company to have successfully achieved the certification in the interior infrastructure segment in India.

This certification, according to Jinendra, addresses Greenply’s aim to maintain ecological harmony and provides an assurance to consumers that the products they purchase is sourced sustainably.

The Forest Management Certification helps promote and implement sustainable farm management practices in the Greenply Industries plantation area in Tizit, enhancing the quality and livelihood of the local group members associated with the project.

“This certification provides an assurance to consumers that the products they are buying come from a responsible and sustainable source. It also protects the rights of indigenous people to use the forest and helps to combat deforestation, forest degradation and illegal logging in certified areas,” Jinendra informed.

Greenply is also one of the first companies in India to promote the use of Okoume, a natural timber harvested in Gabon (Africa) under the Sustainable Forest Management plan. It is actively collaborating with various government and research organisations in India to update on the latest technology for its plantation activities for the benefit of farmers.

Green Rise project

Greenply has set up a separate nursery where visiting architects and influencers connected with the wood panels sector plant native species of trees for the company’s plantations. These are mainly Duabanga grandiflora (Khokan in Nagamese) and Kadam (Anthocephalus cadamba).

A small genus of lowland evergreen rainforest trees in South-East Asia, each Khokan tree planted under this scheme is labelled with a barcode containing pertinent information. These trees will mature over 8 years and, upon harvesting, proceeds will be bestowed to charitable organisations or schools in the architects’ names.

The Green Rise project’s special nursery has so far more than 1,000 saplings planted by architects from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.

A group of architects and media persons was given a guided tour of the Tizit plywood factory and adjoining nursery, and a 16-acre farm forestry project in Tekang village of Mon district, with Melia dubia (locally called Ghora neem) plantations.

Jinendra Jain (centre, with arm raised), National Head of Plantations and Special Projects at Greenply, says the company aims to plant 50 million saplings by 2025.

Stakeholder benefits

Sharing of technical know-how with the farmers and providing them with subsidized or free-of-cost inputs for cultivation further contribute to the progress of the local farmers. The company’s vision is to maintain its plantations effectively to promote long-term sustainability for the nation, said Jinendra.

Greenply has been undertaking activities to reduce emissions and move towards renewable energy generation. Rooftop solar panels are installed at all its manufacturing facilities for the generation of green energy.

The company is the first one in the wood-based panels industry to introduce a range of zero emission (E-0) products keeping in mind the health interest of its consumer by assuring safeguarding the indoor air quality by reducing formaldehyde emission to negligible or equal to zero.

The E-O range not only stands for strength and durability but also comes with internationally approved certification by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for conforming to E-0 grade emission and low volatile organic compounds.

Among the benefits to the stakeholders in and around Tizit, Greenply has promoted primary schooling and health care, along with a mobile blood-testing laboratory and free ambulance services to nearly 60 surrounding villages. It has also curbed the usage and disposal of single-use plastic at an organisational level.

Greenply has set up a nursery where visiting architects connected with the wood panels sector plant native species of trees for the company’s plantations. These are mainly native Khokan and Kadam species.

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