Adani Ports joins Science Based Targets Initiative, gets green light for KPCL acquisition

India’s port developer and operator Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) has signed up for the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and received clearance from India for the Krishnapatnam Port acquisition.

Through SBTi, companies are publicly committing to science-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets across their entire value chain.

APSEZ, part of the Adani Group, has become the only port in the country and the seventh port in the world to join the initiative.

The SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi defines and promotes best practices in science-based target setting and independently assesses companies’ targets.

APSEZ has also signed commitment as a supporter to the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), which develops voluntary, consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to investors, lenders, insurers, and other stakeholders. A total of 16 Indian companies are supporting the TCFD out of which two are Adani Group’s subsidiaries.

“As a group, we are committed to a sustainable future driven by continuous interventions in our processes and operations. APSEZ is committed to SBTi and TCFD to ensure emission reductions are achieved with defined targets towards the goal of becoming carbon neutral. This is another significant step demonstrating the Adani Group’s stated commitment of contributing to India’s COP21 targets and global climate goals,” Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director of APSEZ, commented.

 “We have less than 10 years to fundamentally change our economies or we will face catastrophic consequences,” Lise Kingo, CEO & Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, one of the SBTi partners, said.

“For the first time, we are seeing business and climate leaders coalesce around a common call-to-action, sending a powerful signal that science-based target setting presents a significant opportunity for businesses to step up when it comes to tackling climate change and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

“The science is clear: in order to limit the catastrophic impacts of climate change, we must ensure warming does not exceed 1.5°C. The ambition is high but it’s achievable — and science-based targets give companies a roadmap for getting there. Corporations worldwide have an unprecedented opportunity to be at the very forefront of the transition to a net-zero economy — and there is no time to lose,” Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP, one of the SBTi partners, said.

APSEZ is one out of a total of 43 Indian companies that have signed a commitment letter to SBTi. A total of 909 companies are taking science-based climate action and 392 companies have approved science-based targets through SBTi.

The Adani group has also set a goal to become the world’s largest solar power company by 2025 and the world’s largest renewable power company by 2030, through achieving an installed generation capacity of 25 GW of renewable power by 2025 which in turn will see a total investment of $15 billion in the renewable energy space over the next five years.

Earlier this year, APSEZ unveiled its decision to acquire a controlling stake in Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd (KPCL). Krishnapatnam Port is the second-largest private sector port in India after Mundra. 

Under the plan, the 75 percent stake would be bought from the existing shareholders of KPCL for INR 135.7 billion ($1.9 billion).

On 22 July, the Competition Commission of India approved the deal.

Adani Ports is currently present across ten Indian ports in six maritime states of Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. It manages the logistics chain — from vessel management to anchorage, pilotage, tug pulling, berthing, goods handling, internal transport, storage and handling, processing and final evacuation by road or rail.

KPCL is a developer and operator of the deep water port at Krishnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, pursuant to the concession agreement on Build-Operate-Share-Transfer basis with Government of Andhra Pradesh for a period of thirty years from the date of commercial operations and entitled for a further period of 20 years.