Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Rainbow Flower may not be Pointless Afterall

A few years ago when Wipro Technologies changed its logo to the rainbow flower (shown on the right) the first thing that popped in my mind was 'environment'. There was no reason other than getting on the green bandwagon, at least that I could think of, why Wipro would choose the logo it did. Its lighting business and the portfolio that also includes manufacturing services were convincing enough pointers back then.

Month turned into years and I never ever got to know the reason and rationale behind the rainbow sunflower. That was until I read Bangalore Tiger by Steve Hamm ( http://www.wipro.com/bangaloretiger/index.htm ). Turns out that there wes no green philosophy that prompted Wipro to change the logo. In fact, it was an image makeover by a Bengali painter, Shombit Sengupta to revive brand Wipro. Oh Well!

But as I read the book further on, it turned out that Wipro actually has an incredible record so far when it comes to caring for the environment. Here are a few facts I got from the book:

  1. Wiproites planted 174, 422 saplings along the shore of Bay of Bengal to help restore the coastline.
  2. Wipro has reduced water consumption by 60%.
  3. It reduced food waste by 38%.
  4. Energy consumption is reduced by 10%.
  5. Wipro grounds/lawns and toilets use recycled water.
  6. It harvests rainwater in its Bangalore campuses. In 2005 alone 12,000 kiloliters of water was collected, which was good to serve the facilities for 45 days.
  7. Wipro center in Gurgaon, India is certified as a platinum rated building, by the US Green Building Council, for its energy conservation features. There are only 10 other such buildings in the world.
Going the extra mile to reduce food waste, on Wipro's part, is really impressive that I had never heard of before. In 2001 Wiproites wasted 85 grams of food per person, which seemed excessive to Wipro. So, it started to sensitize its employees, measured waste weekly and published the numbers so that people can have a look at it and reduce their serving size. It seemed to have worked and now the waste is about 45 grams per person. What's even more impressive is that this waste is composted and is used to fertilize trees and shrubs on its grounds.
I am not sure if I can ask for anything else after efforts like these. The best part is that it is all coming from top down, something that will get emulated by the rank an file in everyday life. Good going, Wipro.
Images are from www.wipro.com and www.amazon.com

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