Fleet to be part of climate change solution

(Posted on 22/02/21)

To embed action on environmental sustainability and biodiversity, Fleet Management (FLEET) has teamed up with the NGO, SankalpTaru Foundation in India to launch GIFTING A GREEN LIFE on 25 June 2020. As part of this initiative, FLEET has planted 10,000 saplings on the lands of marginalised farmers, in the rural areas of Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan.

Fleet Management Limited (FLEET) is the second-largest ship manager in the world today. Spanning 26 years, FLEET’s portfolio features over 600 vessels, from bulkers to methanol-propelled tankers to fuel-efficient LNG carriers.

Trees are focal to fighting climate change as they remove excess carbon from the atmosphere by storing them. Considering the average lifespan of a fruit-bearing tree is 20 years, these 10,000 saplings, when they grow, have the power to generate 19,980 tonnes of oxygen and sequester 10,424 tonnes of carbon dioxide, in 20 years.

“Climate change is one of the pressing challenges facing our world today,” says Dr Harry Banga, Chairman and CEO of the Caravel Group. “At the Caravel Group and FLEET, we will continue to stay committed to robust climate action to take care of the planet we share.”

To engage and drive environmental consciousness, FLEET has made a Digital FLEET forest for seafarers. The company then tags a seafarer to a sapling planted as a gift on his birthday or when he reaches a particular milestone like completing ten, fifteen or twenty years at FLEET. This way, a seafarer can track his tagged tree throughout its entire life cycle.

“Sustainability has been at FLEET’s core since the beginning,” says Mr Kishore Rajvanshy, Managing Director, Fleet Management. “AT FLEET, we believe in leading with environmental consciousness and foster the same values among our people.”

GIFTING A GREEN LIFE also has an eye towards bettering farmers’ livelihoods in India. The 10,000 saplings

planted, will produce an estimated 717 tonnes of fruits, per season, equating to an economic value of $0.25

million per season for farmers.