Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC), in a ceremony held on Tuesday, officially launched its ‘Million Tree’ campaign as its commitment towards supporting the government’s ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ movement. With the ambition to reduce its carbon footprint and support Toyota’s pledge to zero CO2 emissions from factories by 2050, the company aims to plant one million trees across the city over the next few years. The countrywide campaign will engage IMC employees and senior management in a collective effort to stimulate a positive impact on their surroundings IMC chief executive officer Ali Asghar Jamali said, “We are pleased to advance our concern beyond cars with this campaign that is rooted in a commitment towards environment preservation. Our inspiration comes from the government’s vision for a greener Pakistan and we are hopeful that our efforts would serve as an example for other individuals and businesses to emulate.” The initiative was highlighted at a special event held at IMC which was attended by senior officials and representatives from Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Landhi Association of Trade & Industry (LATI), Bin Qasim Association of Trade & Industry (BQATI) and other esteemed delegates from local councils in addition to IMC senior management and employees. The chief guest was Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar. During the event, IMC shared an insightful overview of the campaign as well as its vision for the future followed by a plantation drive that senior officials partook. Under this campaign, the first plantation drive was spearheaded by the company’s CEO along with some IMC employees, earlier in October. President of Toyota Daihatsu Engineering and Manufacturing Mr Tatsuro Takami also participated in the campaign during his visit to IMC last week. The drives include preparing adequate land at the plantation site by loosening the soil, removing weeds, surrounding bushes and hedges and then seeding and planting new trees. In the near future some of the land area will be restored to plant a million trees. An active signatory of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the company underscored its contribution in achieving the sustainable development goals, particularly goal number 13 regarding climate action. The ‘Million Tree Plantation’ project has a long-term aim to protect the land against erosion, turn the country’s barren landscape into forests, enhance rainfall prospects and help mitigate the effects of climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity of the country. Published in Daily Times, November 21st 2018.