Green Godrej

They protect at their own cost and commitment a green swathe of around six square kilometers of mangroves at Vikhroli, in a city where rapacious elements have systematically hacked or filled in the swampy barriers which save coastal areas from the ravages of the sea or a tsunami. In recognition of their role, the BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society, a 120-year-old organization dedicated to the scientific study and preservation of India’s environment) awarded the BNHS Green Governance Award 2005 to the Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited. Chairman and managing director (CMD) Jamshyd Godrej received the Award at the hands of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at a function in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on November 10, 2005.

Godrej received the honor for "Conservation and Restoration of Habitat,” for the industrial house’s "commitment to the global community to protect the mangroves and promote their conservation through (an) extensive environmental education campaign.” In the category of "Conservation of Fauna,” Tata Chemicals Limited received the Award for "outstanding contribution in the protection of the whale sharks in Gujarat state through the participation of the local community.” The 8th Mountain Division of the Indian Army was honored for its "conservation of flora in an environmentally hostile region in Ladakh.”

Beautiful in Bombay (top): flamingos flying over mangroves and (above) Crishna, Jamshyd and Pheroza Godrej (third, fourth and fifth from left) with Green Goverance Award

"For the Godrej family nature has always formed an important part of our upbringing and our garden township (Pirojshanagar) at Vikhroli bears witness to this. My father Naoroji and uncle Sohrab took enormous pride in developing and nurturing greenery within both the industrial and residential complexes. Our mangrove areas have been nurtured, protected and allowed to grow naturally in a protected environment. All this started much, much before ‘environment’ became the buzzword that it is today,” Godrej stated in an interview with BNHS conservation officer Deepak Apte, as reported in the Godrej house magazine Change, January-February 2006. "Until 1995 we had not publicized our efforts. We were doing things for the joy it gave us,” the CMD added.

The Soonabai Pirojsha Ecological Mangrove Project runs a program in Bombay for school and college students whereby they are taken on specially organized tours to learn about and appreciate the value of the mangroves and their unique ecosystem. At the Godrej Udayachal Schools, children are exposed to the program right from the preprimary level. "Many of them are likely to become naturalists of a high order,” Godrej stated. "We are also keen, proactively, to help others in the greening of the environment by sharing our experiences… As far as mangrove conservation is concerned, we can only be a model for others (in industry) to emulate.”

Change also acknowledges the role played by Jamshyd’s wife Pheroza, his sister Smita Crishna, cousin Rishad Naoroji, as well as the company’s Dr K. A. Palia, Maneck Engineer, Rumi Engineer, Binaifer Chhoga, Parvez Billimo­ria, Rumi Majoo and others for their contributions toward the establishment of green governance in the company.