India’s own Mahindra group is one of the leaders in the ongoing battle to cut energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by increasingly switching to renewable energy. The initiative to introduce climate-friendly cooling systems takes on the challenge launched by The Climate Group, an international non-profit organisation, in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy. With India as a nation having taken the leadership in establishing a national cooling plan, other corporate majors in the race to introduce energy efficiency in cooling include a slew of Godrej group companies, Infosys Technologies, Tata Motors and Dalmia Cement. The Railways ministry, too, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to foster green initiatives, with nearly 100 of its buildings and other units having already received ‘green’ certification. Big names in manufacturing, hospitality and retail from India and the Middle East were among the first to sign up for the initiative, reflecting increasing demand for cooling in emerging economies especially as the impacts of climate change take hold. Dubai-based retailer Majid Al Futtaim, which owns and operates shopping malls and leisure establishments and UltraTech Cement are among the other signatories, while buildings technology and solutions major Johnson Controls is also leading by example on efficient cooling across its own operations. All the signatories are already committed to smarter energy use as part of EP100, a global initiative led by The Climate Group and the Alliance to Save Energy. Under this challenge, they aim to progress more quickly towards their energy productivity goals and benefit from greater economic output per unit of energy consumed. Says Helen Clarkson, chief executive officer, The Climate Group: “This is about preparing your business for the future.” EP100 brings together a growing group of energy-smart companies committed to doing more with less to improve their energy productivity. By integrating energy efficiency into business strategy, these leading companies are driving tech innovation and increasing competitiveness while delivering on emission reduction goals – inspiring others to follow their lead. The 15-year-old Climate Group’s mission is to accelerate climate action to achieve a world of no more than 1.5°C of global warming and greater prosperity for all. It does this by bringing together powerful networks of business and governments that shift global markets and policies, focusing on the greatest global opportunities for change, taking innovation and solutions to scale, and building ambition and pace. The Alliance to Save Energy, founded in 1977, is a non-profit, bipartisan alliance of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders working to expand the economy while using less energy. Its mission is to promote energy productivity worldwide – including through energy efficiency – to achieve a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and greater energy security, affordability and reliability.