Here's what our people have to say:

Pragnesh Shukla, "It was excellent effort to create forests and leave a better world for our next generation".

Arjun Kariyal, "50,000 saplings were planted in a village up in the mountains, by joining hands with the NGO’s and the villagers. Not 500, not 5000. No typo there, it was fifty thousand trees! Energy levels were at an all time high with barely any signs of exhaustion. Was it the mountain air or the thought of the saplings we left behind- our bit for a better tomorrow? A bit of both actually. We went back with the simple message- Plant a tree, plant a tomorrow".

Ashish Berry, "We planted saplings and hope. Hope for a cleaner earth and better earth to live in and for a better future of our generations to come".

Taking voluntary affirmative action, we plan to be carbon neutral in the next 5-7 years

Our people at Ernst & Young are deeply committed to contribute to a greener and cleaner environment. Since the last two years we have been planting saplings during the Environment week celebrations. In 2010, our people planted 5,000 saplings, one tree per employee, at Almora in Uttarakand.

In 2011, we made a voluntary pledge to be carbon neutral. A team of more than 150 Ernst & Young employees travelled to Almora District of Uttrakhand and Tiruvannamalai District of Tamil Nadu, to be a part of the plantation of 50,000 saplings at each of the locations..The saplings, a significant number of which would be fruit bearing, were carefully chosen to help generate income and benefit the local communities. A similar number will be planted in future years till we achieve 'carbon neutral' status.

Additionally, through a tie-up with Grow-trees, one tree is planted as a gift on behalf of each Ernst & Young employee on their birthday.

While the future growth of Ernst & Young may result in enhanced carbon emission, the firm is committed to plant such a number of additional trees as are required to offset enhanced carbon emission, thereby, ensuring that the firm continues to remain carbon neutral at all points of time. We also intend to plant enough trees to offset the firm’s paper consumption.

Our drives are held in partnership with Non Government Organizations (NGOs) like Pan Himalayan Grassroots Development Foundation (PHGDF) and Srinivasan Services Trust of the TVS group.

The afforestation drives are educational and beneficial for our volunteers. The excursions include an opportunity to learn about local ecological subjects and ground realities of deploying eco-friendly practices and technologies in rural India. Our approach represents a starting point for governments, companies, NGOs and the citizens of Indian villages joining hands for a common cause, to address climate change concerns and in favor of environmental protection.

The plantation drives are one of the many initiatives we undertake towards the goal of achieving Carbon Neutrality. Water management, waste management, responsible recycling and numerous other consumption curbing exercises have become a part of our day-to-day lives.

At Ernst & Young we believe in saving energy, water, paper and recycling. Click here to know more: