UST Joins The Climate Pledge, a Commitment Co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism; Commits to Net-Zero Carbon by 2040

Pledge to Crack the Climate Crisis; Switching to renewable energy; Creating own solar power plants

LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, is taking another step in committing to a more environmentally friendly future by joining The Climate Pledge, a cross-sector business community working together to crack the climate crisis and solve the challenges of decarbonizing our economy. The commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism calls on new signatories to be net-zero carbon across their businesses by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Accord's goal of 2050. 

By joining this initiative, UST is marking an unwavering commitment to sustainability. Powered by purpose, UST invests an average of 2% net profits in impact-based outcomes annually and is implementing science-based, high-impact changes to the business initiatives that support the UN Sustainable Development Goals of 2030.

For over 20 years, UST has strived to drop its carbon emissions and has been innovating to address climate change and environmental issues and focus on global sustainability and socio-economic development. From its humble beginnings in 1999, UST has always invested in improving society through several CSR projects and positively impacting the world. These initiatives range from planting trees and restoring mangrove forests to rescuing and rehabilitating people impacted by natural disasters. UST's 'Step It Up America' and 'Impact India' programs provide career training and employment opportunities. UST's IGBC LEED Gold certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) 6.5-acre Trivandrum India campus has one-third of the area with waterbody/lake channeling throughout the campus. The company continues to seek opportunities to protect the planet and commit to transforming lives for the communities they impact every day.

"We are thrilled to join and support The Climate Pledge. From our inception, we have always endeavored to transform the lives of our employees, clients, end customers, and the community we live in," said Krishna Sudheendra, Chief Executive Officer, UST. "Environmental stewardship has also been a foundational part of this journey. Together with Amazon, Global Optimism, and the other signatories, we are fully committed to drive tangible progress and jointly take action to limit global warming."

"Less than two years ago, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge and called on other companies to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early—today, more than 100 companies with over $1.4 trillion in global annual revenues and more than 5 million employees have signed the pledge," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. "We are proud to stand with other signatories to use our scale to decarbonize the economy through real business change and innovation."

As a signatory of The Climate Pledge, UST commits to:

• Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis.
• Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business change and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.
• Take actions to neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.
• Switching to renewable energy for 25% of power needs by 2025 and 50% by 2030.
• Utilizing electric vehicles only for movement within our global campuses.
• Creating own solar power plant to generate 1.2MW of power by 2023.

"Our mission has always been to transform not just businesses, but the people and communities they touch. We are thrilled to be a part of this initiative, which aligns with our long-term commitment to sustainability," said Nandagopal Ramachandran, General Manager – Operations. "As we advance in our sustainability goals, this effort enables us to make a truly boundless impact. We proudly stand with Amazon, Global Optimism, and the other signatories of The Climate Pledge, in a commitment to being a net-zero carbon company by 2040."

To learn more about The Climate Pledge, visit https://www.theclimatepledge.com/. For more information about UST's social commitment, please visit https://www.ust.com/en/who-we-are/ust-social-commitment.

About The Climate Pledge

In 2019, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. Now 105 organizations have signed The Climate Pledge, sending an important signal that there will be rapid growth in demand for products and services that help reduce carbon emissions. For more information, visit www.theclimatepledge.com.

About Global Optimism

Global Optimism exists to precipitate transformational, sector-wide change. Achieving a zero emissions future is not a far-off challenge. It's one we must get on track for now. Every scientific assessment shows that to meet the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, to keep global heating below 1.5°C, we must halve our emissions between 2020 and 2030. Tackling the climate crisis is only possible when everyone, everywhere plays their part. We work with like-minded collectives from all sectors who are willing to invest in the choices required to be on this challenging – and life-affirming – journey. For more information, visit https://globaloptimism.com/ .

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about .

About UST

For more than 20 years, UST has worked side by side with the world's best companies to make a real impact through transformation.  Powered by technology, inspired by people and led by our purpose, we partner with our clients from design to operation. Through our nimble approach, we identify their core challenges, and craft disruptive solutions that bring their vision to life. With deep domain expertise and a future-proof philosophy, we embed innovation and agility into our clients' organizations—delivering measurable value and lasting change across industries, and around the world. Together, with over 26,000 employees in 25 countries, we build for boundless impact—touching billions of lives in the process. Visit us at ust.com

Media Contacts, UST:

Tinu Cherian Abraham
+1 (949) 415-9857

Neha Misri
+91-9972631264
media.relations@ust.com

Media Contacts, US:

Suzanne Dawson, S&C PR
+1-646.941.9140
sdawson@scprgroup.com

Cecile Fradkin, S&C PR
+1-646.941.9139
cfradkin@scprgroup.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1422658/UST_Logo.jpg