Continental India to begin sustainability initiatives in Karnataka

Keeping up with its commitment towards sustainability, technology company Continental will begin working with several gram panchayats in the Anekal Taluk, Bengaluru Urban District, to implement sustainability initiatives in villages. The project, which will run for one year in the first phase, is a part of the company’s corporate social responsibility. The company intends to initiate more such programs across India based on the road map provided by the first phase.

Sustainability is among the core values of Continental and the company embraces its responsibility towards the society it operates in. Continental intends to build community resilience in the project area though water conservation, community mobilization, promotion of livelihood creation and organic farming methods.

Continental will work with the local gram panchayats and United Way of Bengaluru, an NGO, will be implementing a number of initiatives including soil and water, sustainable agricultural practices, rooftop rainwater harvesting and more, aligned towards UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

As per World Bank, one fifth of India’s population is dependent on natural resources for their livelihood. India also has one of the world’s largest areas under rainfed agriculture, which leaves farmers dependent on irregular monsoons. Nearly 120 million farmers and their families across the nation are at risk of climate change in terms of heat waves, dry spells, droughts and infrequent rains, which impact agricultural pattern. These risks could be mitigated through the adoption of sustainable, climate adaptive measures.

Prashanth Doreswamy, Market Head, Continental India, said, “Continental strongly believes in being sustainable for the future. All our technologies are aimed at creating a safe, secure, sustainable tomorrow for the world. Today, with this first step in Anekal Taluk, we hope to create another sustainable solution, from the ground up, looking at critical areas of environment sustainability. We are also implementing several programs for empowering women and students.”

Continental will be implementing various practices for sustainable and climate-resistance agriculture and developing a sustained source of water. The water harvesting structures developed will be managed by the community of farmers. The project also focuses on interventions that will help in increasing livelihoods and household incomes.

The program also focuses on women empowerment by creating opportunities for entrepreneurship. Continental will also be offering scholarships to students for further education.

There are various metrics set to access the success of these programs, which will be assessed at the end of one year.