West Bengal: Flipkart’s Warehouse in Haringhata receives Green Warehouse Platinum Certification from IGBC

The facility has earned the highest IGBC certification level - Platinum - which recognizes global leadership.

As a part of its Net-Zero commitment, Flipkart has adopted the Indian Green Building Council’s (IGBC) Green Logistics Parks and Warehouses Rating system for its warehouses. It is the first e-commerce company to have a Platinum-certified warehouse of this scale, and by a significant margin for multiple features.

This year, Flipkart has also joined the Founding Members of IGBC, giving it an opportunity to play an active role in the advocacy of sustainable infrastructure.

Gurmit Singh Arora, National Chairman at IGBC, said, “For Flipkart to adopt our latest IGBC Green Logistics Parks & Warehouses System and achieve an IGBC Platinum rating is a well-deserved recognition of their efforts not just to bring increased efficiency to their operations but also develop and contribute to the local community. I would like to especially applaud the measures taken by the team to enhance the well-being of employees. IGBC Platinum-rated green warehouse projects adhere to the highest national and international efficiency benchmarks. As one of the forerunners in the Indian e-commerce market, we are sure that this achievement by Flipkart Haringhata would inspire other sector stakeholders to elevate their operations and adopt the IGBC Rating Systems. With Flipkart as Founding Member, we at IGBC look forward to partnering with them in their journey toward an emission-free future.”

Sharing his insight on this honour accorded to the fulfillment centre, Prabhakar Kolla Vice President & Head of Facilities & Infrastructure at Flipkart, said, “As we continue to democratize e-commerce across India and create a shared value for ecosystem partners, we are making conscious efforts towards incorporating sustainability aspects across our supply chain facilities to reduce our environmental and social impact while building a responsible value chain. As a result, the Haringhata facility, which is India’s largest, has achieved the unique distinction of being India’s first e-commerce facility to be Platinum certified by the IGBC and scoring the highest in the warehouse category. We are incredibly proud of this accomplishment and will continue to accelerate our efforts towards establishing a sustainable supply chain.”

The Platinum-rated facility has many green features, including a 2.75 MW solar rooftop PV plant installed which meets 100% day-time power requirement.

Among other aspects, it has a pond with a rainwater harvesting capacity of 8,000 cu.m. 100% of the wastewater is treated and reused for landscaping and flushing while more than 90% of construction waste is diverted from landfills. 15% of the total cost of materials and equipment used are Eco-labeled. Flipkart has also seen a 25% reduction in water consumption through water-efficient fixtures.

Flipkart’s adoption of the rating offers multi-fold benefits in the construction and operation of the facility. It addresses national priorities such as conserving water, energy, materials, and resources and encouraging biodiversity. Further, the intangible benefits accrued via enhanced Indoor Environmental Quality, improved Occupational Health and safety of the occupants and workers are immeasurable.

The rating also addresses industry-specific concerns such as optimising lead time and transport efficiency, reducing fossil fuel use for commuting & transportation, handling consumer waste, warehouse management, and overall supply chain management.