RITES Ltd., the leading Transport Infrastructure Consultancy and Engineering firm, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur) for mutual assistance and cooperation to strengthen and develop a sustainable future by “Transforming to Green”.

The umbrella MoU pertains to exploring opportunities in the areas of Sustainability, including ESG and carbon-related works like carbon neutrality etc. in sectors such as steel, cement, and power among others. The MoU also includes R&D-related works on air quality sensors to align RITES with the vision of MoEFCC and MoHUA to address air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste management.

One such R&D initiative from RITES & IIT-Kanpur is a Dynamic Hyper-local Source Apportionment for Real-Time Policy Action. The team will deploy sensor packages at 3-4 locations and fully instrumented mobile lab will be deployed at each site for 10 days in 2 seasons. Thus, collected data will be used to collect source information which will be shared with Municipal Corporations, para-statal departments, stakeholders, Central & State Governments for taking suitable measures to control air pollution in the Non-Attainment Cities (NACs), including Kanpur, Lucknow, and Bengaluru. RITES and IIT-Kanpur also have the onus to work on a pathway to Carbon Neutrality to contribute to our country’s Paris Agreement. Hence, both the institutions will be supporting each other to set goals for reducing carbon footprint and set a framework to achieve ESG milestones.

Mr. Manobendra Ghoshal, Chief Strategy Officer, RITES, said, “Our MoU with IIT-Kanpur will pave the way for the future as we move towards carving a niche in the areas of Sustainability for various sectors. This synergy of our strengths will give rise to action plans, roadmaps, and strategic innovation, to name a few, for enhancing Sustain4Future. Also, we aim at leveraging our consulting and technical expertise while working towards knowledge building with a pioneering institute like IIT-Kanpur.”

Prof. A R Harish, Dean of Research and Development, IIT-Kanpur, said, “Through this partnership, IIT-Kanpur and RITES will be undertaking various projects that will mutually align our sustainability objectives. Together, we look forward to ‘shaping tomorrow’ while also coming up with a methodology for implementing national and international best practices.”