Mahindra Logistics appoints Chief Sustainability and CSR Officer

India’s Mahindra Logistics has appointed Swayantani Ghosh as Chief Sustainability & CSR Officer in a move to strengthen sustainability governance.

The third-party logistics firm, which is part of conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, has suffered from increased costs and reduced demand in recent months, and posted losses of almost US$2 million last quarter.

However, Group CEO Anish Shah told the media last week that he expects strong growth to come from its logistics arm as the Indian economy grows.

Mahindra Logistics employs almost 4,000 people in 28 countries. The company is working towards a 2040 carbon neutrality target by investing in electric vehicles for last-mile deliveries, green infrastructure such as solar-powered warehouses and efficiency and circularity measures. As a group, Mahindra & Mahindra has a science-based target to cut Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 47% and reduce Scope 3 emissions by 30% per sold product unit by 2033.

CSO Futures couldn’t immediately confirm whether Ghosh will be Mahindra Logistics’ first Chief Sustainability and CSR Officer when she starts in her new role on November 16. However, the company already has a sustainability and CSR lead (Vijay Pawar) and a head of sustainability and CSR (Richa Gautam).

She joins from engineering company Technip Energies, where she was Vice President of Sustainability, CSR and Stakeholders Communications for the past 10 years.

An environmental engineer, Ghosh has 18 years of experience in sustainability and CSR initiatives, ESG reporting, stakeholder communications and change management.

The transportation sector released 5.9 gigatonnes of GHG emissions in 2021, and is facing an uphill decarbonisation battle as the availability of low-carbon shipping and aviation fuels remains limited. 

According to the State of Climate Action 2023 report, the share of zero-emissions fuels in maritime shipping should reach 5% by 2030 in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Companies are sending demand signals through agreements with shipping providers, but progress is still too slow.