Hyderabad: Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Monday said it has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent by 2030.

The city-based drug major has joined hands with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), thus becoming the first Indian and the third Asian pharmaceutical company to have set its science-based targets to further minimise environmental impact, Dr Reddy's Laboratories said in a statement.

The company has committed to reducing its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 from 2017-18 base year, which are in line with the latest climate science of limiting global warming to below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, it added. "Continuous improvement in our environmental performance is a notable aspect of our sustainability journey. We are delighted to join SBTi in taking a science-based approach to set our GHG emission reduction targets and accelerating our efforts to creating a positive impact on our planet," said G V Prasad, co-Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Reddy's Laboratories. As of 2019-20 fiscal, Dr Reddy's said it reduced its Scope 1 emissions by 8.6 per cent and Scope 2 emissions by 20.7 per cent over the baseline of 2017-18 fiscal.

The combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions have been reduced by 13 per cent over the same base year, putting the company on a fast track to achieving GHG reduction targets, it added.

SBTi, a joint initiative of Carbon Disclosure Project, United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institutes and World Wide Fund, provides companies with a clearly defined pathway to future-proof growth by specifying how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to well-below 2C above pre-industrial levels.