Bhubaneswar: At a press conference by the Human Resource Management School at Xavier University here Monday, the members of the press were greeted not by the regular plastic bouquets but with petunia flowers of different hues in attractively packaged natural jute.
In fact, at all schools under Xavier University, they have done away with bouquets and are gifting plants.
According to Ramesh Swain of the University, “The guests have appreciated the green gifts and so we have been encouraged to stick to the practice.” Therefore, whenever they have a conference or any such event, the guests are always greeted with gift plants.
Xavier University is not alone in this noble initiative. Nalco has made it a policy that they will not give bouquets and have replaced bouquets with gift plants. Amiya Patnaik, general manager, Nalco said, “The environmental concern is so serious and urgent that it needs to shape many of our decisions, and gifting of plants is such a great idea and shows how small steps can lead to far reaching impact.”
The divisional railway manager of East Coast Railways similarly greeted the new general manager with a gift plant.
It may be mentioned here that it was the Bakul Foundation which has made it possible for all these different organisations and many environmentally sensitive individuals to think of gifting plants.
Speaking to Orissa POST, Sujit Mahapatra of Bakul Foundation said, “Since bouquets are so attractive and the industry is at an advanced state, we need to compete with them as people will not gift plants if they do not look attractive as gifts”. Hence, Bakul Foundation offers plants in three kinds of attractive packaging—in natural jute fabric of brown and white, in white painted cane baskets and in ceramic table top pots. Similarly, Bakul offers a variety of air purifying indoor plants, medicinal plants that can be planted in the ground or potted, tree growing plants that need to be planted in the ground and a range of seasonal and all weather flowering plants such as rose, petunia, vinca, jinnia, marigold and hibiscus among several others.