…The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore is an independent institution; any action taken by the institution against one of its faculty members, is their internal matter and it would not be appropriate for us to comment on this.

 On the issue of Hindustan Unilever Limited’s former factory in Kodaikanal, our endeavour has always been to resolve this issue in a fair and transparent manner…

 We are aware that in July 2018, there was a lecture that one of the faculty members hosted at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), where activists were invited to engage with the students. The session was held with no representation from Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL). Moreover, no attempt was made to reach out to HUL and understand the facts of the case. We feel that an issue where statutory and judiciary authorities are involved and have passed judgements, it is inappropriate to cast aspersions which are not based on facts. It is also pertinent to mention that the matter was sub judice with the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which is India’s highest Court dealing with environment-related cases.

 We would like to take this opportunity to inform you about a recent and important development on this matter. On November 1, 2018, the NGT cleared the way for soil remediation at HUL’s former factory in Kodaikanal…