UltraTech, the largest cement manufacturer of the country has been a pioneer in following green production practices in cement manufacture. L Rajasekar outlines some of the efforts done by the company to manufacture cement in a sustainable way. On the environment front, UltraTech has adopted an integrated approach, relying on ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, SA 8000 systems, CSI (Cement Sustainability Initiative of WBCSD) guidelines and policies, as well as tracking environmental key performance indicators conforming to the highest industry standards.
Ongoing monitoring of air quality and water discharge happens at our production units. We also track data with respect to energy consumption, waste utilisation and emissions. We have taken a target of reducing our CO2 emissions at a rate of 0.5 per cent annually by 2015-16, taking 2009-10 as the base year. To reduce our carbon print we have commissioned waste heat recovery system at our Awarpur plant and are in the process of installing them at three other locations.
Looking at alternatives
One of our plants in the Middle East has tested more than 50 alternative fuels which are waste products coming from other industries. Over five of them are being actively used, replacing fossil fuels, thus positively impacting the environment. Similarly, in India too we use rice husk, rubber tyer chips, mustard waste and saw dust as fuel.
Giving back to nature
Planting trees in and around our mines, manufacturing facilities, residential colonies and nearby villages has been a constant effort at UltraTech. In our commitment to engage with the communities, we distribute free saplings compatible with the local flora and fauna. We have been able to steadily increase the survival rate of these saplings to 84.5 per cent in the last year.
At UltraTech, rain water harvesting was initially introduced to recharge bore wells. Subsequently, rain water harvesting systems have also been installed in our townships in shopping complexes, on hospital roofs, at schools and in various other office areas, thus avoiding any significant impact on the ground water table.
Innovating for improvements
The R&D department of UltraTech has partnered on a collaborative research project with IIT Ahmedabad to develop new processes aimed at reduction in embodied energy of construction material and to discover more environment friendly practices to prolong the useful life of building structures. The company is also working as a consortium partner in collaborative research work on ?low carbon cement? with Laboratory of Constructions and IIT Delhi.
L Rajasekar,
Chief Sustainability Officer,
UltraTech Cement