Product development

Cementing social upliftment

Published

5 years ago

January 8, 2020

admin

The mandated CSR activities have taken firm roots by FY20. But with the impact of Covid-19 and its trail of economic destruction, CSR veterans are keeping their fingers crossed over the future.

After dilly-dallying for a couple of years after the government’s mandate that proposed to spend two per cent of the profits of specified corporate entities came into effect on April 1, 2014, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has taken firm roots by fiscal 2020. This has also come in handy for their involvement when Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in February 2020, pitching their mite to help the communities in the vicinity of their operations, to fight the virus based disease.

Out of four cement companies, who have provided us data on their CSR contributions, we have seen three of them witnessing their CSR commitments going up over the last three years. Mandated by the government, CSR is a transformational practice by the business corporations in India, for socio-economic upliftment of the poor and the deserving, leading to overall development.

It is not that Indian cement companies have woken up to the mandated CSR, suddenly. For example, Ambuja Cements Ltd, a part of the global conglomerate LafargeHolcim, had set up its own implementation agency, Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF), in 1993. Even as Dalmia Bharat Foundation (DBF) was set up only 2009 to implement the CSR initiatives of Dalmia Bharat group of industries, the group had been undertaking CSR activities for eight decades now.

HeidelbergCement India, part of a cement multinational, has been engaged in community development projects for the last 30 years, while The Ramco Cements said its CSR initiatives had a long history, much before it was made mandatory.

However, the mandated CSR implementation was delayed by a couple of years due to expectations in the industry that the mandate will be relaxed by the new government at the Centre that came to power in a few months of the mandate coming into force in 2014. But the expectations were belied.

The government’s CSR mandate has led to various companies taking up the social development projects around their business facilities, creating a "win-win" for the business as well as various stakeholders.

"The companies are bringing business core competencies and learning to the solution of social issues and problems, and which is resulting in high level of social entrepreneurship and innovations," says Vinita Singhania, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, JK Lakshmi Cement Limited (JKLC). The CSR mandate has also brought "Project Management benchmarkso to social and community development projects, which were not there earlier, along with company’s financial commitment to them.

Though many companies were involved in CSR activities for several decades before the CSR law came into effect, there was no structured model of implementation and reporting standards set for these companies.

Budgets
CSR commitments of ACF, HeidelbergCement and Ramco have seen a consistent growth in the last three years. ACF, with a large focus on water, agro-based livelihood, skill and health, has seen its CSR budget going up from Rs 42.25 crore in FY18 (2017-18) to Rs 44 crore next year, which level it had maintained its budget of FY20. On the spending side, it went up from Rs 41.96 crore to Rs 44 crore in FY19 and down to Rs 41,45 crore in FY20, perhaps because of initial precautions and social distancing norms coming into force in the wake of Covid-19, during the last quarter.

Against the mandate of spending 2 per cent of profits for CSR activities, "Ambuja Cement has been dedicating 3-4 per cent of their profits for the last many years,"says Pearl Tiwari, Director and CEO, Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF).

JK Lakshmi Cement has seen its CSR budgets going up from Rs 89 lakh to Rs 172.04 lakh in three years, while expenditure went up from Rs 130.78 lakh to Rs 181.48 lakh.

The budget of Ramco Cements also went up from Rs 12.56 lakh to Rs 15.60 lakh. Though its real commitment also went up from Rs 10.93 lakh to Rs 14.99 lakh, the FY20 figures lagged that of FY19, which was at Rs 17.97 lakh.

The CSR budget of The KCP Limited went up from Rs 95 lakh for FY18 to Rs 160 lakh in FY19, but in FY20 it has come down to Rs 92.12 lakh and its CSR expenses also mimicked budgeted pattern with Rs 54 lakh, Rs 108.90 lakh and Rs 63.68 lakh respectively.

DBF of Dalmai group, and HeidelbergCement have not provided their yearly data of budgets and expenditure under CSR activities. However, Jamshed N Cooper, Managing Director, HeidelbergCement India says that as per the mandate for CSR "for FY 2020 translated close to Rs 69.7Mn (Rs 6.97 crore) for our Group’s operations in India, against which we spent Rs 72.2 million (Rs 7.22 crore).

Meanwhile, DBF’s Annual Report shows that their total expenditure amounted to over Rs 40 crore in FY18 and FY 19 each, but it was yet to upload its FY20 annual report on the website by the time ICR was going to the press.

However, the outcome of the CSR interventions may not confine to the budgets provided and spent by the companies as mostly they join hands with several agencies for yielding enhanced benefits for the communities they cater to."ACF also harnesses the power of partnerships – between communities, government and other like-minded corporates and NGOs – to help solve pressing community problems and to foster prosperity. We are also matching funds from external sources both government and other funds available helping us expand our outreach substantially," says Tiwari.

Areas of activity
Among the focus areas of activity that could be undertaken under the act, education, healthcare, skills training, environment protection activities like water conservation, tree plantation etc., and rural development and infrastructure figured prominently among the companies, with at least five of the six respondents involved in each of these activities. (See table for more details)

Cement companies such as Ramco, JK Lakshmi, Ambuja, Heidelberg, Dalmia and KCP have responded to our queries on CSR activities. Four companies are involved in livelihood enhancement, while two companies each are involved in gender equality and women empowerment and disaster management and relief. I fact, gender equality and women empowerment can be part of a broader set of livelihood enhancement projects.

Other activities like support to social enterprise projects, hunger and poverty alleviation, community development, promotion of rural and national sports, restoration of buildings and benefit to armed forces also figures in the activities these companies have undertaken. Education: Almost every company is promoting education in its own way. Ensuring quality of education even in government schools is the priority for Ambuja Cement and HeidelbergCement, while providing infrastructure in government schools is the focus of by JK Lakshmi Cement and Ramco Cement.

"We also run many non-formal education centres for out-of-school children," says Tiwari of ACF. On the other hand, Cooper of HeidelbergCement India, says, "We have been involved in improving the infrastructure of schools in rural areas and offering scholarships to meritorious students at Anganwadi centers."

Besides setting up its own schools at their integrated plant locations, "Ramco has adopted government schools for holistic improvement by implementing 5S concept, which has won accolades in many CSR forums," says AV Dharmakrishnan, CEO, The Ramco Cements. It has also set up a Vocational training centre for rural youth.

JK Lakshmi Cement’s Project Aarambh focuses on bring tribal children back to school in the Pindwara block of Sirohi district in Rajasthan. Since the beginning, numerous tribal children – "drop-outs and Never-been-to-school" – have been enrolled in various government schools.

Skill development: JK Lakshmi Cement is leading the pack in terms of providing skill development in non-industrial trades like stitching, beautician, embroidery and two-wheeler repairing. "Under thematic area of livelihoods and skills development, the Company implements various activities for the purpose of creating employability for unemployed youth, women and girls," says Singhania. JKLC also has "Vidya Scholarship" project for the purpose of supporting education of children of masons and petty contractors.

JKLC is also implementing additional income generating projects for women like stitching & embroidery, broom, paper plate/dona, phenyl making, pickle/ papad making, cotton bags, sanitary napkins, by imparting training to over 3,000 young women.

Under skill training programme,"currently DBF can train 5,000 youth every year at 11 centres of Dalmia Institute of Knowledge and Skill Harnessing (DIKSHA), spread across the country, and also runs three Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)," says Vishal Bhardwaj, CEO, Dalmia Bharat Foundation (DBF).

The skill programme implemented through Skill and Entrepreneurship Development Institute (SEDI) centres, ACF is also offering basic computer skills, where knowledge of functional English and soft skills are compulsory components of all training programmes.

Many cement companies are also working in improving livelihoods in the farm and dairy sectors, by training farmers in improved farming techniques and livestock development, supporting farmers through scientific inputs, promotion of sustainable farming practices, as well as through capacity building programmes.

Healthcare: As part of promotion of health, cement manufacturer KCP had set up a sophisticated Hydraulic Operation theatre table, theatre lights, false ceiling and partition and a community health centre at Macherla in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh. "On an average 500 – 600 surgeries are conducted yearly in this operation theatre," says V Madhusudana Rao, Vice President – Operations (Cement Unit -II), The KCP Limited. KCP also supports Lepra Society for eradication and screening of leprosy, filaria, HIV, T.B., Malaria and awareness camps.

Around its three plants, KCP also conducts mega health camps, where tests like ECG, 2D ECHO, PFT, SUGA, B.P., are conducted for women by lady doctors etc., besides conducting eye surgeries, distribution of free medicines and spectacles to the needy, with the support of reputed and multi-speciality hospitals.

ACF is providing "Comprehensive Healthcare" intervention to address clinical, preventive and promotive aspects of health across communities. The program is led by a cadre of ACF-trained, village-based health workers called Sakhis, ensuring basic health care at the village level, and referring patients for timely medical intervention whenever needed.

Under its healthcare commitment HeidelbergCement organises mobile health check-up camps, multi-specialty health camps and provide support to government hospitals and health centres by way of enhancing their facilities for communities around its plants, while JKLC’s NayaSavera – a family integrated welfare program – focuses on reducing maternal and infant mortality.

Environment protection: Most of the cement companies are involved in water harvesting and conservation. Ambuja’s Water Programme works to enhance water and land resources. The programme promotes rainwater harvesting through indigenous and new technologies, promotes micro irrigation methods and constructs check dams, percolation wells and rooftop rain water harvesting structures.

During the last five years, DBF has created harvesting potential of more than 17 million cubic metres of water annually. "We also help tribal households enhance their income through horticulture plantations. Furthermore, we promote access to solar energy for domestic and agricultural purposes as well as that to cleaner fuels like biogas and LPG for cooking," says Bhardwaj.

Rural development & Infrastructure: The main focus of many cement companies is building rural roads and making movement easer in remote rural areas. Besides undertaking road repairs, The KCP Ltd has constructed additional class rooms and new buildings for schools, compound walls for schools, flooring in the school premises, veterinary hospital building, ladies dress-changing rooms near Krishna river bank, rural community halls and rest places near its facilities.

DBF is working mainly in remote rural areas, where it also assists the local administrations and communities to fill the existing infrastructural gaps, improving the quality of life of such communities. Ramco has also helped families of 8 CRPF Jawans martyred in Phulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir with fixed deposit of Rs 5 lakh each. More than 42 Jawans were killed in the gruesome attack.

Challenges
The CSR veterans are in unison in identifying educated unemployment as the biggest concern stalking the country that too when India is growing younger, stating that it should be tackled with and re-skilling and upskilling of youth through CSR activities, particularly in rural areas. "As the growing pace of technology will generate a new era of employment opportunities as a nation, we would still have to address the aspirations of those who would not be fortunate enough to make it there and would require earning a living. Rural India will be a home for them and the farm sector their source of livelihood," says Cooper.

Highlighting the need to bridge disparities, Rao says, "Socio-economic disparity is one of the biggest challenges, main reason being the rural-urban divide among a host of factors, which increase the intensity of this disparity."

ACF’s Pearl Tiwari’s heart goes out for the lower income group, who don’t even have decent or dignified living conditions, sometimes scraping through life with no basic facilities like healthcare and infrastructure, and such issues needs to be addressed and fulfilled on an urgent basis.

To address challenges on rural front on a priority basis, Cooper suggests, "Water harvesting, drip irrigation and advanced farming techniques should be made available to the farmers at subsidized and affordable prices. To supplement farmers’ income, livestock management needs to be promoted." Besides women empowerment, CSR activities directed at this front will add towards reinforcing the economy at the ground level, he added.

Bhardwaj says CSR initiatives should address supply chain issues in agriculture by facilitating backward and forward linkages. Helping build e-platforms and institutions like farmers-producers" companies is what these companies should do.

Stating that the Indian healthcare scenario presents a spectrum of contrasting landscapes – At one end of the spectrum are the glitzy steel and glass structures delivering high tech Medicare and on the other end with fragile infrastructure and lack of basic health care facilities in rural areas- Dharmakrishnan suggests that CSR activities should support primary health centres with medical infrastructure, organise special medical camps in association with speciality hospitals, and support traditional streams of medicine like Siddha and Ayurveda.

Looking ahead
When World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are forecasting a fall in gross domestic product (GDP or economic activity) of our country due to Covid-19, our CSR veterans are taking a hunch that it will have an impact on the business revenue and profitability of CSR mandated companies for at least a couple of years.

"There are estimates that there would be about 30-35 reduction in the CSR spent this year because of the expenditure that has been incurred on Covid-related activities," says Bhardwaj of DBF.

However, JK Lakshmi Cement, ACF, DBF and KCP were in the affirmative to the query on whether they will continue to affirm their commitment to CSR activities in these difficult times.

"For the last 30 years, we have been spending on key CSR projects in thrust areas of Health, Education, Skills & Livelihoods and Rural Development, and we will continue with our commitment to bring transformational changes in the lives of the communities around our plant units," Singhania affirmed her company’s commitment.

The board of Dalmia Cement Bharat has already resolved to keep their CSR commitments unaffected by COVID. "Like I mentioned, our contribution for COVID has been more than the 2 per cent mandate," Bhardwaj of DBF pointed out.

"Apart from the growing concern for Covid-19, India still needs to focus on water, health and vaccination… We as CSR spenders need to now integrate Covid-19 with our current programmes to maintain balance," suggests Tiwari of ACF.

KCP reminded us of the saying, "if there is a will there is a way", while affirming their commitment to CSR. "Of course, every company will adapt to the situation relevant to the ecosystem it is operating in. Covid-19 has given an opportunity to expedite some of the changes vis-a-vis integration of technology, finding most cost-effective methods of implementation, working closely with stakeholders as resources are getting scarce," says Rao.

There are a few lessons that the pandemic has taught us. For instance, due to imperative of maintaining social distancing, the CSR agencies have already changed the content and methods of dissemination of various development and behavioral-change communications.

HeidelbergCement’s Cooper exudes confidence that the humanity would rise on the other side and the privileged would come forward to contribute and serve those who served them once, thereby reinstating the balance.

This also holds good for corporate entities. As such, the post-Covid-19 scenario is set to create "New Champions of Humanity" and earn the goodwill and loyalty of their stakeholders and society at large, at a time when India faces enormous development challenges. The solution lies in the government, civil society and corporations working together to fulfil the basic requirements of the poor and underprivileged.

– BS SRINIVASALU REDDY

The CSR mandate
Governing law: Section 135 (1) of Companies Act, 2013
Mandate criteria:
a.Every company having net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or
b.Turnover of Rs 1000 crore or more or
c.Net profit of Rs 5 crore or more, during the immediately preceding financial year

Minimum commitment to CSR: 2 per cent of profits.
Date of commencement: April 1, 2014
Overseeing body: CSR Committee of the Board
Mode of execution: ‘Project/ Programme’ model
Designated activities: Broad spectrum of activities specified

Benefits of Mandate:
i.Companies bringing business core competencies and learning to resolve social issues and problems
ii.Leading to high level of social entrepreneurship and innovations
iii.Brought "Project Management benchmarks" to social and community development projects
Financial commitment seeking verifiable outcomes

Economy & Market

Impactful Branding

Published

1 year ago

July 17, 2023

admin

Advertising or branding is never about driving sales. It’s about creating brand awareness and recall. It’s about conveying the core values of your brand to your consumers. In this context, why is branding important for cement companies? As far as the customers are concerned cement is simply cement. It is precisely for this reason that branding, marketing and advertising of cement becomes crucial. Since the customer is unable to differentiate between the shades of grey, the onus of creating this awareness is carried by the brands. That explains the heavy marketing budgets, celebrity-centric commercials, emotion-invoking taglines and campaigns enunciating the many benefits of their offerings.
Marketing strategies of cement companies have undergone gradual transformation owing to the change in consumer behaviour. While TV commercials are high on humour and emotions to establish a fast connect with the customer, social media campaigns are focussed more on capturing the consumer’s attention in an over-crowded virtual world. Branding for cement companies has become a holistic growth strategy with quantifiable results. This has made brands opt for a mix package of traditional and new-age tools, such as social media. However, the hero of every marketing communication is the message, which encapsulates the unique selling points of the product. That after all is crux of the matter here.
While cement companies are effectively using marketing tools to reach out to the consumers, they need to strengthen the four Cs of the branding process – Consumer, Cost, Communication and Convenience. Putting up the right message, at the right time and at the right place for the right kind of customer demographic is of utmost importance in the long run. It is precisely for this reason that regional players are likely to have an upper hand as they rely on local language and cultural references to drive home the point. But modern marketing and branding domain is exponentially growing and it would be an interesting exercise to tabulate and analyse its impact on branding for cement.

Concrete

Indian cement industry is well known for its energy and natural resource efficiency

Published

2 years ago

November 18, 2022

admin

Dr Hitesh Sukhwal, Deputy General Manager – Environment, Udaipur Cement Works Limited (UCWL) takes us through the multifaceted efforts that the company has undertaken to keep emissions in check with the use of alternative sources of energy and carbon capture technology.

Tell us about the policies of your organisation for the betterment of the environment.
Caring for people is one of the core values of our JK Lakshmi Cement Limited. We strongly believe that we all together can make a difference. In all our units, we have taken measures to reduce carbon footprint, emissions and minimise the use of natural resources. Climate change and sustainable development are major global concerns. As a responsible corporate, we are committed with and doing consistent effort small or big to preserve and enrich the environment in and around our area of operations.
As far as environmental policies are concerned, we are committed to comply with all applicable laws, standards and regulations of regulatory bodies pertaining to the environment. We are consistently making efforts to integrate the environmental concerns into the mainstream of the operations. We are giving thrust upon natural resource conservation like limestone, gypsum, water and energy. We are utilising different kinds of alternative fuels and raw materials. Awareness among the employees and local people on environmental concerns is an integral part of our company. We are adopting best environmental practices aligned with sustainable development goals.
Udaipur Cement Works Limited is a subsidiary of the JK Lakshmi Cement Limited. Since its inception, the company is committed towards boosting sustainability through adopting the latest art of technology designs, resource efficient equipment and various in-house innovations. We are giving thrust upon renewable and clean energy sources for our cement manufacturing. Solar Power and Waste Heat Recovery based power are our key ingredients for total power mix.

What impact does cement production have on the environment? Elaborate the major areas affected.
The major environmental concern areas during cement production are air emissions through point and nonpoint sources due to plant operation and emissions from mining operation, from material transport, carbon emissions through process, transit, noise pollution, vibration during mining, natural resource depletion, loss of biodiversity and change in landscape.
India is the second largest cement producer in the world. The Indian cement industry is well known for its energy and natural resource efficiency worldwide. The Indian cement industry is a frontrunner for implementing significant technology measures to ensure a greener future.
The cement industry is an energy intensive and significant contributor to climate change. Cement production contributes greenhouse gases directly and indirectly into the atmosphere through calcination and use of fossil fuels in an energy form. The industry believes in a circular economy by utilising alternative fuels for making cement. Cement companies are focusing on major areas of energy efficiency by adoption of technology measures, clinker substitution by alternative raw material for cement making, alternative fuels and green and clean energy resources. These all efforts are being done towards environment protection and sustainable future.
Nowadays, almost all cement units have a dry manufacturing process for cement production, only a few exceptions where wet manufacturing processes are in operation. In the dry manufacturing process, water is used only for the purpose of machinery cooling, which is recirculated in a closed loop, thus, no polluted water is generated during the dry manufacturing process.
We should also accept the fact that modern life is impossible without cement. However, through state-of-the-art technology and innovations, it is possible to mitigate all kinds of pollution without harm to the environment and human beings.

Tell us about the impact blended cement creates on the environment and emission rate.
Our country started cement production in 1914. However, it was introduced in the year 1904 at a small scale, earlier. Initially, the manufacturing of cement was only for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). In the 1980s, the production of blended cement was introduced by replacing fly ash and blast furnace slag. The production of blended cement increased in the growth period and crossed the 50 per cent in the year 2004.
The manufacturing of blended cement results in substantial savings in the thermal and electrical energy consumption as well as saving of natural resources. The overall consumption of raw materials, fossil fuel such as coal, efficient burning and state-of-the-art technology in cement plants have resulted in the gradual reduction of emission of carbon dioxide (CO2). Later, the production of blended cement was increased in manifolds.
If we think about the growth of blended cement in the past few decades, we can understand how much quantity of , (fly ash and slag) consumed and saved natural resources like limestone and fossil fuel, which were anyhow disposed of and harmed the environment. This is the reason it is called green cement. Reduction in the clinker to cement ratio has the second highest emission reduction potential i.e., 37 per cent. The low carbon roadmap for cement industries can be achieved from blended cement. Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), Portland Slag Cement (PSC) and Composite Cement are already approved by the National Agency BIS.
As far as kilogram CO2 per ton of cement emission concerns, Portland Slag Cement (PSC) has a larger potential, other than PPC, Composite Cement etc. for carbon emission reduction. BIS approved 60 per cent slag and 35 per cent clinker in composition of PSC. Thus, clinker per centage is quite less in PSC composition compared to other blended cement. The manufacturing of blended cement directly reduces thermal and process emissions, which contribute high in overall emissions from the cement industry, and this cannot be addressed through adoption of energy efficiency measures.
In the coming times, the cement industry must relook for other blended cement options to achieve a low carbon emissions road map. In near future, availability of fly ash and slag in terms of quality and quantity will be reduced due to various government schemes for low carbon initiatives viz. enhance renewable energy sources, waste to energy plants etc.
Further, it is required to increase awareness among consumers, like individual home builders or large infrastructure projects, to adopt greener alternatives viz. PPC and PSC for more sustainable
resource utilisation.

What are the decarbonising efforts taken by your organisation?
India is the world’s second largest cement producer. Rapid growth of big infrastructure, low-cost housing (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna), smart cities project and urbanisation will create cement demand in future. Being an energy intensive industry, we are also focusing upon alternative and renewable energy sources for long-term sustainable business growth for cement production.
Presently, our focus is to improve efficiency of zero carbon electricity generation technology such as waste heat recovery power through process optimisation and by adopting technological innovations in WHR power systems. We are also increasing our capacity for WHR based power and solar power in the near future. Right now, we are sourcing about 50 per cent of our power requirement from clean and renewable energy sources i.e., zero carbon electricity generation technology. Usage of alternative fuel during co-processing in the cement manufacturing process is a viable and sustainable option. In our unit, we are utilising alternative raw material and fuel for reducing carbon emissions. We are also looking forward to green logistics for our product transport in nearby areas.
By reducing clinker – cement ratio, increasing production of PPC and PSC cement, utilisation of alternative raw materials like synthetic gypsum/chemical gypsum, Jarosite generated from other process industries, we can reduce carbon emissions from cement manufacturing process. Further, we are looking forward to generating onsite fossil free electricity generation facilities by increasing the capacity of WHR based power and ground mounted solar energy plants.
We can say energy is the prime requirement of the cement industry and renewable energy is one of the major sources, which provides an opportunity to make a clean, safe and infinite source of power which is affordable for the cement industry.

What are the current programmes run by your organisation for re-building the environment and reducing pollution?
We are working in different ways for environmental aspects. As I said, we strongly believe that we all together can make a difference. We focus on every environmental aspect directly / indirectly related to our operation and surroundings.
If we talk about air pollution in operation, every section of the operational unit is well equipped with state-of-the-art technology-based air pollution control equipment (BagHouse and ESP) to mitigate the dust pollution beyond the compliance standard. We use high class standard PTFE glass fibre filter bags in our bag houses. UCWL has installed the DeNOx system (SNCR) for abatement of NOx pollution within norms. The company has installed a 6 MW capacity Waste Heat Recovery based power plant that utilises waste heat of kiln i.e., green and clean energy source. Also, installed a 14.6 MW capacity solar power system in the form of a renewable energy source.
All material transfer points are equipped with a dust extraction system. Material is stored under a covered shed to avoid secondary fugitive dust emission sources. Finished product is stored in silos. Water spraying system are mounted with material handling point. Road vacuum sweeping machine deployed for housekeeping of paved area.
In mining, have deployed wet drill machine for drilling bore holes. Controlled blasting is carried out with optimum charge using Air Decking Technique with wooden spacers and non-electric detonator (NONEL) for control of noise, fly rock, vibration, and dust emission. No secondary blasting is being done. The boulders are broken by hydraulic rock breaker. Moreover, instead of road transport, we installed Overland Belt Conveying system for crushed limestone transport from mine lease area to cement plant. Thus omit an insignificant amount of greenhouse gas emissions due to material transport, which is otherwise emitted from combustion of fossil fuel in the transport system. All point emission sources (stacks) are well equipped with online continuous emission monitoring system (OCEMS) for measuring parameters like PM, SO2 and NOx for 24×7. OCEMS data are interfaced with SPCB and CPCB servers.
The company has done considerable work upon water conservation and certified at 2.76 times water positive. We installed a digital water flow metre for each abstraction point and digital ground water level recorder for measuring ground water level 24×7. All digital metres and level recorders are monitored by an in-house designed IoT based dashboard. Through this live dashboard, we can assess the impact of rainwater harvesting (RWH) and ground water monitoring.
All points of domestic sewage are well connected with Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and treated water is being utilised in industrial cooling purposes, green belt development and in dust suppression. Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) installed for mine’s workshop. Treated water is reused in washing activity. The unit maintains Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD).
Our unit has done extensive plantations of native and pollution tolerant species in industrial premises and mine lease areas. Moreover, we are not confined to our industrial boundary for plantation. We organised seedling distribution camps in our surrounding areas. We involve our stakeholders, too, for our plantation drive. UCWL has also extended its services under Corporate Social Responsibility for betterment of the environment in its surrounding. We conduct awareness programs for employees and stakeholders. We have banned Single Use Plastic (SUP) in our premises. In our industrial township, we have implemented a solid waste management system for our all households, guest house and bachelor hostel. A complete process of segregated waste (dry and wet) door to door collection systems is well established.

Tell us about the efforts taken by your organisation to better the environment in and around the manufacturing unit.
UCWL has invested capital in various environmental management and protection projects like installed DeNOx (SNCR) system, strengthening green belt development in and out of industrial premises, installed high class pollution control equipment, ground-mounted solar power plant etc.
The company has taken up various energy conservation projects like, installed VFD to reduce power consumption, improve efficiency of WHR power generation by installing additional economiser tubes and AI-based process optimisation systems. Further, we are going to increase WHR power generation capacity under our upcoming expansion project. UCWL promotes rainwater harvesting for augmentation of the ground water resource. Various scientifically based WHR structures are installed in plant premises and mine lease areas. About 80 per cent of present water requirement is being fulfilled by harvested rainwater sourced from Mine’s Pit. We are also looking forward towards green transport (CNG/LNG based), which will drastically reduce carbon footprint.
We are proud to say that JK Lakshmi Cement Limited has a strong leadership and vision for developing an eco-conscious and sustainable role model of our cement business. The company was a pioneer among cement industries of India, which had installed the DeNOx (SNCR) system in its cement plant.

Concrete

NTPC selects Carbon Clean and Green Power for carbon capture facility

Published

2 years ago

October 12, 2022

admin

Carbon Clean and Green Power International Pvt. Ltd has been chosen by NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance (NETRA) to establish the carbon capture facility at NTPC Vindhyachal. This facility, which will use a modified tertiary amine to absorb CO2 from the power plant’s flue gas, is intended to capture 20 tonnes of CO2) per day. A catalytic hydrogenation method will eventually be used to mix the CO2 with hydrogen to create 10 tonnes of methanol each day. For NTPC, capturing CO2 from coal-fired power plant flue gas and turning it into methanol is a key area that has the potential to open up new business prospects and revenue streams.