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At Wonder Cement, the employees initiate CSR activities

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Vivek Patni Whole time Director, Wonder Cement
Wonder Cement is part of the RK Marble group which has the distinction of being one of the leading names in the marble industry. The company lays strong emphasis on the responsibility the corporate sector has towards society and has identified the role the company has to play in this area. It is committed to serving the communities in the vicinity of its operation with the aim of improved community welfare in tandem with company progress. Vivek Patni interacted with ICR and shared his vision to do good for the society. CSR is integrated in the DNA of values at Wonder Cement, and is not just a directive to be followed by the company. Excerpts from the interview.

What is your understanding of CSR and why is it necessary?
R K Group and Wonder Cement has always been at the fore-front in the discharge of CSR. To us CSR is not just a fraction of a campaign period. We understand the root cause of the issue we undertake and ensure to do best possible within our abilities. For instance, within the medical field, infrastructure was a barrier for providing facilities, so we have built medical infrastructures at various districts and organised medical camps at required places. CSR becomes extremely essential for today?s Indian corporates as the nation is at a stage where development of all will be more beneficial rather than an individualistic approach.

We at Wonder Cement believe in development of all and giving back to the society as much as it is given to us.

Tell us about the involvement of your staff, HR team, etc., in the CSR initiative. Our employees correlate with the visions and understandings of the company, and they give their heart-filled contributions to the initiatives the company undertakes. At Wonder Cement, the employees initiate CSR activities, while the management supports them wholeheartedly.

Tell us about your CSR activities in detail.
Diwali Activity:

Wonder Cement has recently celebrated Diwali with 45 under privileged kids cared for by an NGO at Jaipur. Diwali celebrations with sparkling lights, a puppet show, a hearty meal, loads of gifts and a family to enjoy with, got bright smiles on the face of kids, which were priceless. Wonder Cement team organised this in an association with Ashray Care Home. Arun Sharma, Vice President, Marketing, Wonder Cement distributed the gifts amongst the the kids.

Education
R K Group has always been fore-front in the discharge of CSR. This is evident in the sphere of education where the company has invested liberally towards building of schools, and colleges, with special emphasis on girls? education. It has offered scholarships to needy and poor students, benefiting nearly 1800 of them. It has already constructed 16 schools, hostels and colleges and the number is still growing.

Scholarships and Educational Institutions
R K Group has contributed immensely in the field of education under its corporate social responsibility. They have demonstrated an unstinted support to the cause of building infrastructure facilities for the spread of education. It has built a large number of school buildings and distributed scholarship. As on date, 1800 students have been benefitted through these scholarships. Also financial assistance for professional education for Engineering, MBA, MBBS, C.A/CS etc. is being provided to various students from time to time.

School Adoption
RK Groups subsidiary Wonder Cement Ltd. in partnership with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has adopted 20 government schools in October 2012. This partnership has augmented essential facilities like separate toilet for girls and boys, drinking water, pathways, furniture, minor repairing etc., in schools. Tangible changes have happened in these schools. Education Kit
1024 students were provided with complete set of stationery, notebooks packed in a bag during academic session 2013-14 by RK Groups subsidiary Wonder Cement students in need are provided with sweaters and dresses.

Health Care
R K Marbles has always been in the forefront in providing suitable health care to the public. Constant efforts are made to reach out to people in need and serve them wholeheartedly. More than 40,000 people have been served till now.

Medical Camps
RK Group organises various medical camps like eye camp, Viklang Sahayta Camp, ENT camp. These camps are conducted yearly as well as monthly. Till now more than 40,000 people have been served through these camps and number is growing every month.

Medical Infrastructure
Infrastructure facilities have been created by the company at various places. Contribution were made to district Health Society to construct G.N.M. Training Institute at Chittorgarh.

District Health Society, Chittorgarh to procure 50 bed sets for patients at SanwariyaJi Government General Hospital. Development of Shri Ratanlal Kanwarlal Patni Emergency Hospital in Kishangarh.

Health and Family Welfare
Family Planning Program Beneficiaries of National Family Planning Program are provided incentive through partnership with District Health Society, Chittorgarh by RK Groups subsidiary Wonder Cement. More than 90 per cent women took sterilisation as family planning option. 1319 patients of Nimbahera block in 2012-13 were given woolen blanket besides cash incentive from government.

Community Infrastructure Development
Development of Infrastructure is focused by RK Group in nearby communities. We have constructed class room, school boundary wall, concrete, bitumen and gravel roads, community center, and renovation of Anganwaries and Community Health Centre. In Chittorgarh, some facilities like renovation of Police Conference Hall, Swimming pool, Tennis court at staff club were done by RK Group.

RK Group subsidiary, RK Marble constructed the most modern ?R.K. Community Centre? with all facilities at Kishangarh for public utility and now plans to construct a Shri Ratanlal Kanwarlal Patni Athithi Awas in the Campus of R.K. Community Centre to provide more facilities to the public of Kishangarh and surrounding area.

Community Centre
Wonder Cement has constructed center for village of Rasulpura and existing hall was renovated. Earlier villagers used to face problem in organising common festivals, marriage programs. Now this community center has become very much useful for villagers. Construction of community center at Phalwa village is also being considered.

Drinking Water Arrangements
Water pipe lines, repairing of submersible pump and installation of new submersible pump was supported by RK Groups subsidiary Wonder Cement to provide drinking water at their reach.

Road Construction
RK Group has constructed 820 mtr bitumen and cement concrete road in Village. Gravel roads of 6000 mtr in nearby villages were constructed to improve the road condition in five villages.

Village Infrastructure development
Wonder Cement partnered with government?s Jan Sahbhagita schemes to improve facilities at crematorium sites in eight villages. Drinking water tanks ?Pyau? for animal were renovated with proper drainage system to improve hygiene of villagers. Financial support for construction or renovation of temples were provided. Financial support to Gram Panchayat is also provided to conduct development activities as per their plans.

Women Empowerment
The company provided sewing training to women in the village. This center is shifted from village to village after completion of each batch. Women get quality training from trainer who is expert in the art of tailoring. Most women are stitching salwar suit, mobile cover, bag, foot mate, paper holder, table cover, tiffin cover, etc. So far Wonder Cement has trained 179 women through eight batches of four villages.

Women and Child Development Program
Four Anganwari Centres of nearby villages were renovated and child friendly environment was created. Playing and Learning materials were provided. Walls were painted as per curriculum of pre-school learning. Self help groups of women were created to connect them with income generating activities.

Swacha Gaon Nirogi Gaon Programme
This sanitation programme aims to stop open defecation in villages. RK Group subsidiary Wonder Cement signed a tripartite agreement with Zila Parishad, Chittorgarh and two NGOs experienced in sanitation field to support construction of 1000 individual household toilets. With the help of the third party NGO?s sanitation facilities will be installed in seven villages of nearby plant area (Rasulpura, Peerkhera, Phalwa, Bhattkotri, Borakheri, Sangria and BadoliMadhosingh).

So far 327 toilets were constructed. Pre casted cement slab are used for constructing super structure of toilet and soakage pits are constructed using bricks in honey combing method. Awareness programme for better hygiene practices are regularly conducted to make these villages free from the ill practice of open defecation.

What are your priorities while framing a CSR plan?
Wonder Cement plans to accomplish its CSR targets focused on education, healthcare, infrastructure, community development, etc. We undertake activities that give self motivation to our employees for giving back to the society. We wish to do more in the lines of the new government regulations and motivate more and more common people to contribute their bit to the rest of the society.

Apart from doing good to the society, CSR helps the contributing organisation too in several ways. Please list some of the benefits that you have realised.
While we undertake these activities the management and the employees get together and work on one page, bond is indeed strengthened! It is through these activities that we get to interface with people who somewhere contribute to our company?s growth and success.

Quick Facts
Tree plantation done in 123 hectares (43 by RK Marble+ 80 by Wonder Cement) around the operational areas.
About 40,000 people served with health care services provided by the company.
More than 1800 students were given financial assistance for basic and higher education.
1000 households get good sanitation facilities.

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Economy & Market

Impactful Branding

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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.

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Concrete

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

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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.

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Concrete

NTPC selects Carbon Clean and Green Power for carbon capture facility

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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.

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