The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
NEW DELHI, JUNE 10, 2023
Observing World Environment Week, Vedanta Aluminium, the largest aluminium producer in India, undertook its annual #GreenHearts campaign which aims to bolster awareness and actions around environmental conservation. Adhering to the principles of ‘Lifestyle for Environment – LiFE’ a Government of India initiative and this year’s UN theme ‘#BeatPlasticPollution’, the week-long campaign, now in its third year, involved a series of initiatives that sought to address the pressing issue of plastic pollution and promote a cleaner, greener future.
These included the introduction of electric vehicles at the plants, city clean-up drives, awareness rallies and mega plantation drives among others.
The company also organized a widely attended online workshop by Rakesh Khatri, popularly known as the ‘Nest Man of India’, who shared the importance of protecting common birds to help maintain ecological balance. He gave a demonstration on crafting and installing simple handmade nests that are proven to have a high adoption rate by birds such as sparrows that are fast disappearing, with a home so that they can breed and thrive.
Vedanta Aluminium’s mega aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda, alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, and mines at Jamkhani in Odisha; and its subsidiary BALCO at Korba in Chhattisgarh came together to galvanise community action around the #GreenHearts campaign. The campaign included mega plantation drives to plant over 2500 saplings during the World Environment Week. Extensive city clean-up drives were conducted around the operations in collaboration with the local communities. Over 15,000 cloth bags were distributed amongst people around the plant areas and shopkeepers, to replace plastic ones for grocery shopping. Drawing competitions and awareness sessions were organised in rural community schools on the topics of environmental conservation and eradicating plastic pollution.
The company also introduced electric vehicles (EVs) for travel within plant premises along with several carpooling initiatives. Several awareness rallies and cyclothons were organized to raise public awareness on making informed and sustainable lifestyle choices. The sessions also aimed at spreading awareness about the harmful effects of plastic usage and promoting the use of more sustainable alternatives made of aluminium, jute etc.
Commenting on the impact of the company’s activities as part of World Environment Week, Vedanta Ltd. – Aluminium Business CEO Rahul Sharma said, “Our operations are aligned to be in close step with the long-term needs of our shared ecosystems. Integrating sustainability into every aspect of our business decision-making, we measure the impact of our success against the socio-economic transformation and environmental stewardship that we achieve among our communities.”
“Our #GreenHearts campaign is yet another step in this regard, galvanizing our teams and community members through awareness and climate action to accelerate the world’s shared journey to a Net Zero future,” he added.
Vedanta Aluminium has adopted a two-fold strategy of mitigating and offsetting its carbon footprint. Mitigation sees the company enhance its manufacturing excellence for higher energy conservation, increasing the quantum of renewables in its energy mix and transitioning to low-carbon fuels. To offset its carbon footprint, the company is creating massive carbon sinks through extensive afforestation in and around its plants. It has achieved several milestones in its journey to enhance environmental management practices across its operations, including:
Vedanta is the first company to launch low-carbon, ‘green’ aluminium range, branded ‘Restora’, catering to the emerging demand for metals with a low carbon footprint. It’s ranked second in the S&P Dow Jones Sustainability Index world rankings for the aluminium industry in FY22, making it the second most sustainable aluminium producer in the world today.
The Company recycled 13.69 billion litres of water in FY23, in the journey towards water-positive operations. It reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 24% in FY 2022, from the 2012 baseline while increasing production by eight times over the same period. It also planted around 2.5 lakh saplings in FY23.
Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) certified the Vedanta’s smelter and its captive power plant located within the SEZ at Jharsuguda for high sustainability standards. The company’s wide product range has been verified by Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) International for upholding high standards of sustainability.
Vedanta Aluminium partnered with leading environment conservation firm ERM, to bolster its biodiversity management plan around its operational areas.
It also deployed IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) technology in the company’s power plants to improve emissions control to further reduce carbon footprint. Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.29 million tonnes in FY23. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2022 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
