Mumbai: Tata Chemicals, a global company with interests in businesses that focus on LIFE — living, industrial and farm essentials — with sustainability and customer focus at its core, was honoured with the Indian Chemical Council’s ‘Water Resource Management’ award today. The company was awarded for its proactive initiatives on water resource conservation and management at its Mithapur plant.
Speaking on the achievement, Zarir Langrana, COO, chemical business, Tata Chemicals, said, “Water resource management is an essential element across all our plants, including Mithapur. We have revamped our technology and operations through innovative techniques so as to reduce dependency on external fresh water resources. Through collaboration with government and non-government organisations, various initiatives are undertaken to reduce water stress in the Mithapur area. This award is recognition of our team’s efforts at the plant and strengthens the company’s commitment to water conservation and its embedded goal of sustainability.”
Water is a key resource for Tata Chemicals Mithapur, which is located in a semi-arid region, surrounded by sea on three sides, with scanty and unpredictable rainfall. In the last 74 years of its existence, the company faced severe drought situations at its Mithapur plant when fresh water became an issue for its business sustainability. With an objective to utilise this diminishing resource cautiously and build an effective water management system, Tata Chemicals revamped its technologies and implemented innovative ways to reduce its dependency on external fresh water resources. Effective integration of operations led to the elimination of dependency on groundwater; 98 percent of its water requirement is now met through seawater. More than 70 percent of industrial freshwater requirement is met through innovative ways of generating water through various techniques.
Through a community participative approach and collaboration with government and non-governmental organisations, Tata Chemicals initiated watershed development projects in the Okhamandal region to reduce water stress in the area. The programmes are continuing successfully with community support and participation. In 2012-13, Tata Quality Management Services, in collaboration with International Finance Corporation and Water Footprint Network, started a group-level initiative on water footprint and sustainability assessment. On a lifecycle approach (cradle-to-gate), Tata Chemicals derived project water footprints for all its products, and also derived the site water footprint to ensure sustainable use of shared water resources. Tata Chemicals regularly corresponds with Water CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), which is designed for businesses to better understand the risks and opportunities associated with water scarcity and other water-related issues, thus revolutionising the way water is managed at its plant.