Environment report

As a business house, we are totally committed to sustainable development. Hence, building eco-efficiency in all of our operations and guarding natural resources comes to us naturally. Your Company has a well-drawn out environmental management strategy in place. Environment concerns are textured into all manufacturing processes and business decisions. We subscribe to the United Nations Global Compact.

All of your Company’s plants – the Rayon Plant at Veraval, the Insulator Plants at Halol and Rishra (now part of our joint venture with NGK Insulators Ltd., Japan), Jaya Shree Textiles also at Rishra and the Carbon Black Plants at Renukoot and Gummidipoondi are all ISO 14000 EMS Certified. Your Company’s plants have also received OHSAS 18001 Certification for Safety Management Systems and are SA 8000 Certified for social accountability standards.

Additionally, the Insulators Business’ Environment Management Systems are attested by the American Bureau of Shipping, a renowned certification agency, based in the USA.

To ensure your Company’s plants on-going conformity to Environment management systems, auditing is an inbuilt process. So, we track our performance against detailed environmental metrics, engaging professional environmental Audit consultants. The Central Salt and Marine Chemical Institute (Bhavnagar), which is a Gujarat Pollution Control Board recognized Institute, GITCO – Ahmedabad and the Bureau of Indian Standards conduct periodic audits at our Units. Additionally, trained environmental systems auditors conduct periodic checks.

Many accolades have been conferred on your Company for its singular contribution to environment conservation.

A selective list is given below :

• Your Company’s Rayon Division has been the recipient of :
  • The topper in the “National Energy Conservation Award 2003-04”.
  • The runner up for achieving the lowest Disability Injury Index (D.I.I.) for the year 2003 from Gujarat Safety Council Baroda.
  • The CII Energy Efficient Award – 2004, for its Caustic Soda Plant.
  • The Greentech Silver Award Winner for Safety and Environmental excellence pursued by its Caustic Soda Plant at Veraval.
• Your Textile’s Division has been the winner of the Second Prize in the Textile category – Energy Conservation Award – 2004, from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, Government of India.
• Your Company’s Carbon Black Division was also honoured with the Greentech Gold Award for Environmental Excellence for Gummidipoondi and the Silver Award for its plant at Renukoot.

Your Company has state-of-the-art automated industrial effluent treatment plants across our manufacturing units. The treated effluent, including treated sewage generated by the plants, is recycled for use in gardening and for irrigation. New ways to ensure energy conservation and productively use waste generated have been devised in the recent past.

At Veraval, waste is gainfully recycled. Scrubbing H2S with caustic soda has enabled us convert it into liquid sodium sulphide, which we then market. So also, the waste chlorine gas that emerges from the caustic soda manufacturing process is transformed into sodium hypo chlorite. This is subsequently utilised as a bleaching agent in rayon manufacturing. To produce caustic flakes, we use hydrogen gas, one of the cleanest fuels for the
flaker furnace.

At Jaya Shree Textiles in Rishra, the current effluent treatment plant is being upgraded to match the ensuing expansion of its wool combing division. Here, we have also undertaken three clean development projects under the aegis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These are in the process of being validated by the UN approved validator. Incidentally, Jaya Shree Textiles has been rated by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board as one of the Best Performing Companies in so far as it relates to environmental conservation.

Our Insulator and Carbon Black Plants barely produce effluents. At the Insulator Plant, more than adequate measures have been taken to abate noise pollution. The minimal effluent waste generated is reused for low tension insulators and unused waste is sold to the cottage industries as scrap.

At our Carbon Black Plants in Renukoot and Gummidipoondi, installation of vent scrubbers in all the reactors has helped seal the escape of carbon black. Through the use of off gases, we generate steam and power. We have set up multiple effect mechanical evaporators for handling effluent rejects apart from installing gravity water filter systems to productively use the storm water. We have also constructed pits for converting bio-gradable waste into organic manure.

Apart from these measures, educating and sensitising our employees, contractors and customers on the importance of sustainable development is a process in continuum.

As our country is often faced with drought and severe water shortage, at most of the places where our plants are located, we have begun unique rainwater harvesting projects. These form not only a part of our EnvironmentManagement Systems, but also evolve out of our commitment to qualitatively better the lives of the communities in proximity to our plants.

Our Board and all of our colleagues across our plants are fully committed to sustainable development. We are all nature lovers. The green cover in and around our plants, with thousands of trees swaying, is a reflection of our passionate respect for the environment.