Page 18 - ENGINEERING REVIEW APRIL 2022 DIGITAL MAGAZINE

BUSINESS
NEWS

Vedanta Aluminium Business recycles ~14 billion litres

of water in FY22

edanta Aluminium Business, India’s largest producer of
aluminium, has recycled 14 billion litres of water as of
VJanuary 2022 in FY 21-22, leveraging advanced technol-
ogies for focused control and monitoring of water consumption.
Vedanta Aluminium’s water sustainability efforts are guided by
its robust Water Management Policy. In line with the company’s
commitment to the 6th UN Sustainable Development Goal –
Clean Water and Sanitation, Vedanta Aluminium strives to fulfill
its water sustainability goals in three ways – increasing water systems in ash management, which ensures maximum water
reutilization, reducing freshwater consumption, and ensuring recycling through feedback loops.
zero liquid discharge from operations. Vedanta Aluminium is also • Robust monitoring of water quality parameters, including
working with local communities and farmers in the regions where reduction of specific water consumption.
it operates to construct water harvesting and conservation infra- • Regular water consumption-related audits, and appropriate
structures for perennial water supply. measures to ensure continually improved performance.
Speaking about Vedanta Aluminium’s approach to water • Optimization of freshwater intake by maximizing usage of
stewardship, Mr. Rahul Sharma, CEO – Aluminium Business, water recycled through state-of-the-art Effluent Treatment
said, “Excellence in ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Plants (ETP), augmented with Ultra Filtration (UF) and Reverse
forms the bedrock upon which we evolve our business plans. Osmosis (RO).
On World Water Day, we recommit to our vision of ensuring a • Rainwater harvesting infrastructure and on-site water
sustainable water footprint in the regions where we operate. Our reservoirs have been created for water sourcing during
vision is rooted in the understanding that water is a critical shared contingency scenarios.
resource that is crucial to sustaining the ecology and communities • Quick Response Teams to respond to extreme weather
around us. Our journey towards making our operations water conditions, including unprecedented heavy rainfall.
positive will ensure sustainability of our business and make Working in the realm of sustainable
available more water for local communities and biodiversity.”
Standing testimony to this year’s World Water Day theme of livelihoods and climate impact mitigation, Vedanta Aluminium is:
‘Groundwater: Making the invisible visible’, Vedanta Aluminium • Building and rejuvenating hundreds of community water
has undertaken robust measures to optimize water consumption infrastructures like tube wells, bore wells, ponds, farm ponds,
across its value-chain and increase the share of recycled and percolation tanks, etc. to help communities get perennial access
reused water, such as: to water for household and irrigation purposes.
• Water-screening assessment to develop and implement • Helping local farming communities adopt drip-irrigation, treadle
stringent control measures to ensure zero discharge operations. pump, solar powered water pumps, rainwater harvesting
• Integration of water management into decision-making structures like percolation tanks, etc. to boost irrigation potential
processes for all projects. and reduce dependency on monsoons for cropping.
• Operational excellence in Cooling Tower systems have resulted • Training communities on growing climate-resilient crops for
in one of the best Cycles of Concentration (COC) globally; improving yield in the face of irregular climactic conditions.
higher the COC, less is the freshwater intake, thus resulting in
freshwater conservation. Vedanta Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited,
• Deployment of High-Concentration Slurry Disposal (HCSD) is India’s largest manufacturer of aluminium, producing half of
India’s aluminium i.e., 1.97 million tonnes in FY21. It is a leader in
value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in
core industries. 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.

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