Vedanta Aluminium recycles 12.5 billion litres of water to become Net Water positive by 2030

Vedanta Aluminium, in adherence with the 6th UN Sustainable Development Goal of 'Clean Water and Sanitation', has skilfully recycled 12.5 billion litres of water in February alone. Honouring World Water Day, the company has also found the momentum of constructing a new Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) with 440-kilo litres per day (KLD) capacity at the Jharsuguda aluminium smelter. 

Once optimised the upcycled water from the facility will be reused in operations within the plant, cutting down the fresh water intake by 15 crore litres annually. This reinserts the organisation's commitment to be Net Water Positive within the upcoming ten years. Vedanta has proposed to utilise high-end technology and show extreme perseverance in leaving behind a sustainable water footprint. 

During the week before World Water Day, Vedanta Aluminium conducted a session with Ramveer Tanwar, popularly known as the Pond Man of India and a renowned pond conservationist, to inspire community members and employees to practice water conservation in their individual lives. Restoration activities were carried out around Kalahandi and Jharsuguda districts, Odisha and in Korba, Chhattisgarh so that the water bodies could be devoid of any harmful waste. To give a visual perspective, Vedanta organised street plays and shows educating the locals about the usefulness of restoration and water conservation.

The CEO of Vedanta Limited, Aluminium Business, Mr Rahul Sharma, commented: "On World Water Day, we recommit to our mission of becoming Net Water Positive and ensuring a sustainable water footprint in the regions where we operate. The quality of our lives and business sustainability is contingent on the planet, and hence, excellence in ESG (Environment, Social & Governance) forms the bedrock of our aspirations. Water is a critical shared resource that is crucial to sustaining the ecology and communities around us, and hence, our endeavours are aimed at ensuring the sustainability of our operations and making more water available for local communities and biodiversity."

Praising the addition of the STP and its use, the COO of Power, Vedanta Jharsuguda, Mr Ajay Pandey, explained: "Our operations maintain a laser-focus on ensuring the judicious usage of precious water resources. By deploying a strategic mix of resource conservation and source rejuvenation programs, we have been successful in achieving a steady improvement in our water management efforts. The new Sewage Treatment Plant provides an additional fillip to our efforts in this regard and will help accelerate our roadmap to water positivity."

Vedanta has charted out a prolonged four dimension plan to achieve 100% water sustainability which revolves around the following:

Rigid Monitoring of water usage; a water management team has been involved during every aspect of the facility's growth. Risk assessments have been conducted to identify water stress levels so that appropriate actions can be taken on time. The company also stressed the water quality parameter that involved cutting down on specific water consumption. Quick response teams are positioned all across the facility to monitor weather conditions like unpredictable gales and rainfall. Moreover, the firm has dispersed the Internet of Things (IoT) and other state-of-the-art technologies to have a much more comprehensive grasp on water management.

Utilising the available water to the fullest; incredible control measures and technologies are being adopted to ensure zero discharge operations. The company has deployed High-Concentration Slurry Disposal (HCSD) system for ash management, assuring maximum water recycling through feedback loops. The firm's unparalleled expertise in operating Cooling Tower systems has given birth to one of the best Cycles of Concentration (COC) internationally since the higher the COC, the lesser the additional freshwater consumption.

Promoting a positive water footprint; Vedanta has collaborated with TÜV SÜD, a widely acknowledged enterprise for sustainable solutions to draw a perfect roadmap for the Indian brand so that it can become Net water positive. Other effective methodologies already in use are rainwater harvesting and storing them in reservoirs for future use.

Involving the regional minds; Vedanta Aluminium in this fiscal year has successfully restored the conditions of over 40 community ponds spread across its area of operation in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. They also have encouraged communities to grow climate-resilient crops and apply SRI technology in Paddy cultivation to generate fantastic yields despite uneven climatic paradigms.

Vedanta Aluminium, India's largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India's aluminium, i.e., 2.27 million tonnes in FY22 can also be considered one of the greatest energy and water-intensive businesses of the country. But with a vision for a better tomorrow, the company keeps on growing with a certain amount of compassion for sustainability, promoting the 'Metal of the Future' for a circular economy.