CB BureauThe water-conservation efforts of Vedanta led to recycling of nearly 34 million cubic metres (34 billion litres) – which is 22 per cent of water used – during April 2014″January 2015, claimed the company in its media release.
‘Water conservation and its management is one of our top priorities and are considered pivotal in the decision-making process of new and existing projects. I am happy to share that we are committed towards achieving zero discharge in all our operations through 100 per cent recirculation and reuse to ensure that none of the natural water sources are affected by our operations,’ Tom Albanese, group chief executive of Vedanta, asserted.
The Vedanta group has also signed the pledge for access to safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) at the workplace. The WASH pledge has been initiated by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which brings businesses together to build a sustainable future.
Vedanta also claims that its aluminium refinery in Lanjigarh, Odisha, is the first aluminium refinery in India with a zero discharge system that helps reduce usage of external water by over 60 per cent. It also says that its subsidiary Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) in Chhattisgarh has reduced freshwater consumption by 13 per cent by improving the reliability of dyke water-recirculation pumps. Its group company Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) in Udaipur, Rajasthan, has built a domestic ‘sewage treatment plant’ (STP) in association with the government of Rajasthan; the plant reuses the treated municipal wastewater for its operations.