Water from air, avoiding plastics, renewable power making corporates embrace green

IANS Photo

IANS Photo

Chennai, June 4 (IANS): Water from air, use of environment friendly products instead of plastics, rain water harvesting, green power generation and planting of trees are some of the sustainable initiatives adopted by a cross section of Indian industries, officials said, on the eve of World Environment Day to be observed on Saturday.

"Water is an intrinsic part of most ecosystems and this World Environment Day, it is critical for us to take some decisive action to focus on replenishing our water sources to help our ecosystems recover and rejuvenate," said George Rajkumar, Country President, Grundfos India.

According to Rajkumar, tangible results can be obtained by combining traditional knowledge with practical policies at the grassroots level and with the adoption of sustainable technology and solutions.

Grundfos India is the subsidiary of Danish company Grundfos and manufactures various pumps.

Hotels are huge buyers of water bottled in plastic bottles and transported several miles leaving a carbon footprint.

But ITC Hotel Ltd's mega 600-room property ITC Grand Chola has changed that and the summer of 2021 will be something unique as the water from its terrace air will be quenching the thirst of its guests.

No, not the rainwater.

The Leed Platnium certified ITC Grand Chola is the first hotel in India of its size to achieve drinking water positive status by producing water using the Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) technology.

"It works on the principle of a bio mimic humidity condensation method and customised filtration process that provides pure and healthy drinking water straight from the air. The technology extracts water from the atmosphere, and this moisture in the air is replenished naturally and continuously, making it a viable and sustainable process," Zubin Songadwala, General Manager, ITC Grand Chola, and Area Manager, ITC Hotels (South), told IANS.

The property has a Sequential Batch Reactor Technology (capacity - 675 KL/Day) based sewage treatment plant with 100 per cent tertiary treatment, including ultra filtration. The treated water is used for flushing, gardening and cooling towers.

"In laundry, the water from the last wash is used for the prewash of the subsequent cycle," Songadwala said.

Also, wind power of 14.6 MW is what is powering the group's hotels when it comes to lights, air conditioners and the boilers. Twenty per cent of its domestic hot water requirement is being met by solar plate collectors.

At the German commercial vehicle maker Daimler India, the focus includes maintaining the ground water level, re-using hazardous waste as an alternative fuel, reducing absolute energy consumption and focusing on how its products can use environment-friendly materials.

The plant's recycling ratio has improved to 99 per cent with the use of 80 per cent renewable energy in its manufacturing facility and it has reduced water consumption by 20 per cent, said Satyakam Arya, MD and CEO, Daimler India.

On its part, Canon India implements the 'plant a tree' concept with the purchase of every laser copier/multi-function device on behalf of its direct customers.

The company has successfully planted 20,000 saplings as part of 'Green Environment Together' initiative since 2019.

The world's largest specialty packaging company, EPL Limited (formerly known as Essel Propack Limited), said that it has been selected as a partner by Unilever in the latter's journey towards achieving 100 per cent sustainability in the oral care segment. 

EPL will supply 100 per cent recyclable and fully sustainable Platina Tubes for the toothpaste category of Unilever.

Unilever will be launching fully recyclable tubes later this year in two of its biggest oral care markets, France and India.