Gameplan simple: Aim for higher reduction than the government has committed.
The lights switch off automatically in R N Mukhija's cabin if he steps out even for a couple of minutes.
The Wholetime Director and President, Operations, of engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) says even the long corridor outside his cabin at L&T's sprawling complex at Powai lights up only when somebody walks through it, courtesy the sensors manufactured by L&T Switchgear.
The corridor connects the offices of L&T's top leadership team, including Chairman & Managing Director A M Naik. "It's a small step, but the symbolic value is immense. Thousands of L&T employees now know that the top management is with them in green initiatives," says Mukhija, the main driver of the company's sustainability operations.
L&T's gameplan is simple: if the government has committed to a 20-25 per cent cut in emission intensity, L&T has to aim for a much higher reduction, so that even if smaller companies take time to come up the curve, the average emission cut would reach the level that the government wants.
L&T, which came out with its second sustainability report (its performance on this front has been audited by Ernst & Young) in November-end, is taking several small steps and a few big ones to ensure its environment performance is world-class- something that has become a pet project of the chairman himself.
So, the actions range from L&T volunteers teaching climate change issues to 6,500 students at the two local schools adopted by the company; reducing per capita water consumption by 10 per cent at all its manufacturing locations, to adoption of supercritical technology for boilers and turbines that allow enhanced generation of electricity per unit of coal.
Supercritical equipment are typically 5-6 per cent more fuel efficient than conventional power plants and can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2.5 per cent.
Mukhija says while Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said he would ensure 50 per cent of all new power capacities are based on clean coal technologies, "the question L&T is asking is why 50 per cent, why not all?"
Most power plants in India, Mukhija says, are still not sensitised to the environment aspect and are still hesitant to go in for supercritical boilers and turbines, whose payback time would obviously be slightly longer than the existing ones. So, while Indian companies are still taking time to warm up to the idea, L&T has already supplied 10 gasifiers to China for chemical plants.
L&T's environmental performance has been stellar on other fronts as well. Apart from the fact that almost a third of open land is maintained as green belt at all its manufacturing locations, Mukhija reels out data that show the company's direct energy consumption in 2008-09 dropped 11.75 per cent over the previous financial year and indirect energy consumption declined by 11 per cent. And 13.25 per cent of the company's electricity requirement is sourced through wind energy. "A watt saved is three watts generated," L&T says in its sustainability report.
On emissions, L&T has discontinued the use of ozone depleting substances and has increased efficiency of onsite storage management. It has also discontinued corporate travel wherever possible. Result: The company's reduced dependence on electricity from the grid has enabled it to reduce indirect emissions by 16.15 per cent. The curtailed consumption of conventional fuels resulted in a 7.25 per cent dip in direct emissions in the last financial year.
Water conservation is another critical area where L&T has taken a giant leap. D B Raju, executive vice president, Corporate Infrastructure and Services, says the company has five zero-discharge campuses: Powai, Talegaon, Ranoli, Hazira and LTM. The plan is to extend this initiative to all manufacturing locations.
At its Powai campus, the company saves over 350,000 litres of water a day through "zero discharge approach," which basically involves water treatment and recycling for non-potable purposes like gardening, horticulture etc. L&T has also engineered large-scale water conservation through rainwater harvesting for its clients. The company helped the Honda-Siel factory near Delhi to collect and conserve water by converting its two million square metre site into a virtual catchment area.
The scope included detailed design, engineering and construction of a mega rain water harvesting system that comprised stormwater drains, nearly 6 km in length, and three large ponds. As a result, there has been a rise in the water table at the site.
Mukhija says L&T's inhouse research team has contributed greatly towards sustainability and these include construction of green buildings and reduced cement consumption (almost 80,000 tonne less last year) through use of wastes like fly ash. The use of crushed sand has also reduced the need for river sand. Over 300 components are RoHS (Restriction of hazardous substances)-compliant.
New product development is entirely focused on innovation from an environment perspective. Examples: Its energy management system "Powerman," enables large retailers to monitor and reduce their energy consumption. The system helps one major retailer to view energy consumption floorwise at all stores in the country from one location in Mumbai. Installation of the system has resulted in an immediate reduction of 5 per cent in energy bills.
There are other examples as well: new "busbar" designs use 40 per cent less copper and also enhance fault withstand capacity; and a high voltage distribution system developed by L&T reduces transmission and distribution losses by 50 per cent.
Mukhija says the best part of L&T's sustainability mission is the transition the company has made from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach. He is pleasantly surprised to see the enthusiasm of the younger set of employees, who email to him and Raju regularly with their suggestions on environment protection measures. "That means we are in safe hands," a beaming Mukhija says.
The sensors in the power corridor of L&T Powai campus have done their job in more ways than one.
