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Environment
Green products | Resource
optimisation |Habitat conservation
|Water resources |Eco-impact
Tata Chemicals is committed to a sustainable way of doing
business. With its vision of serving society through science,
the company has initiated several programmes on climate change,
environment protection and ecology conservation. In a company-wide
initiative, Tata Chemicals has assessed the carbon footprint
of all its operations and has embarked on a programme to reduce
its carbon footprint by 20 per cent by 2020.
Green products
With the growing need for climate change mitigation, Tata Chemicals
has developed a range of products that help reduce environmental
impact. It has invested in developing biofuels such as biodiesal
and bioethanol; it offers Briskarb - a sodium bicarbonate-based
product for flue gas treatment; the latest products in its
farm portfolio are customised fertilisers that minimise the
chemical load on the soil while optimising yields. The company's Innovation Centre is working on arange of advanced nanotechnology-based
solutions that help reduce raw material consumption.
Resource optimisation
Tata Chemicals has a clear policy of `avoid, reduce and reuse'
that governs its business practices, with a strong emphasis
on resource optimisation. Initiatives to control and limit
effluents and waste from the chemical complex at Mithapur,
Indiahave led to the setting up of a cement plant on the site
that converts waste material into high quality cement. A water
management initiative for the Mithapur plant and township
led to the conversion of the waste product - salt - being
processed, enhanced and marketed as a high grade table salt
- today Tata Salt is India's leading branded salt. In Kenya and the US, Tata Chemicals'plantsproduce high grade soda ash
from natural deposits of trona; these operations are far more
environment-friendly and have a smaller carbon footprint.
Habitat conservation
At Mithapur, where TCL's Indian soda ash plant is located,
vast acres of salt pans are nurtured as a nesting habitat
for thousands of migratory birds. The waters of the Gulf of
Kutchch are an acknowledged marine sanctuary where the company
funds conservation projects focused on the endangered whale
shark, marine turtles, mangrove habitats and the coral reefs
of the Gujarat coastline. The whale shark project is a very
successful programme under the joint efforts of Tata Chemicals,
Wildlife Trust of India and the government of Gujarat.
Water resources
Instead of depleting the scarce ground water resources of
the drought-prone region of Mithapur, Tata Chemicals has opted
for reverse osmosis technology at its Mithapur plant. The
Babrala plant is a benchmark in low water consumption figures.
Haldia has put up a condensate recovery system. All three
plants have instituted measures to recycle and reuse waste
water, harvest rain water, and reduce consumption. In the
UK, British Salt,
produces high grade salts in an operation that has reduced
the impact on local water resources and ecology to a minimum.
Eco-impact
Tata Chemicals ensures that all its plants strive to minimise
the discharge of effluents and go beyond meeting statutory
norms for the quality of the discharge. Stringent solid and
hazardous waste management processes are also followed at
all plants.Tata Chemicals' plants are certified for the Environmental
Management System standard ISO 14001.
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