Vedanta Jharsuguda wins APEX India Platinum Award for Sustainability
19th November 2020
Jharsuguda, Odisha; 19 November, 2020: Vedanta Jharsuguda, India’s largest producer of aluminium and value-added products, has been declared winner of APEX India Green Leaf ‘Platinum’ Award for outstanding achievement in sustainability in the Metals & Mining category. Platinum is the highest category among sustainability awards, and the company was adjudged winner after a thorough assessment of best practices and performance excellence in sustainability. Over 180 organizations across various industries had participated in the assessment.
Vedanta’s sustainability practices are focused on the three primary pillars of economic, environmental and social impact. Towards this end, Vedanta has instituted the Vedanta Sustainability Assurance Programme (VSAP), a robust governance system following International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Internation Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) guidelines that guides the company’s operations and measures performance across 34 elements under the broader dimensions of Sustainability, such as Leadership, Process Safety & Management of Change, Continuous Improvement, Social Sustainability, Resource Use Management, Health, Safety, Environment (HSE) Management etc.
Speaking about the company’s efforts in sustainability, Mr. CN Singh, CEO – Vedanta Ltd., Jharsuguda, said, “Vedanta’s operations are governed by the robust Vedanta Sustainability Framework, drawn in line with the best international standards. Our business imperatives and social responsibilities are founded on the premise of ‘Zero Harm, Zero Waste & Zero Discharge’, and fulfilled through an unwavering commitment to leverage global expertise, adopt green technology and use resources judiciously, to create a lasting positive impact on the environment, our communities, partners and customers. The APEX India Green Leaf Platinum Award stands testimony to our endeavours against those commitments.”
Mr. TJ Kim, Plant In-charge from KEPCO KPS, Vedanta’s partner for operation & maintenance of its 1215 MW Captive Power Plant adds, “Vedanta Jharsuguda’s sustainability practices are very well developed, meeting international requirements. Vedanta has a very focused approach on safety, health and environment aspects of business performance.”
As the country’s largest producer of aluminium, which an eternally recyclable metal with minimal loss in quality and energy requirements, Vedanta integrates smart innovation, best-in-class technology, environmental safeguards and sustainability-focused operating procedures to create value for the nation. Few examples:
- Vedanta’s aluminium smelters, power plants and alumina refinery are among India’s leading energy efficient manufacturing units.
- Vedanta Jharsuguda is India’s first, and the world’s third, smelter to deploy Digital Smelter Solution, which allows for remote monitoring and control of potline operations, enhances energy efficiency, reduces raw material consumption and arrests wastage of material.
- Online and continuous environment monitoring and real-time data acquisition system for superior monitoring and faster decision making.
- Vedanta Jharsuguda is one the best water efficient smelters in the country, ensuring 100% recycling of treated water for zero-discharge operations.
- State-of-the-art pollution control equipment, robust processes, globally benchmarked best-practices, etc. are in place for proper air, water, land and waste management.
- The company is exploring renewable energy sources like solar power and biomass to potentially reduce dependence on thermal power as the primary source of energy.
- Extensive digitalization of processes towards achieving paperless operations.
- Vedanta is also in the process of deploying advanced data analytics technologies in its power plants by incorporating both predictive and prescriptive analytics to enhance energy efficiency and improve sustainability of operations and reduce wastage and safety risks with minimal or zero human touch.
- Vedanta’s social interventions in the domains of sustainable livelihood, women empowerment, quality education, health, water and sanitation, bio-investment and community infrastructure benefit lakhs of people every year.
Vedanta is India’s largest producer of the green metal, aluminium, operating a world-class 1.6 MTPA aluminium smelter and 3615 MW thermal power generation facility in Jharsuguda, Odisha. The only Indian smelter in the global ‘1 Million Tonne’ production and export club, Vedanta Jharsuguda is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications across core industries. With one of the largest technically qualified and diverse workforces in the country, the company is working towards a sustainable and greener future for all by spurring emerging applications of aluminium, the ‘Metal of the Future’.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY24. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
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This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
