Godrej & Boyce  will achieve this by harvesting rainwater and recycling wastewater, thus saving freshwater

MUMBAI, Mar 22 (The CONNECT) - On World Water Day, Godrej & Boyce, has announced its commitment to save three billion liters of useable water in next three years. The company will achieve this feat by harvesting rainwater and recycling wastewater which will eliminate the need of extraction of freshwater for the industrial processes and usage in its campuses.

Since 2010, Godrej & Boyce has saved over 12 billion litres of water, of which 5.6 billion litres of water has been saved by harvesting rainwater and 6.5 billion litres of water has been saved through recycling wastewater within its campuses and beyond.

For rainwater harvesting, the company has installed more than 50 intervention structures that facilitates replenishment and augmentation of the groundwater within its campuses and the communities. Further, to allow more water to seep into ground and increase the concentration of groundwater, the company has planted over 1.5 lakh trees across its campuses and in the nearby communities and further intends to plant around 25,000 trees by 2025, and the conserved Mangroves in Vikhroli, Mumbai are host to over 10 lakh trees.

Tejashree Joshi, Head, Environmental Sustainability, Godrej & Boyce, said, “As India struggles with the challenges brought by the climate change, Godrej and Boyce is committed to make a greener India, and to do so, groundwater remains an important resource that needs to be saved. It provides for almost half of all drinking water needs worldwide, and about 40% of water for irrigated agriculture and about 1/3 of water required for industry.” 

Through effectively recycling wastewater and harvesting rainwater, Tejashree said, the company ensures that the stress on fresh and groundwater resources is minimized. “In conserving this valuable, invisible resource we must never lose sight of the very visible implications of its scarcity,” she pointed out.

After achieving water positivity by 2016, Godrej and Boyce had successfully offset more than its cumulative water footprint for the past decade. Further reinforcing its commitment towards remaining water positive, the company is working closely with CII to further set specific targets for the next decade.

Valuing wastewater as a resource for over three and a half decades since 1986, Godrej & Boyce incorporates the complete recycling and recovery of effluents at the design phase. To reduce the use of freshwater, the wastewater after going through the effluent treatment plant, further undergoes advanced filtration through Reverse Osmosis (RO) process to increase the utilisation of recycled water. The recycled water is then re-utilised for various industrial process. This not only results in conserving groundwater but also helps it rejuvenate and enhance in quality.

The company which is committed to being net zero for energy, water, waste, and carbon for all new buildings, reached milestones such as:

• 50% reduction in specific water use, doubling the water use efficiency.
• 45% of the organization’s total water needs is sufficed through recycled water.
• Effluent Treatment Plants with advanced filtration Reverse Osmosis systems enable recovery of over 90 per cent of wastewater for reuse.
• Along with wastewater recycling, focus is on replenishing the groundwater through rainwater harvesting interventions within and beyond our campuses.
• Collectively, over 12.1 million cubic meter wastewater recycled and rainwater harvested by Godrej & Boyce would suffice the need of 240.5 million persons for over a year.

Godrej & Boyce, a Godrej Group company, was founded in 1897, and has contributed to India’s journey of self-reliance through manufacturing. G&B patented the world’s first springless lock and since then, has diversified into 14 businesses across various sectors from Security, Furniture, Aerospace to Infrastructure and Defence. Godrej is one of India’s most trusted brands serving over 1.1bn customers worldwide daily.