CSR: ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India Certified ‘Net Water Positive’ Operations

Adding to its list of sustainability milestones, ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India Private Limited (ŠAVWIPL) earned the distinguished ‘Net Water Positive’ certification by DQS India Pvt. Ltd. This certification is the second sustainability win for SAVWIPL post the ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ certification awarded last year by TUV Nord. ŠAVWIPL has been certified as meeting the GOLD standard for their sustained initiatives toward water conservation and replenishment activities across its manufacturing operations.

The company continues to implement a number of initiatives at its production facilities in Aurangabad and Pune towards its sustainability goals. For e.g. both Aurangabad and Pune operations are zero liquid discharge facilities and boasts of state-of-the-art effluent treatments and recycling facilities along with sewage treatment plants.

The production facilities have implemented various processes to increase water efficiency and have been complimenting the proactive steps to conserve runoff water by using a combination of trenches and bunds to improve rainwater harvesting by approx. 500 m3 water every year. Rainwater harvesting structures have also been built to conserve water with amazing rainwater harvesting technology that can harvest up to 80% rainwater underground.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Gurpratap Boparai, Managing Director, SAVWIPL said, “The net water positive certification is a recognition of the continued focus for SAVWIPL’s commitment to our target of GoToZero and reduce our environmental impact. As we grow our operation, we aspire to remain the flagbearer of sustainable operations and continue to demonstrate the economic viability of fulfilling our responsibility to replenish much more than the impact of our operations to the environment.”

Mr. Sanjay Khare, Board of Director and Vice President Sustainability, Safety & Environment   SAVWIPL said, “We are immensely proud to have received two most important certifications in the field of sustainability in the span of six months. We are constantly working to reduce, renew, recycle and replenish as much resources in our operations in our strive to retain a positive impact to the environment we operate in and the receipt of the net water certificate is a boost to our efforts in this direction.”

The company achieved the distinguished water positive milestone by sustainable efforts to replenish more water than is consumed across its manufacturing operations at Pune as well as its Aurangabad facility. This was done by a combination of advances in water reduction at our operations, recycling of the precious resource and replenishing more water in stressed basins,  than what is consumed.

SAVWIPL’s replenishment strategy reflects our scientific assessment of the project sites and includes investments such as wetland restoration, removal of impervious surfaces and Water Shed Management Project to replenish groundwater.

Regenerative water initiatives like UF3 conversion to RO in Paint shop for water recycling (180 M3/day) and reuse of RO reject water – 85 M3/day have also been implemented to enhance water efficiency.

The sustainability design standard across SAVWIPL is aimed at achieving the Volkswagen group’s ‘Go to Zero’ mission by focusing on some of the key sustainable manufacturing practices adopted by SAVWIPL:

Water Conservation

SAVWIPL has put a lot of efforts in order to avoid the wastage of water in any form. With the aforementioned efforts, group’s sites. The company is working with the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) for Water Shed Management Projects in Latur, Nippad, Gulani villages conserving over 220,000 m3 of water annually. The company aims to increase its net contribution of water conservation from 1:1.05 to 1:3 annually by 2025

Green Energy

Under the ‘Green Future’ philosophy, the company will continue to take strategic steps towards sustainable energy and improving its energy mix. This will include sourcing most of the energy requirement from sustainable sources like solar, wind, hydropower or/and Biogas. SAVWIPL’s ambition is to be 100 % reliant on sustainable sources of power for its energy needs by 2025.

The company has also taken concrete measures in energy conservation

– 28% reduction in Specific Energy Consumption compared to 2011 ( kWh/Car)

– 100% energy efficient lighting in the Pune & Aurangabad facility by utilising natural / LED lights

– It is also working towards recovering approx. 70% of the waste heat from the ED(Electro Deposition) oven and redirecting the same for reuse in HRK hot water circuit.

Tree Plantations

In addition to planting and maintaining a green cover comprising over 23,000 trees planted at its production facilities, SAVWIPL has taken many other steps to show its commitment towards the environment.

In 2019, SAVWIPL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation (MMBCF) to towards restoration of degraded mangrove forests in Alibaug, coastal town of Raigad, Maharashtra. In the same year, SAVWIPL opened Aurangabad’s first Oxygen Park in Shendre 15,000 densely planted plants and trees and added another 10,000 plants/trees in 2020. These trees to its best growth aim at generating over 3250 tonnes of oxygen every year with a capacity to sequester up to 600 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

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