The company is declared 2.41 times Water Positive and aims to be five times water positive by 2025. Sewage Treatment Plant helping in reducing sewage into the lakes as well as reducing freshwater consumption at the plant.
Water is the fundamental need of life. Conserving water should not just be taken as ‘need of the hour’ but as an ingrained approach towards environmental protection. As one of the leaders in the Mining industry, Hindustan Zinc was declared 2.41 times Water Positive Company based on assurance carried out by a third-party organization. Operating in a water-scarce state like Rajasthan, the company takes water consumption and management extremely seriously.
Hindustan Zinc puts a lot of emphasis on conserving water by focusing on various initiatives. The company has adopted a multi-pronged approach to manage water resources that aims at minimizing the use of water in operations, increasing the use of recycled water, exploring alternatives while monitoring & auditing the process, and developing systems to replenish groundwater sources.
The company maintains several water sources in conjunction with the government. One such flagship project of Hindustan Zinc under the PPP model is the construction of a Sewage Treatment Plant of 20 MLD in 2014. On average, Udaipur city generates about 70 million liters of sewage per day and most of the sewage was finding its way to the lakes leading to contamination of water. Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) set up in Udaipur has not only reduced the inflow of sewage into local lakes but also provides a sustainable water source to the company’s operations.
Following the success of the first Sewage Treatment Plant in 2014, Hindustan Zinc has set up a network of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) expanding the capacity to 60 MLD. The replacement of freshwater for operations by STP-treated water has led to increased availability of freshwater for the nearby communities. The process of treatment of sewage is environment friendly since no hazardous emissions are generated during the process and on account of fully automatic plant and hydraulics mechanism, there is less power consumption during the process.
While commenting on this, CEO of Hindustan Zinc, Arun Misra said, “Water conservation is a collective responsibility and needs to be a way of life in whatever we do. At Hindustan Zinc, we are already a 2.41 times Water Positive company and have a long-term approach to water management that aims to improve our performance, efficiency, and increased use of recycled water. As we move forward; we’re committed to achieve our Sustainable Development Goal of becoming 5 times water positive by 2025 and reducing freshwater consumption by 25% and invest in transformative initiatives that deliver positive & long-term impact on people, planet & prosperity”.
Hindustan Zinc continues to engage, explore, and implement various water conservation initiatives that reaffirm its commitment to water stewardship. The company has state-of-the-art effluent treatment plants & recycling facilities, a dry tailing plant, and rainwater harvesting structures; advancements that have significantly contributed to this water stewardship drive.
Hindustan Zinc also provides safe and pure drinking water in the remote villages of Rajasthan. For this, the company has set up RO plants under a model project through which pure potable water is made available. Water ATMs are also set at some places, where villagers get pure water at a reasonable cost. In some areas where the clean water source is not available, water is supplied through water tankers.
Hindustan Zinc’s water stewardship targets are aligned with ‘UN Sustainable Development Goal 6’ to provide clean water and sanitation to everyone. They are also committed to the UN Global Compact Water Action Platform (CEO Water Mandate), a responsibility to adopt and implement the mandate’s strategic framework and its six core elements for water management.
Water conservation is a collective responsibility and a non-negotiable aspect of sustainable development at Hindustan Zinc. The company is conserving water in a way that is socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial by using water prudently, maintaining water quality, and engaging with communities to collaboratively manage a shared water resource throughout the mining life cycle.
