Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of Godrej Group today reinforced its commitment to recycling wastewater and eliminating extraction of freshwater for the industrial processes and usage in its campuses. The company, which achieved water positivity in 2016 and by 2020 had successfully offset more than its cumulative water footprint for the past decade.
Since 2010, Godrej & Boyce has harvested 5.6 billion liters of rainwater through over 50 intervention structures for replenishing and augmenting the groundwater within its campuses and the communities in which it operates. In addition, through recycling 6.5 billion liters of wastewater within its campuses and beyond G&B has achieved Water Positivity, having offset its total freshwater extraction footprint since 2010.
Highlighting the significance of water resources and recharging groundwater, Tejashree Joshi, Head, Environmental Sustainability, Godrej & Boyce, said, “The invisible, yet omni-present Groundwater resource, provides for almost half of all drinking water needs worldwide, about 40% of water for irrigated agriculture and about 1/3 of water required for industry. It sustains ecosystems, maintains the baseflow of rivers and prevents land subsidence and seawater intrusion. Groundwater is an important part of climate change adaptation process. Despite of these remarkable realities, due to being invisible, the impacts of Human activities and climate change on altering the character and presence of groundwater often goes unnoticed.
Refocusing the spotlight on this invisible yet vital resource, G&B, since 2010, has harvested 5.6 billion liters of rainwater through over 50 intervention structures within its campuses and in the communities that we operate in, for replenishing and augmenting the groundwater. Supplementing this effort by recycling 6.5 billion liters of wastewater within its campuses and beyond, G&B has achieved Water Positivity, having offset its total freshwater extraction footprint since 2010. Through effectively recycling wastewater, we ensure that the stress on fresh and groundwater resources is minimized. Apart from recycling wastewater, recharging groundwater and maintaining its quality are also of prime importance. In conserving this valuable, invisible resource we must never lose sight of the very visible implications of its scarcity.”
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 waste water 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.
Some important milestones achieved by Godrej & Boyce in terms of water conservation are:
- 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.
