Total fresh water intake in all our units in 2007-08 amounted to 27.5 MKL (25.8 MKL in 06-07).

Our water conservation initiatives enabled us to contain fresh water intake to only 6.6% additionally over the previous year in spite of a 6.6% growth in the Paperboards & Specialty Papers segment and large project activities in Bhadrachalam, 6.9% increase in Cigarette production, 11.3% additional Leaf production and 20.4% growth in Packaging & Printing business.

Of the total fresh water intake by ITC during the year, the 3 Paperboards & Specialty Paper mills (Bhadrachalam, Kovai and Tribeni) alone accounted for 91.4 % of the total intake. While Bhadrachalam and Kovai units use river water, the Tribeni unit is dependent on ground water for the production of specialty papers as there is high turbidity in the river water near the mill.

Bhadrachalam Unit

Bhadrachalam, the largest integrated paperboards mill in India, accounted for 76.7% of the total fresh water intake in ITC.

Even though production in this unit has more than doubled since 1998-99, fresh water intake by the unit has risen by a mere 9%.

In a paper or paperboards mill, water consumption is influenced by the production mix. Large-scale project activities and a shift towards a value added product mix have impacted the specific water requirement in the mill.