ITC Bhadrachalam was conferred the Greentech Gold Award in the paper sector for the year 2008, in recognition of its exemplary initiatives in Environment Management.
ITC’s Bhadrachalam unit, the largest and the greenest Paperboards unit in India, is the first in the country with ozone bleaching capability, which reinforces the Company’s commitment to a better sustainable environment.
Over 93% of ITC’s Bhadrachalam mill's total wood requirement in 2007-08 came from plantations initiated through ITC’s forestry project undertaken by tribals and marginal farmers. During the year 52 million high quality saplings were distributed to farmers and an additional 15,115 hectares plantations were added.
The cumulative plantations amount to over 80,000 hectares and ITC has distributed 332 million saplings. This initiative has also enabled ITC to sequester twice the amount of carbon emitted from its operations, contributing effectively to the national goals of climate change mitigation. Apart from the obvious benefits of increasing the green cover, this effort also directly contributes to in-situ moisture conservation, ground water recharge and significant reduction in topsoil losses due to wind and water erosion. ITC is committed to green 100,000 hectares in the next few years, which would far exceed its wood fibre requirement, create livelihood opportunities for a very large number of people in tribal areas and further consolidate its position as a ‘Carbon Positive’ corporation.
ITC has made significant progress in its endeavour to achieve yet another positive environmental footprint - zero solid waste status According to the latest Sustainability Report, total solid wastes increased by 14 per cent to 353,000 tonnes in 2007-08, of which 99 per cent is already being recycled. Almost 86% of ITC’s total solid waste is generated by the Paperboards & Specialty Paper business of which 94.5% of total wastes generated in the units are non-hazardous. The balance 5.5% of total waste, in accordance with the Indian statute, is categorised as hazardous waste.
In line with its commitment to achieving the 100 percent benchmark in solid waste recycling, ITC has also initiated the Wealth out of Waste (WOW) programme. ITC’s Paperboards & Specialty Papers business has launched the WOW initiative to help create awareness among the public about the advantages of the ‘Reduce-Reuse-Recycle’ process. This is a significant step in the Company’s efforts to protect the environment, improve civic amenities, as well as public health and hygiene, while generating cost-effective raw material for the paper, plastics, metal and glass industries.