Environmental Performance

Effluent Discharge

Specialty Papers Unit at Tribeni

ITC is committed to achieving zero effluent discharge through treating and recycling of all wastewater and harvesting of rainwater on its properties. This not only reduces fresh water intake but also maximises groundwater recharge, reduces run off etc.

Many ITC Units have already achieved the goal of zero effluent discharge. These include: Paperboards and Specialty Papers Business Units at Kovai and Bollaram, Packaging & Printing Unit at Tiruvottiyur, Personal Care Products Business Unit at Manpura, Cigarette Factories at Bengaluru, Saharanpur & Pune, Leaf Processing Units at Anaparti & Chirala, ITC Life Sciences & Technology Centre at Bengaluru & Research Centre at Rajahmundry, and ITC Green Centre at Gurgaon.

Across different ITC businesses, appropriate effluent treatment technologies are employed depending on the nature of effluent. These include technologies such as MBBR (Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor), MBR (Membrane Bioreactor), etc. In addition, DEWATS (Decentralised Waste Water Treatment System) has also been used in some of our manufacturing units and residential colonies.

Apart from meeting the effluent norms set by the regulatory bodies, all our Units are in compliance with defined internal norms, more stringent than the statutory limits to maximise reuse and recycling. In 2012-13, of the total treated effluent discharged (22.89 million KL), 71.87% was utilised by nearby communities for irrigation purposes. 26.98% was discharged into rivers and the balance was discharged to dedicated municipal outlets.

In 2012-13, the two Paperboards & Specialty Papers Units at Bhadrachalam and Tribeni accounted for 98.29% of total wastewater discharged outside the Unit premises in ITC. The quality of the treated effluent from the Paperboards and Specialty Papers Units is far better than the stipulated standards, as depicted in the graph alongside.

The Bhadrachalam and Tribeni Units are also well within the norms of 100 KL/Tonne of product, prescribed by the Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Protection (CREP), a voluntary charter by the Ministry of Environment & Forests and Central Pollution Control Board for large pulp and paper manufacturing units with respect to specific treated effluent discharge.

The National Productivity Council (NPC)’s Report on ‘Proposed Standard for Pulp and Paper Industries in India’ recommends a benchmark standard of 50 KL/Tonne of specific treated effluent discharge for the integrated pulp and paper industry, which is applicable to our Unit at Bhadrachalam. The current level of 43.4 KL/Tonne at Bhadrachalam is again better than the proposed NPC benchmark.

Similarly, the NPC Report suggests a benchmark standard of 15 m3/Tonne for wastepaper-based pulp and paper mills. ITC’s Unit at Kovai, which falls under the wastepaper-based pulp and paper mills category achieved zero discharge of treated effluent this year, fully meeting the intent of this standard.