- The company is guided by the fundamental principles of conserving resources, negating the impacts of our ecological footprint and adopting policies that ensure zero harm to the environment
Sustainable development is an integral part of Hindustan Zinc’s business philosophy thus ‘Investing in our Planet’ Earth is a core focus for the company as there is no planet B. The company has taken a holistic view in setting the sustainability goals 2025 and over the next five years, they will focus on expanding the work towards creating positive changes. As a part of its Sustainable Development goals, Hindustan Zinc fosters innovation in the pursuit of a ZERO HARM ecosystem, conservation of resources, improvement of health, safety, and sustainability practices across its operations.
The company focuses on five core elements water, climate change, waste, energy and biodiversity management, setting targets for each and directing our efforts towards improving processes and technologies.
Little drops make the mighty ocean
Water is a necessity which warrants maximum efforts for its conservation as well as proper management. Hindustan Zinc understands the importance and adopts best practices for making judicious use of water and conserving it. The company constantly looks to enhance and improve its water use efficiency by using less water-intensive technologies and maximising water recycling opportunities to help minimise the use of freshwater.
As a water positive company, Hindustan Zinc operates Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) in Udaipur. With a current capacity of 60 MLD, the STP can treat nearly all the sewage in the city and deliver processed water that can be reused at the company’s plant. The company’s RO-ZLD plant at Zinc Smelter Debari eliminates waste & discharge and recycles water for reuse in the company’s operations
Yet another noteworthy water conservation effort initiated by Hindustan Zinc are the rainwater harvesting structures at the company’s Rampura Agucha Mine (RAM). These structures enable rainwater harvesting and help replenish water within local watersheds to help Hindustan Zinc further reduce freshwater consumption.
Combating Climate Change
Climate change and extreme weather trends have been recognised as one of the key risks faced by humanity. Hindustan Zinc has taken concrete steps towards tackling climate change. The dedicated environmental sustainability efforts has led the company to take on the role of ‘COP26 Business Leader’ in shaping the agenda for COP 26.
The company had launched its first Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report based on TCFD recommendations and guidance to align their reporting process with best practice of global climate reporting. Further, demonstrating its pledge to assist the fight against climate change, Hindustan Zinc has committed to the long-term target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 in alignment with the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi).
Hindustan Zinc understands that the pursuit of environmental sustainability must be multifaceted and that is why biodiversity conservation too is an important aspect of the company’s green efforts. To that end, Hindustan Zinc joined the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) forum and has entered a three year-long engagement with TNFD partner, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Hindustan Zinc’s ingenuity in this regard is also witnessed in the fact that it repurposes waste generated at its facilities for construction of roads. The company also holds a US patent for manufacturing of paver blocks from process waste which is a unique model of creating livelihood opportunities for its communities.
Bringing Smart Solutions to Operations
To realize its dream to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 Hindustan zinc is investing in the latest technologies benchmarking global practices and bringing subject matter experts on board. the company is all set to invest $1 billion to turn its mining operations environment-friendly. To this regards the company has signed an MoU with Normet Group Oy and Epiroc Drills AB to deploy EVs for production & front-line servicing in their underground mines.
Hindustan Zinc also understands the journey towards decarbonisation needs more than just replacing underground frontline vehicles with electric alternatives and has a fleet of electric scooters for security staff, passenger EVs, and underground service EVs for mines.
The company is conscious about the fact that switching to renewable power helps in reducing carbon emissions to half and has undertaken ₹350 crore-investment project in renewable energy for its smelting operations. Towards this goal, the company has approved the proposal for entering long term group captive Renewable Power development plan up to a capacity of 200MW.
About Hindustan Zinc Limited
Hindustan Zinc Limited (BSE: 500188 and NSE: HINDZINC), a Vedanta Group company, is the world’s largest integrated zinc producer and the third-largest silver producer. The company supplies to more than 40 countries and holds a market share of about 75% of the primary zinc market in India. Hindustan Zinc has been recognized as the world’s most sustainable company in the metals and mining category for the second consecutive year by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2024, reflecting its operational excellence, innovation, and leading ESG practices. The company also launched EcoZen, Asia’s first low carbon ‘green’ zinc brand. Produced using renewable energy, EcoZen has a carbon footprint of less than 1 tonne of carbon equivalent per tonne of zinc produced, about 75% lower than the global average. Hindustan Zinc is also a certified 2.41 times Water-Positive company and is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Transforming the lives of 1.9 million people through its focused social welfare initiatives, Hindustan Zinc is among the Top 10 CSR companies in India. As an energy transition metals company, Hindustan Zinc is pivotal in providing critical metals essential for a sustainable future.
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