The zero-waste-to-landfill pilot project was initiated at the company’s manufacturing facility at Neemrana in Rajasthan in the fiscal year 2018-19. Since then, the amount of waste generated has reduced by 40% and all the plants have achieved a diversion rate of more than 99.9% - well before the target timeline of 2025, the company said in a media release.
On the occasion of the World Environment Day on Wednesday, Niranjan Gupta, CEO, Hero MotoCorp, said, “Sustainability is a commitment in our journey to be an environment-friendly business. Our zero-waste-to-landfill policy is rooted in our belief that to be a sustainable business, manufacturing with an unflinching commitment to the environment is as important as providing quality and fuel-efficient products and creating an engaging customer experience.”
Sunil B. Medge, Regional Manager, Intertek India Pvt. Limited, the certifying body, said, “Hero has shown tremendous success in reducing its waste output via segregation at source, promoting reusable packaging, adopting methods to utilize waste as an alternate source of energy, and creating resources from waste. One such unique example is the upcycling of grinding sludge which is converted to Ferric Alum, a useful resource in textile and other water treatment industries.”
With six plants in India – Dharuhera and Gurugram in Haryana, Haridwar in Uttarakhand, Neemrana in Rajasthan, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, and Halol in Gujarat – and the Global Parts Centre (GPC) in Neemrana and the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur - Hero MotoCorp took up the ambitious goal of being zero-waste-to-landfill by 2025.
With a vast network of manufacturing facilities spread across the country producing more than six million units of motorcycles and scooters annually, going zero-waste-to-landfill required a holistic approach and a plan of action to achieve the ambitious targets the company set for itself.
To begin with, the Company adopted an innovative water-based painting system that resulted in zero Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions, zero paint sludge, and low water consumption, thereby substantially reducing the creation of toxic and hazardous waste.
Some of the other innovative best practices that has fast-tracked Hero MotoCorp’s journey to becoming zero-waste-to-landfill include upgrading the chemical components used in the paint pre-treatment process - from zinc–phosphate-based treatment to zirconium-based that led to the elimination of hazardous phosphate sludge with a significant reduction in water and thermal energy usage, the company said.
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