Since our inception in 1986, Ambuja Cements Ltd. has placed high priority on environment protection, energy conservation, efficiency, emission reduction and safety. We have a number of firsts to our credit in sustainable practices: introduction of a surface miner for environment-friendly mining of limestone in the early ‘90’s; using the environment-friendly sea route for cement transport in 1993; and the first cement company to get ISO 9001 certification in 1993. These initiatives got us the National Award for Pollution Control/Environment Excellence from the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1993. We also began using an overland belt conveyer (OLBC) for transport of limestone across hilly terrain in 1995. Our first Corporate Sustainability Development Report was published in 2007 as per GRI guidelines. Our systems and practices aim to leave no or low trace of our operations.
We have invested in highly advanced pollution control equipment, continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS), with 95% availability over the year, at all our nine kilns; and continuous ambient air quality monitoring systems (CAAQMS) at all our plants. Vital pollution parameters are monitored in real time and uploaded onto the websites of regulatory authorities.
The Company has proactively taken steps to meet the newer and tighter environmental standards in India. Our Corporate Environment Policy is likely to be revised soon to cover new thrust areas. Our Corporate Sustainability Policy, Climate Change Mitigation Policy and Green Procurement Policy enshrine the Company’s approach towards these issues. All our manufacturing locations have a professional environment team and laboratory or monitoring facilities. Ambuja Cement participates in LafargeHolcim’s group internal annual environment performance assessment through the iCare system for the annual monitoring and benchmarking of hundreds of plants within the Group globally. The assessment is based on a detailed and standardised online questionnaire that covers a range of performance indicators like ISO 14001 compliance; atmospheric emissions; energy and material consumption; water; waste management; biodiversity; and quarry management. It provides us with a huge opportunity for learning and improvement. The Group’s policies and directives for monitoring and reporting environmental parameters are followed carefully. These include CO2 emissions; directives on water, AFR, quarry rehabilitation and biodiversity, asbestos, and PCB; the Environment Monitoring and Reporting Protocol; and the Cement Industrial Performance Policy. These parameters differentiate our environmental performance.
All Ambuja Cement plants are Environment Management System ISO 14001 certified. Risk assessment for the business and the environment is carried out annually through a structured process across the organisation.
We have invested significantly in energy- efficiency measures and upgraded our pollution control equipment. Our investment covered air, water and noise pollution equipment; waste management systems; dust suppression systems; monitoring and laboratory equipment; rainwater harvesting systems; green belt development; fire management; drainage and wastewater management; environmental training and awareness programmes; and compliance methodology for certifications. The Company incurred an expenditure of over `699 million in environment protection during the year.
At the end of 2016, six cases involving environment related issues are pending in different courts. No formal grievance about environmental impact had been filed through the various grievance mechanisms during the reporting period. GRI 307-1