Joseph Varghese of AkzoNobel India details on how sustainability forms the core to their operations | AkzoNobel is a leading global producer of paints, coatings and specialty chemicals. To create more value from fewer resources the company operates with the philosophy of ‘doing more with less’. Seconding, Varghese who heads manufacturing at the Decorative Paints division of AkzoNobel India, adds, “But if we’re to take advantage of sustainable growth opportunities, we have to accelerate the pace of our commitment, understand the changes that will be required in our market segments and work together with customers and suppliers to develop leading solutions to fulfill those needs.
Not only will this drive our success, but it will also support the sustainability ambitions of our partners.” On the product side, they are focused on developing technologies that offer clear sustainability benefits. “One great example is our product from our Decorative Paints segment – Dulux Weather shield Sun Reflect, which lowers the temperature of external walls by up to 5°C thus reducing the need for air conditioning inside.”
The company manufactures products using batch manufacturing process which involves mixing of different chemicals, leading through different sub processes to obtain the required properties of the product,” said Varghese. AkzoNobel India has adopted an accelerated approach to sustainability, focussing on operational eco-efficiency at their manufacturing units, delivering more value from fewer resources. “Operational ecoefficiency is not just about increasing yield and reducing waste. It’s about encouraging the move to more sustainable ways of operations through lower energy consumption, lesser use of water and lesser wastage in operation and use of less environmentally harmful materials,” emphasised Varghese.
He further added, “Operational eco-efficiency is the ability to work more efficiently in our sites in an eco-friendly manner. It’s the synergy between sustainability and efficiency.” Their sustainability drive is focused around five key themes: Eco-premium solution with downstream benefit, carbon footprint – cradle to grave, operational eco-efficiency, renewable energy own operations and employee engagement.
Following are some of the major initiatives that have been completed over the years to achieve high degree of operational eco-efficiency in energy which has resulted in significant improvement in specific energy consumption in their organisation: Use of superior dispersion technology which is more energy efficient than the traditional cogrind technology, variable frequency drive for high power motors and deployment of solar heating and lighting, timers for dispersion equipment, lean processes and use of translucent sheets in factories to maximise the use of natural day light.
Waste management plays a critical role in their organisation. Some of their key initiatives include: Waste mapping, reusing raw material pallets for in-house use, process improvement, hygiene protocol to reduce paint sludge generation, etc. AkzoNobel India manufacturing plants are located in Tier I and Tier II cities. Availability of water is a key challenge in these cities. Some of the key initiatives around reduction of water consumption have been to monitor the water consumption in all critical areas in the plant by installing water metres, rain water harvesting projects, using pigging systems to reduce wash water generation during changeovers, etc.
“Sustainability is not a destination but a continuous journey. We will continuously strive to explore more values from fewer resources to become a more sustainable organisation,” concluded Varghese.