In the silent town of Shirwal in Maharashtra, Gram Panchayat Sarpanch Rajesh Tambe is a happy man. Until a year ago, his town – located nearly 200 km away from the bustling life of Mumbai – had no access to clean and safe drinking water. However, that changed when a new water treatment plant, which could help prevent 5,000 families from diseases, was handed over to the villagers. At the official ceremony, Tambe couldn’t stop thanking ACG Worldwide’s initiative to set up the water filtration plant.
Small beginning, big impact
Just a year before, during a casual dinner, ACG and its leadership team, led by Ajit Singh and Jasjit Singh, recognised that there was severe scarcity of pure potable water in Shirwal, which is not too far from its ACG Associated Capsules and ACG Pharmapack factories. The team then, put their minds to work and immediately set out to address the issue. Within a year, ACG set up a water treatment plant, which is today capable of filtering three lakh litres of water every day and giving 18,000 people pure and safe drinking water.
For over five decades, ACG Worldwide – the integrated manufacturing, packaging and R&D solutions provider for the global pharmaceutical industry – has been at the forefront of technological innovation. However, the group has always looked at opportunities to bring a positive change in its businesses, processes, partners, as well as locations. This time, too, the group – being a health care service provider – felt the need to contribute beyond the ‘normal’. And, backed by an enthusiastic leadership team, ACG Worldwide took a ‘green’ step ahead. Since then, the group has never looked back for driving sustainability initiatives.
More ‘green’ steps
Today, effluent water treatment systems are an essential component of every ACG plant – existing and new. Having such systems ensure that the water-based industrial processes are optimised and the waste water does not harm the environment. In fact, at most of ACG’s facilities, waste water is recycled and used for maintaining gardens and lawns, including 6,000-7,000 different species of trees.
In Dahanu, a coastal town situated around 120 km north of Mumbai and home to one of ACG Associated Capsules’ manufacturing facility, ACG assisted tribal farmers by educating and training them about modern agricultural techniques. The group also introduced the concept of ‘One Hut-One Tree’ to help villagers become self-sufficient and spread greenery. The group also planted 200 trees inside the Dahanu Bus Depot and made provision for drip irrigation.
Aiding organic farming
Besides following traditional 3R formula (reduce, recycle and reuse) for sustainability, ACG Worldwide maintains ‘vermicomposting areas’ to recycle biodegradable waste from its canteens across all locations. In vermicomposting, various worms are used to create a homogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetables or food waste.
This has helped produce compost for gardens within the facility as well as for agriculture in neighbouring villages. The local farmers were also demonstrated the benefits of organic cultivation following vermicomposting.
Tapping the sun
With depleting non-renewable energy sources and spiralling energy prices, ACG felt the need to install solar panels in its factories. One of its plants in Shirwal has solar panels installed and is capable of generating hot water that is sufficient for the plant’s manufacturing process. Not only does this serve as ACG’s commitment towards environment-friendly initiatives, but also ended up in a reduction of 40 per cent in electricity consumption.
Future eco-friendly plans
In 2013, ACG Worldwide is beginning production at its newest facility in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Set up with an investment of Rs 400 crores, the plant abides by green models and is also set to have solar panels.
ACG also recently launched Bio-D, a unique biodegradable calendared PVC film, that render themselves biodegradable at an enhanced rate when they are exposed to active biological landfill environments. According to a survey by Perception Research Services[1], 36 per cent buyers are interested in buying environment-friendly packed goods, while a one-third bought more products that were labelled with “made from recyclable material” or “recyclable”. Bio-D film packing increases brand value by being associated with green initiatives, while protecting the product.
Greener world – For today and tomorrow
The humble village head Rajesh Tambe, in his thanking speech, had urged other industries to help the village in this kind of innovative and caring initiatives. A year past the ceremony of the water filtration plant in Shirwal, ACG Worldwide has continued its efforts in building sustainable products as well as creating a culture that understands and values the significance of a greener and better world.
EP News Bureau – Mumbai