Godrej Cuts Water Use 50%, Recycles 20 Bn Litres, Boosts Rural Conservation

Godrej Enterprises Group (GEG) has reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing climate resilience and preserving ecosystems critical for global water security ahead of World Water Day. Aligning with this year’s theme — Glacier Preservation — the company is focused on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, a key driver of glacier melt, to protect freshwater sources and dependent ecosystems.

Since 2010-11, the company has reduced its specific water usage by over 50%, recycled over 20 billion litres of wastewater and harvested rainwater, and implemented robust rainwater harvesting systems across its facilities in India. At its Vikhroli campus in Mumbai, the annual recharge capacity exceeds 4,25,000 cubic meters.

Tejashree Joshi, Head of Environmental Sustainability, Godrej Enterprises Group, stated that water was the lifeblood of communities and economies in olden days to this day. Protection of such a precious resource and their sources is therefore both a social and economic imperative. Godrej has recognized this by being in the forefront to implement innovative water conservation strategies that set benchmarks in the industry. Rainwater harvesting and wastewater recycling provide Godrej with an edge, for whenever these activities preserve precious resources, they promote that local communities and ecosystems thrive. In using sustainability as a driver for our operations, we have thus opened up new pathways for securing the planet and its people toward contributing to economic growth."

Water conservation laws represent a very important part of Godrej's sustainability initiatives. The company is able to report a reduction of specific water use across its operations of over 50% since it started its water footprint accounting way back in 2010-11. Godrej has put in place strong rainwater harvesting mechanisms across its entire range of operations in India. This system requires collecting runoff from rooftops and other open spaces to facilitate the replenishment of underground aquifers. The company claims Vikhroli campus in Mumbai has an annual recharge capacity of more than 4,25,000 cubic meters.

In addition to rainwater harvesting systems, Godrej is recycling wastewater generated from its operations. Thereafter, the combined volume of recycled wastewater and harvested rainwater since 2010-11 went above 20 billion litres. The replenishment of groundwater on this scale assumes great importance in areas of water stress, where several of the company's factories and residential townships are located.

Water conservation interventions by Godrej have contributed over 100 million litres of water to rural communities in Maharashtra, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu. The joint effort with local communities in the restoration of ponds and construction of check dams increased water availability for agriculture.

GODREJ's sustainability efforts extend to energy and emissions. The company has brought the energy consumed to a 50% cut in specific energy use while facilitating as many as 650 green buildings across India with over 320 million square feet. These have reduced energy consumption by more than 610,000 MWh per year, lowering emissions associated with glacial melting.

Besides, the large tract of mangroves at Vikhroli, which the company keeps, sequesters about 60,000 equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, currently holding more than 12 lakhs tonnes of carbon dioxide in its biomass. For example, the ambitious targets currently set by Godrej for sustainability up to 2032 include being 2X water positive and reducing carbon emissions intensity by 60%.

India, as everyone's aware, is undergoing a serious water crisis with water availability per capita nearing scarcity in drinking-age levels. The different chronic efforts put in for redemption of water scarcity include action like Jal Jeevan Mission, Namami Gange, incentive provisions for industries moving to sustainable water practices and those promoting wastewater recycling, rainwater harvesting, and strict groundwater regulation. Climate change, with the accelerating pace of devastation, makes God's proactive water management and sustainability endeavors important parts of the water-security strategies around communities while preserving ecosystems. The collaboration of policymakers, industries, and communities is thus the continued essence for ensuring long-term water security and thus a good contribution to the Indian economy.