Saving costs and improving water management in India

The Khamgaon soap factory is located in a dry and arid region of Maharashtra and gets limited rainfall. Seven years ago, the Hindustan Lever factory started a pilot on 'Watershed Management' on a 5-hectare plot to prevent soil degradation and conserve water. This has created a green belt that is now a veritable forest of about 6300 trees, including over 1400 ornamental plants and over 600 fruit-bearing plants, dramatically improved soil quality, and significantly conserved water. The project, part of HLL’s water conservation and harvesting project aimed at reducing water consumption in its operations and helping nearby communities develop watersheds, has been documented in a booklet, 'Greening Barrens', to share the story.

Hindustan Lever Limited is India 's largest consumer goods company, with almost 80 factories, 36,000 employees, and a distribution network serves India ’s entire urban population and about 250 million rural consumers. HLL is 51.55% owned by Unilever. Water management and rural development is part of HLL’s service to the community.

HLL has extended the model to a neighbouring village, Parkhed, in association with the TERI and the Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation. The community at Parkhed has already constructed 47 percolation bunds, 1600 trenches, 6000 running metres of continuous contour trenching over 100 hectares and a permanent check dam. About 30,000 saplings have been planted since 2003. Villagers are now able to collect water and use it for irrigation post monsoon.

In association with an NGO, Vanrai, HLL's Silvassa manufacturing hub has also begun work on a long term water-harvesting project aimed at making water available year-round instead of the current four months. The nearby Karchond village has built 42 bunds since 2003 that has enabled the community to sow a second crop and thus significantly increase their income. Through an Integrated Village Development Programme, the project' also includes alternate income-generating activities through SHGs, forestry management, education of children, nutrition.

HLL is progressively extended the watershed management program to other factories. The Hosur Coffee Factory has set an example in low-cost water harvesting methods. Another example is the Yavatmal Personal Products Factory, which has worked with the Social Forestry Department of the Maharashtra Government to improve sub-soil water table in the area.

Recognizing that water scarcity is one of the biggest crises facing India, HLL has made water conservation a key performance indicator in its factories, reducing its ground water consumption by over 50% and recycling effluent water after treatment (70% of HLL sites are now zero discharge sites). Such programs also save energy, and HLL's energy consumption per unit of production has dropped by 61% since 1996. Since 2003, all HLL sites have begun to harvest rain water in ponds and thus renew sub-soil water tables. HLL also engages in community projects in water adjacent to manufacturing sites.

This story is compiled from information on the company’s website.

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