ABB India’s commitment towards sustainability and eco-efficiency has been recognized with a gold certification by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for its environmentally friendly Nashik smart factory in India. With this recognition, ABB India’s site becomes the first factory to be certified as a Green Building within the Nashik Industrial Area, which houses approximately 10,000 factories across various industries.
IGBC is a consensus-driven not-for-profit council formed with the aim of enabling an environmentally cohesive ecosystem. The IGBC Green Factory Buildings is the first rating program developed in India, exclusively for the industrial sector. This is based on globally accepted energy and environmental principles and strikes a balance between known established practices and emerging concepts.
ABB India has taken various initiatives at its facility to reduce their carbon footprint through in-house solar panel installation, energy efficiency improvement projects, and tree plantation drives. In addition, the company has also taken up various waste management initiatives to eliminate the usage of stretch film and reduce use of single-use plastic for packing purposes.
The factory has scored high on multiple parameters including rainwater harvesting which helped save 565 m3 of rainwater per day, and reduction of indoor water usage by 47.8%. The facility has achieved overall energy savings of 95.03% and mitigated CO2 emission by up to 345 tons per year. Apart from this, the natural topography & landscape, sensitivity for differently-abled, usage of natural light and efficient ventilation system, heat island effect on the roof, wastewater treatment through sewage treatment plant, employee collaboration areas, and gym and recreational facilities were some of the important factors that added to the factory’s overall rating.
“It is a proud moment for us to be recognized by IGBC for our continued pledge towards sustainable practices. At ABB, we are committed to writing the future of safe, smart and sustainable electrification for industry and buildings, and infrastructure and transportation. Our manufacturing plants play a significant role in ensuring minimal carbon footprint by deploying simple yet impactful measures that help us achieve desired results without adversely affecting the environment. We also hope to inspire other facilities in the Nashik Industrial Area to join us in our ambition of enabling a more sustainable tomorrow,” said Ganesh Kothawade, Senior Vice President, Distribution Solutions Division, ABB India Ltd.
