The ITC food factory receives the first AWS Platinum level certification in Asia

The first food facility in Asia to receive the AWS Platinum-level certification—the global benchmark for water stewardship—is ITC’s food factory in Malur, Karnataka. The factory that makes noodles sold under the brand Yippee! in acknowledgment of its responsible water management actions, received the accreditation. The factory has taken the lead in creating integrated watershed development programmes for demand-side management by increasing water usage efficiency in the catchment area of its operations as well as cutting back on fresh water consumption within the unit.
The 360-degree water management programme at ITC is in line with the government’s major water efforts, such as the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan” and “More Crop Per Drop,” and is a component of the company’s Sustainability 2.0 (S2.0) mission, as expressed by chairman Sanjiv Puri.
ITC’s divisional chief executive for the food division, Hemant Malik, stated: “This milestone will further encourage us to scale up our measures to provide security of supply for our stakeholders around our factories in keeping with the aims anticipated in the company’s Sustainability 2.0 programme.”
A thorough water conservation programme has been implemented at the Malur Food factory and throughout the surrounding catchment area, which covers 40250 acres and is home to more than 75% of agricultural land, in accordance with ITC’s commitment to ensuring “Water for all, today and tomorrow.” However, due to a number of factors, including the hard rock aquifer system, quick urbanization, and altered agricultural practices, the factory initially encountered difficulties with the area’s water supply. As a result, tanker water became the main source of water for the unit. Aware of how serious the situation was, ITC launched a water stewardship mission in the catchment based on the recommendations from the groundwater assessment and in-depth hydrogeological studies by outside expert agencies.
As a result, an integrated water management strategy was started both inside the unit’s walls and in the four watersheds that surround it.