JSW Steel to invest Rs10,000 cr to reduce carbon emissions
05 Jul 2022
JSW Steel has earmarked Rs10,000 crore investments for increased use of renewable energy and other green initiatives to reduce reliance on thermal power, in order to reduce its carbon footprint, chairman Sajjan Jindal has said.
Steel makers mostly use coal to generate thermal power for captive use.
"We have earmarked Rs10,000 crore for investments to reduce our carbon emissions through various initiatives, such as increasing the use of renewable energy to replace thermal power, reduce our fuel rate through improved raw material quality via beneficiation, and deployment of Best Available Technologies (BAT)," Jindal said.
JSW Steel has already contracted for 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy, of which 225 MW has become operational in April 2022, and the balance will come on stream in phases, the company's FY 2021-22 annual report quoted Jindal as saying in his address to shareholders.
Jindal said the expansion of the company's Vijayanagar plant from 12 MTPA to 19.5 MTPA is underway, and capex cost is well below global benchmarks.
The company's ongoing expansion projects are oriented towards producing steel with higher use of renewable power, best-in-class digitalisation to achieve operational efficiency and best available technologies to reduce associated CO2 emissions, he added.
The iron and steel industry is one of the worst polluters globally, accounting for around 8 per cent of total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In India, it contributes 12 per cent to the total CO2 emissions. Thus, the Indian steel industry needs to reduce its emissions substantially in view of the commitments made in the COP26 climate change conference.
"We are consciously going beyond basic steel and are consistently maintaining the share of VASP (value added and special products) in our product mix to over 50 per cent," he said.
The energy transition has provided a significant opportunity for steel makers yi make huge investments in renewable power generation, and transmission and distribution infrastructure, all of which are steel-intensive.
"At JSW Steel, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is core to everything we do. We have committed to reduce our CO2 emissions intensity… by 42 per cent by 2030, compared to the base year of 2005, aligned with India's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)," Jindal said.
JSW Group has joined over 200 forward-thinking companies as the newest member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
JSW will be represented in WBCSD by Seshagiri Rao, joint managing director and group CFO, who also sits on the board of directors of JSW Steel. He will also take part in the WBCSD CFO network, which is driving higher ESG performance within companies, and more effective disclosure to capital markets.
With a culturally diverse workforce spread across India, the USA, Europe, and Africa, JSW Group directly employs nearly 40,000 people. It also has a strong social development focus aimed at empowering communities around its operations.
JSW has carved a sustainability vision and has a sustainability strategy along with key focus areas which help them steer their way for a sustainable planet.