Renault Nissan speeds towards 2045 carbon neutrality goal ahead of World Environment day

Renault Nissan Automotive India (RNAIPL) has announced that it is making strong progress towards its 2045 Carbon Neutrality goal unveiled in February this year and that it will be crossing several important sustainability milestones by the year 2030.

The company's carbon neutrality roadmap focuses on three key pathways: increasing the share of green energy in its overall energy mix, improving energy usage efficiency, and continuously adopting energy-efficient technology at its Oragadam plant. Through this strategy, the automaker has successfully reduced CO2 emissions by an equivalent of 87,500 tons annually as of FY 2022-23.

Powering plant operations with more green energy
As per a company statement, RNAIPL currently sources close to 60% of its electricity from renewable sources such as solar, biomass and wind. Taking its clean energy commitment further, the plant will expand its in-house solar plant capacity from 2.2MW to 14MW through additional installation of rooftop solar panels and innovative floating solar panels on the plant's pond by 2026. By leveraging renewable energy sources, RNAIPL is working towards meeting 85% of the plant's energy needs with renewable power by 2030, and transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045.

Water Positive by 2030
Thanks to its rainwater harvesting and water recycling infrastructure, RNAIPL is set to become water-positive by 2030. The company currently meets 85% of its total water needs from its rainwater harvesting ponds developed within the premises. The plant is also a Zero Discharge plant, recycling and reusing wastewater for industrial process and a variety of uses including gardening. RNAIPL plans to further enhance water efficiency through upgraded plumbing designs, water audits, and stringent monitoring, and is targeting a 21% reduction in water use by 2030 as compared to FY 2022-23 levels.

Alternatives to single use plastic
Over the last few years, RNAIPL has already been working on a set of initiatives to replace single use plastic items from within the plant with eco-friendly alternatives as per norms laid out by the government. The company also conducts regular employee campaigns to increase awareness on the drawbacks and environmental harm caused by use of single use plastic.

Plant-wide energy efficiency initiatives
Since the start of car production in FY 2010, the plant has achieved a 36% reduction in energy use. It has achieved this result through a series of plant-wide conservation techniques and technology upgrades.

Some of these initiatives include the following:

• Intelligent flow controllers for air compressor systems to reduce energy consumption saving 800 tons of CO2 emissions annually.
• Upgrading shop infrastructure with LED lighting
• Implementation of zero energy days and close monitoring of energy consumption on other holidays
• Standardised stickering of equipment across the plant for optimal use and energy conservation
• Upgrading to energy efficient equipment such as BLDC Blowers, Compact Ejectors, VFD for Pumps and Motors
• Installation of water source heat pump as an alternative to LPG based hot water generator at the Paint shop and using both the hot and cold water (by- product) for industrial processes resulting in 6% reduction of Co2 emissions.

By 2030, the plant aims to reduce the amount of energy required to manufacture a car by 20% (as compared to 2019 energy baseline) and reduce this further by 30% by 2045.