Ashok Leyland takes big steps to cut its carbon footprint by 60%

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Ashok Leyland announced that it has increased the sourcing of clean energy to 60 per cent for its countrywide operations.

The flagship Company of the Hinduja Group and India’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer said that now 75 per cent of its energy consumption in Tamil Nadu and 60 per cent throughout India is procured through the solar rooftop, solar ground mount, and wind-based renewable energy.

A part of the Hinduja Group, Hinduja Renewables is focused on building sustainable and clean energy plants in India and has built a solar plant for Ashok Leyland, with a capacity of 75 MWp, located in Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu.

This facility is one of the largest group captive solar plants in India serving a single client. The unit is expected to generate over 120 million units of power annually.

According to Shom Hinduja, President, Alternative Energy & Sustainability Initiatives at Hinduja Group, “Sustainability is paramount to us at the Hinduja Group. Hinduja Renewables was set up to be the bridge between nations and companies to achieve their sustainability targets.”

He added that its mission is to positively impact humanity and conserve the environment through sustainable energy and mobility solutions.

Sustainability goals

This project is expected to enable Ashok Leyland to significantly reduce its carbon footprint, thereby helping it achieve its sustainability goals.

The Hinduja Group is evaluating its operations globally and has planned similar ESG initiatives across the different companies, Shom added.

Talking about the development, Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director and CEO, Ashok Leyland, said, “As we march towards our vision of being among the Top 10 Global CV Makers, it is equally important that we do this sustainably.”

He added: “Ensuring that our energy requirements come from renewables, is a critical part of this vision. With the start of operations of the Vepancolum Solar Plant, we have taken a massive leap in reducing our carbon footprint – of the total energy requirement, we will achieve renewable energy consumption of 75 per cent in Tamil Nadu and 60 per cent throughout India.”

Sondhi further stated that sourcing energy from this captive solar power plant will ensure abatement of 85000 tonnes of carbon emissions which is equal to planting 157487 trees, annually. We are committed to this path of sustainability and will work towards a greener tomorrow.

Set up through its subsidiary, Prathama Solarconnect Energy Pvt. Ltd, the journey for this solar plant started in May 2020.

It began with site selection in Vepancolum village in Sivagangai district. What followed next was extensive site preparation.

The Solar Panels are in a fixed-tilt mounting arrangement for peak energy production. Drones were used to relay back real-time information and progress.

The plant was commissioned in nine months and is expected to generate over 120 million units of power in a year.

(With inputs from Automotive Lead Research Team)

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