IFFCO Nurtures Seeds Of Sustainability

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: It's not for nothing that the Phulpur plant of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Ltd (IFFCO) won the first award in Category III of Teri Corporate Environmental Awards last year. IFFCO practises a strong environment policy, both at the company level and the factory level in all four fertiliser plants—two each in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The Phulpur plant in Uttar Pradesh is a testimony to the fact.

At its Phulpur plant, where it manufactures urea, the company set up a total effluent recycle/reuse and zero liquid effluent discharge project in 1995. It has also been awarded ISO 14001 certificate. Besides, the company has set up a residential township, an IFFCO Hospital and a farmers’ training institute near the factory.

The implementation of water treatment plants, utilisation of coal ash for user land reclamation and for manufacturing flyash bricks and portland cement, total recycle of effluents through reverse osmosis effluent treatment plants, implementation of Integrated Rural Development Project, plantation of nearly three lakh trees under a green belt development project, environmental awareness and training programme for IFFCO township residents and surrounding villagers have all added directly or indirectly to the bottomline of the company.

Apart from complying with all the relevant national environment regulations, the Phulpur plant has also undertaken various social projects such as providing clear and healthy drinking water to surrounding villages within 30 km radius of the factory premises, construction of approach roads, filling of low lying areas with flyash or earth, construction of buildings and boundary walls for schools, and providing medical assistance to local people.

IFFCO’s strict environment policy and its constant compliance has earned the company a number of awards such as the Indo German Greentech Environment Excellence Award in fertiliser sector; the best prize for Energy Conservation in fertiliser sector by the Union ministry of energy, and the Best Environment Protection Award by the Fertiliser Association of India.

The company’s on-plant EMS focusses mainly on abatement of hazardous air pollutants emitted from the two units of the Phulpur plant, recycle and reuse of liquid effluents, and recycle of solid hazardous wastes.

For liquid effluent control, the company has installed deep hydrolysers, distillation column, ETP based on steam stripping discs, oil separators, and a sewage water treatment-cum-recycle plant on reverse osmosis technology.