The Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (Visakhapatnam steel plant) has received the CII-ITC sustainability award 2012.

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the award to A.P Choudhary, the Chairman and Managing Director of the RINL, at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday. A commendation certificate for “strong commitment” of RINL to CSR and environmental conservation was given on the occasion.

The sustainability award was instituted to identify and recognise industries for their exemplary performance in economic, environmental and social dimensions by the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development.

A.P Choudhary said that "the award is a great encouragement for RINL at this juncture to meet the future challenges. RINL believes that the ability to integrate sustainability with business outcomes and the ability to manage and live up to the expectations of stakeholders is the key for its success."

On the environment front, RINL-VSP’s operational efficiency and overall excellence has won many accolades like “3 Leaves Rating” by the Centre for Science and Environment under the Green Rating Project and “Excellent Water Efficient Unit" award by CII.

The RINL pioneered in adoption of green technologies, with an investment of Rs 1,283 crores (10 per cent of the project cost) on pollution control systems and utilisation of waste energy in the ongoing 6.3 Mt expansion and through other modernisation projects, Choudhary said. He added that 41 per cent of the total land had been earmarked for afforestation with the motto “One tree for every tonne of steel produced”.

sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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