Breathing in the pure air gratefully, under a canopy of towering trees, with sunshine dappling the ground under one’s feet...
No, I’m not holidaying at some exotic resort, I’m only describing how employees at Ashok Leyland’s Hosur plant unwind, when they have a free moment. After all, their factory is in the midst of a forest!
Ashok Leyland began its afforestation drive some time ago. It has planted, in its facilities, over 50 kinds of trees, including neem, banyan, Indian beech, Indian tulip, rosewood, mango, teak, jack fruit, and wood apple — native varieties suited to the local climate and soil conditions. These trees have medicinal use, provide a green cover and generate oxygen. “Currently, we have more than 4.6 lakh trees across all our facilities, which includes over 75,000 saplings planted during 2017-18,” details P Harihar, Senior Vice-President, Manufacturing and Project Planning, Ashok Leyland.
Over the last couple of years, the company has intensified greening through the ‘Miyawaki’ method, a Japanese technique that helps the growth of diverse, dense, and multi-layer forests. For instance, as Harihar illustrates, a forest area of around 400 sq. m holds over 53 varieties of trees, including the medicinal, fruit-bearing and bird-attracting kinds.
The numbers paint a green picture. “Using this technique we can grow three trees in 1 sq m as against one tree in 3 sq m in the traditional way. The special care taken in soil preparation makes the saplings grow three times faster, and 10 times taller, than conventional trees. We have developed these forests covering over 3,500 sq. m, across 12 of our locations. These saplings have shown a significant growth of a maximum 20 ft in just 20 months,” says Harihar.
Water conservation too
But while going green is welcome, how does the company manage water availability? According to Harihar, Ashok Leyland practises rain water harvesting, water recyling, and focusses on reducing water consumption. These steps help improve the underground water table and impact the lives of the local people positively.
“While the native forests do not need daily supply of water for their survival beyond a minimum two years, recycling waste water provides the additional water required to maintain the green cover in our manufacturing plants. The maintenance costs are part of our estate management outlay, which has actually reduced over time,” says Harihar. He adds, with pride, “All our plants are zero water discharge plants. In fact, we have won several awards for water management, including the CII Award.”
Ashok Leyland has also taken the support of the Forest Department which not only supplies native plant varieties but also visits the company’s facilities periodically to monitor their growth and maintenance.
Taking it to NextGen
Interestingly, Ashok Leyland has expanded its greening drive to its non-manufacturing facilities such as Ashok Leyland schools and driver training institutes and is encouraging other corporates at Hosur and Chennai to replicate its model in their premises.
The company is also involving children (and parents) from Ashok Leyland schools and other schools near its manufacturing facilities. The forest planted by school children has been named ‘NextGen Forest,’ says Harihar.