Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals recently announced switching its entire ceiling fan range to energy-efficient star-rated fans, effective from January 1, 2023, in compliance with the new Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) norms.
In this interview with TheCSRUniverse, Sachin Phartiyal, VP - Fans, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, talks about the challenges and future plans towards bringing energy efficiency through their products. He also shares how the industry can reduce the impact of manufacturing practices on the environment.
Excerpts from the interview
Question: What are the key challenges you faced towards lowering the scope of energy consumption in your fans?
Answer: This has been the most exciting as well as the most difficult journey for us in the last 10 years. There is a big team that worked entirely on this. We had to ensure that our manufacturing units get upgraded and our production operations are made in such a way that we complied with the new norms. That also meant designing the entire unit again. Almost 25 thousand hours have been put in by different people to make this happen. A lot of research and development has gone into it. We also wanted to ensure that we give the product not at a very expensive price to the customers.
It was both R&D as well as manufacturing effort that we had put in. Also, a lot of our supply partners giving us materials and machinery have also helped us a lot. There is an entire ecosystem that has really worked on it and we have been able to successfully complete phase 1. But over a period of time, we will have to work continuously where we have to improve these star ratings and energy savings. It’s a journey that has just begun. It is a continuous improvement that we have to do. Every 2 years, government is taking new measures, but for us, we have to take our own target as to how we can give better energy saving at the same price to our consumers. We have to ensure that consumers don’t need to pay for fans with a 1 or 2-star extra. So there will be more value for their money.
Question: What are your thoughts on India’s net-zero targets? What are the areas where companies like your’s can support the government’s 2070 target of achieving net zero carbon?
Answer: Our products are becoming more and more energy efficient. Also in our factories, we are using alternative energies and packaging materials. We are also ensuring that our net water consumption in the factory becomes zero or we recycle it. Waste recycling is done in such a way that we have almost zero environmental impact. These are some of the net zero targets we have taken for ourselves. The biggest one would be to reduce our packaging impact along with making the product more and more energy efficient. We are one of the largest sellers of fans. So there is also a responsibility to ensure that we manufacture more and more energy-efficient products at the same price. Net zero cannot be achieved in one day. It’s a journey that we have started and it encompasses a lot of activities to reach that target.
Question: The Energy Conservation (Amendment Bill) 2022 has brought in punitive provisions such as fines of up to Rs 10 lakh, for vehicles, buildings, and vessels if they fail to comply with specific energy consumption standards. Do you think such provisions should be broadened for the manufacturing of white goods also?
Answer: The BEE star labelling is already there in a lot of consumer durables like air conditioners, refrigerators, etc. Most of the bigger brands have started to comply with that. There are already some provisions and penalties if you don’t meet those standards. Also, any good brand would not like to do this because it is unfair to the consumer to whom you sell your product. So it is of utmost importance for a brand like Crompton to continue to be compliant which would mean making changes in our factories and operations; ensuring that our products meet the highest standards of quality and as per the government norms. We have very strong governance and compliance control mechanisms in our organization to oversee that. We have very well-established quality processes.
Question: What’s your take on Crompton’s contribution to CSR?
Answer: We spend in compliance with the prescribed CSR budget or maybe more than that. We are doing a lot of activities in our factories where we have made blood banks. Recently, we also donated some of the laptops that we have in our offices which are still in very good condition. We have donated these to some schools as well. Also, we have a very strong association with our pumps business for the water mission. We save on water-saving projects. There are many areas that have a scarcity of water in India. We work towards ensuring water adequacy in those locations. We also work with village panchayats, do skill development programmes with National Skill Development Corporation, and tie up with local institutions to ensure more skills to people, especially near our factory areas. We have a planned CSR structure for the entire year and we conduct activities in our offices and factories.
Question: What is the acceptance rate of Crompton’s solar water heaters among consumers?
Answer: Crompton’s solar water heater does not have a very big range as of now. However, it has started getting much acceptance, especially in rural areas. In the times to come, you will see making our expansion in this category as well.
Question: As a progressive organisation which is aligned with the global efforts towards environmental conservation, what are your suggestions for other white goods makers on making their products energy efficient?
Answer: As an industry, we continue to work towards it. There is also a lot to do with material science. Organizations should use alternative materials that are less harmful to the environment and require lesser processing. Also, our industry should adopt processes and methodologies in factories which are not very harsh to the environment. We should reduce our packaging footprint. We should use packaging that is green-compliant and doesn’t impact the environment so much. It should be RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) compliant or recyclable. These are some of the steps that the industry can take. A lot of effort and investment has already gone into it. We have created a task force within the organization which is working towards it.
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