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 Doing good is good business
Accenture India implements an Environmental
Management System and achieves dual certifications
Accenture India has been growing at an incredible
pace-nearly 100% year over year growth from between 2003 and 2006. During that
time, the Accenture India Facilities & Services (F&S) team was
challenged to identify new locations, complete the build and fit-out of the
facilities, implement consistent internal processes across all locations and
run them according to Accenture's global standards-all in very short timeframes
to meet business demands. The team delivered: At the end of 2006 there were 15
buildings in India, housing 26,493 employees.
A new challenge: dual certification
Accustomed to delivering at a rapid pace, the F&S team
looked for a new challenge in 2006. Understanding Accenture's commitment to
incorporating environmental best practices into its business operations, the
team sought to attain two prestigious certifications: International
Organization for Standards (ISO) 14001 for environmental management, and
Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 for occupational
health and safety. At first, the goal of the project was to motivate the team:
Achieving these certifications would not only allow the team to work on a
highly visible project but also prepare them for delivering the next site or
managing the next set of escalations. However, the experienced F&S
team-many of whom had worked on ISO9000 and 14001 initiatives at other
organizations- realized that achieving dual certification had the potential to
impact the business in two important ways: it could save money and it could improve
employee morale.
Actions taken toward achieving certification
Coordinating and implementing an Environmental Management
System was a challenge. The team worked with senior management, colleagues
across the business, and vendors to develop their strategy. The first
initiative was creating awareness of the certifications among the 5,000
employees at the site. Next, the team worked with Marketing &
Communications to design posters highlighting the importance of conserving
Energy, Paper and Water and displayed these posters at various high-traffic
areas throughout the facility (see sidebar for pos. Finally, the team created
flyers about India's environmental policy and posted these at each employee's
seat as well as on all notice boards in the building.
At an operational level, the team identified actions across
six main areas to create a robust Environmental Management System:
1. Actions taken to save Energy:
- a) Integrated water chillers
at both the towers and chilled water line was adjusted so as to improve the
variable frequency drive (VFD), the equipment added into the motor of an air
handling unit to modulate speed and generating power savings. Once the VFD was
calibrated, performance improved..
- b) Adjusted chiller
temperature settings from 8 to 10 during the winter.
- c) Regulated floor lightings with a voltage
modulator - the Lux levels would remain the same up to an input voltage of 180.
- d) Recalibrated
pressure sensors that sense the air circulating duct pressure. Once pressure in
the duct varies, the sensor gives command to the VFD to modulate the speed of
the air handling unit motor.
- e) Introduced manual
lighting controls such as switching off lights during off-hours.
- f) Modified
certain lighting circuits for optimal usage.
2. Actions taken to save Paper
- a) Increased awareness among
employees
- b) Encouraged printing on
both sides of a sheet of paper
- c) Sold scrap paper to a
vendor who recycles waste paper
- d) Put
in place proper documentation for paper scrap sold
3. Actions taken to save Water
- a) Set
up appropriate pressure in the health restroom faucets.
- b) Reduced
the pressure in the water taps for hand washing.
- c) Identified
and stopped all water leakages.
- d) Implemented
rainwater harvesting.
4. Actions taken for E-Waste Management
- a) Monitored
the different types of electronic waste generated within the facility.
- b) Arranged
for proper storage of electronic waste.
- c) Disposed of electronic
waste through a Pollution Control Board-certified vendor.
5. Actions taken for Biomedical Waste Management
- a) Identified the biomedical
waste generated in the facility.
- b) Disposed
of biomedical waste through PCB-certified vendor within 48 hours.
6. Action taken for Emergency Preparedness and
Response
- a) Implemented
an emergency preparedness and response plan to conduct an evacuation drill
every six months and consistently monitor the action of every drill conducted.
Results achieved
The Bangalore facility is a pioneer, as the first
Accenture site to achieve dual certifications. Senior Management has been
encouraged by this accomplishment, and is looking to be a leader across the
company for this important initiative.
To the team, the work itself was the reward: They were
able to develop new skills and collaborate with colleagues across Accenture.
Education and Engagement key to Environmental Management System
Engaging employees was key to implementing an Environmental Management
System at Accenture's largest location. Through a comprehensive poster
campaign, all 5,000 employees at Bang 3 were challenged to help...to help save
paper, help save oil, help save electricity. The posters gave examples of how
small, individual efforts could add up. The results are staggering and
employees' efforts are contributing to a 2% reduction in paper consumption as
well as savings of 7% in water consumption and 5% in electricity costs.
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