Motor Industries Co. Ltd. (MICO) received the award in the “Eco-Innovation” category. This annually presented award is named after India’s national bird, the peacock. It aims at supporting innovation to provide environmentally friendly products and services. MICO was recognised by the Indian World Environment Foundation for improvements carried out in the Electrochemical Machining (ECM) Process. Apart from this, the judges appreciated the environmental initiatives undertaken by the Bangalore plant. The improvements to the ECM process minimised the use of centrifuge, while MICO consequently reduced the generation of hazardous waste as well as the consumption of electrolytes in the process.
Since 2003, the Bangalore plant holds the ISO 14001 certification for its Environmental Management System. The plant was recertified in 2006. As part of the continuous improvement activity throughout the system, MICO identified different areas with potential improvement opportunities and henceforth implemented several projects. A new system has helped to reduce the water consumption by more than 50 percent, by adopting reduce, recycle and reuse principles. The improvements include the introduction of solenoid valves for surface treatment rinse-baths, the recycling of high flow rinse-waste water - from the surface treatment process - through a reverse osmosis system, and the installation of a sewage treatment plant for treating sewage and reusing it for toilet flushing and gardening.
Apart from water conservation measures, the plant has eliminated hazardous chemicals like cyanide from heat treatment and surface treatment process and trichloroethylene from cleaning operations. As a further commitment to social responsibility, a team has been formed to promote social projects. The initiatives include a campaign on clean air, providing financial and non-financial support to old age homes, as well as financial support to eye care. Another award was recently presented to Bosch in Mexico, where the Toluca plant received the Environmental Excellence Award from the Mexican Environmental Protection Agency.
