Vitesco Technologies wins LEED Gold award for its Pune facility
Vitesco Technologies, a leading supplier of modern drive technologies and electrification solutions for sustainable mobility, received GOLD certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) v4.1 Operations and Maintenance (O+M) for its manufacturing facility in Talegaon, Pune from Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI). “It now becomes the largest industrial manufacturing project in India to be certified under the category,” the company claims. GBCI is India’s foremost authority on sustainability in building design, construction, and operation and is part of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) that provides independent oversight of professional credentialing and project certification under ‘LEED’ green building rating system.
LEED certification is awarded to buildings that reduce their climate impact; enhance human health; protect and restore water resources; protect and enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services; promote sustainable and regenerative material cycles; and enhance the overall quality of life for the community. LEED helps companies meet their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals and provides investors with a robust and globally recognized green building framework to measure and manage real-estate performance. LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (EBOM) measures the performance of a building on five parameters: energy, water, waste, transportation, and human experience.
Vitesco Technologies has earned this certification for the various green initiatives it has implemented. The facility has invested in a rainwater harvesting system to capture the rainwater runoff using green infrastructure techniques. They have conducted a detailed energy analysis and walk-through audit to evaluate the energy performance of the building and have further planned various energy conservation measures that can be implemented to optimize energy usage of the site. They recently commissioned a 2.6 MW solar rooftop project generating 3 MW of solar energy with the aim of increasing it further. Moreover, regular assessment of key air parameters including carbon dioxide (CO2) & total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) is being conducted to enhance indoor air quality, and surveys are underway to understand the thermal & overall user experience to help take informed decisions in the future.
“We are proud that our Talegaon, Pune plant is the second in Vitesco Technologies to receive the LEED Gold Certification, following Debrecen, Hungary. With innovative and efficient solutions, we aim to reduce the environmental impact of the automotive industry globally and promote emission-free mobility in the long run,” said Anurag Garg, Managing Director, and Country Head of Vitesco Technologies India. He adds, “This facility completely meets its grid demand with renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the facility generates sustainable electricity, and we are now operating at a carbon-neutral level, with the goal of reaching 100% carbon neutral production by 2030.”
Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, Managing Director – Southeast Asia & Middle East of GBCI India said, “Vitesco Technologies has set a worthy example of how an Industrial Manufacturing project can also opt for sustainable solutions,”
Vitesco Technologies is an international developer and manufacturer of modern drive technologies for sustainable mobility. The product portfolio includes electric drives, electronic control systems, sensors and actuators as well as exhaust gas aftertreatment solutions. Vitesco Technologies recorded revenue of €8.3 billion in 2021 and has around 37,000 employees working at some 50 different locations. Vitesco Technologies is headquartered in Regensburg, Germany.
