Make it Green: Case Write-up
Sitting inside his office, Mr. Jon Snow, Plant Head of Nice textiles could still hear cries of the crowd
protesting outside his factory. Recently, Nice textile was in news due to expose’ carried out by a
news channel. Mr. Snow was worried that this negative publicity might affect relationship with the
key clients. Leading fashion brands are increasingly under pressure due to growing focus on “Dirty
Laundry” [Exhibit 1].
Over the mild din of air-jet looms, as he looked over the notice from the Central Pollution Control
Board, he realized that the time had come for him to take some hard decisions. Sipping his hot cup
of green tea, Mr. Snow contemplated what should be his next course of action.
History
Nice textiles was established in 1993 by first generation entrepreneur Mr. Brandon Stark. The
company grew rapidly since its first plant in Winterfell, and by 2017 it was operating 6 plants across
India. Mr. Snow was responsible for handling the plant in Westeros which was opened in 2015.
About the plant
The plant in Westeros was a composite plant with a spinning unit, fabric production unit and a
captive powerplant. The fabric production unit consisted of 600 air-jet looms capable of producing 4
million meters of fabric per month. The spinning unit can produce 30,000 TPA of cotton yarn. The
plant used cotton, viscose and bamboo fibre as raw material for manufacturing fabric which was
used primarily in apparel industry. The value chain of the textile plant is indicated in Exhibit 6.
Textile industry is one of the most polluting industry. It is categorized as red category industry with
pollution index score of 60 and above by Ministry of Environment and Forests1. The plant in
Westeros used a coal based thermal power plant with capacity of 60 MW. This was a major source of
air pollution, the new environment norms required installation of High Efficiency Electro Static
Precipitators designed for output concentration of less than 50 mg/Nm3, but this would only take
care of dust pollution generated by the plant.
Another major cause of concern was the water pollution caused by the plant, according to some
estimates 1 kg of textile requires about 200 L of water. The water is used for application of chemicals
and dyes on the fibers/fabric and rinsing of the final product. The waste water produced during
processing of textile contains a large amount of dyes and chemicals containing dangerous
concentration of harmful metals such as Cr, As etc. and carcinogenic agents. Untreated effluents
from textile industries can cause various serious health issues. It was estimated that the total 2500
m3 waste water would be generated per day from the plant in Westeros.
Possible Options
Mr. Jon Snow had heard about zero liquid discharge plants but didn’t know much about it. He had
also received a proposal from Sun Solar few months ago. Replacing the existing thermal power plant
with solar energy now seemed like an obvious choice but doubt still lingered in his mind if a better
option is available to him.
1
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=137373
Problem Statement
Since Mr. Jon Snow knows nothing about environment conservation, please evaluate all alternatives
possible (not just the ones given above) and come up with the best possible solution that is
sustainable, cost efficient and effective in bringing down air and water pollution as well as
conserving energy. Please state any assumptions made clearly in the solution write-up.
Disclaimer: All names, references, figures used in the case are fictitious, any resemblance is purely
coincidental.
Exhibit 1: Dirty Laundry2
2
Greenpeace International. (2017). Dirty Laundry. [online] Available at:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/Dirty-Laundry/ [Accessed 3 Jul. 2017]
Exhibit 2: Average rate of electricity for domestic and industrial consumers
(Rates in Paise/KWh)
S.No.
Name of State
Domestic 4KW (400
KWh/ Month
Large Industry 1000KW
60%L.F. (438000 KWh/
Month)
1
State 1
415.38
436.86
419.68
2
State 2
466.50
580.26
3
State 3
385.58
459.55
4
State 4
295.00
509.13
5
State 5
475.50
462.23
6
State 6
404.55
459.74
7
State 7
239.48
8
State 8
258.34
369.77
9
State 9
249.00
368.01
10
Westeros
657.47
629.84
Note : The above rates of electricity are for certain assumed load and electricity consumption
levels in a month
Exhibit 3: Cost of Acquiring land as per rates prevalent in Westeros
Total land available for solar power plant
55 acre
Land required to set-up solar panels
5 acre/ MW
Land cost
0.2 Lakhs per acre
Exhibit 4: Cost of Setting up the Solar Power Plant as per rates prevalent in Westeros
Cost of setting up and maintaining the plant
Cost Component
Market Prices in
Lakhs per MW
Solar Panel
365
Additional Cost Per module against degradation
11
Mounting Structures
50
Solar PCU (includes inverters)
50
Civil and Land Development Works
60
Electricity, Transmission and Evacuation Costs
30
Preliminary and pre-operative
40
expenses
Annual Maintenance cost
8
Note: Expected life of the solar panel is 15 years.
Exhibit 5: Escalation in cost of maintenance and cost of capital
Cost of capital
Escalation of cost of maintenance
8%
5% (yoy)
Exhibit 6: Value chain of the textile plant