Celebrated globally for more than 50 years, SWEP marks Earth Day 2024 by recognizing the internal Environmental Award winners from SWEP Malaysia for their creative and resourceful thinking in designing a sustainable rain harvesting project.
With annual rainfall in Malaysia yielding approximately 100 inches per year, SWEPs plant in Malaysia initiated a project in early 2023 to see how withdrawal of municipal water could be reduced. Engineering Manager Mohan Ramachandran and Process Engineer Nadhiahani Abdullah took the lead and came up with a rain harvesting solution that is already functional, saving both water and energy.
After only two months of designing, two weeks of construction and testing with prototype water collection storage tank, a rainwater harvesting system was ready to be put into use. Using gravity-based flow principles, the system takes advantage of natural level differences, thereby creating a flow without the need for an external energy source such as a water pump.
Since the implementation, water withdrawal intensity from municipal water supply has improved from 7 liter/Approved Kg to 5.3 liter/Approved Kg, this translates into a water withdrawal intensity improvement of 24%.
Nadhiahani Abdullah and Mohan Ramachandran from SWEP plant Malaysia - proud winners of the SWEP Environmental Award.
Mohan Ramachandran and Nadhiahani Abdullah recently won the internal SWEP Environmental Award 2024 for their creative and resourceful thinking in designing a sustainable rain harvesting project, underlining the importance of culture where SWEP employees are encouraged to take on initiatives that foster innovation and new ideas.
The jury gave this motivation for the award win:
“For designing and creating a smart and efficient rainwater harvesting system that reduces the use of city water for cooling towers at the plant in Malaysia, using nature’s own resources and without the need for an energy source, only physics and gravity. This innovation will lead to substantial water savings for many years to come.”
The rainwater harvesting solution makes an excellent contribution to SWEPs global goal to reduce water withdrawal intensity in manufacturing by 50% until 2030.
Learn more about SWEPs dedication to sustainability and ESG work: https://www.swep.net/company/environmental-sustainability/