L&T set to phase out old construction gear

Larsen & Toubro will phase out old construction equipment and use more biodiesel as part of a multi-pronged strategy to reduce its carbon footprint in the long term, according to a senior executive.

The strategy also entails using electricity generated from renewable energy rather than thermal coal at its manufacturing sites. "We are looking to phase out construction equipment that is more than 15 years old. Targets have been given to different departments," said L&T's corporate strategy head, Anup Sahay. L&T has 14,000 pieces of construction equipment. Diesel is used as fuel to power the equipment. It is also used in generator sets at its construction sites. "Diesel is 65% of our emissions. We are looking to scale up use of biodiesel as a fuel to 30% in the mix," he said.

L&T's construction business contributes 85-90% of the company's standalone revenues. Its standalone revenue for the financial year 2023-24 were in excess of Rs1,31,000 crore. Sahay said at any given point in time there were more than 500 construction sites in operation."We have set up two task forces. The first is looking at diesel consumption. The second will look at possibilities to move consumption of electricity to renewable sources," he said. Sahay cited that Larsen & Toubro's diesel consumption had dropped by 8% in financial year 2023-24.

Larsen & Toubro has evolved five year plans for carbon emissions reduction. The first of these plans kicked off in financial year 2020-2021 and will get completed in financial year 2025-2026. He cautioned that plans to reduce carbon footprint will take time. "It will be many decades before we can bring down the share of fossil fuel or thermal coal to 25-30%," he said.