At GSK we aim to reduce environmental impacts across our value chain while extending access to our products for the people who need them – by minimising our carbon footprint, reducing local water impacts and cutting operational waste. We have set an ambitious target to reduce our water impact across the value chain by 20% by 2020 (vs 2010). Around 86% of the water used across GSK’s value chain - an estimated 1.3 billion m3 a year – is in producing raw materials. In particular, our Horlicks brand alone equates to around 30% of GSK’s water footprint, which is largely driven by the production of agricultural raw materials (milk, barley, and wheat) in water-stressed areas in India. To address this, GSK partnered with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), a sustainable development NGO in India, to assess how we can help reduce water impact in the rural Indian communities that supply us with the raw materials used to manufacture Horlicks. In 2014, we worked with 10 of our direct suppliers and in 2015 we extended this work further down the supply chain to 15 suppliers at a rural community level. Together with Alternative Development Initiatives (ADI), an Indian sustainable development NGO, we visited our rural suppliers to assess their water stress risks and water saving opportunities. This included geological and household surveys, water quality sample collecting, and community engagement through interactions with the village head, members of Gram Panchayat (local governing body) and focus groups with farmers, milkmen & women. From these assessments we initiated an innovative project in Rajasthan, an arid region of India, to support communities in the Horlicks supply chain to improve water management and agricultural yields. The villages of Sawaipura, Kochoor, and Raghnathpura were selected based on the issues they face with falling groundwater levels, which has led to the irrigated acreage surrounding the villages and the area where barley is grown falling by half in 15 years. The project included rejuvenation of 4-fresh/rain water ponds which involved excavating the silt and creating appropriate storage capacity for captured rainwater and strengthening of the pond embankments. During the work, there was active involvement of both the Gram Panchayat (local governing body) and the local community. The community has expressed their appreciation for the work done and has shown interest towards replication of the model on a larger scale.

Project Results

It is estimated that this work will replenish the local aquifer with nearly 200,000m3 water, which is equivalent to around a quarter of the amount of water that our three Horlicks factories across India use in their operations. It is also estimated that this could lead to a 2-3 meter rise in the water table and increase barley productivity in subsequent years by 10%.