KUALA LUMPUR: Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) has bagged a total of four awards at the prestigious National Energy Awards (NEA) 2021 and coveted Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2021.
IWK said the collective wins reaffirmed the company's endeavours to step up its sustainability agenda, in line with the circular economy approach.
The company was named the winner of the NEA 2021 and the Asean Energy Awards (AEA) 2021 in the energy management in small and medium industry and energy efficiency in small and medium industries categories respectively.
"The awards representing both national and Asean levels, recognised IWK's achievements in the Putrajaya 1 regional sewage treatment plant. It measured the company's success in implementing sustainable energy management systems and practices to enhance efficiencies and reduce cost," it said.
At SOBA 2021, IWK bagged two silvers for the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and green initiative award categories.
IWK said the CSR award honoured IWK's unceasing community engagement initiatives, especially during the pandemic and when the flood disaster struck the country.
"On the other hand, the green initiative award recognised IWK's innovative efforts in integrating the environmental agenda in its processes, programmes and overall running of the business," it said.
Chief executive officer Narendran Maniam said IWK was taking bold steps toward the circular economy agenda and continued to innovate to improve on operational efficiencies and effectiveness.
Maniam said this was done to protect the environment, public health and ensure financial sustainability as well.
"These innovations are crucial as IWK faces challenges relating to rising inflation costs, disparity between IWK charges and operational costs, as well as increased energy consumption," he said in a statement.
IWK maintains more than 7,000 sewage treatment plants that serve more than 26 million population equivalents (PE).
The company treats more than 6,000 million litres of waste water a day, with its sewage treatment plants operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The treatment process is robust and with the rising operational expenditures, it provides a challenge for IWK to continue to effectively treat the wastewater before the final effluent is released into the river or water bodies.
"Despite the challenges, we remain focused on creating positive impact. Through our flagship IWK Cares CSR programme, IWK has supported and implemented various community engagement activities that focus on environmental protection and public health preservation," added Maniam.