Produced from fully recycled aluminium scrap, the castings minimise energy use and environmental impact. The company will also be supplying these green aluminium solutions to Volvo Penta.
By T. Murrali
Roots Cast Private Ltd has announced the launch of its new low-carbon aluminium castings, marking a major milestone in the company’s sustainability journey and strengthening its commitment to eco-friendly manufacturing. Alongside, it also announced that Volvo Penta will be sourcing parts made of new low-carbon aluminium castings.
The new castings are produced using 100% recycled aluminium scrap, eliminating the need for bauxite mining and dramatically reducing energy consumption. Manufacturing secondary aluminium consumes up to 90% less energy than primary aluminium production and reduces freshwater usage by nearly 70–80%. With the recycling process generating no hazardous by-products, the environmental impact is a fraction of traditional methods. The recycled ingots are transported to Roots Cast using electric vehicles, further shrinking the carbon footprint.
A series of technological advancements across the factory floor has powered this transition. Roots Cast now operates on 100% renewable energy for its casting processes. Melting furnaces running on biomass briquettes deliver uniform heating, quieter operation, better ladle life, and lower fuel costs. The plant has also adopted core-sand reclamation with zero landfill, along with upgrades across holding and melting systems to enhance efficiency. In the last six months of 2025, the plant achieved 100% green energy consumption, a significant increase from 25% in 2019.
Together, these interventions have enabled Roots Cast to achieve an exceptionally low emission level of 0.789 kg of CO₂ per kg of aluminium castings, positioning it among the cleanest producers in the industry. This has been the impetus for Volvo Group to source aluminium parts from Roots Cast as it helps the OEM achieve its 100% CO2 neutral objective, by 2040. The company collaborated with Volvo and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) teams for an end-to-end supply chain Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) from ingot receipt to dispatch.
The CII Green Product & Service Council has awarded the company the GreenPro Type-1 Ecolabel, accredited by the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN), following a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment. The award was presented by Mr. K. S. Venkatagiri, Executive Director – CII GBC, in the presence of Kamal Bali, MD & President, Volvo Group India.
“Our Low-Carbon Emission Aluminium Castings are not only technologically advanced but also a clear demonstration of our responsibility toward future generations. Innovation and environmental responsibility must go hand in hand,” said Mr. K. Ramasamy, Founder & Chairman of Roots Group of Companies.
The new castings will serve the automotive, transportation, and industrial equipment sectors, enabling OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers to significantly reduce Scope 3 emissions while retaining performance and durability.
Mr. Kamal Bali – MD and President Volvo Group India, praised the achievement, stating, “This development marks another milestone in the journey towards clean, sustainable manufacturing. We are delighted to be associated with this initiative, which supports our ambition to be net-zero by 2040.”
A Family Legacy of Sustainability
Mr. Ramasamy shared that his inspiration for sustainability comes from his father, who practiced eco-friendly living long before it became a global priority. In the 1940s, his father produced cooking gas from cow dung and even supplied it to neighbouring homes through simple pipelines. Their tapioca farm followed the same sustainable cycle — the crop was processed for food, the peels were fed to pigs and cows, and the animals’ waste was used again to generate gas. It was a perfectly closed-loop system, proving that true sustainability often begins at home. His father also invented an engine powered by charcoal, to haul small cargo vehicle.
The initiative for making low-carbon aluminium castings began five years prior, rooted in the company’s environmental policy and the chairman’s philosophy: “Purpose of business is to serve the society, and profit is the byproduct” and “Environment is everyone’s responsibility to protect.”
Sustainability at Roots Cast
An initial assessment in 2019 revealed the company emitted 4,594 tonnes of CO2 annually, with only 25% of energy consumed coming from renewable sources.
This led to extensive brainstorming and a company-wide commitment to reduce CO2 and increase clean energy, extending beyond production to include administration, utilities, and transportation, he said.
Key Initiatives for CO2 Reduction and Energy Efficiency include deploying Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), furnace optimization powered by biomass briquettes, machine upgrades, infrastructure and fuel changes and transition to green energy.
A Clear Roadmap to Carbon Reduction
Roots Cast is steadily cutting its carbon footprint despite rapid growth. Today, the organisation emits around 1,930 tonnes of CO₂ — even though sales have doubled between 2019 and 2025. The company now plans to extend this low-carbon manufacturing approach across all its group businesses. By 2030, the goal is to bring this down to nearly 1,000 tonnes. The long-term commitment is even stronger: to become a fully carbon-neutral organisation by 2040, backed by ongoing efforts across all operations.
Mr. Ramasamy added that he is determined to share this model with other casting manufacturers in Coimbatore, with a larger vision of making the city India’s leading hub for green castings.