SARAVANAN PANNEER SELVAM suggests that a business mindset driven by sustainability achieves higher results. We look at growth in a pragmatic manner. Growth drives motivation among our people and it is well understood that growth is a prerequisite for sustained financial value creation. Our mindset revolves around being driven by a set purpose, and the same is visible in every product that we build. For example, when we sell more of our energy-efficient pumps, we believe in making a positive impact on the world. It instills a sense of purpose when we help our customers and the world secure reliable and safe supply of clean water and by efficiently disposing of wastewater. And, at the same time, we contribute to reducing electricity consumption and thereby positively impacting climate change.We believe that if everyone shifts to energy-efficient pump systems, the world’s total electricity consumption will reduce by 4 per cent, which can be equated to the power used by a billion people in their homes every year. This in turn, brings about growth in different trajectories. Mastering market conditions In 2018, we reported an annual turnover of about €3.03 billion with an organic growth of 6.6 per cent, when the global average growth in the pump industry was around 5 per cent. In continuation to this, the first half of this year has exhibited profitable growth in a continued manner despite the downward slump in the economy. This growth, the highest ever in the first-half of the year, can be attributed to the growth exhibited by core markets and a disciplined control of costs. We continued investing resources in strategically prioritised areas such as services business and digital transformation. In the year 2015, Grundfos relooked at its business strategy, to be able to fuel its growth by building quality, efficient and reliable products/solutions, all with sustainability as a mindset. Considering the volatile environmental conditions, customising solutions to suit each market has become critical. This explains why Grundfos focuses heavily on research and development and reinvests approximately 5 per cent of its revenue into this. Business prioritiesGlobally, Grundfos builds solutions that have a range of applications across domestic, industrial, and commercial buildings for water and wastewater systems. We have identified several strategic focus areas across select product segments and seek to offer distinct differentiators. The company has placed a sharp focus on the customers’ needs while striving to keep costs low.   Factors influencing growth At Grundfos, we track growth across five key performance indicators. In the year 2018, we measured this against, average sales growth, customer loyalty, employee motivation and satisfaction, return on sales and return on capital employed. The table represents 2020 target set and realised figures for 2017 and 2018 for the Grundfos Group.Inducing positive changeOur business objectives are mirrored with the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. A conscious sustainable strategy has been created to further its contributions specifically to SDG number 6 – clean water and sanitation; and SDG number 13 – climate change. As per this strategy, the company aspires to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50 per cent and its water consumption by half till 2025, to achieve a climate positive status. The company has taken strong steps to achieve this ambition and has successfully reduced its energy consumption by 11 per cent and water usage by 10 per cent in comparison to last year. In addition to these goals, Grundfos also expects to provide access to safe drinking water to 300 million people and save 50 billion m3 of fresh water by 2030 through their product efficiency.Outlook for 2019-20As the world is looking for energy-efficient alternatives to pump water, Grundfos has been trying to improve adoption of renewable based solutions. Solar pumps have emerged as front runners with a huge potential and are expected to receive considerable attention. The company is also working towards providing affordable surface and groundwater solutions to the Indian market. With a sharp focus on digital transformation, the company bets big on e-pumps  (pump sets with built-in VFDs) and is eyeing Rs.10 billion turnover from India in the next four to five years. To fuel these ambitions, Grundfos plans to invest more in India over the next three years to develop sustainability focused solutions for customers.About the author: Saravanan Panneer Selvam, General Manager, Grundfos India, with 20 years of experience in the pump industry, is responsible for the company’s business and operations in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal.