Towards Sustainability: Stories from India 48 14 Industries Go Green Initiatives to reduce pollution Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Indian economy. With three million SMEs, this sector contributes 40 per cent towards the national income. SMEs provide employment to more than 16 million people in the country, and are growing at the rate of 20 per cent annually. SMEs  are  also  a  major  area  of  concern  as  they account for about 70 per cent of industrial pollution. Due to obsolete technologies and poor operation and maintenance, these SMEs have a high specific-waste generation factor. End-of-pipe  treatment  methods which SMEs were being urged to adopt in response to growing environmental concerns and legislative pressures did not prove to be very popular, as they failed to provide economic incentives to the units. By and large, industries were reluctant to adopt these practices. A Government of India initiative towards  waste minimization, however, is gaining acceptance. The formation of waste minimization circles was initiated in 1995-96 through the National Productivity Council (NPC) acting as the nodal agency and with support from the World Bank, and is part of a project that aims to promote group efforts for demonstrating cleaner production techniques, and to provide opportunities for sharing information and knowledge on pollution prevention. The second phase of the project was initiated in 1997-98 with the aim of creating awareness and interest. and to build confidence of Indian small and medium scale industries in adopting cleaner production practices. Different   types   of   industrial   units   have   been   benefitted   through   this   project.   In   an electroplating unit in Orissa, 33 waste minimization options were identified, out of which 27 were implemented. This resulted in reduction of most of the raw material being consumed, including acid, kerosene, nickel salt, chrome salt, etc. Overall, water consumption also came down by 172 cu. m. per annum. With an investment of  around Rs.90,000 (US $1800), within an year the industry was able to save about Rs.1,70,000 (US$3400). In a pesticide manufacturing unit in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, ten waste minimization options were implemented.  The  water  consumption  was  reduced  by  8-10  cubic  meters  per  day  through various   conservation   measures   including   installing   an   electronic   control   to   stop   water overflow from the overhead storage tank. Earlier, the raw material to the factory was supplied in 200 kg drums, which needed to be broken up, leading to a solid waste problem. These were replaced by 20 kg drums which  were easier to handle and could also be sent back to suppliers for  reuse.  With  an  investment  of  Rs.5,20,000  (US$10,400),  the  unit’s  savings  per  annum amounted to Rs.9,53,000 (US$19,060). Government Facilitates Action
Leapfrogging Technological Change 49 These are just two of the close to 450 industries which are directly benefitting from the project. In 25    different    industrial    sectors,    including electroplating,  pulp  and  paper,  hosiery,  tannery and   textiles,   around   110   Waste   Minimization Circles (WMC) have been established so far. The project has led to the identification of over 600 waste minimization options, of which over 250 have already been implemented in theparticipating units. This has led to a significant reduction of 15 to 30 per cent of pollution load. The water, electricity, fossil fuel and raw material consumption have also come down by 10 to 35 per cent. The gross annual savings accruing to the participating   units   is   around   Rs.   7.5   Crores (US$1.5 million). Small scale industries have benefitted from this waste minimization scheme in other ways too. They have introduced systematic measuring and manufacturing procedures and implemented several waste minimization options. This has helped them to become compliant with environmental requirements. Under the capacity-building component of the project, 168 representatives from 112 organizations who could act as WMC facilitators for establishing and running WMCs throughout the country have received training . This is one of the Government of India’s  recent efforts to combat industrial pollution. In 1992, Government of India adopted a Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution which provides several instruments to prevent pollution. Besides regulations, legislation and fiscal incentives, the Policy also includes adoption of cleaner technologies, waste minimization and resource conservation. Towards optimum utilization of resources, one of the important initiatives has been Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for specific sectors. Natural Resource Accounting is another effort which aims to integrate economic and environmental accounting at various levels of planning. A National Action Plan for Cleaner Production has also been drawn up to assist in developing and adopting cleaner production technologies. Industrial associations have also been facilitating implementation of cleaner production technologies and waste minimization options in their member industries. The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) represents premier business associations. As a part of its policy, CII provides assistance to small-scale industrial associations to address their environmental management activities through an eco-industrial networking approach. This approach uses the concept of industrial ecology, which looks at the potential fornetworking the material flows of  a set of industries. The objective is to tap the potential to utilise the wastes of one unit as an input to another, with the final goal of integrating all industries as components of an industrial system. Multiple Benefits Industries Help Themselves Shades of Green The Green Rating Project was initiated by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi,  with support from Government of India and UNDP. The initiative aims to assess the environmental performance of companies and rate their performance on varied environmental parameters. The Green Rating Project (GRP) involves a network of volunteers, a technical panel, an advisory panel, local communities, NGOs and media, in assessing the environmental performance of industries. GRP is based on voluntary disclosures by companies on their environmental performance. The process assesses corporate environmental performance within specific sectors. Conceived in the mid-1990s, Green Rating Project has come out with sectoral ratings of Pulp and Paper industries, Chlor alkali industries and the Automobile sector.
Towards Sustainability: Stories from India 50 Eco-fridge A major initiative towards reducing use of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) was taken by Godrej Industries Limited, a leading manufacturer of refrigerators in India. Godrej is now manufacturing Eco-Fridges or environment friendly fridges. The eco-fridge launched by the Godrej Home Appliances under the brand name ‘Pentacool’ is the result of the combined effort of Godrej and National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune. The technology change is based on the use of safe pentane technology rather than choosing other harmful gases. The green refrigerator concept is being used to create awareness among the consumers about the adverse effect of harmful technology on the environment and on the necessity of adoption and use of environment-friendly technology for the benefit of nature. This is one of India’s efforts to reduce its ODS emissions. The India Country Programme (CP) for the phase out of ozone depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol was approved in 1993. The Programme was in accordance with its national industrial development strategy. To facilitate the implementation of this programme, the Ministry of Environment and Forests set up an Ozone Cell and constituted a Steering Committee on the Montreal Protocol to facilitate the implementation of this programme. Further, to fulfil India’s obligations under the Montreal Protocol, MoEF has published a draft Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation) Rules, 2000 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.   The ODS consumption in India has not gone up substantially after the programme was implemented.   In comparison to consumption levels in 1991, the increase has been marginal from 1991 to 1995 (about 3 per cent in four years), and there has been   decline in the following period. In the Naroda Industrial Estate, Gujarat, CII, along with the Naroda Indusries Association, has adopted this approach. Spread over an area of 30 sq.km, the estate has approximately 700 diverse companies including pharmaceutical, dyes, chemicals and textiles. Data on waste being generated in the estate was analyzed using GIS. The wastes were then categorized into those with current commercial value and those without. Wastes with commercial value were already being reused and hence did not pose a problem. For those without commercial value like spent acid, chemical gypsum, chemical iron sludge and biodegradable waste, recycling projects were formulated. For instance, spent acid is being used to produce ferrous sulphate, and gypsum is being used in cement production. Feasibility studies have been undertaken for utilizing iron sludge for brick making, and biodegardable waste for fertlizer and as an energy source. At many places in the country, CII has also established several waste exchange banks to assist small scale industries in solving their waste problems by using waste of one industry as a resource for another, and exchanging it with other industries which use it as a raw material. These intiatives by the government as well as by the industries themselves have contributed much towards curbing pollution and moving towards more sustainable technologies. These efforts reflect a growing sense of corporate responsibility towards a cleaner environment in the Indian industrial sector.