sustainuance - december 2012

While only 10 percent of 8 lakh tons of E-waste is handled safely, the remaining volume feeds into an e-monster that’s poisoning India’s earth, air and water. What are the OEMs and recyclers doing to tackle the menace of E-waste and what more needs to be done? What are the real-world challenges?

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www. sustainuance.com

India’s First Corporate Sustainability Magazine

Volume 01 • Issue 05 • Mumbai • 68 Pages • December 2012 • Price `100

IICA’s Bhaskar Chatterjee on the CSR Amendments

On the ramp with Sustainable Fashion To Blow or to not Windy Days Ahead!

The last edit

ED’s Note

December 2012 marks the conclusion of a b’ak’tun, or an age as per the Mayan Calendar. More precisely, Dec. 21 is said to mark the date of the “4-Ajau, God 9 of the Night,

3-Kank’in, Year Bearer 1-Kaban,” which accordingly heralds the dawn of a new era. But before creation comes the destruction. Hence, according to quite a few sensationalist predictions, the world as we know will come to a sudden end in this very month!

I do have much respect for all that the Mayan civilization achieved, minus of course the decapitation in the name of the sun god Kinich Ahau. Somehow, the end-of-the-world interpretation doesn’t cut much ice with me. And that is solely because I don’t subscribe to a one-day Armageddon scenario. Just like the evolu-tion so far, the end should also logically come through a gradual descent, barring a cataclysmic event, like the 10-km diameter asteroid that supposedly landed at Chicxulub, Mexico some 65 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs. We humans have ascended the food chain over very many thousands of years, and it will take quite a few to displace us. To humans, danger would come from within, than outside.

One of the biggest battles that humanity would be faced with would be the digital junk that we are currently piling up, year-on-year. This e-waste is taking on gargantuan proportions. Some studies estimate that we are generating over 50 million metric tons of digital dump every year, with as little as 9 percent of that being recycled. Keeping in mind the sort of elements that make up this junk—plastics, silicate and other highly toxic stuff—it’s about time that we took notice of the monster that’s taking shape, quite like the one on the cover of this issue, albeit only infinitely bigger.

The good news is that there are some positive steps being under-taken: the customer has become aware, companies have become sensitive, and governments are formulating rules. India requires this awareness even more, as not only does it have to cope with the eWaste generated locally, but also with the tons and tons of illegal shipment from overseas.

E-waste recycling is still in its infancy, with only a handful of players that have the will and the wherewithal to provide a robust solution to enterprises. On the other hand, there are quite a few OEMs that have taken the onus of product lifecycle management. Hopefully, when the government brings in legislation in this regard, there will be lot more action on this front.

Speaking of action, this issue of SustaiNuance captures a variety of that, right from detailed discussion on the proposed amendment of the CSR Bill to how premier fashion designers are going green in their use of fabrics and dyes. And there’s a complete rejoinder on the wind power segment. Hopefully, you will like the varied fare served up.

In January, as the new rings out the old, we will catch up with a very special collector’s edition on sustainability. Stay tuned!

Blows to humanity need not come hurtling from gods; we are sufficiently self-afflicting—the E-waste creation is a proof

Shashwat DC Editor -in-Chief

December 2012 Sustainuance 3

CONTENTS

1212

December 2012 • Vol. 1 Issue 5

12 Swiss-knife moment?

14 Organic Clothing - the next fashion statement?

29 Creativity and participationAcknowledge and reward efforts.

30 To blow or not to? Can whistle-blowing be complementary to CSR or does it need to be a last-resort only?

40 A beast big and ugly! Toxins from 8 lakh tons of crudely scraped electronic leftovers contaminate soil, water and air each year. High time that E-waste rules bit hard!

4 Sustainuance December 2012

58 Cheat Sheet

39 Why should corporates bother about sustainability?

50 Risk factors Business is about understanding risks, and overcoming them.

52 Celebrating wind Wind energy technologies are well under progress and India is among the forerunners

Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission from Saaga Interactive Private Limited is prohibited. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Copyright: All rights reserved.

Published and Printed by Sameer Pradeep Gore on behalf of Saaga Interactive Private Limited. Published at 510, Western Edge-1, Western Express Highway, Borivali (East), Mumbai - 400066. Printed at Amruta Print Arts, JR Boricha Marg, Opp. Kasturba Hospital, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai - 400 011. Editor: Shashwat Dinesh Chaturvedi

Chairman & Managing Director: Uday S SurveEditor-in-Chief: Shashwat DCPrinter & Publisher: Sameer P Gore

Consulting Editor: Deepak KumarContent Manager (Web): Jigna KhajuriaSpecial Correspondent: Pratima H Shikha Das ShankarSenior Correspondent: Saikat NandiCorrespondent: Desiree Lobo Sailee Karnik Neha Kumari Tanu Kaur

Design Director: Nirmal BiswasSenior Designer Graphic: Mahesh WalunjIllustrator Nitin Dhumal

Product Manager: Jiten DoshiSenior Manager Sales: Mahesh L ShettyAsst. Manager Sales: Shoaib ShaikhOnline Marketing Manager: Imtiyaz RashidAd Coordinator: Roshan Fernandes

Operations Manager: Rahoul TeliAccounts & Admin Manager: Gajpal RanaAssistant Manager (Subscription) Pooja Gondhalekar

Circulation Manager: Vishal LadkatProduction Head: Riken Manseta

64 Water Harvesting Environmental and financial benefits of rainwater harvesting

34 New CSR Bhaskar Chatterjee, IICA, elaborates on what really constitutes spending on CSR.


LONG VIEW

The good news is that every CEO worth her salt today knows that sustainability is a key aspect of the

boardroom agenda. The constant chatter about the environment on television chan-nels and frequent mentions in print media has made this an issue on which awareness tends to be fairly high. The real problem of course is what ways and means CEOs can and should choose to propagate the sustainability agenda and ensure there is adequate buy-in from all stakeholders.

One could argue that the CEO push has been seen as an imperative in every change initiative through the ages, be it total qual-ity management in the eighties, business process reengineering in the nineties or electronic commerce in the first decade of the new millennium. All these were launched by management thinkers and consulting practitioners with substantial hype and hoopla, and very quickly it was realized that without a strong and sus-tained push from the top, implementation would be difficult and sustenance of the “new way” very complex.

A PhD research project undertaken at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay a few years ago had demonstrated that even in areas like knowledge management, an enabling culture and good processes were only starting points. It was really the top management’s involvement and the will-ingness to put in effective customer-centric processes before the computer systems were installed that would be the determi-nant of success in this key change initiative.

Sustainability agendas are often a little fuzzy to the rank and file, so due push is needed to ensure adequate buy-in

The special challenge as well as the mega-imperative when it comes to sustain-ability is that the exact context and content of a sustainability initiative is often a little fuzzy to the rank and file of an organiza-tion. The leader himself or herself does not quite buy into the initiative, possibly because of a historic preference for tangible growth, revenues and profits overriding the softer goals like environment protection.

Take for example a carbon calculator initiative started a few years ago. It took a lot of work to explain why the use of the calculator would need monitoring of the carbon print created at home as well as work. And even in the realm of corporate social responsibility, a larger number of employees find it easier to hang their hat on the hook of specific education and employ-ability initiatives rather than a target car-rying sustainability goal.

So where does the solution lie? Education and enlightenment of the CEO is the key, because only if there is adequate “walking the talk” by leadership will a significant sustainability initiative really see the light of day. But once the top management teams are committed to gaining real ben-efits, sustainability becomes a mission that percolates through the organization with all the benefits that only true team work can build!

Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is CEO of Zensar Technologies Ltd . Ruchi Mathur heads CSR and organizational development

In these early days, nothing short of the leadership’s active involvement would drive organization-wide adoption

Ganesh Natarajan & Ruchi Mathur

Why sustainability needs the CEO push


Indian technology giant Wipro has for the first time secured top position in the

Guide to Greener Electronics released by Greenpeace International. The 18th version of the guide ranked 16 electronic companies across the world based on their commitment and progress in three environment criteria: Energy and Climate, Greener Products and Sustainable Operations.

Wipro achieved this feat due to its efforts to embrace renewable energy and advocacy for greener energy policies in India. The company also scored well on post-consumer e-waste collection for recycling and for phasing out haz-ardous substances from its products. Last year’s leader, Hewlett-Packard, slid to second place. Nokia, Acer and Dell round out the top five among the 16 companies rated.

“Wipro has set a new benchmark for sustainability, not only in India but across the globe, that will have a long-term impact in shaping the green energy debate in the electron-ics industry,” said Greenpeace India Senior Campaigner Abhishek Pratap. “The rest of the electronics sector should follow in the footsteps of Wipro’s climate leadership.”

Each year, the Guide to Greener Electronics reviews companies that produce mobile phones, tablet computers and PCs. The companies are rated based on policies and practices - not on their specific products.

The Indian version of Guide to Greener Electronics has been merged with the International version, hence, all companies have been reviewed on their performance on managing e-waste generated from their products in India.

As per the review, only two companies - Wipro and Samsung - showed strong e-waste management pro-gramme also put in best class practice. Many global companies did not even develop an e-waste management programme for India which casts a doubt on their ability to meet obligation put on them under the newly enacted E-waste (Management and Handling) rule. An ambitious collection target of 20 % can be set up under the new rule.

While most of the ICT companies have been progres-sive in removing toxic chemicals from their products, their manufacturing and supply chains are still heavily depend-ent on polluting energy sources that are contributing to climate change. They also lag behind in effectively manag-ing the e-waste they produce, particularly in India.

Global use of electronics is only going to grows, and it’s the corporate environmental leadership who must ensure the industry transitions to clean energy and pre-vent increased electronic waste. Electronic companies have also gained political power in many countries, meaning their advocacy for clean energy can impact government policy.

VayuGrid – Ethiopia sign MoU for biofuel park

VayuGrid, a Bengaluru based biofuel supply chain company, has signed a memorandum of under-standing with Ethiopia to establish a biofuel

cluster there for its VayuSap, a high-yield Pongamia.This project is predicted to create a $2.5-million

biofuel investment opportunity and is a part of a larger government plan to develop a biofuel park in Ethiopia. Starting with 2,000 acres, the long-term plan is to create a cluster of 100,000 acres under a joint venture model. The local partner will bring in land, labor and investors for capital and VayuGrid will be providing the IP and down-stream contracts, creating a sustainable and replicable business model.

Ethiopia was chosen for this venture particularly due to its economics and agriculture. The vast stretch of arid and unproductive land in the country is perfect for creating a green energy supply base for local and global markets.

“VayuGrid is bringing toge-ther local and global businesses that are dependent on crude and looking for ways to hedge against currency fluctuations while ensuring a predictable supply of green energy,” said Doug Peterson, CEO, VayuGrid.

The biofuel park is a critical step to reduce the country’s com-mitment of 87 percent of free cash on imported crude while at the same time creating local job opportunities and an ecosystem of value-added businesses.

Wipro tops Greenpeace’s list of green electronics companies

NEWS


Indian hinterland sets example for solar development

A solar project in the hinterland of Tamil Nadu has proved to be an example good technology for other power deprived parts of the country. Moser Baer’s Rs.100

crore 5MW solar grid interactive photovoltaic (SPV) plant in Sivaganga boasts of a technology suitable specifically for Indian climate.

The Sivaganga solar farm uses amorphous silicon thin film technology, considered better for Indian climatic conditions. Thin film technology requires double the area of land compared to the crystalline film method. However, land is not a constraint in this region where most of the area is dry and arid.

The Sivaganga project, identified by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) and implemented under the Generation Based Incentive (GBI) scheme of the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, was commissioned on December 20, 2010. A power purchase agreement was signed with the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) for Rs.4.50 per unit. A GBI pact was concluded with Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) for Rs.10.50. Totally, the plant yields Rs.15 per unit.

The Moser Baer Clean Energy plant has a load factor of above 20 percent against the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s requirement of 19 percent, say senior officials. The average daily production of the plant has been around 24,500 units. Excluding four per cent of the production for internal consumption and loss, the remainder is fed into the grid. Even during heavy monsoon, the plant has generated around 15,000 units.

Built on 65 acres in a tiny hamlet in the Sivaganga district, the plant has exceeded the targets set in the planning stages, according to government and company officials.

The Solar Energy Policy 2012, which targets 3,000 MW through solar power by 2017, makes it mandatory for large power consumers to buy six per cent of their consumption from solar energy producers or from the State generation and dis-tribution utility at higher prices, or by buying solar renewable energy certificates.

The estimated gross potential for land-based grid connected Solar PV in Tamil Nadu is in the range between 4,000 MW and 21,700 MW, according to World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE).

Constructed at a cost of Rs.100 crore, the plant has come up with funding from IDBI and the International Finance Corporation, a part of the Washington-based World Bank Group. When it comes to solar power, Tamil Nadu has an advan-tage over Rajasthan and Gujarat as the state does not have sand storms which damage solar panels and reduce their efficacy.

NEWS


Indian organizations nominated for Ashden award

International Ashden Awards, 2013 has short-listed three Indian green energy pioneers. This will not only give the companies a chance to

win up to £40,000 in prize money, but also access to business support, international media exposure and membership of the prestigious Ashden India Sustainable Energy Collective.

The shortlisted organisations are: 1. Friends of Women’s World Banking that sell and

finance solar lanterns2. OMC Micropower that helps in building small

power plants for villages and telecoms 3. Vortex Engineering that provides low-power

ATMsThe finalists will be announced in May 2013 and

awards will be presented in June at a ceremony in London.

This year, Indian microfinance com-pany, Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) won the Ashden 2012 International Gold Award for proving how ethically man-aged microfinance

can provide sustainable energy for the poor.The Ashden Awards judging panel includes Prof

Paul Ekins, professor of energy and environment policy of the UCL Energy Institute at University College, London; Andrew Simms of the New Economics Foundation; Dominic Brain of Christian Aid and Michael Mason, international carbon finance expert.

15 townships register for green rating in Hyderabad

The sustainability document for the National Building Code of India will be ready for release by March 2013, a state-

ment by CII Indian Green Building Council said.The document is ready and is being circu-

lated to the State Governments, municipalities and other stakeholders for their suggestions and objections.

The National Building Code of India was pre-pared in the 1960’s during Jawaharlal Nehru’s ten-ure as Prime Minister. It was revised in the 1980’s and again in 2005. It was now felt that the Code needed to be reassessed to include current needs and changes. A 14-member team of experts has worked on the approach to sustainability for its adoption by various states.

There has been a growing interest in register-ing for green building certification as some local authorities offer rebates in taxes, power at cheaper rates and allow additional construction space.

These incentives as well as the savings such green buildings provide attract more develop-ers into the fold. More than 15 townships in Hyderabad, including those developed by the Mahindras, the Tatas, Ramky and Wave, have been registered for green rating and over 100 oth-ers are in the pipeline. India had 20,000 sq ft of green building in 2003. In less than 10 years, it has 1.25 billion sq ft of green buildings registered.


SC seeks Centre’s response to 25% green tax on diesel cars

The Supreme Court has sought Centre’s response to an extreme plea for collecting 25% of the total cost of a diesel car or SUV, sold in the National Capital Region, as green tax at the time of its purchase to

deter people from buying more polluting personal vehicles and help fight the growing levels of pollution in Delhi.

Another suggestion has been made of imposing an annual environmen-tal compensation of 2% of the cost of existing petrol cars and 4% of diesel cars to encourage people to rely more on public transport rather than buy-ing cars.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, who made the pleas, bemoaned that more and more diesel cars were added every year because of the price disparity between petrol and diesel. Hence, the benefit of switching the entire public transport system in Delhi to CNG was lost.

Today Delhi adds approximately 1,400 new personal vehicles a day. Therefore, even as each new generation of vehicles and fuel has become cleaner, the gain is lost because of the sheer increase in the number of vehicles.

“The solution must be to restrain the growth of personal vehicle usage, particularly diesel vehicles, and this is only possible through a highly aug-mented transport system in Delhi and the region,” Salve argued before the court.

If Salve’s suggestions would be implemented, then a person buying a diesel car costing Rs 6 lakh would pay a green tax of Rs 1.5 lakh. If the cost of an SUV is Rs 16 lakh, then the buyer would have to pay Rs 4 lakh extra.

Justifying harsher levy for diesel cars, Salve said in his application, “The emission norms for diesel cars legally allow higher limits for NOx and par-ticulate matters as compared to petrol cars.”

For old cars, the tax can be collected annually by the insurance compa-nies along with the premium amount, he suggested. He said the insurance companies must ensure that the vehicle has valid pollution under control certificate at the time of annual renewal of policy.

So, if a person owns a small petrol car which cost him Rs 3 lakh, then he pays Rs 6,000 every year as environmental compensation charge along with the insurance premium amount.

“By 2010, there were 12 lakh vehicles entering and leav-ing Delhi every day and over 70% of these were cars. In the NCR region, Gurgaon, Faridabad and other satellite towns have grown to be important commercial hubs but have completely inadequate public trans-port connectivity. This is a phe-nomenal growth and has greatly contributed to the congestion and pollution in the city and the NCR region,” he said and requested the court to direct private contractors to complete work on these two expressways by May 31 next year.

Salve said the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) had been suggesting measures for many years, but little has been achieved because of poor implementation of these suggestions.

No EU carbon fees for US airlines

US President Barack Obama has signed a bill guarding US airlines from paying for each ton of car-

bon their planes emit flying in and out of Europe.

The unanimously voted carbon fee bill directs the US transportation secretary to shield US airlines from Europe’s car-bon emissions trading scheme (ETS) if he or she deems it necessary. Eminent law-yers say the bill is an unusual legislation because it would prevent US companies from complying with the laws of another country.

“It never made a bit of sense for Euro- pean governments to tax our citizens for flying over our own airspace - and with the passage of this law we’ve got the tools we need to prevent it from happening and protect American jobs,” said Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, a co-author of the bill.

The House passed the bill despite the announcement that the European Union would “stop the clock” on enforcing its

law for one year. However, one EU official twitted

that United States was not making good on suggestions for “greener” policies.

McCaskill and co-sponsor Rep- ublican Senator John Thune stated

that their bill had pressured the EU into delaying the enforcement of their

cap-and-trade scheme for aviation. China, one of the world’s fastest

growing markets for aircraft, had threat-ened to cancel orders of European Airbus aircraft if the EU did not back down from applying its ETS on all airlines.

NEWS


September 2012 Sustainuance 31

OPINION

The standards landscape has become too complex and challenging to sail through, but ‘enterprise sustainability management’ can help

By Ananda Kumar

Swiss-knife moment?

Ihave been wondering about the meaning of the word sustainability. Wiki Answers says “to get by, endure or support”, and there are many other

definitions. For me, it means being able to get to a better alternative and leaving the world a better place than what it currently is, and eventually lead-ing to a healthier community. When I look at sus-tainability initiatives, I am hoping that the objective is not to ‘get by’ but to help create conditions that allow us to live a wholesome life - helping to create a standard of living that is socially and environmen-tally healthy and is economically viable, too.

Another common definition that I have come

across is that sustainability is about development that meets the present needs without compromis-ing needs of future generations. I am not too sure how to understand or interpret that; I also wonder how do we know the needs of future generations and how do I draw the line and say that this is all I need.

I think that instead of getting stuck with find-ing the perfect definition of the term, if we decided to focus on sustainability as a set of guidelines by which we can live and protect our world as well as protect the rights of all other beings, it would make good sense.


Raised to strategic levelsHow do we play the role of housekeeper for future generations? Can we look at conservation and pres-ervation of natural resources including water, air, soil, minerals, and fossil fuels and protecting spe-cies biodiversity? Can we look at understanding the interlinking of environmental, social and economic issues? When are we going to realize that altering one aspect of economics has a social and environ-mental impact and vice versa? Can we look at para-digm shifts in terms of how businesses run and be conscious in terms of reducing waste, and at ways to be profitable using less natural resources?

Let’s look at the business side of things with respect to sustainability. Organizations seeking to enhance their sustainability performance are typically driven to do so by the needs to reduce costs, comply with regulations, satisfy the expecta-tions of stakeholders, and to meet critical business objectives.

The demand for much higher levels of transpar-ency across a whole range of energy and sustainabil-ity performance metrics requires a governed, sys-tematic approach to data collection, management, reporting and analysis, and this space seems to be evolving into a concept around the management of sustainability. It has moved from being a utopian goal to one that is important and is increasingly becoming a strategic initiative embedded into daily operations of an enterprise.

Leaders no longer manage sustainability in a reactive manner or as an afterthought. It has evolved into what is now known as enterprise sus-tainability management (ESM) and is being looked at as a competitive and strategic advantage as well and is increasingly being localized by multinational organizations.

Confusion and chaosIt all started long time back when concerns and legislations came up around waste management, pollutants and hazardous materials, and a subtle combination of legislation and increased awareness prompted companies to take more accountability for their actions. The idea evolved into what is now called corporate social responsibility (CSR). As the industry evolved, the management of CSR along with the growing complexities of other environ-mental aspects fell under the scope of sustainability.

Every aspect of an enterprise has an impact on sustainability - right from sourcing of materials, to product engineering, development, manufactur-ing, sales and customer service. However, it is very often ill-defined in terms of the specifics. For some groups, it’s about reducing energy and carbon usage or designing eco-friendly products, while for others it’s about reducing operational risks with environ-mental, health and safety processes and making the enterprise a healthier place.

With these potential conflicts in terms of spe-cific priorities, organizations often struggle to

communicate a holistic picture of what they are doing to their internal and external stakeholders.

Too many standards to tackleThere has been an explosion in management sys-tems beyond just quality management and ISO 9000. Today, there are many different standards, regulations and processes that all impact different areas of sustainability, which creates a challenge for any organization. We have ISO 9000 for quality, ISO 14000 for environment, ISO 50001 for energy, ISO 31000 for Risk Management, ISO 26000 for social responsibility and sustainability and OSHAS 18000 for safety.

Managing these initiatives and providing gov-ernance and stewardship is complex and sometimes very challenging as well. It is no surprise that things are getting out of hand fast. Enterprise sustain-ability management is an emerging area of interest where sustainability and aspects around that can be managed.

We should see this strategy being adopted to manage enterprise operations. This is called enter-prise sustainability management. Organizations are implementing management strategies to add a sustainable perspective to the product and process lifecycles, which spans right from the inception of an idea to the disposal of a product.

I think a further convergence of sustainabil-ity strategies as well as an increased focus on the enterprise sustainability model will be in vogue in the next few years.

Ananda Kumar is an entrepreneur, angel investor and renowned authority on IT and green. Currently, he is the VP India Operations with Powerone Micro Systems.

For some, it’s about reducing energy and carbon usage or designing eco-friendly products, while for others it’s about reducing operational risks with environmental, health and safety processes

ISO 9000 is for quality, ISO 14000 for environment, ISO 50001 for energy, ISO 31000 for Risk Management, ISO 26000 for social responsibility and sustainability and Oshas 18000 for safety


FEATURE

Seriously, if clothing industries were to really succeed at embracing sustainability, making it haute could do the magic!

By Desiree Lobo

It was then, in the early nineties, that the seeds of sustainable fashion were sown and the concepts of recycling and environmentally friendly fabrics began to grow.

Clothing, from functional to fashionable Sustainable fashion arose as an opposition to the dastardly acts on animals. Many however argue that the practice of slaughtering animals for cloth-ing was handed down through generations by the prehistoric man who used animal skin as a means of clothing. But the argument overlooks the fact that during the prehistoric era, the processes were not as advanced as they are today. There were no sowing machines, no fine needles; and most importantly, no fabric for clothing. The prehistoric man, there-fore, made use of animal skin and leaves which were bound together with sinew, a tough fiber that was used as thread.

At the same time, human beings lived cohesively with nature and animals and hence respected and even worshiped them. Therefore, the practice of

Clothes can speak a million words. As part of a human being’s inherent needs, they could be average, expensive or luxurious and deter-

mine the status of a person. More so when we live in an era of haute couture!

With the change of every season, designers get busy setting up their new collections. This means making use of that beautiful silk from China, cotton from India and fur from Europe. These fabrics are among the most sought after by designers, who go all out to please their customers, often at a cost to the environment.

Today, almost every industry has an ecological connotation and the fashion industry is no excep-tion to that. With concerns about depletion of resources being raised by environmentalists, the fashion industry, too, has started to take cognizance of the need to preserve the environment.

The words sustainable and fashion are at two extremes. Fashion is something that is ever chang-ing. One thing that is in fashion today will shortly be out of vogue because something else would replace it. Fashion leads to shortening of the shelf and ward-robe lives of garments.

Sustainability on the other hand, requires a drastic reduction in our ecological footprint and is inherently about increasing a product’s life. After all, the very ethos of sustainability means to retain and maintain.

Historically, it has taken a Katharine Hamnett, the famous British designer, to speak out against the eco-evils of fashion at the United Nations in 1990.

Organic clothing—the next fashion statement?


killing animals was an extremely judicious one. The killing of an animal was only done either for meeting food needs or for self-protection. Once the animal was killed, the skin would be peeled off and used as clothing in harsh climates. Civilizations liv-ing in colder climates often relied on animal fur for survival. In warmer climates, leather often provided the material for necessary clothing and tools.

However, as the years went by and as human kind started to progress, this practice was misconstrued and turned into a disturbing trend, where people wore robes of animal skin as fashion statements, without any qualms. Apparel produced from ani-mals has gone from being functional to fashionable.

Fashion’s carbon footprintThe fashion industry also happens to be one of the most polluting industries in the world. It is the sec-ond largest water-consumer of all the industries of the world. The mindless killing of animals for their pelts also implies that no animal species, no matter how abundant, is immune to extinction.

Not surprisingly, animals whose populations numbered in millions and whose ranges extended over entire continents have been reduced to near extinction within the span of a few decades. According to Fur Commission USA (FCUSA), “Obtaining accurate statistics which show the num-ber of animals killed by the fur trade each year are notoriously difficult to get hold of, as figures pub-lished from the fur trade are never accurate. What can be said with certainty (by using conservative figures) is that, excluding rabbits, more than 55 mil-lion animals are either bred and killed in fur factory farms or trapped in the wild for their fur”. It’s no less shocking that more than one animal a second is killed by the fur trade just to get the skin off their backs.

Sustainable fashion, however, is not only about the leather and the fur; it is also about looking after the environment and making sure that the natural resources are not harmed in the process. This includes use of organic cotton, natural dyes and the ilk. Traditional cotton farming is hard on

Fashion can tell people how it can be elegant and trendy to sport eco-friendly apparel while also being sensitive to the environment


FEATURE

the environment, given that cotton is a pesticide-dependent crop. These chemicals are taking a toll on our environment and on human health. Every T-shirt made from conventional cotton requires ¼ pound of harmful chemicals. According to the USDA, “In one year alone over 50 million pounds of pesticides were used on US cotton fields.” Pesticide and fertilizer usage in cotton growing has also been linked to ground and surface water contamination, and the resultant pollution of drinking water. Fish and wildlife are also impacted, as pesticides dimin-ish the reproductive abilities and cause migration die-offs.

Dyes, which are very intrinsic to any garment, are also another major environmental hazard. In many parts of the world, garments are dyed or bleached using toxic chemicals without proper precautions. Toxic chemicals from dyes are depleting and pollut-ing the natural resources causing an environmental havoc. Large amounts of water are used to flush conventional synthetic dyes from garments and then this waste water must be treated to remove the

heavy metals and other toxic chemicals before it can be returned to water systems, sewers and rivers. At least, that is what should happen. Most garments are produced in developing countries where pollution controls are often lax or nonexistent. Discharges from huge number of the textile factories go straight into rivers where the river water might be bright green one day and yellow the following day.

Many of the clothes we wear today are also made from synthetic materials such as nylon and polyes-ter. These are made from petrochemicals, which are very polluting to the environment, causing global warming. They are also non-biodegradable, which means they do not break down easily and are there-fore difficult to dispose of. In order to manufacture nylon, nitrous oxide is released as part of the pro-cess. Now, nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is 310 times stronger than carbon dioxide and causes global warming. Viscose is another artificial fiber, which is made from wood pulp. To make viscose, wood pulp is treated with toxic chemicals such as caustic soda and sulphuric acid.


Silk, one of the most luxurious and expen-sive fabrics comes with a heavy price tag for the environment. The problem lies in the fact that the silkworm lives a very short and sad life. The finest and softest silk in the world is produced from the mulberry silkworm. Once the silkworm has spun its cocoon, it will stay in there for 16 days in order to transform into a Bombyx mori moth. Once the transformation is complete, it will begin to excrete a fluid that dissolves a hole in the silk so it can emerge. However, silk farmers do not want this fluid to come in contact with the silk as it will damage the silk. To prevent this, once the cocoon is completely formed, they toss all the sacks into boil-ing water to kill the silkworm. This is how the most beautiful silk is grown and harvested world over.

So what makes organic clothing?There needs to be a clear distinction between organic garments and organic fabrics. Not all gar-ments that claim to be “made from organic cotton” are necessarily organic garments. It only means that

the cotton used does not include harmful chemi-cals, pesticides or toxic dyes. It does not take into consideration the other accessories on the garment like zips, buttons, trimming such as lace and prints. To classify as an organic garment, it should also take into account the accessories that are needed to cre-ate the garment. If a full garment is referred to as organic, then it must carry a certification stamp to the effect that the fabric and all its accessories and trims have been assessed.

Eco or sustainable fashion is a growing design trend in the fashion and textile industry wherein the goal is to create environmentally friendly and socially responsible clothing. Because fashion is an eye catching industry, people will see how elegant, fashionable and trendy it is to sport eco fashion. This will sensitise people to the issues of the envi-ronment. Organically grown cotton does not make use of harmful chemicals, toxins and synthetic fer-tilizers. It is produced with natural dyes, chemicals, compost and soil. Organic cotton also makes use of the lady bug which acts as a natural pest control. This preserves the cotton and destroys the harmful insects.

Choosing organic fibers or sustainable fabrics like those made from bamboo, hemp, organic wool or wild silk can trim the amount of carbon and chemicals that is emitted during the production of other fibers or fabrics. Buying clothes that are sus-tainable is beneficial not only to the environment, but also to human beings who are reeling under the effects of harmful dyes that cause inflamma-tions and abrasions on the skin. These dyes instigate allergies and are harmful to those suffering from asthma. Sustainable fashion also protects animals

Choosing organic fibers or fabrics like those made from bamboo, hemp, organic wool or wild silk can significantly trim the otherwise big carbon footprint


FEATURE

that are killed for fur and leather.

Is it feasible?There are always two sides to a coin. While sustain-able may sound “new” and appear to be “fashion-able”, it is not always affordable. Consumers are looking for cheaper options that are not a strain on the pocket.

The issue, however, is not merely about price. A lot of reluctance also stems from the lack of awareness. Companies, therefore, need to heighten customer awareness on where the clothing comes from, how it is made and what is the social and environmental impact of the production. An initial step would be for some leading companies to make a concerted effort to adopt a few fabrics that are more sustainable, but which may cost 5-10 percent more in terms of the base price. That could cause a snowball effect in the rest of the industry. As big brands source more responsible textiles for their collections, there will be a bigger volume of orders that will lower the overall manufacturing cost (and

therefore retail price), making the product more accessible to the mainstream market.

After all, sustainable fashion has to be wearable, healthy, light on the body and on the environment. It might come for a little premium, but also lasts longer. It’s about time that the fashion industry systematically and strategically invested in clothing that has little or at least no major implications for the environment.

Companies also need to heighten customer awareness on where the clothing comes from, how it is made and what are the social and environmental impacts of the processes


—Neeta Lulla, Fashion Stylist and Costume Designer

I VIEW SUSTAINABLE FASHION AS CLASSIC—

IT LASTS


INTERVIEW

With a flutter of chiffon and unabashed glamor, Neeta Lulla whirled into the fashion scene more than two decades ago. Her designs have not only been recognized in India, but have also ac-quired acclaims globally. Hailed as the ‘Czarina of Indian Fashion,’ Lulla today is a force to reckon with in the glamor and modeling industry. Expertise, clar-ity, creativity and humility arising from quiet confidence have earned her both respect and clientele of Bollywood’s fa-mous personalities. She has also been the winner of four national film awards for best costume design.

By Desiree Lobo

re sustainable materials like organic cotton or silk popular in India?

Absolutely. It is something that has been there for a very long time. History proves that weavers were using organic

material like silk or cloth made from jute. There was no other option. Sustainable material existed for the longest time and now it has become even more pop-ular as India masters hand woven silk and organic fabric.

Is sustainable fashion popular and can it be profit-able?

It is profitable, but many designers view sustainable fashion as a risk mainly because organic silk, cotton or linen is not easily available. I view sustainable fashion as classic and for me classic lasts whether it is in or out of fashion.

So is it risky to get into sustainable fashion?There are risks, which is why there aren’t many fashion designers that promote sustainable fashion. However sustainable clothing is sturdy and looks better with its wear and tear. This is because it is natural and anything that is natural lasts longer than synthetic material.

Sustainable fashion is expensive and not very af-fordable. Does this deter people from buying the products? Or is it the mindset of people that pre-vents them from buying the products?

True, as these are the garments that require human expertise like weaving or block printing, and today

with a lot of craftsmen looking at alternative urban jobs, this skill only gets expensive. But in terms of the mindset, I think it is a style state-ment for many fashionable people.

Why is India lagging be-hind in terms of sustain-able fashion?

A lot of it has to do with lack of awareness. Designers are using and working with sustainable material, but people are not educated on the subject. Slow produc-tion rate and small infrastructure also has a lot to do with why sustainable fashion is not a very popular trend.

Do you make use of sustainable fabrics?

Yes, often when a collection demands for it.

Lack of awareness, slow production rate and small infrastructure has a lot to do with why sustainable fashion is not a very popular trend


INTERVIEW


Wendell Rodricks is a prominent fash-ion designer based in the western In-dian region of Goa. He is one of India’s most renowned and respected designers. His clothes are cross-cultural and bear strong influences from all over the globe. He is acknowledged to be the first Indian designer to open the world’s largest gar-ment fair Biofach, an organic trade fair, in Nuremburg, Germany, where he dis-played his ecofriendly collection. The ‘Eco Goa’ collection was applauded by the German media, with the German au-thorities saying that they wanted “Less Lagerfeld and more Rodricks.”

By Desiree Lobo

s sustainable fashion popular and can it be prof-itable?

This segment of fashion is a small core sector that is growing. It can be profitable if there is a sus-tainable project that can propel sales and profits.

In Goa, we have created a room around ecofriendly garments and it works very well. I can only speak for myself and my company. It is profitable! Can it be pop-ular? Well, why not? It is the responsibility of the fash-ion designer to take up sustainable fashion in order to educate the masses. Awareness can only be created if fashion designers choose to create clothes that are

—Wendell Rodricks, Fashion Designer

SUSTAINABLE FASHION IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY FASHION DESIGNER


ecofriendly. Sustainable fashion can be popular if there is a unanimous decision by fashion designers to go green.

Are there any issues or risks in getting into sustain-able fashion?

The only risk is the indecision whether to last for the future. With experience, one can draw in people who are focused on buying this kind of fashion. For me, eco-fashion is a necessity and whether it is a risk or not, it is imperative that designers implement and take up projects that are ecofriendly. As I mentioned earlier, it is all about creating a market for custom-ers, which is the sole responsibility of the fashion designers.

Sustainable fashion is not quite affordable. Does this deter people from buying the products? Or is it the mindset of people that prevents them from buy-ing the products?

I think today people have a lot of spending power and are looking for quality of life. People do not just want to look good or nice in something; they want to spend on clothes that would last and buy clothes that would add value to their lives. Eco fashion today has a certain status attached to it. It is a brand that everyone wants to be associated with. Many people today want to live with a sense of eco-ethics. They are willing to spend more to save the planet.

Do you make use of sustainable fab-rics?

We have a room at the Wendell Rodricks Design Space that is dedi-cated to eco-fashion. It is a very popu-lar space. The ecofriendly fabrics that I work with are: Malkha cotton fabric and dyes which are made entirely of natural leaves, fruit skins, flowers and the bark of trees. The Eco Goa collec-tion is a tribute to the beauty of nature.

Could you tell us a little more about Malkha cotton and how it is pro-duced?

Malkha cotton is spun into thread at the cotton fields and not baled for spinning mills like regular cotton. By eliminating as many as five to six processes used in normal cotton, the end result is a cotton fabric that feels

like none other on the human skin. It has a unique bounce and soft texture that lends to the organic nature of the Eco Goa collection.

Are the dyes used 100 percent organic?

The dyes used in the collection are a result of a seven-year project involving replanting of a forest, provid-ing tribals with cooking gas and creating a livelihood for them by employing them to harvest the vegetal products to create dyes that are unique in many ways. The dyes create a fabric that is UV protective, anti-bacterial and can be washed in a washing machine.

Consumers in India view sustainable fashion as ‘new’ and ‘trendy.’ How long will this last? Do you see sustainable fashion as a long-term trend or as just a passing one?

This is not about fashion. It is about having a con-science and about living that belief. As long as people are conscious about the environment, sustainable

fashion will always have a market. The important thing is to keep this trend alive so that people will always be aware of the necessity to care for the environment.

Do you have a line or a collection that is dedicated solely to sustainable fashion?

Yes! The Wendell Rodricks Eco Goa col-lection consists of garments that are easy on the eye and the wearer. These are garments that one can be at ease in, yet cut a fluid silhouette. I’m employing famed Indian methods of cutting based on ancient geometry, and send out clothes that are striking in simplicity and mini-malism, unusual in the color combination of a soothing color palette and complex in composition based on circles, squares, loops and drapes.

Do you feel that sustainable fashion is the need of the hour?

I truly believe in the environment-friendly concept of clothing. We all need to be more conscious of the fragile state of our planet and clothing can play an important part in this movement. When we buy an eco-garment, we are saving more water and reserving cleaner air for our planet. The fashion industry is known as a polluting industry. This has marred and tarnished the image of the industry. It is about time we change this and move towards bettering not just the image of the industry but also the environment.

Awareness can only be created if fashion designers create clothes that are ecofriendly. Sustainable fashion can be popular if there is a unanimous decision by designers to go green


INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW


Original, innovative, feisty, spirited—these are just a few words that could be used to describe the creations of Bengaluru-based designer Deepika Govind. Be it garments in her prêt and couture collection, lifestyle products or accessories, Deepika’s flagship stores in New Delhi and Bangalore bear witness to the matchless origi-nality of her designs.

Her design philosophy is `Fashion for the EARTH’ (E=Elements, A=Art, R=Revolution, T=Technology and H=Human Hand.) Deepika uses fash-ion as a medium to voice her concern for dying Indian traditions and crafts and the environment. Along with a deep respect for the earth, the human touch and meditative thought of the weaver is a sacred sphere for her.

By Desiree Lobo

—Deepika Govind, Fashion Designer

AND

ARE CONTRADICTORY TO SUSTAINABLE FASHION

OPULENCELUXURY


ustainable fashion in India is not very popular. Why is it so?

The Indian fashion industry is cur-rently promoting opulence and luxu-ry which existed during the reign of the maharajas. A number of design-

ers feel that this is the only way that fashion will sell. It is completely contradictory to what sustainable fashion stands for.

Sustainable fashion in the West is defined on the basis of whether or not animal fur is being used. In India, fashion designers do not make use of fur. What then defines sustainable fashion here?

Sustainable fashion is using more environmen-tally friendly materials and methods in clothing production. This includes use of sweatshop-free labor, energy-efficient processes, and use of alternative energy and low-impact dyes in manufactur-ing. Use of fibers produced with less resource abuse, energy and toxins in a socially just manner is good, and so is use of regener-ated fabrics, i.e. fabrics made from renewable natural sources, namely plant cellulose or plant or animal proteins. The refashion movement is all about lessening waste.

Sustainable fashion is extremely popular in the West. Why is India lagging behind?

But I see no movement like this in India currently. It’s also due to lack of consumer awareness. This has to be constantly hammered into the consciousness of the con-sumer. There should be a social taboo; only then the designers could bring about this movement in a larger way.

Do you make use of any sustain-able material? What are the types of material that you work with?

As a designer I’ve always been committed to working on eco tex-tiles. All my projects have been in this direction. Be it Eri the peace silk, Khadi, Muga or other hand-loom projects, it’s all done with a social commitment. I must admit that organic textiles and dyes need to be produced on a mass scale for them to be cost effective. This is a

double-edged sword; both the designers as well as the clients need to commit. For as long as there is a demand for these products there will be a supply.

Silk in India is very popular and the most expensive sarees are designed in silk. How do you ensure that silk is sustainable?

I launched a collection titled “Eri, the peace silk: A travelers’ collection”. It is a selection of Eri silk stoles and shawls, is imbued with natural, completely organic dyes: predominantly indigo (spanning from almost navy to the washed denim blue to pale sky), shades of alzerine (hazy twilight mauve and soft shell pink), and natural and ubiquitous black. My quest was to find a silk that does no harm to any life form. That is why I chose to work with Eri (also known as endi or errandi in India). Eri continued to intrigue me for its unusual characteristics, for one,

its thermal properties (being warm in winter, cool in summer), making it one of the finest options for stoles and shawls. It is often referred to as an ‘Ahimsa’ silk, since the process does not involve killing of the silk worm. Eri cocoons are open ended, allowing the moth to fly to freedom once the spinning is complete. Eri is justifiably known as the most eco-friendly silks and a boon to those who practice absolute non-violence.

Another very famous collection of yours which was well received by consumers is your ‘Green Denim’ collection. Can you tell us some-thing about that collection?

I’m a strong believer of organic and natural fibers and that is why I came up with the idea of “Green Denim”. It is a step forward in upholding the values of eco fiber and hand-woven textiles. The organic denim goes through the wet process in a plain rinse wash with a simple enzyme, which is not harmful to the environ-ment besides consuming minimum water. In the drying process, scrap-ing, whiskering, grinding, creating a distress look, notching and tacking are some of the techniques that are carried out. The dying process is 100 percent natural. Natural organic indigo is extracted directly from the indigo plant and then the cotton is dyed by hand in a process that is chemical-free and makes little use of electricity.

Organic textiles and dyes need to be on a mass scale to be cost effective. This is a double-edged sword, and both the designers as well as the clients need to commit


INTERVIEW

Acknowledge creativity and participation

Spot the talent and ideas for sustainability among your staff and reward them suitably.

By Jigna Khajuria

A good measurement system will foster a discussion between staff and managers on their common goals

Twitching the famous saying a little, we can say that ‘everyone loves a good reward’, especially if it is given for a creative idea or trying out

something new. If you want your workforce to take sustainability seriously, there can be no better way than appreciating their participation and rewarding the suitable efforts.

It is obvious then that for an organization to be able to reward and recognize the staff appropriately, it will need to have relevant criteria in place to be able to evaluate and calculate their performance. The main function of such criteria would be:

Boost a two-way communication on the goals of the organization and performance: - A good measurement system will foster a discussion between staff and managers on their common goals and how they are doing with making the goals a real-ity. Often, in day-to-day working, there is neither the time nor the inclination to discuss such matters. The staff can sometimes come up with very valuable ideas regarding their work or business. Usually these are easily lost in every day routine work, so perfor-mance evaluation is a good opportunity to make sure they captured.

Similarly, apply these measures to your sub-contractors and suppliers as well. The good or bad impact of environmental and social actions of a business reflects directly on the company doing the contracting, especially if it has a better-known brand than the subcontractor. It should be clear to your suppliers and contractors that sustainability is an important part of your business or way of doing things. The warning of withdrawal of a contract should be an essential part of the relationship with them.

Make your strategy clear and point out the significant actions and outcomes towards sustainability: -Don’t fall for the flowery words. Rather, identify what will make a difference. The performance meas-ures you put down should pinpoint the actions and outcomes that are expected from the staff. Make it clear to the staff that sustainability “policies, strate-gies or mission and goals” are not just fantasies to keep senior management busy. It is a “regular job”

of the organization. If the staff can link this strategy directly to rewards, sustainability issues will become much more interesting and important in their eyes.

Offer data on the progress of sustainability goals: - Besides measuring individual staff members’ progress, a measurement system should also enable the com-pany to keep on top of its development in sustainability terms.

Some organizations regard contri-bution to sustainability as something to be rewarded separately, perhaps with an awards ceremony and gifts. This would be a mistake as it suggests that sustainability is just an attach-ment, rather than at the core of the business. The management should make it a point to integrate sustain-ability goals into the regular financial reward and recognition program.

The performance measures you put down should pinpoint the actions and outcomes that are expected


MANAGEMENT

FEATURE

Can whistle-blowing be complementary to CSR or does it need to be a last-resort only?

By Pratima H

To blow or not to?It’s easy to sit up and take notice of an unethical

act. But it’s tough to stand up and take action. There’s a third alley however. Sneak out and

whisper in someone’s ear.Not the tell-a-tale kinds, not the quid nunc types,

not even the curtain-twitcher’s way, but in a manner that exudes responsibility and duty.

That’s the whistle-blower’s way!These are the folks who refuse to watch corpo-

rate frauds and wrongs sitting down, unlike their happily-buried-in-their-cubicles colleagues. They instead choose to peep out of their holes and let the world know what’s stinking inside.

If you are an Al Pacino or Russell Crowe fan, you probably know what this is leading into. The name Jeffrey Wigand must have surely rung a big bell already.

In 1995 Dr. Wigand achieved national promi-nence in the US for something seemingly-stupid and outrageous that he attempted at and struggled for. Something he was even mocked at for, and sidelined for by many fellow-men! This tobacco industry’s high ranking former executive, chose to make an inconvenient truth known to the public during an interview with CBS news program 60 Minutes and during a deposition he was compelled to give in an action against the tobacco companies. The spotlight: the industry’s disregard for public health and safety.

A lawsuit was filed against him by Brown & Williamson, his employers in question, because of his public disclosures about the industry’s efforts to minimize the health and safety issue of tobacco use.


If the Enron fiasco gave us anything apart from a bankruptcy-thriller, it was the forgotten power of a small whistle, which when blown at the right time, can move more than cattle

The lawsuit was dismissed as a condition of the his-toric June 20, 1997 $368-billion settlement between the Attorney Generals of 40 States and the tobacco industry.

Dr. Wigand not only received numerous awards and public recognition for his action in reveal-ing the tobacco company research and marketing practices, but also etched his mark as the archetypal whistle-blower.

His species is rare but evolving wonderfully.Who can forget the charmingly nonchalant,

strong-headed but equally strongly-poised Julia Roberts as Erin Brokowich, in the 2000 biographical movie by the same name?

While they appear few and far between, this genre of awake-citizens are all around us, falling out of the rat race and belling huge cats. Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, MIT-PhD social scientist, for instance, started the “No FEAR Coalition”, a grassroots strug-gle to bring protection to all federal employees facing discrimination and retribution from the government. This helped a two-year-long battle with Congress over the need to protect whistleblowers - and she won.

Dr. Coleman-Adebayo might not have planned all this when she landed her dream job at the EPA, working with Al Gore, assisting post-apartheid South Africa. But as things panned out, she stepped on this path as guided by the “right” instincts. When she tried to get the government to inves-tigate allegations that a US multinational corpora-tion was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of South Africans mining vanadium - a vital strategic mineral - she found that the EPA was the first line of defense for the corporation. Not surprisingly, the agency stonewalled, and that’s when Coleman-Adebayo blew the whistle.

Examples like these echo in all kinds of industries.

A growing clanThere’s Bradley Birkenfeld who blew the whistle on UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, thus challenging the sacred secrecy halo of Swiss banks. Then there is Dr. Aaron Westrick, the first official to oppose the sale of Zylon bulletproof vests at America’s largest body armor company. He got fired, though.

As is obvious, not all hit the end of the rainbow. Dr. David Lewis’, whose radical research compelled the EPA to abandon its policy of promoting the land application of sewage sludge on farm land, lost his job too.

These heroes and champions are thankfully not lone crusaders any more.

They have started galvanizing special corners already. That explains how organizations like Honest Applachia are taking the story forward. It’s a whistle-blower’s huddle of a different kind;

developed by a group of free-lance journalists, transpar-ency activists and computer programers from Appalachia and beyond. It was designed to help whistleblowers anonymously leak documents to journalists and the public. Interestingly, it is funded by Sunlight Foundation, a government transparency watch-dog based in Washington D.C, as well as by private donations.

There is another platform in the US, which is a non-profit initia-tive. The National Whistleblowers Center (NWC) is a non-partisan

organization dedicated to protecting employees’ lawful disclosure of waste, fraud and abuse. The idea is to sponsor advocacy, education, and assis-tance projects in a variety of ways like an online resource center on whistleblower rights, and a speakers bureau of national experts and former whistleblowers. It also has a national attorney refer-ral service, which is operated by the NWC’s sister group, the National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund (NWLDEF).

Roofs like these do their small but special bit to enable the stunning range, numbers and intensity of whistle-blowing examples abroad.

These are great examples of stopping anything that’s wrong by raising a voice or even a whisper against it. Not everything necessarily leads to a

Dr. Coleman-Adebayo


FEATURE

media spectacle or a legal epic always. There can be gentle whispers hushed for internal ears, too. In fact, some of these precedents were set way back when the world sat stunned with mammoth corporate fiascos.

Sherron Watkins, a V-P who blew the whistle on Enron; and Cynthia Cooper, another V-P who unearthed another big accounting fraud with the Worldcom scandal, are some more names who earned their share of critics, then mild approbation and finally a lot of respect for their brave feats.

How about Assange?Wonder why there are arrest warrants against Julian Assange versus awards for Dr. Wigand or Brokovich?

Well, that’s because there’s a fine line between a rumor-monger and a whistle-blower. There are many shadows that hog this delicate line - questions about ethics, employee-loyalty, legal spillovers, safety and career-graphs.

Abhishek Malhotra, Partner, TMT Law and LLM from Franklin Pierce Law Center, US has over 10 years of experience and expertise in Intellectual Property and Ancillary Services. His special strength-domains include advisory and dispute resolution services across a wide range of industries. Here, he helps us in defogging some mystery around the big question – what makes environment-con-scious whistle-blowing conspicuous by its absence in India?

Why don’t we see any Dr. Wigand or Brokowich around? Fear? Lack of awareness or lack of issues? Are we not awake or is everything really hunky-dory when it comes to environment and corporations?

There have been thin instances like that with a major public oil company or some scams in UP, Bihar and other places, but those were allegedly sti-fled. Most cases are spread out and nothing has ever resulted into anything significant. Fear may be a major reason. Also, one would need to know if there is a platform for grievances and also an assurance that actions would be taken. Assuring anonymity of identity would help a lot, too.

The issue is serious because if everything is hushed up. As public opinion develops, people pas-sionate about any cause would come up. And that would happen regardless of the protection aspects that one thinks would deter.

If we are talking purely from the point of becom-ing a witness, there is indeed an adequate protection program in the US wherein identity-change or loca-tion-change is entailed. In India, it has been debated and may be the Law Commission is considering the suggestion, but unfortunately nothing can be cited so far.

Is whistle-blowing legal?In our legal system, there are two types of laws. The ones that come into force by Acts of Parliament and then there are the ones made by judges wherein they interpret the law. If we zoom into the “right of free-dom of expression” or “right to life” and if Article 19 and 21 are read together, the rights intrinsically link to a person’s legal strengths in such cases. But if something intersects here, like protection of workplace or related violations, one has to look cau-tiously. So if something is not protected in workplace context or is generally illegal by nature, representing it dons a new legal shade altogether.

How does one put the legal outrage in Julian Assange’s incident in context?

The entire concept is not illegal per se. It depends on the disclosure parts. Every day, some exposure is being made but what matters is what exactly is being made public. If it’s something of the nature of confidential documents between governments or protected by some secrecy laws, then it takes a dif-ferent legal spin.

The key consideration may lie in if to let it run haywire or have a system in place that encourages and channelizes this strong force in a better way?

Some prominent whistle-blowersBradley Birkenfeld, UBS, Switzerland’s largest bankHis disclosure and cooperation with the US authorities provided inside information into the bank’s conduct and began the dismantling of the historic secrecy of Swiss banks. Birkenfeld’s disclosure directly led to a ground-breaking legal settlement in which UBS agreed to pay $780 million in fines, and UBS and the Swiss Government have turned over the names of thousands of Americans suspected of illegal offshore banking.

Bunnatine Greenhouse, Army Corps of EngineersShe stood alone in opposing the approval of a highly improper multi-billion dollar no bid contract to Halliburton for the reconstruction of Iraq. In retaliation for her courage she was removed from her position as the highest-ranking civilian contracting official at the Army Corps of Engineers. Her case continues.

Dr. Aaron Westrick, ZylonAs the research director for America’s largest body armor company, Dr. Aaron Westrick was the first official to oppose the sale of Zylon bulletproof vests. Based on his disclosures, these defective vests were forced off the market and police officers’ lives were saved. Dr. Westrick was fired. His case is ongoing.

Dr. David Lewis, EPADr. Lewis’ cutting-edge scientific research forced the EPA to abandon its policy of promoting the land application of sewage sludge on farm land. Dr. Lewis lost his job and his case in ongoing.

Courtesy: National Whistleblowers Center, US

Julian Assange


MANAGEMENT

The aim of this model is to get a better understanding of the environment in which you are trying to become more sustainable.

By Jigna Khajuria

Developing Business Strategy

Anything and everything needs planning and a strategic approach. When you plan out how to do things, the work becomes easier

and you can achieve targets faster. In a profes-sional setup or a business organization, strategizing becomes even more crucial.

The same holds true when you are trying to go green, or making your business sustainable. It helps tremendously if you have a particular strategy or model to follow and make necessary modifications.

A useful tool in exploring a strategy for your business would be the ESTEMPLE analysis. Developed by Duncan Angwin, Stephen Cumming and Chris Smith, this model helps you examine a set of significant areas that influence your business. The aim of the exercise is to get a better understand-ing of the environment in which you are trying to become more sustainable by rating the importance of each of eight drivers. It can also be helpful to rate each of these drivers on three scales, each from 1 to 10: stable to chaotic, simple to complex and predict-able to unpredictable.

Following is the model with main drivers and the areas they cover:-

Economic:- This driver helps you explore the state and development of economies in which your business operates. Consider standard economic indicators such as GDP, growth and inflation.

Social:- This helps you examine the state of the population, from income, ethnicity, attitudes, migration to geographic spread.

Technological:- This is to understand the cur-rent and emerging technologies in the market you are operating in. This would include new products, systems etc., but also state and academic interven-tion to encourage technological growth.

Ecological:- This helps you understand the clas-sic environmental issues - attitudes in the areas your business operates to sustainability, global warming, energy conservation, etc.

Media:- This is important to under-stand how much influence the media has on business, government and society, in terms of bringing about actual change.

Political:- Helps you realize how stable the political environment is, how business friendly it is, what international alignments exist and how political forces influence busi-ness regulation.

Legal:- This helps you determine the extent of effect that law has on corporate decisions: health and safety, employment law, monopoly regulation and product standards.

Ethical:- The existence of imposed ethical codes and standards that have an impact on operations and finance, particularly covering international operation.

This model can be used for any business, estab-lished or a start-up as it is a good guide to help develop the basic strategies.

It helps tremendously if you have a particular strategy or model to follow and make necessary modifications


IN CONVERSATION


CSR in India, which was largely mistaken for corporate philanthropy, became a serious busi-ness with the government coming out with amendments to the Companies Act, which made it mandatory for all companies with a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore to ear-mark 2 percent of their net profit in the preceding three years for CSR. The new recommendations, when implemented, would completely change the way Indian companies look at CSR. But the big question that everyone is mulling right now is: what really constitutes spending on CSR?

To clear the air on this, SustaiNuance editor Shashwat DC spoke at length with Bhaskar Chatterjee, Director General and CEO, Indian In-stitute of Corporate Affairs. The Institute is an autonomous organization established by the In-dian Ministry of Corporate Affairs and is intend-ed to function as a capacity-building institution and a think-tank for rendering policy advice to Government of India on issues relating to Cor-porate Affairs. Chatterjee is a veteran in policy affairs and has been with the Indian Adminis-trative Service since 1975. But more notably, he is renowned to be an authority on corporate af-fairs, and has been part of various committees and commissions in policy formulation. In a tete-a-tete, he talks about his views on the pro-posed amendments to the Companies Bill and also why India Inc. needs to look at CSR from a completely new paradigm. Excerpts:

“ COMPLY OR EXPLAIN—THAT’S THE PRINCIPLE OF

”NEW CSR


hat is your take on CSR, and how is it that the new-er government policies are going to impact the area?

There would be two pillars. One is going to be the human or the community pil-lar. That has to do with roads, buildings, education, health, malnutrition and whatever else you want to do with the community around you or report it. The other is about the greening aspect.

We are trying to eliminate some important things from the CSR technician’s book. One is the ‘cheque book charity,’ which we want to remove completely from the lexicon of CSR. The second thing is that all the items you now find in the national voluntary guidelines (NVGs) are non-measurable. They are about human rights and other things that can’t be quantified in rupee terms. And therefore, we have consciously decided that every-thing to do with NVGs will now come under the space of corporate governance. It will have nothing to do with CSR anymore.

Now, within the two pillars mentioned, there will be some things that will not qualify as CSR. Whatever you do for your own staff and employees will fall in the realm of HR. So if you are having a health scheme for your employees, you can’t pass it off as CSR. The second aspect is that we’ll take only those as CSR activities that have a project goal. If it is not a project, it is not a CSR.

This means it must have a start date and an end date. It must have funds assigned to it. And it must be monitored dur-ing the course of doing it. Hopefully, there will be a third-party evaluation on that project. If it is not third-party evaluated, it is not a project.

The third important point is that there has to be an independent director on board charged with the task of CSR. It is the task of that person on the board to prepare the CSR plans of the company. That plan must then be passed by the board by means of a reso-lution, with a board resolution number. If the board resolution number is not attached to the plan or the project, it doesn’t count as CSR.

So what you are basically trying to say is that CSR is now more of an art? You are making it an empirical science...

The simple point is that you can no longer waffle. There is no scope for garbage or verbiage. It has to be clearly defined—what it is about, how much you spend for it, was it passed by a board resolution or not, and does it add up to 2 percent of your PAT

or not. If it doesn’t add up or you cannot spend it, then you have to give an explanation. There is a sub-heading called ‘explanation for non-compliance.’ This will have to be put in writing and put up on your website, which would be visible to everybody and also in your annual report, which would explain that if you did not reach 2 percent, then why. It is a principle of ‘comply or explain.’

A lot of people were talking whether it is going to be just another report that you would just file up and put up at the end of the year.

It’s not just another report, activity or accounting game. It’s a whole new mechanism. And the sooner corporate India realises what it is in for, the better it is. It is not something that your company secretary or accountant can slip in to the return. It’s a serious business.

What is your view on the sustainability reporting? It has become quite fash-ionable among companies in recent times.

That is different from CSR reporting as such. We are also charged to bring out some format for sustainability reporting in India. There are so many players in the game that it is hard to count. And everyone has a different take. The GRI has something, the X has something and Y has something else. And all of them want India to buy their sustainable reporting format! India as a nation has been holding out, saying that we would like to take the best from all of these. But in the end, it has to be an India’s sustainable report.

It can’t be something that we import from any other country.

It is something we would like our corporates to feel comfortable with. So in due course, when we think of a sustainability reporting system for India, it has to be something on which we have wide consultations.

We will call the best practitioners, whether it’s GRI or OECD. We will ask them to sit across the same table, and evolve one specific theory for India. That is the strategy we are working on.

For green buildings, ratings like LEED are popularly adapted. So people usually say, let’s adapt to them; they already have best practices. Do you feel there is actually a need for evolving new trends?

No, we don’t have to rediscover the wheel! We will adapt. That’s absolutely the right word. We will see what the best practices are. Ninety percent of what will be evolved would be these very things. But there could be an Indian flavor and approach.

We want to completely remove ‘cheque book charity’ from the lexicon of CSR. Also, whatever is done for the staff and employees will fall in the realm of HR and can’t be passed off as CSR.


IN CONVERSATION

Is there some time frame that you will set?

I think it will take something between six to nine months. It can’t be done all of a sudden. It is good to bring major corporates and others who have a view point, and also specialists, practitioners and acad-emicians. There are many fine brains at work and we’d like to pick them.

While you are talking about sustainability, one of the most important things is the definition. People often confuse it with or club it with CSR.

That is why I have talked about different pillars. One is about community and social development, and the other is for sustainability or sustainable development as we now call it. These are two distinct things and there are separate guidelines on the website too. One is called the CSR guidelines and the other is called sustainable development guidelines. Mixing the two would get us nowhere. Both can qualify under the CSR bill.

You have been quoted as saying that anything that has a direct impact on the company and corporate world is sustainability. Anything which is outside and does not have a direct consequence on the company is CSR.

It’s a broad classification. But let’s say you are doing something that you call CSR. If one gets a feel that what you are doing is for your own business, then where is the CSR in it?

For example, let’s take the public sector. Almost all that public sector does is for the public good. Therefore, by definition, everything they do is CSR. A rural electrification corporation would take power to hutments. By definition, that is the best form of CSR. It lights up community homes. Can there be better CSR? So the point here to note is that any-thing that is your own business is not CSR. It can be a part of your business plan.

Green has become very fashionable these days. People like to term their products green. What is your view on this rising ‘trend’ of green.

Making a green product is okay in some ways, but are you taking a profit out of it? What are you mak-ing a green product for? To sell it in the markets and earn profits. How did it become CSR?

During your speech at TERI, you said that the corpo-rates must be ‘impelled’, which sounded very tough. What was the thought?

It is a slightly softer word than ‘compelling.’ For a long time, India has been waiting. Why are we passing a bill? If corporate India were doing so well in CSR, then what was the necessity of passing a bill? Passage of a bill represents the point at which

corporate India is being impelled. That is what I meant when I said so.

What approach would you be taking towards the corporate enterprises?

Let’s be very realistic here. Our idea is to bring cor-porates on board. I want them to genuinely feel for the environment and society in which they operate. That is all.

The second point that IICA wants to do is to be the global gateway. CSR is best outsourced to imple-menting agencies. Now those could be NGOs, civil society organizations, national institutes, academic organizations, social service departments of uni-versities, contractors or anything. So basically the doer of the CSR will be an agency which is not the company itself.

But these are professionals in their own fields...

Very good! Who are qualified CSR professionals?


Zilch, zero, there aren’t any! Why not? As a young person, if I want to take up CSR as my future, what could I do, where would I go? Now there is a bill. Now there is a demand. Now people will do CSR; 75 percent would do it because they like it and 25 percent would do because they have to.

I can now say that if I become a CSR professional, I am in a good vertical. Soon companies will start looking for them. That’s the space IICA is going to fill up. We are going to provide the certified course in CSR and build a cadre of CSR professionals. And that is where we are heading towards in next three years. We will partner with many good institu-tions, but we will enfranchise them. The course content will be our content. And it must be an IICA certification.

People have observed that a gamut of NGOs have flourished. It has be-come very difficult for people to get the information on who they should be working with. Is there a way where you could organize that?

I am glad that you are asking all the right questions! That brings me to the second service that IICA will provide, which is a list of empan-eled NGOs. In the next two to three years, we will check out their track records and credentials. For exam-ple, if you are a corporate and you want to do a project somewhere 20 km from your factory, you write to us, saying I want to do a health project, say mobile health vans. This is my budget, and can you recommend an NGO or agency that can help me? I will send you three mails with names of three NGOs, which have a good track record and are located near you and could help you. And then you could choose. If you write to us, we will provide you with our data bank, with credentials that we would have checked up beforehand. You don’t have to recheck again things like their income tax returns, their FCR, what good work they’ve done in past or what bank accounts they have. We would be a ser-vice provider also.

A lot of agencies are involved—inter-governmental, state governments. So are you working to cross-link these? Different activities fall under different ministries. So is there a way in which things can be collectively done? Like, could IICA become a one-stop solution agency?

For CSR, we would be the one-stop solution. No question about that. You want to do a CSR program, you connect with us. You can do it on your own, no problem. But if you need, we will provide all the CSR help you need. And that would be done through the National CSR Foundation, which is located at IICA.

People are very skeptical about government and the ‘Babudom’ organizations. In that sense, how do you think IICA would build up a trust level among people and be the right agency?

There are two ways. One is that this is not a min-istry or a department of government. So we are already one step removed. IICA is being imple-mented as a reach-out to corporates. We are now an autonomous organization. Also, we are tasked by the government to become financially autono-mous. Over the next five to six years, we may be in a position to largely fund ourselves. So once we are a self-financing, self-funding autonomous body, we will practically have no link with the government. We will have the capacity to work directly with

corporates in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

What is your perspective on sus-tainability in India? Where do you think India stands on the global map and what is your vision for go-ing forward?

On CSR, there are many nations that are doing good work. Just because I am an Indian, to say that we are the best, it makes no sense. We are average. There are only a handful of companies who have anything to do with CSR. The rest are pretty much what you said, green wash. Except for three to four companies, frankly speak-

ing, real professional CSR has just not happened in India. A lot needs to be done.

As far as sustainable development is concerned, there are a few good examples. But if you ask me what exclusive thing India has done about sustain-ability, I will have to think a lot because I don’t know. There is not one innovative thing that India has done that the world would look at in awe. Not one new experiment, not one great product, not one terrific breakthrough, not one high technology in greening of India.

I think India has a great future both in CSR and sustainability, but that’s only potential. There is a need for more awareness, as to what we can do and how soon we can do it.

Seeing the current economic environment and skepticism, where do you think sustainability stands? Does it become more critical and profit-able?

Sustainability stands very well. It is now becoming very important for corporates. The realization that you need to be sustainable is coming rapidly. I see a lot of consciousness in small and big measures. That’s a healthy sign.

Only those activities that have a project goal would qualify as CSR. This means it must have a start date, an end date, and have funds assigned to it. And it must be monitored, hopefully, by a third-party.


IN CONVERSATION

COUNTER POINT

As far as shareholders are concerned, all sustainability efforts must create value of one form or the other

By Shyamanuja Das

Why should corporates bother about sustainability?

Why should companies bother about sus-tainability? It is a simple question that has been asked by many shareholders,

auditors, and consultants across the world. Though, without a satisfactory answer yet, let alone a simple one.

What makes me raise the question now is that while corporate social responsibility (CSR) - which is being precisely defined by the government (see interview on page 34) - is something that the com-pany does for the external world in general, sus-tainability efforts are something that have a direct impact on the company.

I am not going by the government definition. But there are many who hold similar opinion, even though they put it differently. According to many shareholder activists, a business has no business of getting into anything that does not create value for its shareholders. Or as Milton Friedman put it some three decades back - a little bluntly - that the social responsibility of a business is to increase its profits.

Immediate profits or not, there is some logic in the argument that all these efforts should create shareholder value. Many companies are even sensi-tized to this thought but are too afraid or confused to take a stand. So, they join the crowd, try to create a set of measurable parameters that they can report, and then wait for the next hyped thing to come their way. All the way, hoping that one day, it will bring some rewards. There is little alignment to business.

By doing so, they become victims of those vested interests spearheading the self-fulfilling prophecy about enhanced corporate sensitivity about sustain-ability. It could be dangerous.

If they cannot show that value, there can be back-lash. We have seen similar things in the past. And naysayers will be more than happy to dub sustain-ability as the biggest fad.

All this can be avoided if some efforts go in under-standing how sustainability can create value, and if those efforts are taken up that are more aligned to a company’s business. Needless to say, it must be explained to the shareholders clearly and tangibly. No need of fancy-looking sustainability reports. It should be part of the annual report.

How can these efforts create value? These are some basic examples. ❱ It may help directly increase sales of products

and services. So if a label on your product says it has been manufactured using extra safe working conditions for the labor force, and because of that you sell more, then no one questions it.

❱ It may result in cost savings. If lesser energy usage makes your cost go down, it directly adds to your bottom line. No questions asked.

❱ It may create positive PR and thus contribute to business in the long run. It may not enhance product sales right away but if it enhances the image of a company which in turn contributes to better business in the long-term, then it’s worth it.

❱ It may preempt regulatory require-ments. By preempting regulatory requirements, the company may have a better risk management in place.

Of course, these are common and tried-and-tested ways. There can be more ways, but those must be explained to the investors clearly.

And if a company cannot find a way for sustainability efforts that are aligned to its busi-ness, a good thumb rule is to “outsource” it, literally. That means a company can donate a specific amount to NGOs or government initiatives and can leverage the goodwill which it can quantify as a value. It may sound terribly unfashionable, but could be far more efficient.

What if the motive is truly philanthropic? Well, businesses are not really created to do phi-

lanthropy. But that does not mean that individuals associated with the business cannot do it. If the promoters spend their rightfully earned money on philanthropy, no one has any right to ask a question. It’s their money.

Shyamanuja Das, is a renowned journalist, editor and social commentator.

In the want of a value, there would be shareholder backlash. And naysayers would be happy to dub sustainability as a big fad


A beast big and ugly!COVER STORY


dumping in the absence of regulation had triggered the need for E-waste rules, of which an initial draft was made in 2010. The new rules were notified in May 2011 and the government gave states one year to set up a collection and disposal mechanism. Violators are punishable under the Environment Protection Act with a maximum sentence of seven years and/or a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The new rules state that the onus of proper disposal of E-waste now falls on the manu-facturers, who are expected to establish a mecha-nism to recover obsolete environment gadgets from the customers. These recovered products are to be diverted to recycling units to ensure proper disposal.

But the lack of binding targets and the unprepar-edness of the Indian industry paints a dismal picture

Toxins from 8 lakh tons of crudely scraped electronic leftovers contaminate soil, water and air each year. High time that E-waste rules bit hard!

By Saikat Nandi

A beast big and ugly!

Often, organizations and individuals alike face a situation where the electronic devices they use, say a computer or a cellphone, reaches

its end of life. Alternatively, these could be rendered obsolete due to the emergence of a new technology.

Indeed, the average life span of gadgets is under-stood to have come down because of higher purchas-ing power and access to better technology. But how commonly one considers what happens to the old devices and gadgets while they are replaced by newer ones?

Unfortunately, more often than not, little thought is applied to how the “electronic waste” is to be dis-posed of. Old desktops, laptops, mobile phones, CDs, hard disks, washing machines or microwave ovens are commonly dumped in a backyard or go to kab-adiwallas at the ‘best-negotiated’ rates.

The triggersWhile the major source of E-waste is the disposal of hardware and electronic items from government offices, public and private sectors, academic and research institutes, the household consumers are also contributing a significant volume to end-of-life electronics products. India’s continued emergence on the global economic map has resulted in a significant rise in the disposable incomes and consequently to a situation where the Indian consumer has a greater propensity to spend. This has translated into a mas-sive demand for consumer durables.

Apart from domestic generation in India, the imported E-waste volume is also growing substan-tially, even though import is prohibited in India.

According to a Centre for Science and Environment report in 2011, India generates 3,50,000 tons of E-waste every year and imports another 50,000 tons. It is expected to reach 8 lakh metric tons by the end of December 2012.

In May 2012, India joined other countries in US and Europe and laid down E-waste laws. Increasing incidents of malpractice involving electronic

What E-waste rules sayIn India the regulatory intervention on the management of E-waste was initiated in 2008. In March 2008, Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) published the guidelines on environmentally sound management of E-waste. In September 2008, Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 was notified and in Schedule IV of this rule E-waste was included. As a result, E-waste has to be recy-cled only by the units registered with CPCB having Environmentally Sound Technologies till August 2010. Since September 2009, State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and Pollution Control Committee (PCC) are granting the registration for recycling of E-waste. As a result of this intervention, around 77 recyclers and dismantlers have been registered so far by different SPCBs and PCCs.

In May 2011, MoEF notified E-waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011 which has become effective from May 2012. Under this new rule, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been intro-duced. As a result, producers of electrical and electronic equipment as listed in Schedule I of the E-waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011 are responsible for collection and channelization of their end of life equipment (E-waste) for environmentally sound dismantling and recycling to registered dismantler or recycler.

There are around 77 registered dismantlers and recyclers, with a total recycling capacity of 2.3 lakh tons per annum, but barely 0.4 lakh tons of E-waste seems to be reaching them

To manufacture

one computer and monitor, it takes 530 pounds of fossil fuels, 48 pounds of chemicals and 1.5 tons of water.


for its meaningful adoption. In order to ensure com-pliance with the rules and to achieve a high produc-tion-recycling ratio, companies need to ensure that their take-back policies are efficient, enough collec-tion centers are set up, and targeted campaigns are there for improving awareness.

A senior officer from Hazardous Waste Manage-ment Division of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said, “Around 77 dismantlers and recyclers have been granted registration from different SPCBs and Pollution Control Committee (PCCs). The total recycling capacity of these dismantlers and recyclers is around 2.3 lakh tons per annum. All these are part of the organized sector. Many of the informal or so-called unorganized ones have also got registrations from the SPCBs and PCCs.”

Two key questions still remain unanswered: Are the rules comprehensive enough to ensure an impact on solving the problem of electronic waste? Is the Indian industry prepared to adopt the rules?

The major responsibility lies with the producers to ensure the collection and recycling of E-waste gener-ated during manufacturing and consequent products reaching the end of life. The producers are needed to set up collection centers (either individually or collectively) and direct the E-waste to registered dismantlers and recyclers. They are also expected to ensure proper communication to consumers and

bulk consumers on how to dispose their E-waste. These companies are answerable to State Pollution Control Board (SPCBs) and PCCs for their compliance to these rules while filing their annual returns.

A Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) study fur-ther reports that out of the total corporates polled, around 94 percent of them did not have any proper policy in place governing safe disposal of obsolete IT products or E-waste. Though a number of corporates

were aware about the environmental threats aris-ing on account of improper disposal of E-waste, the depth of awareness and understanding was found to be lacking.

Due to lack of proper awareness of safe disposal of E-waste, most of these components are not recy-cled in an environmentally safe manner and usually enter landfills causing severe ecological and health hazards. MAIT estimates that roughly 80 percent of the computers that are replaced enter the E-waste stream, either directly through scrap or via second-hand markets, exchange or buy-back schemes.

Take-back programsIn India, some brands have initiated take-back programs but these are not working as well as they should. Moreover, brand owners should also work towards establishing a robust system of E-waste col-lection and treatment infrastructure so that E-waste can be collected and recycled in a safe manner. Many

The private sector has done almost nothing in terms of collection and financing of E-waste disposal. E-waste collection from individuals and small users by the industry is practically not there. – Rohan Gupta, COO, Attero Recycling

What more needs to be done at the policy level

There are still a few key gaps in the policy framework:

a) Lack of clarity on targetsThe lack of clarity on targets for the industry is clearly disconcert-ing. The rules do not mention any quantifiable targets imposed on the companies for ensuring take-back of their products.

b) Imposing responsibility only on the producers is not the sole solutionThe industry also feels that imposing responsibility only on the producers is not the sole solution to solve the E-waste problem. Availability of appropriate technology is clearly essential too, for ensuring the success of the rules. There are currently only a handful of end-to-end recycling solution providers in India and this can turn out to be a challenge in implementation.

c) Ambiguity in the role of the consumerThere is a lack of clarity on the role of buyers, both bulk and individu-als. While the rules mention off-hand the responsibility of the con-sumers, there are neither targets nor implementation mechanisms to ensure proper adherence to the rules. It seems that in case of consumers, the uptake of rules has been left to an individual’s con-science and resultant choice.

81%of a desktop computer’s energy use is in MAKING the computer and not in using it.

COVER STORY


brands have no take-back service in India, despite many of these same global brands providing vol-untary take-back services in countries like the US. Such Original Equipments Manufacturer (OEM)s undoubtedly falter on their commitment in India and treat their Indian customers as second-grade clients. They indirectly foster the growth of the informal recycling by failing to provide easy take-back service to ensure responsible recycling.

Many OEMs haven’t taken any notable initiatives on educating and raising awareness of their custom-ers on the environmental and health impacts of E-waste, as well as the need for customers to bring or post back their discarded e-products for organ-ized recycling. OEMs are directly responsible for huge volumes of E-waste generated in India due to their fast developing technologies that dramatically reduce the effective life of an electronic product. However, they spend millions of rupees on marketing campaigns, celebrity endorse-ment and advertisement to promote their product.

Data from MoEF and CPCB shows that 10 Indian states generate nearly 70 per-cent of the total E-waste in the country. Maharashtra topped the list, followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. CPCB indicates that in India, 8 lakh tons of E-waste will be generated by December.

Not all OEMs are to be blamed though. Nokia claims it had collected 60 tons of phones and accessories in 2011 through its own take-back program in India.

Companies like HP, Dell, Canon and Samsung Electronics, too, are getting aggressive about their recycling programs.

Prem Ananth, Take Back Program Manager, Dell India, said, “Dell was the first PC Company to offer free consumer recycling globally and began offering this to Indian consumers in 2006 to facilitate respon-sible product retirement. A free-of-charge pickup is scheduled based on a request from consumers, irrespective of the location within India, for any Dell branded product at any time, and free recycling for other branded products with purchase of new Dell equipment.”

However, other than these big giants and a few others, a vast majority of the companies do not even have the basic E-waste collection infrastructure in place. While some companies have started moving forward in this direction, there is still a lot of ground

to cover in order to ensure meaningful adoption of these practices. Only having some numbers of recycling rate on the company websites cannot be enough. Companies need to work together to ensure that proper collection systems are in place and the right partnerships are made to ensure complete recycling.

There also are no clear cut internal targets set by companies in context of the E-waste to be collected each year. With such a dismal picture, it is unlikely that in the next year or so, there would be any significant or immediate visible impact of the E-waste rules. The industry clearly needs more time and effort

Dell was the first PC Company to offer free consumer recycling globally and began offering this to Indian consumers in 2006 to facilitate responsible product retirement – Prem Ananth, Take Back Program Manager, Dell India

The EPA’s most recent E-waste report shows that we got rid of

2.4 million tons of E-waste in 2010.

Nearly 25% of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that’s taken to household waste recycling centres could be re-used, worth around

£200m gross a year.


Recycling

1 million cell phones can recover:

50 lbs of gold

550 lbs of silver

20 lbs of palladium

20,000 lbs of copper

Greenpeace@workDue to consistent campaign by Greenpeace on the demand to phase out harmful chemicals and substitute those with safer alternatives in electronic products, many companies have already phased out some of these chemicals and given commitment to phase out oth-ers in time-bound manner. Due to the notification of RoHS direc-tive in Europe (again a Greenpeace work), lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and two forms of BFRs are phased out as these chemicals are listed as banned substance in this directive. Many mobile companies have also phased out entire BFRs and PVC from their products, some have launched select products free from PVC and BFR and given commitment to phase out these chemicals from other products in time-bound manner.

Huge accumulation of E-waste and its recycling through primitive means for extraction of precious metals are a real concern in the developing countries, due to presence of hazardous materials in E-waste – Dr Sandip Chatterjee, Additional Director, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology

The category of “selected consumer electronic products” grew by

almost 5% from 2007 to 2008, from 2.84 million tons and from 3.01 million tons to 3.16 million tons.

Some 20 to 50 million metric tons of E-waste is generated worldwide every year, comprising

more than 5% of all municipal solid waste.

COVER STORY


to prepare itself adequately.Rohan Gupta, COO of Attero Recycling, said,

“The private sector has done almost nothing in terms of collection and financing of E-waste disposal. E-waste collection from individuals and small users by the industry is practically not there.”

“Less than five percent of E-waste generated reaches the organized recycling sector. Currently there are only 8-10 authorized E-waste recyclers in India, leaving a huge gap in the need to clean up this sector,” said P Parthasarathy, Managing Director, E-Parisaraa.

India as a dumping groundIndia continues to be an important destination for dumping e-waste. Recyclers in developed countries, mainly Europe and US, have found it very lucrative to pass the burden of handling this waste to countries like India, thus seriously impacting environment and human health here. Volumes of waste being dumped continue to show a rising trend. Abhishek Pratap,

Senior Campaigner, Greenpeace India, said, “Around 80 percent of E-waste generated in US, Europe and Japan illegally lands in the developing countries like India and China. After China, India is a major hub of informal backyard recycling. Since recycling costs in the developed countries are almost 10 times higher than that in informal recycling yards of India and China, exporting E-waste from these countries is a convenient economic option for companies and recyclers.”

Ravi Agarwal, Director, Toxic Link, opines, “India is a signatory to the Basel Convention and hence it does not allow open import of E-waste. However, many illegal shipments come in escaping the cus-toms radar. This problem will increase in the future, and hence India should ban this altogether.”

Delhi is one of the biggest producers of E-waste in the country and the biggest recycling hub. Yet there is no proper collection mechanism in place.

While most big corporate houses are send-ing their E-waste directly to authorized recyclers, barely any effort has been made by the industry to put together a collection process. There is no such system in place so far. Even if there is one, very lit-tle sensitization has been done by the producers and manufacturers. Several multinational electronic companies are operating in India but none of them seem to have made any effort in this regard.

In India, the nation’s poor strip old electronics for the valuable metals they hold. On the outskirts of Delhi, mountains of E-waste become a mon-etary source for ‘amateur recyclers.’ Housewives and vagrants spend entire days stripping wire for pre-cious metals. Unfortunately, much of this recycling

New E-waste rules notified in May 2011 gave states a year to set up a collection and disposal mechanism. Violators can get either up to seven years or a fine of Rs 1 lakh or both.

In 2009, U.S. generated 3.19 million tons of E-waste. Of this amount, only 600,000 tons or

17.7% was recycled according to the EPA. The rest was trashed in landfills or incinerators.


is unregulated and dangerous. There are also informal E-waste operations in the

slums of Mumbai. Squatter cities like Mumbai have hubs of opportunities, full of informal enterprises that engage in unlicensed and untaxed businesses. They are considered to be the ‘dark energy’ of the economy.

Nevertheless, when the rains come, in all likeli-hood the E-waste pollutants seep into the soil, flow through the gutters and nullahs into the sea. Dead computers and their galaxy of components have in them a number of rare earths and precious metals like gold, palladium and neodymium worth recy-cling, but also contain a number of toxic substances that can spill into the ecosys-tem. The laundry list of toxic chemicals include: arsenic, brominated flame retard-ants (BFRs), mercury, phthalates, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Of the E-waste that ends up in the third world, around 10 percent is recycled responsibly. The rest is openly burned, soaked in acid baths, and dumped into riv-ers or piled into mountains of E-waste for scrap recovery.

The primitive processesGovernment data on the actual volume of business in the unorganized sector and the number of employed manpower there is not available. It is estimated that more than 2,000 unorganized recyclers along with 270 medium and large scrap dealers

are involved in the recycling business in India. Nearly 20,000 to 25,000 unskilled workers are involved in unorganized sector in Delhi alone. Due to substantial profit margin in selling extracted waste materials, many small-scale units are engaged in the recycling business.

The secondary market of refurbished old elec-tronics products, old components, modules and the metals recycling in unorganized sectors are grow-ing steadily due to substantial demand from rural consumers.

The workforce in unorganized units is often chil-dren and women from poor sections of the society. The laborers are neither paid their due wages as prescribed by government, nor any compensation like medical or transport is offered. Laborers are also not aware of their rights such as working hours and social security benefits. The occupational require-ments too, including hygiene and safety, are ignored.

Several awareness programs are conducted by government and non-governmental agencies to edu-cate the operators in unorganized sector about the ill-effect of extracting metals by primitive methods. In spite of the harmful consequences, the recycling of discarded electronic products is being carried out in unorganized sector. The unorganized business is growing steadily due to the demand and market value of recoverable materials. This value chain mainly motivates the unorganized recyclers to flourish.

The main motivation of the units in unorganized sector is to extract the precious metals like gold, silver and copper from the printed circuit board (PCB). The unscientific and unhygienic methods, used for extracting the metals, are harmful for the workers and the environment. This practice needs to be discouraged by providing alternative earning mechanism of the unorganized operators for the collected materials. In a proposed approach, unor-ganized operators would concentrate on collection, disassembly and segregation of E-waste, whereas the

organized sector would concentrate on processing the PCBs to extract precious metals.

Environmental hazardsE-waste is not an ordinary waste. On one side it is a valuable resource for pre-cious materials like gold, silver, platinum and copper, it is also highly hazardous as it contains toxic metals and material like lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, brominated compounds, PVC, antimony, beryllium, barium and arsenic.

Dr Sandip Chatterjee, Additional Director, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, said, “Electronics waste is becoming a major global issue. Huge accumulation of E-waste and its recycling through primi-tive means for extraction of precious

We throw away more than

7 million tons of food and drink every year from our homes - most of which could have been safely consumed.

Companies need to ensure that their take-back policies are efficient, enough collection centers are set up, and targeted campaigns are there for improving awareness

WRAP estimates that around

600 million tons of products and materials enter the UK economy each year… only 115 million tons of this gets recycled.

COVER STORY


metals are a real concern in the developing countries, due to presence of hazardous materials in e-waste. Recycling of E-waste through appropriate technologies is, how-ever, considered to be a profitable business as the PCBs contain the precious metals.”

An entire ‘cottage industry’ has now grown up for extracting re-usable materi-als from discarded electronics through crude, open-fire smelters that release toxic fumes and contaminate soil and water. They work under primitive conditions, using acid bathing, open cooking and burning to recover a mere 30-35 percent of metals.

The best solution to this situation is to have ‘brand’ responsibility.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) are made up of a number of components, some containing toxic substances that can have an adverse impact on human health and the environ-ment if not handled properly. Often, these hazards arise due to improper recycling and disposal pro-cesses used. For instance, cathode ray tubes (CRTs) have high content of carcinogens such as lead, barium, phosphor and other heavy metals. When disposed carefully in a controlled environment, they do not pose any serious health or environmental risk. However, breaking, recycling or disposing off CRTs in an uncontrolled environment without the neces-sary safety precautions can result in harmful side effects for the workers and release of toxins into the air, soil and groundwater.

Another dangerous process is the recycling of components containing hazardous compounds such as halogenated chlorides and bromides used as flame-retardants in plastics, which form persistent dioxins and furans on combustion at low tempera-tures (600-800 degrees centigrade). Copper, which is present in printed circuit boards and cables act as a catalyst for dioxin formation when flame-retardants are incinerated. The PVC sheathing of wires is highly corrosive when burnt and also induces the formation of toxins.

Land-filling of E-waste, one of the most widely used methods of disposal, is prone to hazards because of leachate which often contains heavy water resources. Mercury, cadmium and lead are among the most toxic leachates. Mercury, for example, will leach when certain electronic devices such as circuit breakers are destroyed. Lead has been found to leach from broken lead-containing glass. In addition, land-fills are also prone to uncontrolled fires which can release toxins.

Primitive recycling or disposal of E-waste to landfills and incinerators causes irreversible envi-ronmental damage by polluting water and soil, and contaminating air.

Recycling

metals from E-waste uses a fraction of the energy needed to mine new metals.

A ton of used cell phones (6000 phones) yields

$15,000 in precious metals.

Call of dutyThe volume of electronic wastes is increasing at an alarming rate, and is a grave threat to the human health and the environment. Electronic waste is hazardous for the functioning of the bio-sphere as it contaminates the gene pool.

There is a growing need for finding ways to dodge this serious problem. As the technology is developing, there is also an increase in the E-wastes volumes, which calls for the need for development of superior recycling technologies and also a way of increasing the life spans of electronic products. There must be defined responsibilities among key stakeholders for a successful and effective E-waste management system. These would include govern-ments, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. There must also be an infrastructure in place to carry out the recycling activities.

All hands must join to make the ‘e’ industry more sustainable and the Earth a better place to live!


Dhiren R Savla, CIO, VFS Global

About the companyVFS Global is the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services spe-cialist for diplomatic mis-sions and governments worldwide. The company manages visa and pass-port issuance-related

administrative and non-judgemental tasks for its client governments. With 775 Visa Application Centres (VACs) and operations in 87 countries across five continents, VFS Global serves the interests of the diplomatic missions of 41 sovereign governments. The company has successfully processed 53.42 million applications since its inception in 2001.

Company PolicyThe electronic goods which are in good condition and are reusable are donated to various NGOs all across India, says Mr. Savla. They are then used by unprivileged children or people with certain disabilities. Electronic products which cannot be reused are given to E-waste handling firms. They are a specialised group of people who handle equipment and disposes it in an environment-friendly manner.

Problem of E-wasteE-waste is a significant problem which has not yet got right attention by various organisations. People in our country are not very sensitized about managing it adequately, feels Mr. Savla. People have just started realising and thinking about the problem. This is a challenge to every individual and every country. Government policies are still not as stringent and futuristic as they ought to be.

Vendors While choosing E-waste disposal vendors, VFS normally takes care of two things - the brand and the assurance. The company goes through demonstration of how the vendor actually manages the stuff after taking it from them.

ChallengesThe accumulation rate of E-waste is much faster now. By the time we think about its storage and management, it grows in number. But at the same time, before we dispose it, we need to ensure that it is completely disposable, says Mr. Savla. These two things need to be taken care of.

Future roadmap E-waste management policy comes under the banner of IT policy in their firm. Currently, they are eyeing for a sustain-ability certification program. So once they attain it, they can show that they genuinely are concerned about E-waste and that it’s taken as a part of their normal processes and not as one of the side activities.

G S Ravi Kumar, CIO, Gati Ltd

About the companyPioneering express distribution ser-vices since 1989, Gati has transformed the logistics industry in India with many path breaking revolutionary initiatives that paved the way to mak-ing it an organized industry. Gati operates a fleet of 4000 vehicles on road, 3 marine vessels and has over 7000 business partners across India.

A market leader in India, Gati also has a strong presence in the Asia Pacific region and SAARC countries.

Company PolicyAll their information technology (IT) related products like computers, laptops, printers, etc. are disposed through Ecoreco, which is a recycling company approved by various government bodies. Some of the components which are pre-sumed to be not very old are donated to schools.

Problem of E-wasteSays Mr. Kumar, “I personally feel that we lack awareness on the subject. For example, what we normally do when our mobile phones are no more functional? We throw them in a dustbin or keep them somewhere in a house. There is no proper method of disposing of the E-waste as the people are largely unaware of the damage being caused to human health and environment. After identifying the E-waste, one has to decide whom to give it to for safe disposal. There should be helpline numbers on which you place a call for home pick-up of dysfunctional electronic goods which we want to dispose. For example, a laptop manufacturer can also put it in a cam-paign not only to buy a laptop, but also to dispose the old laptops through E-waste process.

Vendors Ecoreco is the vendor whom Gati deals with. They have a process of destroying and even cleaning your data from hard disks on your behalf. When they send their junk to the ven-dor, they send IT person many at times to see how they do it and whether what they’ve promised is really happening.

ChallengesThe biggest challenge today is lack of awareness about the subject. Like energy credits, we must have E-waste cred-its, feels Mr. Kumar. Every Organization needs to have the E-Waste disposal certificates showing they have disposed the electronic items in an environment friendly way.

Future roadmap The company would like to follow the existing process it has been following voluntarily for the last few years. They would also like to continue following any policy which is created or enhanced by the Government over and above of what they are doing at present.

COVER STORY


Mehrier Patel, Chief Technology Officer & Head – eCommerce, Globus

About the companyLaunched in January 1998, Globus is part of the Rajan Raheja Group. The company opened its first store at Indore in 1999, followed by a slew of other stores in all metro cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi. They also have their chain outlets in Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

Company policyNormally the life cycle of an electronic good that is used in their office is five to six years. After that they have some green IT initiatives in place, where a recycling company buys their PCs in bulk and deploys them or refurbishes them according to e-waste management rules.

Problem of E-wasteThe grave concern is that people do not understand the depth of the problem, feels Mr. Patel. They don’t know how it can be controlled or how the old hardware can be disposed of safely. “I think somebody should take initiative and teach all about handling of E-Waste. There is no right support system in place or any guidance on the subject,” says Mr. Patel.

Vendors Anushka Computer Services and Scrap is their vendor. The company is located in Navi Mumbai.

ChallengesThere are three major challenges which India is facing when it comes to safe handling of E-waste, opines Mr. Patel. Firstly, absence of infrastructure for appropriate waste manage-ment. Secondly, there is an absence of legislation dealing specifically with E-waste. Thirdly, absence of a framework for end-of-life (EoL) product take-back or implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Future roadmapThey want to deal with E-waste problem in a bigger and bet-ter way and in accordance to IT policy standard, which has to be part of the business plan. Here are a few of Mr. Patel’s suggestions:-

Restricting the use old PCs and slow rate of investment, recycling should happen in a faster manner, a government body which takes care of e-waste management.

Government initiative can give a big boost to this matter and the corporates can play a big role. Corporates are gener-ally unaware of what is recyclable and what is not after the vendor takes away the equipment, which is very critical, says Mr. Patel.

Vijay Sethi, CIO, Hero Moto Corp

About the companyHero MotoCorp Ltd. (Formerly Hero Honda Motors Ltd.) is the world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheelers based in India. In 2001, the company achieved the coveted

position of being the largest two-wheeler manufacturing company in India, and also the ‘World No. 1’ two-wheeler company in terms of unit volume sales in a calendar year.

Company PolicyThe new E-waste (Managing and Handling) rule became effective on 1st May 2012. Prior to the enforcement of this law, the company used to reduce and reuse whatever possible as a part of their Green IT policy.

Since it became mandatory for all companies to main-tain full records on the disposal of E-waste, they manage all legal compliances on their web-portal, says Mr. Sethi. There are also some people assigned to this responsibil-ity and it’s maintained as part of their legal segment.

Problem of E-wasteE-waste is a huge problem in India, and there is a strong reason behind it. Earlier, people used to continue with their old PCs and laptops for years. Now most of the large companies actually have an IT replacement policy, which means after three to five years they will upgrade their IT assets (servers, storage and laptops). The shelf-life of equipment is going down by such a perspective, while the number of IT equipments is high in the market.

Mr. Sethi feels that initiative must also come from recyclers’ end. They should recycle in a fashion that there is minimum impact on the environment. The dearth of recyclers is also a concern.

Vendors They normally do an in-depth study before selecting a recycler. They study the legal compliance, facilities and all they offer.

ChallengesThere are not many end-to-end recyclers in India. A cou-ple of companies follow E-waste disposal norms, but still there are many who haven’t taken a big leap in this area. Awareness needs to be built in the current scenario.

Future roadmap Hero MotoCorp Ltd. has revealed everything related to E-waste on their portal. They are also working on legal compliance page so that it gets noticed by everyone. Mr Sethi believes that people need to be more proactive on the subject.


MANAGEMENT

Business is about understanding risks, and overcoming them.

By Jigna Khajuria

Risk factors involved in sustainability

Any business involves an inherent risk – the risk of whether it will succeed or not. And if you are taking a sustainable approach for

your business, it becomes even more important to consider several risk factors. Sometimes a major benefit of taking a more sustainable approach can offset the risk itself.

To begin with, it will not be desirable to do eve-rything that is physically possible, as this will only increase the production costs beyond feasibility.

Each attempt to being more sustainable needs to be assessed for its costs and benefits. An expensive solution in one aspect of a project can produce much larger savings in other areas. It is sensible, therefore, to take a broad view of costs and benefits.

Take the example of BP with the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. It would be useful to consider the kind of risks that are involved. Even if your company is not directly involved in any activity that could damage the


Each attempt to being more sustainable needs to be assessed for its costs and benefits

It is vital to include your suppliers in the risk measurement

environment, or mistreatment of workers, it is vital that your suppliers are also included in the risk measurement.

There are four main kinds of risks that organizations face and which can be amended. Here is a checklist for risks that arise from environmental factors.

1. Financial issue:- Legal expenses might come up in deal-ing with environmental problems and law suits. There is also the risk of compensation payments and insurance costs where environmental or human damage is caused. Consider the possibility of fines and penalties for breaching regulations. Think on following questions: What are the costs of the resources we use? Are the costs of the resources we use liable to increase with scarcity? What are the costs of checking for and removing hazardous materials from items provided by our suppliers? What are the costs of cleaning up our pollution and disposing of the waste from our production

processes? What is the potential cost of an account, spill, leak or explosion that may cause environmen-tal damage?

2. Product cycle:- Environmental changes may reduce the quality of your raw materials or make them deplete. Certain regulations might prevent you from manufacturing some products or might require costly redesigns to meet the latest standards. There is the possibility that your goods might lose popularity because of their poor environmental record or bad working conditions. Consider these questions: What resources are consumed in making our products? What pollution and waste does using our product produce? How are our products disposed of when fin-ished with? What hazardous materials do our products contain, and what are the chances of these materials causing damage?

3. Operational issue:- Profits may be reduced as the company might not benefit from cost sav-ings where environmental benefits save energy or resources. Operational costs might increase as a result of dealing with hazardous materials, clean-ing up pollution or compensating injured workers. These factors need to be considered: Do we have an environmental management system? How effective is it? What environmental regulations apply to the operation and to our suppliers, and where is there a potential for infringing current regulations and those that are in the pipeline?

4. Reputation issue:- If you take a wrong stance towards sustainability, you might face the danger of marring the image of your company by

bad press and public outrage. Protests against your activities might increase with the accompa-nying bad publicity and potential shareholder reaction. Consider these points: What would be the reputational cost of an infringe-ment of environmental regula-tions by us and by our suppliers? What would be the reputational cost of an accident, spill, leak or explosion in our operation, our

suppliers’ operations, or with our products? What would be the reputational cost of the discovery of hazardous materials in our products? What would be the reputational cost of selling products that generate excessive waste or pollution?

Understanding and analysing the risks involved is an important part of a business and its process. Besides the costs of going Green, also consider the risks involved and take appropriate actions.


Windmills have for ages captivated and charmed authors, poets and playwrights. Twelfth century poet Geoffrey Chaucer made use of a ‘miller’ for

narration in his work Canterbury Tales. The fifteenth century novelist, Miguel Cervantes, too, talks about the windmill in the classic Don Quixote. Later, William Shakespeare in his play King Henry IV, used the windmill as a figure of speech, while novelist George Eliot went on to write an entire story that revolved around a mill located on the banks of river Floss.

Indeed, literature is said to be the mirror of the society. Centuries ago, windmills were commonly used to grind flour and pump water. In medieval England, every manor or village had a windmill for grinding flour. Bread made from the flour was the staple diet of not only the proletariat but also the bour-geoisies. Windmills were also used for a variety of other pur-poses such as pumping water and cutting wood.

Unfortunately, the use of windmills declined drastically due to industrialisation. The steam engines and turbines and gas engines proved to be more powerful and compact and made

Bolstered by the advancement in wind energy technologies, an energy renaissance is well under progress and India is among the forerunners

By Desiree Lobo

Celebrating wind, again

ENERGY


wind power obsolete. The new engines could be adapted to a multitude of uses other than just grinding wheat and the pump-ing of water. And unlike wind, these were not subject to the whims and vagaries of the weather. However, windmills were revived and put to use in 1891 when Danish meteorologist Poul La Cour pioneered the development of modern electricity gen-erating wind turbines. It was improved by Danish engineers and used to supply energy during power shortages in World War I and World War II.

Over the years, the use and benefits of windmills have under-gone a plethora of changes.

Today, modern windmills are again being used as a means of providing energy to millions of people all over the world. While conventional energy obtained from coal and fossil fuel is cheaper, it pollutes the atmosphere. Wind energy is not only clean but also freely available. It is being used as a renewable source of energy to aide in the generation of electricity.

Relevance for IndiaElectricity in India is a huge problem and in some parts of the country, it is a crisis. As the second most populated country in the world, India is home to 17 percent of the world population. Despite a recent drop in economic growth rate, India’s energy demand continues to increase. On account of its growing popu-lation, along with the economic growth, India is among the largest consumers of energy. Shortage of electricity is not only prevalent inremote villages; cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, too, are faced with the problem of long power cuts. In July this year, power failure hit 600 million people in North

India ranks fourth in the global wind energy installation, with 1,271 MW installed capacity estimated by end of February 2001, a figure placing it right behind Germany, Denmark and the United States.


and East of India. The impact was felt in 19 states; stranded commuters and businesses were left in complete doldrums and water supply was also affected.

In India, coal is a major component of energy supply. India relies on coal for 55 percent of its electrical power. Because of the ever increasing population, the consumption of energy has also exacerbated and to meet the needs of the population, India has increased its use of carbon-heavy coal by over 9 percent. Coal all over the world is used to supply energy because of its undeniable advantages of being widely available, easy to ship and burn. But the most attractive feature of coal is the price factor. However, despite its innumerable advantages, coal is an anathema to environmentalists.

Dark side of coalCoal is a fossil fuel with the highest uncontrolled carbon diox-ide (CO2) emission rate from coal power plants. It is unclean, fickle and dangerous. When burnt, it emits greenhouse gases, especially CO2, thus polluting the environment. Unlike con-ventional pollutants, CO2 remains in the atmosphere for hun-dreds of years and ceases to dwindle once the levels of concen-trated CO2 and other greenhouse gases have been increased. Once the atmospheric concentration of CO2 has been raised, it stays raised and it would take generations, even centuries, to lower the concentrations. This means that we are loading the atmosphere with greenhouse gases which locks us into decades of devastation caused by the increase in the levels of CO2.

Conventional pollutants wash out of the air within a few days or weeks, meaning that they do not linger in the atmosphere for a long time. The levels of conventional pollutants come down almost immediately after emission reductions are put in place.

Wind energy is also responsible for economic well-being of a country as it generates employment for the local people during the construction and operational phases of the project activity.

ENERGY


metros. Among alternative energy, wind power and solar energy are the most ideal, feasible and important energy sources.

Renewables are present nearly everywhere and available without the use of transport. This can help countries lacking natural resources gain greater independence from fossil fuels. Renewable energy comes from natural sources such as sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, water, and biofuels. These sources are considered “renewable” because they are naturally replenished in the normal flow of the Nature. Oil, coal, natural gas, and nuclear power are not renewable sources of energy. They are not only limited in supply, but also dangerous and injurious to the environment. Coal reserves are in short supply with limited domestic gas reserves; as a result, India is heavily dependent on imported coal. Climate change, the soaring global electricity demand, the scarcity of fossil fuels and consequently their rising costs make renewable energy the ideal solution for preservation and conservation of resources which are slowly being depleted.

Taking into account the cost and availability; wind energy is the cheapest form of energy available. The advantages of wind energy are undeniable and like the sun, wind supply will never run out. Snehal Anantwar, a senior officer at Kenersys India says, “The generation of electricity from wind is one of the cleanest and most sustainable ways to generate electricity. Wind power produces no toxic emissions and none of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming; thereby leading to emission reductions. Being a renewable resource, using wind energy to generate electricity contributes to the conservation of resources. The project causes no negative impact on the surrounding envi-ronment, thus contributing to environmental wellbeing.” Wind energy is also responsible for economic wellbeing of a country

as it generates employment for the local people during the construction and operational phases of the project activ-ity. This improves the socio-economic conditions of local people. The project activity also improves power supply in the regional grid.

What’s India doing?Wind energy is a small step towards meeting the energy demand of the Indian grids. It is also the most rap-idly growing technology for renewable power generation.

Realising the importance of wind energy, manufactures in India have

steadily been increasing the use of wind electric generators since the late 1980s. India currently ranks fourth in the global wind energy installation list, with about 1,271 MW installed capacity estimated by end of February 2001, a figure placing it right behind Germany, Denmark and the United States.

The Washington-based Worldwatch Institute recognizes India as a “Wind Superpower”. According to the World Wind Energy association, “In India, the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are leading in the field of wind energy.” At the end of March 2000, India had 1,080 MW capacity wind farms, of which Tamil Nadu’s share was 770 MW. Gujarat had 167 MW, followed by Andhra Pradesh, which had 88 MW installed wind farms. There are about a dozen wind pumps of various designs providing water for agriculture, afforestation and domestic purposes, scattered all over the country. However, because

On account of industrialisation, developing countries like India are motivated to make extensive use of coal because of its low cost. This is what is driving the demand for coal which has profound impli-cation for CO2 output. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) lists the figures of environmental impacts of coal power. According to them, “3,700,000 tons of CO2 is released into the atmosphere when coal is burnt. This causes smog and acid rains which damages forests, lakes, and buildings, and forms small airborne particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs.” It is for these reasons that countries worldwide are now opting for renewable energy rather than conventional energy.

Why renewables?Bob Dylan the famous American singer, song writer and poet in 1962 composed the famous song “The answer is blowing in the wind.” For most people this song could mean many things, but for environmentalists it spelt only one thing “wind energy”. Environmentalists and scientists have realised the need to stop the use of coal and replace it with renewable energy. India needs tremendous amounts of energy resources not only for rural electrification, but also to meet the rising demands in the

Wind power produces no toxic emissions and none of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming; thereby leading to emission reductions – Snehal Anantwar, Senior Officer, Kenersys India


of government policies, a number of wind manufacturers are suffering a loss. According to GN Kamath, Director of Karma Energy Limited, “A number of companies that manufacture turbines are suffering a loss because of the implementation of government policies that have been introduced. Wind turbine manufacturers hoped that the government will bring back the scheme linking generational based incentives (GBI) to local windmills with effect from April 2012. However, the industry is not sure if GBI will be reintroduced this year. The scheme ended in March this year and investors are waiting for a change in the government policies.”

What are the challenges?While the advantages to wind energy are truly great, it does comes with its share of challenges. India is a large country with an incredibly large population and hence large wind farms are needed to provide entire communities with electricity. It is said that a single turbine can provide enough electricity for only 450 homes. It is therefore impossible for wind energy alone to supply energy to India’s ever growing population.

One of the major limitations of wind energy is that no elec-tricity is produced when the wind is not blowing. This means that wind turbines do not produce the same amount of energy all the time. According to Kamath, “It is difficult to rely solely on wind energy because it is extremely difficult to forecast wind. Wind can only supplement conventional power, it can-not replace it.” Wind turbines also need to be repowered oth-erwise they will be rendered redundant and useless. According to Global Wind Energy Council, “Repowering is the process of replacing older, smaller wind turbines with modern and more powerful machines, which would reap considerably more power

from the same site. In India, about 46 percent of the wind turbine generators

were rated below 500 kW in 2010, adding up to 2,331.3 MW or about 18 percent of cumulative installed capacity. The Indian Wind Energy Outlook 2011 lays down the importance of repow-ering. “Many of the states facing power shortages are also host to sites with good wind power potential which is not being used efficiently and is currently saddled with old and inefficient wind turbines. Repowering with more powerful turbines would bring considerable benefits to these states.”

While critics will be critics, corporates have decided to give wind energy a try. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) announced its plans to tap offshore wind power. Further, in June 2010, global majors like Areva, Siemens and GE announced their plans to explore offshore wind power opportunities in the country. Tata power is the first private sector player to submit a formal request to the Government of Gujarat and Gujarat Maritime Board for approval of an offshore project in India. Tulsi Tanti, Chairman of Suzlon Group, too is positive about the future of wind energy. “Wind is at par with diesel and oil. Wind technology in the past 20 years has advanced by leaps and bounds. Today we can truly celebrate wind and the potential it holds. The power of wind is immense: a 1.5 MW turbine powers approximately 1,300 Indian households, and the wind industry provides livelihood to more than 300,000 people in the world. Wind energy is working every day to ensure that we not only have a future, but that we have a much better future.”

However, whatever the challenges with wind energy are, it does not let the environment pay a heavy price for its faults and regardless of what wind energy lacks, it is still many times better than conventional energy and power.

A number of companies that manufacture turbines are suffering a loss because of government policies. The industry is not sure if generational-based incentives will be reintroduced this year – GN Kamath, Director, Karma Energy

ENERGY


SustainuisanceA modest take on all things not so mundane...

By Rohan Chakravarty


GREEN TOON

Facts StatsNumbers

Facts, figures, statistics, datapoints galore for your presentations, or for conversations. Use them, quote them, or just be amazed.

Collated by Sailee Karnik

If switched from a desktop to laptop, annual CO2 emissions is reduced by 205 to 279 kg per person and annual electricity bills by

Rs.1000 to Rs.1360

Turn off lights and fans when not in use; it can reduce annual CO2 emissions by 28 kg per household and annual electricity bills by

Rs.134

Installation of a solar water heater tends to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 687kg on every installation and annual electricity bills by

Rs.335258 Sustainuance December 2012

CHEAT SHEET

Harvesting 1000 litres of water per household per day over 40 days of rainfall lessens annual CO2 emissions by

27 to 70kg per household.

Regularly inflated vehicle tyre diminishes annual CO2 emissions by 150 kg per vehicle and annual

fuel cost by Rs.3344

Many appliances, such as computers, TVs and VCRs draw power even when

turned off

Switching off appliances at the plug point decreases annual CO2 emissions by 106 kg per household and annual electricity bills by

Rs.518

Efficient utility of geyser reduces annual CO2 emissions by 344kg per household and annual electricity bills by

Rs.1676

A leak of just one drop per second will waste 2,400 gallons of water a year

Avoid using fresh paper for rough work; it tends to reduce CO2 emissions by

870 kg for every 100 students.

Reducing the showering time down to three minutes, saves

513 pounds of CO2 every year

Composting kitchen waste at home decreases annual CO2 emissions by

68 kg per household.

More than 1 billion unwanted computer disks are being thrown away each year, though most software can be downloaded online.

Conservation of just 100 litres of water per household per day through any measures diminishes annual CO2 emissions by

24-63kg


“Adoption of sustainability principles has helped us create long-term value and manage social and environmental aspects of our business alongside economic risks that in turn improve our overall portfolio quality.”

TETE-A-TETE


What is responsible banking in thought? How is it manifested in action? How can a bank in-corporate sustainable development as part of its business activities? These are the questions one would expect YES Bank to answer, having won the Golden Peacock award for sustainabil-ity this year. YES Bank prides itself for the inno-vation and development of products that impact society and for knowledge-driven human capi-tal and transparency, which is the very ethos of sustainable banking. Namita Vikas, President and Chief Sustainability Officer at YES Bank shares some of the secrets with Shashwat DC and Desiree Lobo on how this fourth-largest private-sector bank in India is a role model for making sustainable development seem viable.

here are a plethora of factors from outside the in-dustry that influence the survival of a company. Is

sustainability one of those factors?

International Finance Corporation (IFC) has defined sustainability well; it states that ensuring long-term business success while contributing towards social and economic development, healthy environment and stable

society is real sustainability. Businesses that have aligned with these core elements and integrated such approaches with their core operations are more successful and profitable than oth-ers. Sustainability to my mind is, therefore, one of the most important factors for survival of businesses. It is proven that those businesses that have been high on sustainability have been able to survive crisis effectively than those that are low on sustainability.

“ AS INTERMEDIARIES, BANKS CAN BE SUSTAINABILITY

”CATALYSTS


Fundamentally, there is also a degree of confi-dence associated with businesses that integrate tri-ple bottom-line (sustainability) considerations into their decision-making, while disclosing performance on non-financial parameters. The benefits are many - positive influences on share prices, attracting foreign institutional investors, ability to source capital at competitive costs and of course, public trust. To be sustainable is to go beyond just the shareholder into creating stakeholder value. Business growth and its longevity would predominantly rest on being alive to the undercurrents of sustainable development and consciously seeking viable opportunities that pro-mote sustainable business solutions and positively impact society.

How do you incorporate principles of sustainable development in your core business operations, keeping in mind the triple bottom-line objectives of people, profit and planet?

YES Bank has since its inception been committed to mainstream-ing sustainability. This is mainly through embedding sustain-ability within core operations, thus addressing the whole gamut from risk to opportunity. Our respon-sible banking philosophy, one of our six strategic key pillars is our key differentiator. This strategic and revenue generating approach is two-fold responsible banking - in thought and in action. Both approaches mainly focus on man-agement strategy and approach to sustainability, sustainable banking and triple bottom-line accounting. YES Bank strives to include wider economic, environmental and social objectives that are met by creating new market opportunities through innovative products and services. These not only promote financial growth, but also impact social and environmental causes.

A chief sustainability officer is required in main-streaming sustainability via a two-pronged strat-egy of responsible banking in thought and in action. How successful have you been in achieving this?

As a bank that is growing rapidly, successfully main-streaming sustainability is an uphill task. However, having put down a clear strategy has helped us see traction on this front. It is extremely important to link sustainability with stakeholder value creation through innovative business solutions, thus reaching out to bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) markets and directly addressing environmental and social con-cerns. We have woven sustainability principles into our core business strategy and processes by putting

together a robust sustainability management strat-egy and approach for triple bottom-line accounting. It is becoming increasingly important for banks to consider the triple bottom-line approach in mak-ing credit decisions. We take pride in scrutinizing our business activities using our Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), a voluntary policy that draws from the Equator Principles, IFC guidelines and other international best practices. The ESP is a crucial part of the credit risk appraisal process that ensures that we do not support businesses that are illegal, unethical or have socially and environmen-tally unsustainable practices.

Another critical measure is the internally devel-oped greenhouse gas management tool, which measures emissions and operating costs in real time. This is to improve our internal environmental performance and reduce resource consumption and carbon footprint. In FY 2012, through programs like “War on Waste,” “R3 – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” “YES EcoSave” and carbon reduction measures the

bank has reduced its emissions inten-sity per unit of revenue by 10 percent compared to FY 2011. We are signatory to the Carbon Disclosure Project since 2006 and we reported our carbon man-agement strategies for the fifth time in FY 2012. Through our Environmental and Cost Management Committee, we rationalize the bank’s resource con-sumption, thereby reducing our carbon footprint and operating costs.

YES Community is another unique sort of engagement initiative that aims to connect with the local communities residing around our branches on socially and environmentally pertinent issues. We use our branches as knowledge sharing centres or ‘Choupals’ and build strong relations with immediate com-munities, thus taking our interactions beyond the transactional levels.

Through a range of socio-environ-mental interventions, YES Bank has impacted over 6 million lives since 2008.

What is it that falls under the ambit of responsible banking in thought and in action?

With regard to responsible banking in thought, our main focus is research. It is very important that we focus on developing innovative services that improve business solutions and services. It is important that these products impact the environment or society. About three months ago, we developed a product called the social deposit account. This social deposit account is India’s first philanthropic fixed-deposit account. It functions like a regular fixed deposit, except that the depositor can opt to give a percent-age of the interest returned on the fixed deposit to a social cause. There are a number of innovative

Banks can have far-reaching positive impacts by persuading and assisting businesses to manage their externalities by factoring triple-bottom-line impacts to avoid long-term risks from social and environmental imbalances.


TETE-A-TETE

products and services that we have developed which we hope would have an impact on society.

We have also tied up with a national social organ-ization called Care. The organisation has under its umbrella about 150 NGOs. Each of these NGOs engage with different social issues. So the depositor can volunteer to give about 1 percent of the inter-est returned to any of the 150 NGOs listed with the organization. For a financial services sector, developing innovative products such as the social deposit account is very important. Another product that we have created is helping and reaching out to migrants who live in urban cities. These migrants have accounts in their rural home towns but they do not have accounts here because transferring the account is an extremely tedious process. To cut short this process, we launched a low-cost domestic remittance service called YES Money. It provides an efficient mechanism for migrant workers to transfer money back to their homes in villages to any bank account.

‘Responsible banking in action’ is exemplified through actual business units working with certain communi-ties. So for example, the inclusive social banking arm works with self-help groups. We have a good number of self-help groups that help women make their business viable. We work along-side them and support them in every way possible.

As the Chief Sustainable Officer of YES Bank, what in your view falls under the ambit of sustainability?

We believe that the banking sec-tor’s ability to influence the transition towards a more sustainable and stable economy is unparalleled. Finance of the future is moving towards a holistic analysis of risk and opportunity that includes socio-environmental costs and benefits. For YES Bank, sustain-ability is not merely a ‘do-good’ strat-egy but rather a cornerstone of our core operations that not only helps mitigate risks but also helps us gain access to new markets. Adoption of sustainability principles has helped us create long-term value and manage the social and environmental aspects of our business alongside economic risks that in turn improve our overall portfolio quality.

As intermediaries, banks can have far-reaching positive impacts by persuading and assisting busi-nesses to manage their externalities by factoring triple-bottom-line impacts to avoid long-term risks from social and environmental imbalances, thereby acting as a catalyst for change. Sustainable bank-ing, for us, is therefore all about good governance, effective risk management and proactive social and

environmental intervention.

How has sustainable development benefited YES Bank financially?

YES Bank recognizes that as a financial institution and emerging corporate, we need to be involved (and we are involved) in the sustainable space along its entire value chain - in green and renewable technologies, in BOP markets, in our dealings with our diverse client base, investors, regulators and employees. This opens up access to new markets and new opportunities. We continuously endeavour to address the value chain of sustainable finance in India, engendering value capture, addition and crea-tion to not just generate sustainable profits but to do so from a position of engagement and collaboration.

It is evident from YES Bank’s success that doing responsible business does not adversely impact financial viability. If anything, our track record of

highest quality assets and lowest NPA percentages (0.05 percent) in the industry offer a strong testament to the business case for mainstreaming sustainability within the Indian banking community.

Is there a certain risk associated with sustainable development?

Looking at sustainable investments and encouraging clients to look at sustain-ability is very important. We have put together on the basis of the IFC guide-lines on international principles, the environment and social policy. The social policy is a voluntary policy and it ensures that we do not lend to any illegal or unsustainable businesses. It also does due diligence on the environment and social parameters of lending. So it is not just the financial risk that is taken into account, the environment and social risks are also taken into consideration. This ensures that we lend to healthy companies.

Can sustainable development and phi-lanthropy be linked?

For us, philanthropy is strategic. Our strategic phi-lanthropy is based on the depth approach. With the depth approach we aim to concentrate on certain areas and issues that are done on a long-term basis. This is what helps build traction. Our strategic phi-lanthropy takes a look at some critical areas which we have identified as being extremely important. These are: financial literacy, skill development, relief, water conservation and nature conservation. When we say we do strategic philanthropy, we will engage with those organizations on a long-term basis under these areas. This is how we look at sustainability and philanthropy which is all under one umbrella.

There is a degree of confidence associated with businesses that integrate triple bottom-line considerations into their decision-making. Benefits include attracting foreign investors, ability to source capital at competitive costs and greater public trust.


FOCUS

As groundwater tables are dipping to alarming levels, recharging has

to be done post haste

By Sailee Karnik

That obviously is too little to bring notable relief to a rapidly expanding city that is increasingly dependent on water tankers for its varied needs.

Indeed, water is life, and has always been among the most essential prerequisites for life on Earth. It is one of the core components of the vast ecosystem which helps maintain life and bio-diversity. The issue of fresh water scarcity has risen in arid regions as well as in areas with good supply and proper access to rain water. This lack of water is mainly caused by low water storage capacity, low infiltra-tion, larger annual fluctuations of precipitation (due to monsoon rains) and high evaporation.

Why rainwater harvesting?The answer goes like this. In Kolkata, about half the population that resides in slums or squatter settle-ments collects water from the public taps. The rest of the slum population is unable to get access to the municipal water supply and has to fetch water on its own, like relying on hand pumps or drawing from tube wells.

Water is increasingly becoming a scarce com-modity and is considered to be as precious as liquid gold, especially in southern parts of the country and more so in Coimbatore, Erode, and Salem Districts of Tamil Nadu. In Bangalore, a city of approximately 6 million inhabitants, it is estimated that more than half of the population depends on public fountains. Almost a third of the population has partial or no access to tap water.

It is obvious that the demand for water is grow-ing day by day for various agricultural, household and industrial purposes. It is anticipated that the demand for drinking water and other municipal purposes will increase from 3.3 MHm [million hectare meter] to 7 MHm in 2020-25. During this period, the demand for water for industries will rise four-fold from 3 MHm to 12 MHm. But such demands are alarming and almost impossible to meet. Water level in many of the rivers is decreasing rapidly, and ground water table is depleting in most of the areas. The country is suffering floods and droughts in many states only because no concrete actions have been taken to manage, conserve and harvest rain water in an efficient way.

In urban areas, scarcity and rising need for water is a major hurdle. The solution lies in harvesting the rainwater, using various existing structures like rooftops, parking lots, playgrounds, parks, ponds, and flood plains to heighten the ground water table. It should be noted that the scope for rainwater col-lection is substantial.

Atmospheric pollution remains a major con-straint, however, as it contaminates both the rain-water and catchment surfaces making rainwater inappropriate for drinking in many cities around the globe. Nevertheless, the rainwater can still be used for non-potable purposes such as toilet flush-ing, clothes washing and gardening.

Ayyappa Mahadevappa Masagi is an ordinary man residing in Bengaluru, who uses tradi-tional and native intelligence to solve water

crisis. “Water, water, everywhere” is his motto. In Bengaluru, people working for the water util-

ity have been roughed up by consumers who haven’t got a drop of water from their taps in days. Says Masagi, “Who said there’s a water crisis? We have plenty of water, even in Bengaluru. It’s just that we haven’t been looking at the available, easy solutions.” The most effective solution to water problems, he believe, is rain water harvesting. Masagi has found easy solutions to address water shortage for at least 200 apartments and over one thousand independent houses in the city.

This table talk is serious


How doable is it?There are environmental as well as financial benefits of a rainwater harvesting system in domestic as well as non-domestic places. The payback period for such a system would be between five and 11 years. However, this assumes that there is no inflation-ary increase in water charges: the more the charges increase, the shorter the pay-back period would be.

The groundwater potential is getting weaker due to urbanisation and over exploitation. To recharge groundwater in a massive way, intensive efforts by various governmental and non-governmental insti-tutions need to be made. It should be a collective effort, both by the governments and private players, aimed at making the groundwater resource a sus-tainable and reliable source.

Recharging of groundwater through storm run-off and roof top water collection, diversion and col-lection of runoff into dry tanks, play grounds, parks and other vacant places need to be executed by spe-cial village panchayats, municipal corporations and other government establishments with great zeal. They can help citizens and builders to adopt suitable recharge methods in their own houses or factories through demonstration and offering subsidies for materials and incentives wherever possible.

How India is faringAccording to 2010 World Bank reports, most of the Indian states are on their way to severe water shortage and becoming dry by the year 2020. India’s water supply is affected largely because of resource mismanagement, additional pressure on supply due to over pumping as well as pollution. Climate change is expected to deteriorate the situation by diminishing the supply of water from glaciers and rainfall.

The Indian Central Groundwater Board has taken various initiatives to tackle the groundwater problem, including rainwater management. Other important steps taken are capacity building, water harvesting awareness campaign, conservation of water resources and regulation of groundwater development in selected areas. Not only central government, but state governments too have taken the matter of dropping water table seriously. They are providing stimuli to grow crops with less water,

and are working to rotate the sowing season for the reduction of peak water demand.

The water crisis is becoming a major issue, and there is a dire need to reform water management system and to revive traditional systems. In order to put such measures in practice, scientific and technological studies can play an important role to assess the present status. Such revival processes should be supplemented by mass awareness of the public and encouraging their active participation.

A lone Masagi may not make a big difference, but a million Masagis surely can.

Water-harvesting lessons from history

The techniques of water harvesting are not new to the society. These practices date back to the 4500 BC, applied by the people of Ur, the Nabateans and the habitants of Middle East. The major difference can be seen in the traditional and modern water harvesting systems. The early water harvesting methods adopted natural materials. In the 20th century, advanced scientific technology makes it viable to utilize artificial means for increasing runoff from precipitation. Rain water harvesting is practiced globally with different methods and purposes, but its drawback has been the lack of systematic actions.

A Business Standard report, however, gave a perfect example of a unique method of water preservation practiced by people in Rajasthan. These methods are believed to be adopted from Paliwal Brahmins around 500 years ago. They were the first to find the gyp-sum belts which lie below the surface of sand.

Gypsum is a non-porous element, which prevents water from seeping through. When rain falls on the surface of sand, its particles start behaving like a sponge and absorbs every drop of this water. Over a period of time, water gets deposited between the upper layer of sand and the lower layer of gypsum belt. The gypsum belt, because of being non-porous, prevents it from reaching the level of the groundwater, thereby preventing it from getting saline.

The issue of fresh water scarcity is not only in arid regions but also in areas with good supply and proper access to rain water


VIEWPOINT

Who other than corporations themselves can make corporate sustainability a success? The

governments, isn’t it?Governments can greatly discourage

or help—by way of the policies and regu-lations they make and the way the imple-mentations are done.

Then there is the investment commu-nity, which has to see the value in sustain-ability reporting and appreciate that, too. Enter the realm of bourses.

The MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) became the second stock exchange in India to sign the “voluntary commitment to the United Nation’s Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative”. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) had already done so earlier this year. That makes India the only coun-try where more than one bourse is publicly committed to the SSE initiative.

Globally, only five other exchanges are signatories to the initiative. Those are Nasdaq OMX, the Brazilian stock exchange BM & Fbovespa, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Egyptian Exchange, and Istanbul Stock Exchange.

In February, BSE had also launched its “Greenex” index to offer a live measure of carbon-emission performances of compa-nies, while also taking into account their financial performance data.

As India Inc. progresses on the path of sustainability, the performance of such indices vis-à-vis the more mainstream ones like Sensex would itself be a key meas-ure of the performance of “corporate sus-tainability” efforts. And when one arrives to a situation where a Greenex consistently outperforms a Sensex, ‘sustainability’ would have truly arrived in India. In fact, why not make a Greenex performance a measure of India’s carbon performance?

Companies reporting on sustainability should be free to source green energies and fuels at market-determined prices, not at artificially controlled ones

Green indices must become barometers of sustainability, and alternative energies must be given a level-playing field versus traditional ones

Deepak Kumar

What can the government do to make this happen quicker?

One thing would be to incentivize, if not subsidize, alternative energies like solar, wind and bio, and at least offer them a level-playing economic field against the traditional energies like coal and diesel.

Simplification of sustainability meas-urement criteria could greatly help. For example, it should suffice that a company is able to achieve a duly reported reduction in consumption and billing of traditional energy. Beyond that, the company should be free to source alternative energies from varied sources.

For example, why should a business be dependent on an oil company for mixing a biofuel in diesel and pay a high price for that too? Of course, the oil company should be as free to buy ethanol from the open market and sell it too, but as a sepa-rate commodity.

The right to mix biofuels or not should lie with the user, who should also have the right to buy it from an oil company or an alternative source. That would offer signifi-cant incentive, from a financial bottomline perspective too, for companies that are reporting on sustainability.

As for traditional energy companies, their sustainability progress should be a measure of how they work to gradually reduce their dependence on traditional fuels and increase the mix of alternative energies in their portfolio. That would be akin to a tobacco company increasing the mix of non-tobacco products into its over-all portfolio.

Deepak Kumar specializes in market research and advisory and is reachableat [email protected],[email protected]

Wishing that a Greenex outperforms a Sensex


sustainuance - december 2012

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