Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Unilever tops sustainability leadership list for a second year

Consumer products behemoth Unilever rode the top spot among corporate sustainability leaders for a second consecutive year, according to the latest survey of industry experts and professionals by research firm GlobeScan Incorporated and SustainAbility Ltd., a think tank and strategy consultancy.

Highlights of the survey results, which were released today in London, also show that the Patagonia outdoor clothing and gear company, Nike, Siemens, IBM and Nestle have edged into the list of leading firms.

However, the 825 sustainability experts who responded to the survey this year... Read more..

Brussels says could drop carbon levy on non-EU airspace

The European Union would consider limiting its new aviation carbon levy to its own airspace, but only as part of a global deal on plane emissions, a senior commission official said on Tuesday.

But he said such a scheme would be technically difficult and was unlikely before a U.S. presidential election in November.

A new law to charge a carbon levy on flights in and out of the European Union officially took effect on January 1, prompting warnings from governments, airlines and planemakers it could lead to chaos in the skies and a trade war.

Nations such as China, India... Read more..

Minister seeks expert opinion on Nalco ash pond

Undecided over arguments placed by National Aluminum Company (Nalco) and State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) on whether to permit the height increase of the aluminum maker's ash pond tanks, Debi Prasad Mishra, minister of forest and environment of Orissa government has sought an expert committee opinion over the issue.

“The minister agreed to have a third opinion from any reputed IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), to be referred by SPCB,” Nalco said in a press note after its discussion with the state government over ash disposal system on Monday.

Nalco has been demanding... Read more..

Shanghai Electric to set up plant in India

Chinese power equipment major Shanghai Electric Corp (SEC) plans to set up a manufacturing plant in India, which has a huge demand for its products, but the company is concerned about clarity of policies in the country, a top company executive said.

SEC has joined hands with France's Alstom to float a 50:50 joint venture company in India to manufacture boilers for large power plants and offer related maintenance services, Shanghai Electric Power Generation Group's president Zheng Jianhua said.

The company has already made a mark in the Indian market. In 2007, SEC signed $8.3... Read more..

PM offered Pakistan 5,000 MW electricity

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered to provide Pakistan 5,000 MW of electricity during a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Seoul, according to a Pakistani media report on Wednesday.

Singh made the offer during a brief interaction with Gilani in the South Korean capital, The News daily quoted its sources as saying in a report on its website.

The electricity could help meet Pakistan's energy requirements on an urgent basis and "could be transmitted through Punjab without much delay", the report said.

Rice husk, solar energy to solve India's power issues

If all goes well, rice husk and solar power — two very unlikely entities — will together provide rural India with a twin solution to its problems of power shortage and lack of storage for agriculture produce. What's more, the evolving system promises zero emission of pollutants as well.

The government's Solar Energy Centre has managed to make use of rice husk and solar power, which are both being wasted at present, to come up with a technological marvel that would prevent wastage of food grains in rural India. "Around one-third of the agriculture produce goes waste in the absence of... Read more..

Eco-friendly toilets for Akkalkot

The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has taken an eco-friendly measure of installing bio-digesters in two public toilet blocks at the pilgrim centre of Akkalkot, about 45 km from Solapur. Bio-digesters convert organic waste into nutrient-rich liquid fertiliser and biogas, which can be used as a renewable source of electrical and heat energy, and help save water.

The bio-digesters have been developed by Delhi-based Defence Research Development Organisation. MTDC will buy the technology from DRDO to install it in toilets in other tourist spots, starting from eco-... Read more..

GSMA and Bharti Infratel Partner to Expand Green Energy for Telecom Towers

The GSMA and India's Bharti Infratel have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop and promote green technologies for telecom tower infrastructure in India. The collaboration will entail working together to convert 1,000 Infratel towers into green sites, which will reduce greenhouse gas carbon emissions by almost 11,000 tonnes as a result of the reduced usage of diesel.

Bharti Infratel owns over 33,000 of India's estimated 400,000 towers. Having predominantly a rural footprint, they have nearly 9,000 off-grid towers, which accounts for 18 per cent of total off-grid towers in... Read more..

Fewer Indian power exhibitors at African energy show

Only 13 Indian exhibitors are participating in the annual power conference and exhibition, as against 22 last year, on account of high taxes which hinder them from setting up businesses here.

Organisers of the Power & Electricity World Africa 2012, that started yesterday, said the number of participants across the Indian power transmission and distribution and the green energy sector, has declined to 13 from 22 last year, due to issues such as a 10 per cent local tax which discourages setting up the business here.

"Where they used to get about three exhibitors before, we... Read more..

Go green, Governor tells builders

Green concept in construction industry was absolutely essential in the present scenario not only in the industry and commercial buildings but also in housing sector, said Governor K. Rosaiah.

At an awards function organised by the Builders' Association of India (BAI) southern centre, the Governor emphasised on the use of eco-friendly materials in construction projects. Stating that Chennai was in the forefront in adopting green concept in the construction industry, he said energy and natural resources are saved by adopting sustainability which also protected the occupants' health... Read more..

Stir upped Tamil Nadu N-plant cost by Rs 900 crore: Kadakin

NEW DELHI: The prolonged protests against the Kudankulam nuclear plant added $ 180 million (around Rs 900 crore) to the cost of the power project, with India losing around $1 million a day, Russian ambassador Alexander M Kadakin has said.

Speaking to TOI on Monday ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev this week on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Kadakin said the decision of the Tamil Nadu government to allow work to proceed on two third-generation pressurized water reactors as correct and "long overdue".

Russian scientists have... Read more..

India needs nuclear energy, says PM Manmohan Singh

India's prime minister has told a gathering of world leaders that nuclear safety is of utmost concern but the country needs nuclear energy.

Manmohan Singh was speaking at a summit on nuclear security in Seoul.

Although the summit is about how to tackle the threat of nuclear terrorism, India's nuclear energy plans have faced protests from within the country.

Activists and... Read more..