Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Apple bets the house on electric, shared and autonomous vehicles

Have you come across the term “share mobility” yet? If you haven’t already, you are about to. It refers to the new concept of electric, autonomous and shared vehicles – and it will be huge” So huge in fact that some analysts put the value of the market at $US2.6 trillion, by 2030.

The concept of electric, autonomous and shared vehicles is likely to have a major impact on the global transport industry – cars... Read more..

Date : May 30

Source: RenewEconomy

Environment Ministry lifts moratorium on industrial unit in Maharashtra

The Environment Ministry has lifted the moratorium on polluting industrial clusters in the Critically Polluted Areas ( CPA ) of Chandrapur in Maharashtra, a move aimed at enabling new investments which have been stalled for the last over five years.

The move came after the evaluation of the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index ( CEPI ) score of the area done by pollution watchdog Central Pollution... Read more..

Date : May 30

Source: The Times of India

ZDHC to introduce online portal for chemical companies

Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) programme recently announced the development of ZDHC Chemical Registry, a new online portal for chemical companies to assess a product's compliance against ZDHC's Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL).

The Chemical Registry will include a comprehensive list of chemical products and an MRSL, a listing of chemicals banned from use in facilities processing... Read more..

Date : May 30

Source: Fibre2Fashion

India signs $100 mn loan agreement with World Bank

India today signed a $100 million (about Rs 677 crore) loan agreement with multilateral lending agency World Bank for Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernisation Project.

The project aims to provide access to a continuous piped water supply in various cities in Karnataka and strengthen the service delivery arrangements at the city level, a finance ministry statement said.

Date : May 27

Source: The Economic Times

India fifth largest producer of e-waste: study

India, which has emerged as the world’s second largest mobile market, is also the fifth largest producer of e-waste, discarding roughly 18.5 lakh tonnes of electronic waste each year, a study says.

Telecom equipment alone accounts for 12 per cent of the e-waste, a joint study by Assocham-KPMG said.

... Read more..

Date : May 27

Source: The Hindu

Clean energy: Tamil Nadu spinning mills turn to rooftop solar farms

Looking for safer development models in renewable energy, spinning mills in the textile belt of Coimbatore and Tirupur have begun hunting for investors to fund small solar farms on the rooftops of their factories.

Investor interest in funding small, rooftop units in the south have also picked up with other avenues of investment such as real estate still lumbering in a slow recovery phase and attractive... Read more..

Date : May 27

Source: ETEnergyworld

Centre to do pilot of small wind energy hybrid project

To provide electricity in remote areas or places with intermittent supplies, the Centre will set up first pilot project of small wind energy and hybrid systems (SWES) at Kayathar in Tamil Nadu.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy ( MNRE) is implementing a programme to promote installation of SWES with the objective to provide electricity in unelectrified areas or areas with intermittent electric supply... Read more..

Date : May 27

Source: The Financial Express

BlackRock, World Bank team with scientists to assess climate risk

Norwegian scientists have teamed up with some of the world's leading investment firms to assess the financial risks associated with global warming.

The new Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) Climate Finance initiative will bring together climate scientists and investors, including BlackRock and the World Bank, to develop tools to help investors more effectively incorporate... Read more..

Date : May 27

Source: GreenBiz

Govt approves pilot solar projects on canal tops, banks

The government has approved implementation of a Pilot-cum- Demonstration Project for Development of Grid-connected Solar PV Power Plants on Canal-banks and Canal-tops under National Solar Mission (NSM).

This is to make use of the unutilised area on top of canals and also the vacant land along the banks of canals wherever available.

Date : May 27

Source: ETEnergyworld

Desalination plants mulled for industries in Managaluru

With the industries in Mangaluru and surrounding areas facing severe shortage of water, the Dakshina Kannada district administration is planning to ask them to set up desalination plants.

AB Ibrahim, Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, said the district administration would convene a preliminary meeting with the industry representatives on Wednesday to discuss this issue.

Date : May 27

Source: The Hindu Business Line

India's installed solar capacity has reached 6,000 MW in 6 years

India is on track to become one of the largest installers of solar power globally as its installed solar capacity has reached 6,000 megawatts from 10 megawatts in less than six years, according to a solar power manufacturer.

Kolkata-headquartered Vikram Solar believes the government's ambitious International Solar Alliance ( ISA ) reflects India's strong commitment towards the sector.

"Rewind to 2010, India was at 10MW installed capacity of solar. Fast-forward to 2016, we are at 6GW or 6,000MW. In less than six years, we have achieved such a large leap. So I have no doubt in... Read more..

Date : May 27

Source: The Economic Times

Environment-friendly industries to get help

Assistance will be given for the setting up of environment-friendly industries in Kodagu district, said Satish Jarkiholi, Minister for Small Scale Industries.

Speaking at a review meeting here on Tuesday, the minister assured that financial assistance will be given for the setting up of small scale industries.

“There is an ample of opportunities for the setting up of food cluster, apiculture, fruit processing and juice units in the district. Land can be purchased at the market rate... Read more..

Date : May 27

Source: Deccan Herald

India Will Now Release Its Own Data on Air Pollution

The latest WHO report on pollution, which listed 30 Indian cities among the world’s 100 most polluted cities, is “misleading”, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday.

India will now release its own data on air pollution of major cities across the US and Europe to show people “the whole picture”, he added.

Date : May 26

Source: The Quint

Government launches web-based integrated waste management system

The government today launched a web-based application which will enable industries dealing in hazardous waste to seek online permissions for import and export of certain categories of waste used for recycling.

With an aim to make the process "transparent", the application on Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) apart from being a single window access will also expedite the way permission is granted and... Read more..

Date : May 26

Source: The Times of India

OCI Eyeing 1 Gigawatt of Solar Plants in China, India by 2018

OCI Global Ltd., one of polysilicon and chemical maker OCI Co.’s solar-project development units, is targeting about a gigawatt of photovoltaic power plants in China and India by 2018.

The company will provide $400 million of equity financing for the projects, amounting to about 30 percent of total project investment with the rest coming from elsewhere, the unit’s chief investment officer, Pranab Kumar... Read more..

Date : May 26

Source: Bloomberg

Water conservation efforts pay off in Andhra Pradesh, says CM Naidu

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said that the water table has increased by 1.51 per cent, which translates to 140 tmcft, in the last one year. Claiming that this was possible mainly because of the efforts of his government in the last one year, he said cyclone Roanu too has helped in recharging of groundwater across the state.

Speaking at the collectors' conference here on Wednesday, Naidu said the... Read more..

Date : May 26

Source: The Times of India

Students develop smart dustbins to address Mysore's garbage woes

An enterprising group of students from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE) has come out with a smart solution to address the growing problem of overflowing garbage containers across Mysuru.

The students' team has developed a concept of smart dustbins that will enable the civic officials concerned to monitor storage level of garbage containers on their android phones through an application,... Read more..

Date : May 26

Source: The Times of India

Harnessing solar and wind energy in one device could power the 'Internet of Things'

The "Internet of Things" could make cities "smarter" by connecting an extensive network of tiny communications devices to make life more efficient. But all these machines will require a lot of energy. Rather than adding to the global reliance on fossil fuels to power the network, researchers say they have a new solution. Their report on a single device that harvests wind and solar energy appears in the journal ACS Nano.

Date : May 26

Source: Science Daily

IRENA Report: Renewable energy employs 8.1 million people worldwide

According to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the renewable energy sector has employed 8.1 million people worldwide — a 5% increase from last year.

IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin said: “The continued job growth in the renewable energy sector is significant because it stands in contrast to trends across the energy sector. “This increase is being driven by declining... Read more..

Date : May 26

Source: PV Tech

UW-Madison team develops wind turbine for cell towers in rural India

With the aim of helping make electricity more available in rural parts of India, a team of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has designed a wind turbine that could provide power to cellular phone towers.

The Badgers' team, WiscWind, of 15 engineers and business students will compete this week in New Orleans at a national competition hosted by the American Wind Energy Association and sponsored... Read more..

Date : May 26

Source: Journal Sentinel

C&A aims to reduce its environmental impact

C&A, an international German chain of fashion retail clothing stores, has unveiled its first Global Sustainability Report, in which, the retailer outlines its aims to use more sustainable raw materials, reduce environmental impact and create a culture of sustainability among employees by the year 2020.

“In 2015, we focused on building strong governance and accountability to support our new sustainability... Read more..

Date : May 26

Source: Apparel Resources

Lucknow, Warangal among 13 smart cities announced by govt.

The Union government on Tuesday announced the names of 13 more cities that will be developed under the Centre’s “Smart City Mission.” Lucknow in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh tops the list, followed by Warangal in Telangana and Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.

These cities were chosen from the 23 that failed to get representation in the first round of a competition held in January, and participated in the “fast-... Read more..

Date : May 25

Source: The Hindu

India’s NTPC tendering for 625MW solar in Andhra Pradesh

Indian utility NTPC has invited bids for 625MW of solar PV at the Ananthapuramu Ultra Mega Solar Park in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Capacity will be doled out to bidders in five blocks of 125MW each following a competitive bidding process using a reverse auction format. The projects are 'open category' meaning that the source of modules is not restricted.

Date : May 25

Source: PV Tech

India to use International Solar Alliance to push solar water pumps

India plans to use International Solar Alliance to popularise indigenously developed solar water pumps across the world, especially in emerging markets, a top official said.

"Many countries are not even aware of solar pumps," said Upendra Tripathy, secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), who is also the chairperson of the interim administrative cell of International Solar Alliance (ISA), a... Read more..

Date : May 25

Source: The Economic Times

NGT seeks data from CPCB on air pollution levels in major cities

Noting that the air quality in metropolises was in violation to the prescribed standards, the National Green Tribunal on Tuesday directed the apex pollution monitoring body to file comprehensive data on the population and vehicle density in major cities across the country.

A bench headed by NGT chairperman Justice Swatanter Kumar also directed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to file complete data on... Read more..

Date : May 25

Source: The Economic Times