Sustainability Outlook Headlines

New policy to solve solid waste issue

pCentre has kickedoff second generation reforms in fertilizer sector by framing a policy to produce compost from urban waste which it believes would reduce chemical use and enrich soilnbspp

pA cabinet note circulated by Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers offers incentives to manufacturers for producing compost and use municipal waste as manure in agro sectornbspp

pIndia39s total municipal waste based compost production potential is around 40 lakh tonne given the roughly 600 to 650 lakh waste generated annually by the cities and towns The countryrsquos current installed... Read more..

New tech to enhance storage capacity of solar cells

pThe Chemists at University of California Los Angeles UCLA have developed an advance solar cell that can retain energy for weeks unlike the existing ones that are able to hold energy only for few microsecondsp

pSarah Tolbert a UCLA professor of chemistry and one of the senior authors of the research said that the design is inspired by the way plants generate energy through photosynthesis She explained how the new solar cells work During photosynthesis plants generate energy through efficiently keeping the positive protons and negative electrons charges of cells separate This... Read more..

Delhi Jal Board opts for solar power

pThe Delhi Jal Board DJB has setup a solar power project in their Varunalaya Office Complex in a bid to minimize their power bill and contribute in preserving the environmentp

pEver since the project implementation DJB saved Rs 55000 immediately in a month and generated 6600 units of electricity The installation cost of the plant came at about Rs 5355 Lakh The DJB is planning to feed the additional power into the grid especially on weekend and on holidays when the power demand is notably highp

pThe CEO of DJB SS Yadav said that through the installation of solar panels on the... Read more..

India Achieves 4 Gigawatts Installed Solar Power Capacity

pBy the end of this year India may break into the top 10 solar power markets in terms of installed capacity as the South Asian giant has now crossed 4 GW of installed solar power capacityp

pIndiarsquos Ministry of New amp Renewable Energy MNRE has reported that the country now has an operational solar power capacity of over 4 GW with a significant jump caused by direct contributions from the countryrsquos National Solar Missionp

pAccording to the data a hrefhttpmnregovinfilemanagerUserFilesgridconnectedsolarpowerprojectinstalledcapacitypdf targetblankreporteda by... Read more..

Lego Group Investing 150M in RD for Sustainable Materials

pThis week LEGO Group announced an investment of 1 billion Danish Kroner US152 million in the research development and implementation of sustainable raw materials to manufacture LEGOreg toys and packaging materialsp

pldquoThis is a major step for the LEGO Group on our way towards achieving our 2030 ambition on sustainable materialsrdquo said CEO and president Joslashrgen Vig Knudstorp ldquoWe have already taken important steps to reduce our carbon footprint and leave a positive impact on the planet by reducing the packaging size by introducing FSCcertified packaging and through our... Read more..

Fashion Footprint Tells Shoppers the Story Behind Their Clothing Choices at Point of Sale

pThe farreaching social impacts of the fashion industry were catapulted into the global spotlight with the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh in 2013 Since then the tradeoffs of ldquofast fashionrdquo have become an issue of urgent concern for NGOs and fashionistas around the world spawning consumerawareness and activism campaigns including Fashion Revolution Day hardhitting web series including Thread and Sweatshop and just last month a documentary called The True Costp

pNow a new app called Fashion Footprint gives shoppers the story behind their... Read more..

Nirvana Gurgaons first solar township

pA township in Gurgaon Nirvana country is moving ahead with its plan of solar power project In a meeting held on Saturday the residents of the township were briefed about the two models that they can install by TL Satyaprakash the deputy commissioner and power grid officialsp

pFollowing Haryana governmentrsquos mandatory order for all buildings that stand on plots of 500 square yards and more to install rooftop solar systems by 2015 the sector 50 township is targeting to become Gurgaonrsquos first solar colony The hope is that other real estate projects in the city too will be... Read more..

Bescoms solar generation reaches 1 MW

pNearly eight months after the launch of its ambitious solar rooftop project the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Bescom finally reached a milestone by generating 1000 kW 1 MW of solar powerp

pGetting off to a slow start the power utility now has 409 applications registered with an overall proposed solar generating capacity of 19 MWp

pAmong the major contributors to Bescomrsquos solar generating capacity are the Karnataka State Cricket Association which has installed a 400 kW rooftop solar power plant at M Chinnaswamy Stadium St Josephrsquos College and National... Read more..

Indian Railways targets 5 GW through RE

pThe Indian railways are planning to generate energy through wind turbines to the capacity of 170 MW The turbines will be installed on the land that the ministry ownsp

pThe Indian trains will also be equipped with solar panels on the roof to generate electricity on the move At the beginning two narrow gauge trains running on the PathankotJogindernagar route will be trieduponp

pAlso at around 200 railway stations 6000 level crossing gates and 20 office buildings Photovoltaic PV panels will be installed The ministry is aiming to generate 15 MW of electricity through these The... Read more..

PSUs Central depts to get Rs 1 cr per MW to set up solar units

pTo boost the countryrsquos energy security the government has decided to give a push to solar power generation by roping in public sector units and Central departments and ministries The government has asked them to set up 1 MW solar power plant each on their rooftops or land for which they would be given viability gap funding of Rs 1 crore per MW an official told The Indian Expressp

pThe projects have to be implemented by 2017 and the PSUs and ministries would be free to use the power so generated for either selfuse or sell it to third party or discoms the official said The... Read more..

Mumbai to benefit as MoEF actively considering relaxation of CRZ restrictions

pThe environment ministry that is in the process of reviewing the Coastal Regulation Zone CRZ notification 2011 is looking at relaxing some of its existing restrictions and reclassify certain categories of structures falling in CRZIII to aid their development said a highplaced ministry official privy to developments The ministry has taken up this consideration in sync with recommendations of the Shailesh Nayakheaded highlevel committee that was constituted last year to suggest amendments to CRZp

pThe committee included Nayak secretary ministry of earth sciences five environment... Read more..

Electric Motorcycles Used By Over 50 Police Departments

pOver 50 police departments in the United States are now using allelectric Zero Motorcycles Electric motorcycles are very quiet so they are actually helping police officers get close to suspects without their knowledge Gaspowered motorcycles are much louderp

pldquoBecause the motorcycles are electric officers may arrive on scene without disruption and come across a crime in progress without being detectedrdquo explained Amy Armstrong Luna of the Fresno State University Department of Public Safety They have also proven to be better for sneaking up on wildlife when necessary for the... Read more..