Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Engineers India plans diversification into building of smart cities

Engineers India is planning to diversify into construction of smart cities based on its years of experience in setting up townships and related infrastructure for major PSUs.

The ministry of urban development has invited expression of interest (EOI) to shortlist consultants and organisations and the process is expected to be completed in a couple of months. The 100 identified cities would then be granted to these organisations for preparation and planning work.

Niraj Sethi, executive director, corporate strategy and business development of Engineers India, told Financial... Read more..

Delhi government plans big push to green energy

To encourage consumption of clean and renewable energy in the national capital, Delhi’s AAP government is planning to promote the usage of energy from such sources and will urge citizens to install “net meters” at their residence places and business enterprises.

A senior government official said the government wants to encourage use of renewable energy sources like solar power, which is aimed at minimising dependence on conventional power sources like coal. “The administration is planning to promote clean energy initiatives and fund research in the area. Delhi has a massive... Read more..

BMW Targets 20% Electricity From Solar at India Factory by 2016

BMW AG, the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, intends to meet 20 percent of its electricity needs from solar power at its factory in India by the end of 2016.

The German company will seek bids to build a solar farm in the first quarter of next year, said Robert Frittrang, managing director of the factory near Chennai. The successful bidder can install panels on top of the plant.

The tariff for solar electricity is fixed for five years and works out cheaper than electricity purchased from the local grid, Frittrang said. The carmaker, which is based in Munich, currently... Read more..

Over Rs. 6 Lakh Crore Needed to Clean Ganga: Experts

A capital expenditure of over Rs.600,000 crore (approx $100 bn) is needed to cleanse river Ganga of the sewage, industrial effluents and solid waste that is thrown into the river, say experts.

The Ganga River Basin Management Plan 2015 (GRBMP), prepared by Indian Institute of Technology Consortium (IITC), suggests that nearly Rs.600,000-700,000 crore is required to address the problem caused by the material dumped into the river, according to a statement by the Oval Observer Foundation on Friday.

The IITC, a cluster of seven IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur,... Read more..

IIFCL Infra Debt Fund to float green sector scheme

IIFCL Infra Debt Fund plans to float a “green sector” scheme to raise Rs 1,000 crore for funding environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects like renewable energy, water and waste treatment.

The proposed fund is a 10-year close-ended infrastructure debt fund scheme with investments in the green sector for private/public placement of units of Rs 10 lakh each. The India Infrastructure Finance Corporation, a  state-owned finance company, will be its the strategic investor and the scheme will be managed by IIFCL Asset Management Company Limited (IAMCL).

Banking sources... Read more..

Smart city plan for New Town, Kolkata

The state government has handed over a concept plan to develop Rajarhat New Town as a smart green city to the Union urban development ministry. The plan has been prepared by the National Institute of Smart Governance (NISG).

"We have submitted the New Town smart city concept plan to the urban development ministry. Besides, a meeting will be held on May 13 to discuss the ways to take forward the seven proposed theme-based townships in the state," said state urban development secretary and Hidco MD Debashis Sen.

Talks have already been held at the secretarial level between the... Read more..

Money down the drain

A tale of two companies that are profiting from eco-friendly disposal of human waste

Dhamra in Odisha is a quaint, small town on the banks of the river it is named after. It may have developed into a vital port back in the 15th century, but lacked sanitation facilities even until 2012. Hyderabad-based Banka BioLoo introduced its low-maintenance bio-toilets in this region and, soon, residents made a beeline for these covered loos that hygienically dispose of human waste without need for septic tanks or waste treatment plants.

In a small village in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar,... Read more..

World's Largest Rayon Producer Announces Game-Changing Forest Protection Policy

Today, global viscose giant Aditya Birla Group announced an industry-leading commitment to eliminate sourcing from the world’s ancient and endangered forests for all of its Viscose fibers, which are widely used in clothing and textiles.

Aditya Birla is India’s largest multinational conglomerate (with US$40B in revenue) and the world’s largest producer of Viscose, manufacturing 20 percent of the world’s supply of the material, which is made from wood pulp. The commitment applies to wood and pulp sourcing for all its mills, including those in Canada, Indonesia and China.

The... Read more..

Dual flush system may be made compulsory to save water

Seeking to save millions of liters of water per day across the country, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) - country's national standardization agency that involves in issuing quality certification - has planned to amend the existing criteria to certify toilet's flush so that the attached cistern can discharge water for flushing as per needs.

The idea of this move is to promote and adopt new water saving standards in India on the line of global best practices.

 "The BIS has a plan for amending the IS 774:2004 to include 'dual flush only' (criteria) instead of 'single and... Read more..

India inks 12 pacts with other nations on renewable energy

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 12 countries during the last three years to enhance cooperation in the sector, Parliament was informed today.

"The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has singed MOUs with 12 countries during the last three years. In addition, letter of intend and joint declaration of intend with Egypt and Germany were also signed," Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Ministry Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.

Goyal informed the House that joint research work has been initiated... Read more..

Global Food Sector Under Water Threat Like No Other Time

Food and beverage producers face rising costs that could curtail growth as water shortages and pollution become more severe, a group of investors warned in a new report.

Water scarcity is already impacting companies in drought-stricken regions such as California and Brazil, according to the report Thursday from Ceres, a Boston-based coalition of investors with more than $13 trillion in assets. While some producers are taking steps to manage water risks, most have fallen short, Ceres said.

“It definitely is a growing threat,” Nick Martin, sustainability practice lead for Antea... Read more..

M&S Launches Companywide Campaign to Engage Employees in 'Making Energy Matter'

UK retailer Marks & Spencer has launched a new employee engagement campaign to help the company cut energy use by 50 percent across its UK operations by 2020.

According to a recent blog post by Energy Program Coordinator Kate Neale, employee participation is key to M&S reaching the 'ambitious targets' laid out in its latest Plan A report — a 50 percent cut in energy and 35 percent cut in water use by 2020. So Neale says the Making Energy Matter campaign will communicate tips and targets to employees “in a multitude of different formats: from presentations to posters... Read more..