Sustainability Outlook Headlines

India to attract USD 8 bn investment by 2012; says study

A leading international professional services organisation has projected investments of more than 8.5 billion dollars in biotechnology, life sciences, logistics, clean technology, film production and education in India through Indian venture capitalists (VCs) and private equities (PEs) firms by 2012.

Quoting from a study done by Deloitte in association with an Indian Industry Chamber, Assocham secretary-general D S Rawat today said, US based Life Sciences Fund had recently invested 40 million dollars in a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company.

Medical devices and diagnostics... Read more..

India's first eco-friendly stadium inaugurated

India's first eco-friendly sports complex Thyagaraj stadium, which will be the venue for Netball competition of the upcoming Commonwealth Games here, was today inaugurated by Delhichief minister Sheila Dikshit.

Built over an area of 16,000 square metres, the Thyagaraj Stadium has been built with the latest green building technologies and eco-friendly material.

"This is our first green stadium and it is the only one which has been constructed right from the scratch with Commonwealth Games in mind. Other stadiums are just being upgraded," Dikshit said speaking on the occasion... Read more..

EU greenhouse gas emissions down 11 percent

Greenhouse gas emissions from major European polluters fell 11 percent last year as the economic downturn reduced demand for energy and manufactured goods, according to a report released Thursday.

Carbon trading consultancy Point Carbon said European companies participating in the EU's cap-and-trade program released some 1.89 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide last year. Their emissions were 2.12 billion metric tons in 2008.

The group analyzed raw data from 90 percent of the companies in the program published by the EU's executive commission. The European... Read more..

Heat over carbon tax

The Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh, has done well to counter the threat from the US and Europe to impose a carbon tax on Indian exports by retaliating that New Delhi would take such measures to the dispute settlement system of the WTO. What the hints dropped by Washington and Brussels on the imposition of such a tax reveal is that some of the leading players in the climate debate are bent on pressuring major developing economies such as India, China and Brazil to curb environmental pollution, even if such action affects their economic growth adversely.... Read more..

75 nations set '20 carbon emission targets

Seventy-five countries accounting for more than 80 percent of greenhouse gases have filed pledges to curb carbon emissions by 2020, the UN climate convention said today.

The promises were made under the Copenhagen Accord, the outcome of the global climate summit in the Danish capital last December, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said in a press release. A total of 111 countries plus the European Union (EU) “have indicated their support for the Accord,” the UNFCCC said.

Cobbled together in the final hours of the summit, the Copenhagen Accord sets the... Read more..

Wipro to cut carbon footprint

Software-to-soap maker Wipro Ltd [ Get Quote ] plans to reduce its greenhouse gas footprint by half in the next five years.

The Bengaluru-based company with significant interests in IT, would reduce GHG intensity to 2.5 tonnes per employee by 2015, according to the company's second sustainability report released recently.

The GHG footprint for the India [ Images ] operations of Wipro's IT business stands at 4.79 tonnes per employee.

Prepared in line with the Global Reporting Initiative framework, the report outlines Wipro's broad goals for the next few years under... Read more..

U.N. official expects no climate deal until 2011

A new legal agreement committing nations around the world to curb greenhouse gas emissions is unlikely to be completed until the end of 2011, two years later than originally envisioned, the top U.N. climate official said Wednesday.

Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. climate change secretariat, said countries need to restore confidence in U.N. negotiations following the dismal results of the Copenhagen summit in December, which ended in a vague agreement of principles and a pledge of finances for poor countries most threatened by climate change.

"There was a great... Read more..

Nissan will sell electric car for close to $25,000

Nissan’s new electric car will cost just over $25,000 when it goes on sale in the U.S. in December, aiming to bring gasoline-free technology within reach of mainstream drivers.

The Leaf, a four-door hatchback, will have a base price of $32,780, but it’s eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles. That will make it cheaper to buy than electric vehicles coming from rivals and may force competitors to cut prices. But the Leaf’s limited range of just 100 miles per charge for its lithium-ion battery could be a dealbreaker for some motorists.

“We want to make... Read more..

Building a business case for sustainability - Express India

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With an increasing number of people demanding more from a planet that is already reaching its limit, it is not rocket science to work out that sustainability will be an increasingly hot issue, not just in terms of the climate, but also in guaranteeing that we have enough food and energy to keep functioning. By now, just about everyone recognises that we have a problem. But as Copenhagen demonstrated, creating enabling mechanisms and changing behaviour and perceptions is not easy.
The Forum for Corporate... Read more..

Cleantech Group Releases Report on Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings

The Cleantech Group, the leading global research and advisory firm focused on cleantech innovation, today announced the release of As Energy Efficiency Booms, Buildings Get a Brain, a comprehensive analysis of energy efficiency innovations in commercial office buildings. The report was produced through extensive research and interviews with leading corporations, investors, early stage ventures, and industry influencers.

“Commercial office buildings consume 40% of the electricity produced in the U.S. and 18% of total U.S. energy,” said Sheeraz Haji, president of the Cleantech Group... Read more..

Coal fuels much of Internet 'cloud,' Greenpeace says

The 'cloud' of data that is becoming the heart of the Internet is creating an all-too-real cloud of pollution as Facebook, Apple and others build data centers powered by coal, Greenpeace said in a new report to be released on Tuesday.

A Facebook facility being built in Oregon will rely on a utility whose main fuel is coal, while Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is building a data warehouse in a North Carolina region that relies mostly on coal, the environmental organization said in the study.

"The last thing we need is for more cloud infrastructure to be built in places where it increases... Read more..

For PEs, clean tech opens new investment frontier

Private equity (PE) funds are eyeing investments in clean technology companies, in the belief that the sector will do well because of rising ecological awareness, sustained government spending and entry of corporate players into the segment.

Clean technology is a process of creating electricity and fuels that do not pollute the environment. The first three months of 2010 have already seen five private equity deals in clean-tech sector aggregating to $150 million, according to Venture Intelligence rolls. The sector also logged two venture capital deals aggregating to $11 million... Read more..