Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Mahindra EPC installs its first Diesel Solar PV hybrid system

Mahindra EPC, the Engineering Procurement and Construction arm of the Mahindra Group, has installed its first diesel generator and solar photovoltaic (DG-PV) hybrid solution at Mahindra’s engine factory at Igatpuri. This system has India’s highest solar to diesel capacity ratio of over 80%.

The DG-PV hybrid installation comprises of a 66kW solar plant connected to an 82.5 kVA diesel generator using Mahindra EPC’s proprietary advanced controller unit. The unit maximizes solar utilization while ensuring complete power system stability and substantial reduction in diesel... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: Panchabuta

Is global cotton at risk unless brands help farmers save water?

CottonConnect warns that more support is needed for cotton farmers as they grapple with the effects of water scarcity. The company calls for the cotton supply chain to help take farmer training to scale to increase yields and reduce the water footprint in cotton-growing regions in the developing world.

Basic interventions such as farmer training and knowledge-sharing on basic agricultural practices have resulted in 30 percent reductions in water use among smallholder farmer and installing simple technologies, such as drip irrigation systems, have resulted in water savings of... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: Green Biz

India cannot afford a climate change skeptic as Prime Minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a three part answer to a question on Teachers’ Day about combating climate change. In one part he said, ‘Climate change has not occurred. People have changed.’ Just before that he had given the example of old people complaining about the winter turning harsher each successive year. It’s just people losing tolerance for cold as they age, he explained. In the third part of his answer, just after he came across as the first climate skeptic Prime Minister of India, Modi said the real problem is people have lost old values, picked up bad habits and therefore... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: Business Standard

To be counted during Paris summit, India must cut its carbon footprint

Forrmer Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh set a cat among the pigeons, in his inimitable style, at a recent national conference on climate and sustainable development at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai. He asserted that India would be “the last man standing at Paris”, referring to the United Nations climate negotiations which will culminate in France in December 2015. India’s current stance was “inflexible and moralistic, saying no till everybody says yes”, he added.

Other participants cited how his successor, Jayanthi Natarajan, was surrounded... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: Hindustan Times

Delhi's love of cars worsens air pollution menace

A sharp increase in the number of motorcycles and cars in Delhi, mainly because of the purchasing capacity of the youth, has contributed to an increase in air pollution in the national capital, according to a 10-year analysis done by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Vehicular emissions, especially from two wheelers, are the most predominant source of air pollution in the city, says the analysis published in the latest issue of the Atmosphere Pollution Research Journal. The data for the period 2000 to 2010 compiled... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: India Today

City-based centre develops bricks from aluminium waste

If the city-based Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Design and Development Centre (JNARDDC) has its way, 'red mud', a waste generated in huge quantity (one to two times of alumina produced) from the aluminium industry, can now act as a good source of building material. In fact, Modi government's ambitious plan of 'home for every family' by 2022 which includes 2 crore houses in urban area and 4.5 crore in rural, could use these materials if JNARDDC can convince their utility to the government.
JNARDDC had developed two different types of bricks (hard brick and foam brick) and a... Read more..

Date : Sep 10

Source: Times of India

India Pushes Ultra-Mega Scheme To Scale Solar PV

With over 15% of the world’s population, India has lots of people. It also huge potential for solar power. A new proposal by India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) wants to wed those factors into a self-sustaining formula for steep and sustained economic growth. The scheme is called “Ultra Mega Solar” and the secret ingredient is economies of scale.
The scheme envisions establishing 25 “solar parks” in the next five years, which would allow for the deployment of 20 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic systems. Each individual solar park would have space for installation... Read more..

Date : Sep 10

Source: Forbes

Andhra govt to soon sign deal with NTPC for 1000-mw solar unit

In a bid to make Andhra Pradesh power surplus, the state government is shortly entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the NTPC for setting up a mega solar power unit with a capacity of 1,000 MW at Ananthapur.
Briefing reporters here, Andhra Pradesh Information & Public Relations Minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy said, the Government is also working on establishing another 1500 MW solar power projects in Kadapa and Kurnool districts.
"NTPC has already decided to start a Ultra Mega Solar Power unit with a capacity of 1000 MW. Similarly, we want to have another... Read more..

Date : Sep 10

Source: Business Standard

Gujarat solar power model for Odisha

After making solar power a success in its own state, the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) has decided to support other states in replicating similar models.
The autonomous body will provide technical support to the Odisha government to generate five MW of electricity through roof-top solar power plants in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The rooftop plants will be set up on top of 120 buildings in the twin cities by Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Limited (GEDCOL).
"In the first phase, the rooftops of government buildings will be used for setting... Read more..

Date : Sep 10

Source: Times of India

Scarcity of potable water in Indian villages to end?

A desalination technology powered by solar panels could provide enough clean, palatable drinking water to meet the needs of India's water-deficient villages, MIT scientists say.
Sixty per cent of India is underlain by salty water - and much of that area is not served by an electric grid that could run conventional reverse-osmosis desalination plants.
An analysis by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers Natasha Wright and Amos Winter shows that a different desalination technology called electrodialysis, powered by solar panels, could provide enough clean,... Read more..

Date : Sep 10

Source: Economic Times

Bangalore, Swedish scientists jointly developing tool to harness big data for solving future problems

If Bangalore's population goes up another 10%, how bad the city's water problem can get? Is there another garbage crisis in the making? These are some questions that often catch the city administrators flat footed. Without coherent data or tools to process them quickly, officials often struggle to equip the city for the future.
But that could change if teams of scientists from Bangalore and Sweden succeed in their mission. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore and the Stockholm Environment Institute are creating a data-driven solution, called the Bangalore... Read more..

Date : Sep 10

Source: Economic Times

The Green way to live

Organic spices, vegan cakes, pasta sauce made of chemical-free ingredients, up-cycled purses…the recently-held Green Bazaar was all about products and people who were kind to the planet. Held at Spaces, Besant Nagar, by The Alternative, a “platform focused on sustainable living and social impact”, the bazaar showed how one can live in harmony with Nature, despite existing in an urban set-up. Most importantly, it gave the people of Chennai a chance to rub shoulders with those who swore by sustainable living.
Women from ‘Wellpaper’, a tsunami-rehabilitation venture, were there with... Read more..

Date : Sep 10

Source: The Hindu

Carbon-dioxide levels in the atmosphere rose at a record pace in 2013

The amount of carbon-dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere increased at a record pace in 2013, setting the stage for "potentially devastating" climate change in the decades ahead, the World Meteorological Organization warned Tuesday.
There are two possible reasons why the amount of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere is growing so rapidly. One is obvious: Humans continue to emit more and more carbon-dioxide from power plants, cars, and factories each year.
But the other possibility is a bit more surprising: According to the WMO, early data suggests that the world's oceans and forests... Read more..

Date : Sep 10

Source: Vox

ALM, NGO make the best of ‘worship’ waste

Offering an example of how community effort and governance can together create sustainable living models, an ALM (advanced locality management) and an NGO in Andheri (East), using the BMC's garbage pick-up facility, have developed a model to recycle 'nirmalya'—fruit and flower puja waste.
"People are careful about maintaining sanctity and tradition during puja. Disposing of nirmalya is the last stage of any puja, but is unfortunately neglected. Households or mandals bundle it up to be dumped with other garbage. It is not something they like doing, but have no other option," said... Read more..

Date : Sep 10

Source: Times of India

A Concrete Energy Efficiency Solution

Cement — the key ingredient of concrete — is the world’s most widely used building material. It’s also the product of an energy-intensive process that accounts for about 5% of global greenhouse gases. These emissions threaten to increase as developing countries urbanize and build roads, buildings, and other infrastructure in the decades ahead. To pursue a low carbon growth path, the industry needs to adopt the most efficient technologies including waste-heat recovery (WHR).
Waste-heat recovery involves capturing the excess heat of an industrial process and using it to generate... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: World Bank

MCap investing over $6M in PET bottle recycling firm Ganesha Ecosphere

Private equity fund MCap is acquiring 15.6 per cent equity stake in Kanpur-based Ganesha Ecosphere Ltd through a preferential allotment for around Rs 37.94 crore (over $6 million), as per a stock market disclosure.
The board of directors of the listed company has proposed to raise the fund through issuing 3.1 million Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) convertible within 12 months into 2.75 million equity shares and 250,000 warrants with the option of conversion of each warrant into one equity share at a price of Rs 113 per share to Mcap.
On full conversion of... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: VC Circle

Housing Ministry to promote green buildings

The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation plans to work closely with all the stakeholders in promoting Green Affordable Housing and with the State Governments to map the needs and requirements for affordable housing.
It has proposed to make affordable housing an integral part of smart cities.
Speaking at the CII-IGBC Green Building Congress 2014 here, Anita Agnihotri, Secretary, Housing Ministry, said that with increased urbanisation, there is a growing need to develop and promote housing structures which are not only affordable but also sustainable and... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: Business Line- The Hindu

Transport Department plans pollution-free Central Business District in Bengaluru

One of the long-pending demands of Bengalureans is to de-congest vehicles from the Central Business District (CBD) and make the area pollution-free by bringing down the air pollution. But auto drivers and residents are vehemently opposing this idea, saying it may create problems for them.
Auto drivers feel that CBD is one of the most profitable destinations for them, as it covers most of the sought-after halts in the city, including Kempegowda bus terminus, MG Road, Brigade Road, Vidhana Soudha, Cubbon Park, Karnataka High Court etc. Passengers too feel that banning vehicles in this... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: Deccan Chronicle

Improving effectiveness: Waste management to be mechanised says FWMC MD

The Faisalabad Waste Management Company (FWMC) is working on a project to introduce mechanical sweeping of roads to improve the sanitary condition.
This was stated by Amjad Ali Awan, the FWMC managing director, while talking to The Express Tribune on Sunday.
“A scheme is also underway to provide free education and health facilities to the children of sanitary workers. This will help lessen the economic burden on them because their salaries are meager,” the MD said.
“All the FWMC workers and staff will be given social security and life insurance. Free medical treatment... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: Tribune

Germany to help treat factory waste

The German government will help Delhi find a solution to the inefficient effluent treatment infrastructure in its industrial areas. The status of common effluent treatment plants (CETP), along with partnership details, was discussed at the workshop in Mayapuri industrial area on Friday.
Delhi Pollution Control Committee on Saturday said that all 13 effluent treatment plants were working under capacity; "operational inadequacies" resulted in violation of environmental standards. Though they have the potential to treat 212 million litres every day, the plants are processing only 40-... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: Times of India

Brace for more extreme weather events in Himalayas, warn experts

Floods in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed scores of lives and caused widespread damage may not be a one off event. Such extreme events in the Himalayan region are bound to increase because of global warming, warn experts.
"The whole Himalayan range is vulnerable because of rising temperatures. Each and every valley—be it Kashmir, Kedarnath or Badrinath—faces the threat of increased precipitation," says Anil K Gupta, director of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir State Action Plan on Climate Change, 2013, minimum... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: Down to Earth

Taste for waste

Entrepreneurs now see business opportunity in waste paper. The raddiwala employed with start-ups can be summoned to home with the click of a mouse or a phone call
AMRINDER SINGH, 57, is a government employee living in south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar. His neighbours say he has a big heart—he donates generously for religious functions and other community services in his locality. His domestic help, too, is all praise for him as he helps her with money whenever she is in need. But when it comes to selling the waste in his house, Singh forgets his generous nature and makes every penny count.... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: Down to Earth

India, Germany to cooperate in skill development, river cleaning

India and Germany Monday agreed to prepare a roadmap for cooperation in skill development, solid waste management and cleaning of rivers as visiting Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier met Prime Minister Narendra Modi who described the two nations as "made for each other".

During the meeting here, Steinmeier conveyed Germany's strong desire to work with the new government in India to further expand and deepen bilateral relations.

Modi lauded Germany's remarkable economic resurgence over the past decade, a PMO statement said.

He said India and... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: Zee News

Tetra Pak boasts environmental performance; releases Sustainability Update 2014

Tetra Pak, on 5 September, released a report on company’s initiatives towards environment named Sustainability Update 2014, which highlights the company’s 2013 achievements in the areas of environmental performance, social responsibility and good governance.

According to the report, Tetra Pak delivered 1.1 billion packages featuring bio-based caps made from plastic derived from sugar cane in 2013, double the number sold in 2012. Also, Tetra Pak’s recycling rates in India have been increased to 25.6% in 2013. This means that one in four cartons sold in the country gets... Read more..

Date : Sep 9

Source: Printweek

India To Install 2,200 Solar-Powered Mobile Communication Towers

The Indian government is set to start work on a large project to install several renewable energy-powered mobile communication towers across nine states in the central belt of the country as it pushes for development in economically underdeveloped regions.
Last month, the central government gave approval to an ambitious project that would see as many as 2,200 mobile communication towers erected in nine states affected by left-wing extremism. These states are Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The towers... Read more..

Date : Sep 8

Source: Clean Technica