Page 5 - Sustainability

Green engineering need of hour, construct sustainable structure: Prez Murmu

"Green engineering" is the need of the hour, President Droupadi Murmu told officers of the Military Engineer Services (MES) on Friday as she asked them to construct eco-friendly and sustainable structures that promote the use of renewable energy. Addressing a group of MES probationers, who had called on the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, Murmu said, "The role of an engineer is not just limited to calculations, designing and construction. It is much broader and includes connecting communities, realising the dreams, and shaping the future." "As young officers who have just entered the service, you must be well aware of the environmental challenges and issues of climate change. It is your duty to design and construct such structures which are eco-friendly, sustainable and promote the increased use of renewable energy," she said. Murmu pointed out that the field of engineering is ever-evolving, with new technologies and methods emerging at an astonishing pace. "You need to

Energy exchange IEX to acquire 10% stake in Enviro Enablers India

Energy exchange IEX on Friday said it will acquire a 10 per cent stake in Enviro Enablers India Private Limited. The association will fulfil IEX's commitment towards sustainability and decarbonisation in line with India's net zero commitments, Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) said in a BSE filing. "IEX entered into a share subscription agreement and shareholders' agreement with Enviro Enablers India Private Limited (EEIPL) to acquire a 10 per cent stake in the company through compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS)," it said. This platform will catalyse solutions for compliant waste management, including segregation, processing, recycling, tracking, tracing, and valorization of waste fractions, all while uplifting informal waste pickers, SN Goel, Chairman and Managing Director of IEX, said. "This strategic alliance sets the stage for a transformative journey towards sustainability and circularity within India's energy landscape," Govindaswamy Mahesh Babu of EEIPL said.

Lego looks toward sustainable materials despite failed recycle attempt

Denmark's Lego said on Monday that it remains committed to its quest to find sustainable materials to reduce carbon emissions, even after an experiment by the world's largest toymaker to use recycled bottles did not work. Lego said it has decided not to progress" with making its trademark colourful bricks from recycled plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate, known as PET, and after more than two years of testing "found the material didn't reduce carbon emissions. Still, the toymaker remains "fully committed to making Lego bricks from sustainable materials by 2032, it added Two years ago, the privately-held group which makes its bricks out of oil-based plastic, started researching a potential transition to recycled plastic bottles made of PET plastic, which doesn't degrade in quality when recycled. It had invested more than USD 1.2 billion in sustainability initiatives as part of efforts to transition to more sustainable materials and reduce our carbon emissions by 37 pe

LiFE takes centre-stage at London Fashion Week sustainability line-up

India's Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) mission to promote sustainability in all aspects of life took centre-stage for "India Day" at London Fashion Week 2023, with Indian designers showcasing creations using a range of eco-friendly materials. Under the umbrella of Sustainable Modernity, students of Inter National Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD) in partnership with the London School of Trends presented their collections at a colourful catwalk in London on Saturday. Their creations were made using plant-based fabrics produced in India such as lotus stems, banana leaves, rose petals, cotton, bamboo and other natural fibres. The designers were instructed to employ sustainable materials and zero-waste practices to create a collection that was both cutting edge and wearable, the London School of Trends said in a statement. They were tasked to show how the artisans and their surroundings are linked and depend on each other. A profound connection to the Earth has played a significant

India poised to be leader in sustainable tech: Honeywell chief scientist

The Indian economy is developing very fast and the country is poised to become a leader in sustainable technologies, a senior official of American technology firm Honeywell has said. India is an emerging economy, which provides an opportunity to directly build sustainable infrastructure, instead of building it using legacy technologies that are now being abandoned in places like the Europe in the United States, Honeywell, Corporate Chief Scientist, Sustainability Technologies, Gavin Towler told PTI. "There are some parts of India, some regions in India now that actually have very high levels of renewable power, and very low levels of fossil fuel intensity. I think India is poised to become much more of a leader in sustainable technologies," Towler said on the sidelines of a company event. India's historical cumulative emissions from 1850 to 2019 amounted to less than 4 per cent of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions of the world from the pre-industrial era, despite being home to 17

Sustainable growth: Voice of India in the G20 New Delhi Summit 2023

Rooted in India's call for sustainable growth, many initiatives call for environmental sustainability

Festive season gifting: India Inc turns to wellness and sustainability

India Inc is set to add the much-needed glimmer to the season by going all out on gifting

NITI Aayog, UNDP partner to further India's sustainable development goals

Cooperation will include SDG localisation, data-driven monitoring, and aspirational districts & blocks, among others

ESG will help companies create sustainable business culture: Experts

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) will help companies create a sustainable business culture which goes beyond wealth creation, leading executives of companies said on Tuesday. ESG reporting landscape is rapidly changing at the global level owing to ever increasing challenges and re-orientation of the corporations, they said. Speaking at a CII event here, managing director of Linde India Abhijit Banerjee said with increasing challenges arising out of ESG dimensions, business leaders in India see a merit to reorient their corporate purpose and extend beyond wealth creation into broader themes that its key stakeholders are concerned with. Banerjee said in the present world, sustainability is something that investors are demanding, customers are expecting and employees are valuing. "Leadership has to play a key role in implementing sustainable business culture in an organisation. The leadership indicators focus on providing a broader picture of the company's operations in term

UPL SAS partners with NSL Sugars to enhance sustainable sugarcane yield

UPL Sustainable Agriculture Solutions on Friday said it has signed an agreement with NSL Sugars to promote sustainable sugarcane production and promote green agriculture through optimised usage of natural resources. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NSL Sugars will indirectly add about 50,000 farmers across Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra, UPL Sustainable Agriculture Solutions (UPL SAS) said in a statement. The primary objective of this partnership is to achieve a minimum of 15 per cent increase in yield to over 5 tonnes per acre, which will help farmers earn an additional income of Rs 12,000-15,000 per acre, the statement said. This also aims at reducing input costs for farmers while promoting sustainable agri practices. This collaborative effort is expected to save about 6 lakh litres of water and 50 kg of urea per acre, thereby promoting green agriculture practices and reducing environmental impact, the company added. UPL SAS and NSL Sugars will implement plans in

ESG funds continue to see outflow, Rs 520 cr pulled out in June quarter

Sustainable or ESG (environmental, social, and governance) funds in the country witnessed an outflow of Rs 520 crore in the April-June quarter of this fiscal, according to a report by Morningstar. This was higher than a withdrawal of Rs 470 crore seen from such funds in the preceding quarter. "While initial fund launches have attracted significant interest and flows, we have yet to witness continued flows for sustainable funds after their initial fund launch period. This has resulted in the lack of a discernible trend on a quarterly basis," the report noted. Continuing the trend of outflow, the year-to-date 2023 withdrawal was at Rs 1,060 crore as compared to Rs 1,020 crore in the preceding year. This is in contrast to the infusion of Rs 1.83 lakh crore for the year to date in the overall fund market. The report revealed that the coronavirus pandemic led to a marked increase in investor interest and fund launches for sustainable funds globally. "While the Indian sustainable fund .

Honeywell appoints Maheshwari as prez & CEO of High Growth Region Portfolio

He will succeed Ben Driggs, who will be taking another leadership role in the company

GreenCell Mobility receives Rs 3,000 crore in debt funding from REC

The fund will be used to acquire 3,000 e-buses and support energy storage and charging infrastructure

Paper firms cut water use by 80%, invest in sustainable processes: IPMA

The paper industry in the country has cut down water consumption by 80 per cent and looks to reduce it further as investments of Rs 25,000 crore have been made in sustainable production processes in the last few years, an industry body said on Monday. The Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) in a statement said that several industry players have taken environment-friendly measures to reduce their carbon and water footprint. The players have deployed modern technology solutions and captive power generation to achieve water and energy efficiency, it said in a statement. "Integrated paper mills have reduced water usage to 40 cubic meters to produce a tonne of paper from the earlier 200 cubic meters. There is a concerted effort to bring it down further," IPMA President Pawan Agarwal said. "Indian Paper Industry has invested to the tune of Rs 25000 crore in sustainable production processes and capacities in the last few years," Agarwal said. Agarwal said the paper industry has

$5 bn sustainability loans can be linked with target: BofA's Subramaniam

Bengaluru is worst-affected city, even as it continues to top start-up fundraising

BlackRock appoints Saudi Aramco's CEO Amin Nasser to its board: Report

Bader Al-Saad, director general and chairman of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, won't stand for re-election to BlackRock's board next year, according to the statement

PNB launches 'Project PNB PALAASH' for environmental sustainability

Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Monday announced the launch of its environmental initiative 'PNB Palaash', an eight-month period campaign to embrace sustainability. The campaign would lead to cost savings and operational efficiencies through measures such as energy and resource conservation, paper reduction, waste management and streamlined digital processes, PNB said in a statement. Acknowledging the need for integrating sustainability into every aspect of lives, PNB managing director Atul Kumar Goel said, "As a leading bank in the industry, undertaking environment-friendly initiatives not only aligns with our corporate social responsibility but also presents significant opportunities for business growth." The primary objective of this project is to actively contribute to conservation endeavours, foster the adoption of sustainable practices, and promote active employee engagement, he said. Under this initiative, it said, one lakh plus employees of PNB will plant minimum two saplings

2030 development goals in trouble, 575 mn people will remain very poor: UN

In a grim report, the UN warned Monday that at the current rate of global progress 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty and 84 million children won't be going to school in 2030 and it will take 286 years to reach equality between men and women. The report on progress in achieving 17 wide-ranging UN goals adopted by world leaders in 2015 to improve life for the world's more than 7 billion people said that only 15 per cent of some 140 specific targets that experts evaluated are on track to be reached by the end of the decade. Close to half the targets are moderately or severely off track, it said, and of those 30 per cent have either seen no movement at all or regressed including key targets on poverty, hunger and climate. The ambitious goals for 2030 include ensuring that hunger is eradicated and nobody lives on less than USD 2.15 a day which is the extreme poverty line, providing every child with a quality primary and secondary school education, achieving gend

L&T completes transition of $150-mn credit into sustainability-linked loan

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday said it has completed the "transition" of a USD 150-million term loan into a sustainability-linked loan with Bank of America. Such loans incentivise corporate houses' sustainability performance with lower interest rates. "The sustainability-linked loan (SLL) reiterates L&T's continued commitment to its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals," the infrastructure major said in a statement. The transaction for the sustainability-linked loan (SLL) was completed on June 30, 2023. R Shankar Raman, group CFO and whole-time director of L&T, said the company continues to focus on achieving water and carbon neutrality by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2040. The company's long-term strategic plan also outlines the ESG road map towards this goal. "This transition to SLL with Bank of America is yet another step in that journey and underlines our intent on the ESG front," he said. India-based L&T is a USD 23-billion multinational engaged .

2 IIT alumni develop sustainable fuel from 'thin air', plastic waste

Two UK researchers, who are alumni of the IIT, have developed a new method to transform CO2 captured from industrial processes