Indian industry has done little to reduce pollution. And little is known about the
environmental performance of industrial
firms in India.
The Centre for Science and Environment (cse) rated the
environmental performance of select Indian companies in the pulp and paper industry, by carrying out a detailed environmental audit. With the declared intention of bringing public pressure upon those firms to take better care of the environment.
In India, the Central government does not maintain a centralized database (on the wastes and emissions of companies), and even the data that it has is not easily available to the public. Besides, there is little credibility in the data being supplied to, and by the government.
Nowadays, voluntary disclosure with regards to the environment is an accepted business practice in many countries. The Centre for Science and Environment argued that the environmental impact of companies is a public matter simply because the environment belongs to the public. Therefore, non-disclosure of their environmental impact is not acceptable. The Centre for Science and Environment found that the market leaders within the industry shared their concern for the environment.
After being properly briefed, the task of visiting plants and interviewing and collecting data from pollution control officials, local communities and ngos was given to a team of interested readers. This innovative approach was necessary, given the immensity of the task. The Centre for Science and Environment has always believed that civil society should act as a powerful and knowledgeable watchdog. This was merely putting this belief into practice.
The Green Ratings Project is being supported by the Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Program.The key objectives of the Green RatingsProject are to monitor the environmental performance of Indian companies and create a transparent rating system that acts as an incentive for them to improve; to make environmental management an issue for top management; and to make the top management realize that good environmental management involves being proactive. These objectives are slowly being met.
Many firms have found the Green Rating Project a useful educational exercise. If the Green Rating Project continues, it will not only help to improve environmental governance in the country, but will introduce transparency into the environmental performance of Indian companies. It will also go a long way in lifting the environmental concern within the companies to the top level of management.
The Green Rating Project will make the industrial leaders realize that environmental compliance should not be restricted only to meeting government norms. India is just beginning to industrialize - we will see high levels of pollution in the years to come unless serious efforts are made to prevent it. Judicial activism, community and ngo protests are already beginning to make their presence felt…
In the green rating project of the pulp and paper sector, a mill was evaluated using various (green) criteria, broadly under three broad categories - corporate environment policy and management systems, input and process management, and the public perceptions of the mill''s environmental responsibility.
The green rating report reveals that the overall environmental health of the sector is not very good. The sector is plagued by resource use inefficiency, improper sourcing of raw material, outdated technology, and a highly-wasteful and polluting production process.
The companies that have figured high on the ratings have more than one of the following features:
• Environment policy / policy statement
• Chemical recovery plants
• Improvements in plant processing
• Efficiency
• Sound fibre sourcing
• Compliance with pollution norms
• Sound pollution control equipment
• Recying and reuse of raw materials
• Profitability
Good environmental performance makes good business sense. The best performers environmentally are financially sound as well. And there is a high likelihood of mills with good environmental performance being profitable. The Centre for Science and Environment feels that the profits that the company earns should be used to improve their environmental performance.
Poor technology means more pollution - the technology and management practices currently being used in India are obsolete in the global context. Poor technology results in inefficient resource utilization, and coupled with ineffective governmental regulations leads to poor environmental performance. The mills must invest in cleaner technology.
The sector must steadily move towards sustainable industrial development. Farm forestry needs to be promoted for sourcing raw materials such as wood and fibers. The paper companies should develop wastepaper collection and recycling programs. Water recycling should also be encouraged. Most mills discharge their wastewaters into water bodies, especially during the rainy season. Though wastewater is useful for irrigation of land in the short term, the land becomes unproductive after a few years due to increased salinity. And contamination of the soil is difficult to reverse.