Page 4 - Sustainability

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

ESG, sustainability & impact management to reach $30bn by 2030: Report

According to the study, India will be leading the charge in Asia-Pacific as the impact measurement and management market grows annually by 15% CAGR

Championing Sustainability: Draeger's Environmentally Conscious Solutions Paving the Way to a Greener Future

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Remarkable surge in ESG-related jobs over last 3 years, says report

There has been a remarkable surge in environment, social and governance (ESG) related jobs over the last three years, which is a testament to the growing focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility within the Indian job market, a report said on Monday. According to a report by global job site Indeed, jobs related to the ESG sector have grown over 223 per cent in India between April 2019 to April 2023. This report is based on data pooled from job postings and job searches on Indeed's platform between 2019 and 2023. As per the report, the demand from jobseekers has seen a positive growth in the last one year. Job searches for sustainability roles increased by 31 per cent between April 2022 and 2023, the highest growth in the last three years, said the report. "The growing demand for ESG-related jobs indicates that employees, especially the younger ones today place much more importance on environmental and social concerns than the previous generation. "The world of work now

NHAI releases first sustainability report on environmental responsibility

NHAI's sustainability efforts have yielded positive results in terms of environmental and energy conservation

State-owned coal firms taking steps to make mining sustainable: Joshi

From planting saplings to development of eco-parks, state-owned coal companies are taking various measures to reclaim abandoned mines, infusing multi-core investments, coal and mines minister Pralhad Joshi said. Other initiatives of the ministry include adoption of modern technologies like gasification of coal, installation of renewable energy projects, conservation of water bodies etc, the minister told PTI in an interview. "Our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has set a vision to make India net zero by 2070. In line with his vision, our PSUs are taking various efforts to make the coal mining a sustainable exercise. We are doing our bit for climate change issue. They are spending thousands of crores to meet this goal," he said ahead of the World Environment Day on June 5. Coal India Ltd (CIL) along with with its eight subsidiary companies and NLC India Ltd function under the administrative control of the coal ministry. Joshi, who is also the minister for parliamentary affairs, added

Keen to work with G20 to promote sustainable tourism in India: Reddy

G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday said that the Tourism Ministry is keen to work with G20 nations to promote sustainable tourism in India and around the world

A sustainable growth rate: At what level will India have no output gap?

Domestic commentators need to engage with the issue of growth rate at which India will have no "output gap" - is it really significantly lower than that achieved over two decades? - writes T N Ninan

Go, fish: India's blue economy surges amid call for sustainable practices

Production and exports have risen in recent years, creating employment for millions

Alstom awards grants Rs 1.5 cr to 10 startups under sustainability program

Alstom India on Thursday said it has awarded a grant of Rs 1.5 crore to 10 startups that developed solutions in clean energy, shared mobility and multi-modal solutions as a part of its Sustainability Incubation Programme. Accelerated by NSRCEL-IIMB (NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning), the selected startups will be able to use the grant funds to develop and deploy their solutions, the company said in a statement. The statement said an expert jury, including innovation leaders from Alstom, screened over 200 applications and selected 20 startups for the incubation programme. Of these, 10 startups have been selected for grant support. MetroRide, Evoride Motors Private Limited, Epick Bikes, The Energy Company, and Tadpole Projects are among the 10 startups for the grant support.

Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma turns up in Japan as college professor

Jack Ma is expected to conduct research, in sustainable agriculture and food production. He will also give seminars on entrepreneurship and innovation

Crucial to adopt sustainable lifestyles to achieve 2030 development: Teri

The global discourse need to "recognise, integrate and mainstream" the imperative of adopting sustainable lifestyles to achieve the 2030 development agenda, the director general of TERI said on Wednesday. Speaking at a sustainability conclave organised by Bharat Soka Gakkai, an organisation that promotes peace, culture, education and sustainability across the Indian society, Dr Vibha Dhawan said living with less and accepting the co-existence of everyone is key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, also known as SDG30. "The imperative of adopting sustainable lifestyles to achieve most of the development targets had never been so critical in the past and global discourse needs to recognise, integrate and mainstream them for achieving the 2030 development agenda," the director general of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) said. Chairperson of Bharat Soka Gakkai, Vishesh Gupta said the basic definition of sustainability refers to "meeting the needs of the present

Himachal govt constitutes committee to promote sustainable mobility

Himachal Government has constituted a green mobility committee to monitor and promote sustainable mobility solutions for decarbonising transport in Shimla, a state government spokesperson said here on Wednesday. The committee would develop a sustainable mobility plan with enhanced uptake of electric vehicles, which will support the de-carbonisation of Shimla city, the official said in a statement, adding that the principal secretary of transport would be its chairman. According to the statement issued here, the committee would have help in vision setting, serve as a forum for inter-department collaboration and facilitate buy-in from stakeholders. They would also support in organising workshops and capacity-building programs and help in defining the action plan with timelines besides merging the existing schemes to expedite the project execution, it added.

Food security, climate-smart approach focus areas at G20 deputies meeting

The three-day meeting of agricultural deputies of the G20 agricultural working group culminated on Friday as delegates discussed various issues, including sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition with a climate smart approach. Delegates from 19 member countries, 10 invited countries and 10 international organisations participated in the second agricultural deputies meeting (ADM) in Chandigarh. On the concluding day of the meeting, two consecutive sessions focused on drafting the communiqu by the member countries of G20 and was marked by elaborate discussions. Delegates from other invited countries and international organisations also put forth their viewpoints during the session and contributed towards an inclusive discussion on the communiqu drafting exercise, said an official statement here. After the session, secretary, department of agriculture and farmers welfare, Manoj Ahuja said he hoped the discussion on the draft communiqu and the deliberations will pave way fo