Big businesses are trying to make more with less
MEASURES Industries are waking up to the reality of strain in resources; adopting sustainable business models
Earlier this month, the PM released an expert report that calls for a fresh look at national accounting with the purpose of ‘greening’ it — adopting a sustainable model of development taking into account our natural and human resources.
While the state is responding to this situation — India has committed to reduce its carbon footprint by 20-25% under the UN millennium development goals — big business is also innovating and adopting sustainable business models. “The idea is to do more with less,” says Damandeep Singh, director, Carbon Disclosure Project India.
When Thailand faced severe flooding in 2011, auto giant Honda’s operations in the country were affected for six months, incurring huge losses. It forced the company to rethink its strategy with suppliers to check such mishaps in the future. Similarly, Intel lost around $1 billion in the floods. According to a report by the Centre for Climate and Energy solutions, it caused a combined insurance claim of $15 billion to $20 billion that also included multinationals like Dell, HP and Daimler. Climate change, considered an ill effect of unsustainable living and business practices, in turn has a worldwide effect on industries like garments, auto- mobiles, computers and even casinos.
While, debates on the effect of global warming on climate change continue, such unexpected incidents have forced companies the world over, including in India to look for long term solutions.
“The landscape is changing,” says Harsha Yadav, co-founder, Efficient Carbon, a Hyderabad-based consultancy on sustainable energy solutions, pointing out that three years back, when his company started analysing sustainability initiatives taken by industry, very few companies were forthcoming. But, “now most companies are talking about sustainability, though much is yet to be done.”
For the first time, says a survey by consulting firm Ernst & Young, companies are taking climate change into consideration for the future. According to the survey, 75% of respondents have set a goal for greenhouse gas reduction. Three-fourths of them publicly report greenhouse gas emissions and another 16% plan to do so in the next five years.
Singh says that though a few companies in the country are taking sustainability measures on par with international companies, a lot more needs to be done. “The government has to set an example by making its own ventures sustainable. It needs to act quicker and incentivise those who comply with sustainability measures and penalise those who don’t,” Singh suggests.