CORPORATE INITIATIVES IN INDIA

A WATER-LESS GARMENT

According to a survey conducted by consulting firm, Ernst and Young, nearly 80% of the respondents see water-related issues affecting their business in the next five years. As a response, Levi’s, a garment producer, has come up with its Water-less jeans that significantly reduces the consumption of water, in some cases by up to 96%. — Himani Chandna

REDUCES WATER FOOTPRINT

In a country like India where 100 million people face water shortage, reducing wastage of water in washing clothes is a noble idea. A cloth needs 3 to 4 buckets generally to rinse it properly. Magic Water Saver, a product by FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever brings down the consumption of water while washing clothes. — Rachit Vats

SUSTAINABLE CONNECTION

With an estimated 900 million mobile users in India, the cell phone towers are ubiquitous. To maintain uninterrupted phone signal in electricity starved country, diesel comes to help to run the tower. Bharti Airtel has initiated installing solar powered telecom towers to make their operation sustainable and thus reducing carbon footprint. — Manoj Gairola

TAKING BACK E-WASTE

A large amount of electronic waste is generated in the country as more households and business are dependent on electronic instruments than ever for their survival. Indian IT giant Wipro, which is one of the top companies from India on Carbon Disclosure list, collects back to recycle the electronic waste. It disposed off more than 260 tonne of e-waste in the year 2010-11 by taking it back from users. — Vivek Sinha

SAVING LIFELINES

As the major content of beverages being water, its conservation and proper utilisation is all-important for the beverage company, Pepsico. One of the company’s initiative reduces water usage in paddy transplantation — by using direct seeding technology that reduces water consumption drastically. The company has also started a bio-methanation plant that saves up almost 260 tonnes of LPG in a year. — Rachit Vats

A CARBON-BASED INDEX

The Bombay Stock Exchange has introduced Carbonex (an index of 100 companies), the first-of-its-kind index in India or any emerging market which tracks the performance of companies in terms of their commitment to reduce emission of green house gases. By looking at Carbonex, investors can get the sense of how companies are faring on their commitment to reduce emission of green house gases. — Sachin Kumar