Sustainuance - January 2013 by Sustainuance

India’s First Corporate Sustainability Magazine A Saaga Interactive Publication

www. sustainuance.com Volume 01 • Issue 06 • Mumbai • 84 Pages • January 2013 • Price `100

Vision 13 Vinod Khosla

S Gopalakrishnan

M S Swaminathan

Ashish Chauhan

Anupam Mishra

Niall Dunne

Chetan Maini

Param Kannampilly

Anurag Behar

Herbert Girardet

Dr. Prem Jain

Kartikeya Sarabhai

Devdutt Pattnaik

The aggregated wisdom of 13 sustainability gurus and thought leaders from India and abroad for 2013 and much beyond!

Inspiring Tales Conservation and sustainability stories to inspire and enthrall

ED’s Note

Let not the Khandava burn, O Krishna!

Shashwat DC Editor-in-Chief

But the truth is right there in front of us, we are caught in a quagmire of our own making.

n the Mahabharata, there’s this incident as to how in his quest to avoid a war, King Dhritarastra gave the Pandavas a large tract of land to forge their own kingdom. On arriving at Khandava, Arjun is enthralled by the flora and fauna of the virgin forest, and is rather unwilling to destroy the natural ecosystem. It is then that Lord Krishna intercedes, and asks him to proceed and burn the whole forest down. There are plenty of explanations - from purely mythic to strategic - as to why the all-knowing Krishna asks Arjun to set Khandava forest on fire. Nevertheless, Arjun accedes and his deadly arrows do a good job. In the ensuing flames, the flora and fauna perish. And on these very burnt embers arises the magical kingdom of Indraprastha. The subtle message in this tale is that there’s a cost to everything; including development. And more often than not, destruction precedes development. It’s on the very ruins of civilizations that new ones arise, or so we have been told time and again. Thus, destruction and development are complementing cycles of evolution. And so the staus-quoist, unperturbed by the rising sea levels or the changing climatic patterns, pointing to this cycle advises calm, “Nothing that hasn’t happened before will not happen later.” And yet, by just ridding of these philosophical crutches, the precarious state of affair is obvious. The change being wrought on this planet is unlike any other in its 12 billion-year odd history. No other species has accounted for as much in all these years. Is it good? Is it bad? Could it be worse? All these questions are secondary. But the truth is right there in front of us, we are caught in a quagmire of our own making. So, what is the answer? Where’s the solution? Interestingly, there is none, or, at least there’s no one single answer to the surmounting challenge. The road to a sustainable future passes through the valley of discussion. We need to discuss, deliberate, and debate on our models of development. In fact, we need to revisit the very definition of development itself. We need to face the truth, and align our actions. Let’s stop making excuses in the name of progress. The forests need not make way for the cities, neither the seas reclaimed for land. There are numerous instances in the past and the present on how there can be a harmonious co-existence between the nature and us. Let’s focus on that, let’s work towards that. This special issue is but a small-step to take the deliberation forward. Herein we feature thought-leaders and visionary individuals, on what they feel is the road to equitable future. Through the 13 interviews, we try and draw a roadmap for 2013 and beyond. Right from Vinod Khosla in the Silicon Valley to Anupam Mishra in the parched lands of Rajasthan, all share their views and knowledge, on how we can make ours a better society. In addition to the stories, there is also a bouquet of inspiring tales and not to mention, a handful of thought-provoking columns. As we step forth in 2013, let’s do so with a hope and a commitment that we will be better off than we were the year before and so on. And to reiterate, let’s stop making excuses in the name of progress. Khandava need not make way for Indraprastha. Let’s discuss and debate with Krishna, if ever the need arises. January 2013

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CONTENTS

01 13

January 2013 • Vol. 1 Issue 6

Inspiring Tales

“Green concepts should not have a different evaluation mindset”

Vinod Khosla

S Gopalakrishnan

“As we learn more, we will be doing more”

M S Swaminathan

“The evergreen revolution will help to make agriculture sustainable”

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Ashish Chauhan “Once an

activity is more sustainable, it will also become more profitable.”

Anupam Mishra,

“It’s time to put water first”

“Digital inclusion can empower communities and make amazing ideas happen”

“EVs are now ready for explosive growth and mass uptake”

Niall Dunne

Chetan Maini

Editor-in-Chief: Shashwat DC Printer & Publisher: Sameer P Gore

Consulting Editor: Deepak Kumar Content Manager (Web): Jigna Khajuria

“It’s disappointing that ecomovement is growing at a snail’s pace”

“Intellectual advancement has far outpaced the advancement of wisdom”

Param Kanampillay

Chairman & Managing Director: Uday S Surve

Anurag Beher

Special Correspondent: Pratima H Shikha Das Shankar Senior Correspondent: Saikat Nandi Correspondent: Desiree Lobo Tanu Kaur Design Director: Nirmal Biswas Senior Designer Graphic: Mahesh Walunj Illustrators Nitin Dhumal Jagdish Gaddam

Prof. Herbert Girardet

Dr. Prem C Jain

‘We need to create regenerative cities, not just sustainable ones’

“Green buildings and architectures are synonymous with our culture”

“The problem with India is that it is developing in an imitative manner”

“Every belief shapes behavior and every behavior has consequences”

Kartikeya Sarabhai

Devdutt Pattnaik

Product Manager: Jiten Doshi Senior Manager Sales: Mahesh L Shetty Asst. Manager Sales: Shoaib Shaikh Online Marketing Manager: Imtiyaz Rashid Ad Coordinator: Roshan Fernandes Operations Manager: Rahoul Teli Accounts & Admin Manager: Gajpal Rana Assistant Manager (Subscription) Pooja Gondhalekar Circulation Manager: Vishal Ladkat Production Head: Riken Manseta

Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission from Saaga Interactive Private Limited is prohibited. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Copyright: All rights reserved. Published and Printed by Sameer Pradeep Gore on behalf of Saaga Interactive Private Limited. Published at 510, Western Edge-1, Western Express Highway, Borivali (East), Mumbai - 400066. Printed at Amruta Print Arts, JR Boricha Marg, Opp. Kasturba Hospital, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai - 400 011. Editor: Shashwat Dinesh Chaturvedi

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LONG VIEW

A CEOprescription for 2013 Integrating CSR initiatives into core business processes doesn’t just empower the underprivileged but also makes vital business sense Ganesh Natarajan & Ruchi Mathur

s 2012 drew to a close, organizations were deciding upon their sustainability goals for 2013. It is worth spending the time—to decide upon quantified goals whether related to education, health, employability, environment or others. Corporate India is at a stage where it has gone beyond paying lip service to corporate social responsibility (CSR). CEOs are looking for return on investment and critically evaluating initiatives in the light of benefits to the society. We have found that the following factors work well in defining and executing goals: Integration into core business: In Zensar South Africa, the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) program, supported by the government, has been taken up with a vengeance to recruit, train and hire from the local population on an ongoing basis. Here in India, the same learnings are being transferred to create a university for vocational training, which would result in employment in industries with a need for low-skilled manpower, including the IT industry. Integrating CSR initiatives into core business processes doesn’t just empower the underprivileged but also makes eminent business sense and hence is the way of the future. Simple environment related investments such as double glass windows to keep out the heat, having rooms facing east-west in order to get natural light, sewage treatment plants

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Opening out ideation to employees can deliver great ideas and innovations through simple process changes

and practicing green IT have more than paid off financially in the medium term. Innovation: With a fast changing external environment and limited resources, innovation is essential. Opening out ideation to employees delivers great ideas and also engenders ownership. Innovation can be simple process changes and does not have to be only disruptive in nature. For example, changing the mode of teaching English from purely classroom teaching to a mix of computer-based and classroom learning enables scalability. At times it is difficult to hire the right teachers and hence Zensar Foundation reaches out to the families of employees, and offers them a platform to contribute to society while also earning a nominal amount. These simple process related changes have made the Foundation’s English teaching program far more effective.

Scalability: The gap between the haves and the have-nots is not decreasing fast enough and corporate India needs to apply its intellect as well as resources to scaling the impact of initiatives. While the newly passed Companies Bill is wanting in some aspects, it does emphasize the need for large-scale operations by mandating a significant percentage of profits towards socially responsible initiatives. Scale can be achieved by direct intervention or by partnering with the government or even by building a demonstrable model that can be taken up across industry. Zensar’s employability program attempts to achieve the latter by taking in batches of deserving youth for hardware and networking courses, through to placement, thereby demonstrating a model that can be taken up by networks such as CII and Nasscom. The English teaching initiative, on the other hand, will achieve scale through the implementation of the one-year old pilot program, in government run municipal schools. With growing unrest in the country it is important to address the need for more equitable development, urgently. May 2013 be a threshold year in which CSR initiatives jump to a different league! Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is CEO of Zensar Technologies Ltd . Ruchi Mathur heads CSR and organizational development

IN CONVERSATION

Vinod Khosla, Venture Capitalist & Founder of Khosla Ventures We need more light per unit of electricity and lower carbon per unit of electricity, more miles per gallon of fuel and lower carbon fuel. Clean tech went through a time when it was in vogue and now it is not. We have seen similar fashions arise elsewhere, for example, in dot-com investing in the late 1990s.

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“Green concepts should not have a different evaluation mindset”

ith 11 clean tech financings so far in 2012 and a portfolio betting big on clean technology, Vinod Khosla is keen on encouraging drivers for energyrich lifestyles for those five billion that are still deprived. An underlying goal would be to make that possible without environmental destruction, using smart techniques and entrepreneurs. As he reveals, investing in the gritty entrepreneurs is a very important thing to do. Possibility of failure cannot be of party-poopers then, suggests the veteran in a free-wheeling chat with Pratima H.

What is the biggest issue that the world faces in a sustainability context today?

Worldwide, over 500 million affluent people enjoy an “energy and resource rich” lifestyle, but five billion people are still striving for this prosperity. The only way to create five billion energy-rich lifestyles economically without complete environmental destruction and geopolitical conflict is through resource multipliers: technologies or techniques that dramatically increase our ability to create and use energy efficiently. More specifically, the technology will have to achieve dropping of carbon emissions per unit energy by 60-80 percent and even more per unit of GDP, by increasing supplies of economic and lowcarbon energy (BTU per carbon emissions). In simple terms, we need more light per unit of electricity and lower carbon per unit of electricity, more miles per gallon of fuel and lower carbon fuel. Provided we deal with the non-CO2 greenhouse gases separately, our only hope of reaching this goal is with a combination of energy productivity (how efficiently we use the energy we can make) and carbon energy efficiency (how little carbon we emit to make the energy we use) using substantially superior, cleaner and yet economic technologies. How much has the VC fraternity contributed in mitigating the challenges that the world faces?

Entrepreneurs who think big and are willing to take risks are the ones who really make the major contributions to the world. The best ones fundamentally change how we create and consume energy with truly economic technologies. The sure way to fail is

to not take any risks. Our investing strategy focuses on main tech, not around the conventional interpretation of clean tech, representing our philosophy of supporting a broader set of clean techs that have mainstreamtech economics. This is a much more holistic view than how ‘clean tech’ is conventionally interpreted in the media, which tends to think of it as just solar, wind and electric vehicles. When a new market emerges, be it solar cells, biofuels, engines, LEDs, networking, storage, search, mobile or anything else, technologists jump in and innovate. Making mistakes and having some failures is part of the course when you’re backing new technologies, some of which may be The economics at the very early stages. are what Clean-tech investors have to be disciplined and think about the they are, and long term, because our typical technologies investment period is not one have to solve the quarter (like on the Wall Street), but five to seven years. So there resource problem is plenty of opportunity to be while being wrong, and success relies on cost-competitive supporting technologies and without entrepreneurs with the potential to do big things through subsidies the challenges they might face along the way. Your own portfolio observations here?

We don’t mind investing in companies that have high failure probabilities, but we’d like to see big wins if the technology succeeds. That’s why we focus on the best teams with differentiated technologies and the potential to be disruptive. We ignore the hype cycle, because short-term trends are not meaningful when it comes to venture returns. Which projects, ideas or concepts have been your most favorite zones to invest in, irrespective of their successes or failures?

We believe the more mainstream (cost-competitive when unsubsidized) and less niche the target markets for a technology are, the better are the economics and less probable is the dependence on regulation and subsidies. We have a ‘sustainability’ strategy, and we invest January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

in many different categories—utility-scale clean energy generation (solar thermal), distributed generation (rooftop solar or efficient power generation engines for buildings), mechanical efficiency (engines), electrical efficiency (LED lighting), batteries, biofuels, biochemicals and bioplastics, materials (glass that blocks light at the push of a button), and agriculture (reduced fertilizer use) and food (produced more efficiently). This diversity limits the effects of any one segment going out of fashion, thus reducing the risk of the entire portfolio. Does assessing a green concept take a different evaluation mindset than while assessing other start-up concepts from a VC side?

The short answer is, no. It doesn’t take a different evaluation mindset. That’s the whole problem with clean tech and clean tech investing—for some reason, most people look at these technologies differently than any other technology. The economics are what they are, and technologies have to solve the resource problem while being cost-competitive without subsidies.

As we like to say, new technologies that meet the ‘Chindia price’—the price at which China and India will adopt a technology without subsidies—by reaching unsubsidized market competitiveness and obeying the laws of economic gravity, will do well if they can survive until they scale. Why do green ideas face really tough business viability curves till date?

The situation sustainability companies are facing is no different from what’s happened in the past to other emerging areas. Telecom went through the same challenges as new technologies were invented, tested, and deployed. Some worked and some didn’t, but that’s just the growing pains and comes with the territory. It’s not that these ideas face tough business realities inherently. As markets begin to form, all technologies look good, but by the mid-to-late stage, some become clearly uncompetitive. Most competitors will fail to win, but the winners will reap big rewards.

Quick Take Why should green ideas be evaluated in any other way than usual ones, this Green Oracle rightly asks. Stop thinking ‘subsidies.’ Stop thinking of just electric, solar or wind ideas. Clean tech investments need to come out of some stereotypes it seems. As veteran VC Khosla reveals, the economics still matters and while everyone still wants to make a buck, it is spread over a five-year horizon here. Investing in the

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gritty entrepreneurs is a very important thing we can do. Possibility of failure cannot be of partypoopers then. With 11 clean tech financings so far in 2012, his portfolio and ambitions betting big on clean technology, he is keen on encouraging drivers for energy-rich lifestyles for those five billion who are still deprived. Would it be possible without environmental destruction, without bias and with techniques and smart entrepreneurs?

INSPIRING TALE

Online voices of change Internet is a tool for effecting modern-day Renaissance and some websites are chronicling the progress as also the pitfalls By Shikha Das Shankar

t is a reservoir of information and a mighty instrument of change. With it, the power that we have cannot be measured, contained or obstructed. Any attempts at doing so have been met with strong backlash or utter futility. The perils are few, advantages are many. It is the eraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest achievement, it is a modern-day Renaissance, it is the Internet, and it is here to stay. And when this larger-than-life, yet very much part-of-life force of technology is engaged in an effort to save our environment, the outcome is more than encouraging. The Better India and The Ugly Indian are two websites that have set out to make a difference by illuminating the good, bad and ugly. The juxtaposition misleads us to believe the tone of positivity in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name and cynicism in the

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other’s. However, reading through the pages of the website shows that their intent is clear and similar, albeit the approaches are different. The Better India brings to life stories of the common men who have done exemplary work to make India a better place in their own small ways. The website is the founders’ effort to provide a platform for positive and feel-good stories from across the country. A mother’s quest to save her daughters in a patriarchal town, a husband-wife duo’s campaign to save electricity or a law-changing lawyer’s efforts are just few of the heartfelt stories one gets to read on TheBetterIndia.com. The forum provides a canvas to paint a picture of India filled with colors of hope, inspiration and kindness. These stories kindle your heart with pride while cajoling your mind to do your bit. Read a few and you take notice of how easy it is to make a change. Sometimes, however, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” is the approach suited to achieve the improbable. An action-oriented, thoughtaltering approach with a heady mix of straight talk is apparent as you browse through TheUglyIndian. com. No big promises are made, no rosy pictures are painted; a clear before- and after-scene is depicted to show the efforts of groups of “Ugly Indians”, who have volunteered to take up a civic issue that has been the consequence of our own doing, and one that we conveniently shut our eyes on. The belief is that our cities are filthy because of us, and not due to a corrupt bureaucracy. Volunteers adopt “the stop talking and start doing” attitude and find sustainable solutions to common civic problems like public urination, paan stains, and open dumps. The Internet as a tool to propagate the sustainability agenda is not limited to the above mentioned websites. However, they exemplify that voices of those willing to make a difference need not be

muffled by dormant interest of others around us. The power of the Internet is such that it is the mouthpiece that will let you do the talking and the sound box that will carry your voice to millions.

Two websites, The Better India and The Ugly Indian, are doing their bits towards the same goals of sustainability in their own different ways

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IN CONVERSATION

S Gopalakrishnan, Co-chairman, Infosys Telecom revolution is the classic example where with maximum penetration and lower cost services, it became a tool in the hands of ordinary people. So we are talking about improvement in healthcare, education and financial institutions.

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“As we learn more, we will be doing more” A s co-chairman and founder of one of India’s largest and most respected companies, Infosys, S Gopalikrishnan carries a lot of weight on his shoulders. Being one of the top-most private sector employers, the economic health of Infosys has always been a prime concern for not only the stakeholders, but also the public at large. Nonetheless, beyond the public glare, the IT giant has been slowly transforming itself as a green and sustainable organisation. Infosys today has not only set up a road-map to go carbon neutral, it is well on the journey towards it. In a free-wheeling conversation with Shashwat DC, Kris (as he is popularly known) talks about how sustainability is shaping up in India, and what are the challenges that enterprises need address on their journey to green. Excerpts:

Macro point sustainability is not necessarily considered a must as of now, even though many organizations are thinking and doing something about it because of pressures - economic and otherwise. Where are we headed for in 2013, and what are the lessons that we have learnt in the past?

There are few organizations that are doing it as a business opportunity. There would be 15 to 20 percent of the organizations that see the need to get into the market as an opportunity ahead of the rest. They see benefits and new revenues coming out of that. Then there would be about 70 to 75 percent of the organizations that would do it since it has benefitted others and also because of regulations. So they are strictly the followers. And then there will be 10 percent of the organizations who don’t implement in the first place or who are reluctant to get into it. They may be forced as now the regulations are in place. So that is how I see adoption happening. It is currently in the early adoption phase of the whole sustainability track. There are few organizations globally that feel this is the right thing and that they need to do it. It may be from a cost-saving perspective or from a business perspective. In our case, we are clearly seeing the cost-saving benefits accruing from this in terms of the daily cost of energy and the cost of goodwill that has been created with our employees. They feel good that the company is taking leadership in this manner and they are starting to see the benefits in the market.

I strongly feel that as the early adoption derives benefits, the government will also see that this is indeed something worthwhile. Pressure will start building from citizens and sometimes they may regulate. For example, they may regulate that the product in the future must have a carbon disclosure. The other thing that is very specific to our IT industry is that data vendors are the largest consumers of electricity, both for running the computers as well as running the cooling systems. Some estimates say that this is up to 25 percent of the total power consumption of an organization. You can get significant benefits both in terms of power savings as well as your computing infrastructure if you implement virtualization or leverage the cloud. There may be instances where you need free capacity for 10 percent of it back. These are two ways in which an organization can reduce its footprint; we have reduced our further requirement by almost 70 percent and it’s a huge benefit.

Infosys is a market leader; it’s always under the eyes of shareholders and you have to bring out quarterly reports where profitWe felt that as ability is one of the driving a company in factors. How do you integrate the whole principle of India, where many sustainability with the busipeople don’t get ness operations?

electricity, we should reduce our power consumption. The RoI comes within 18 to 24 months

We have been doing it systematically. We took up pilot projects. Four or five years ago, we felt that as a company in India, where many people don’t get access to electricity, we should reduce our power consumption. The cost was not high as we thought of piloting a building, and the best thing was that we were able to reduce power consumption by 20 to 25 percent very quickly. It saves for itself within no time and today our new buildings consume 50 percent less power and the additional investment is less than 20 percent. The return on that investment is seen within 18 months to two years. Next, when we go for any server consolidation, we quickly redeploy it so we reduce the capital expenditure significantly. Depreciation came down as we bought less hardware. So for the last 12 months our energy bill has come down by 7 million dollars in January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

hard cash. There is a clear-cut RoI in our case. Some of the measures you have taken showed the returns quickly. There are other things that are important in the long run - like investment in the renewable energy.

We worked with the government to make sure that these things are affordable. But today 20 percent is actually consumed using renewable sources. So we have found partners who can supply us from wind and hydro, and now we are looking at installing solar panels in some of our campuses. The Trivandrum campus is already there. We are hopeful that maybe 10 percent of our requirement can be done purely from solar.

We are clearly seeing the cost-saving benefits accruing from sustainability in terms of cost of energy and the cost of goodwill created with our employees

When we do the pilot, we do it in a smaller place, and prove the point. That has been our mantra - and it seems to be working! Today about 22 percent is from renewable resources; fortunately, we have been able to negotiate such that per unit rate is not very significantly high and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s affordable. If you run a generator, you pay more than if you use from renewable resources. In Chennai we are running generators for 10 to 12 hours. How much of sustainability efforts are needed to set a benchmark and to be respected? Respect also comes with added responsibility. Do you feel that burden?

That is how we embark on this. A country like India has tens of millions of people who do not have access to electricity, and here we have campuses that have electricity 24x7. We felt that we should not waste a single unit of power so that somebody else can use it. That is how the proposal started - that we must have a drive to reduce our own power usage. We have a fair program to switch off PCs when people go home. There are a lot of things wherein employees are involved which made it a sort of movement within the organization.

Quick Take The good thing about Infosys is that due to the unique responsible perceptions of its founders, eco-conciousness and socio-respoonsibility has been ingrained in the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNA ever since it was founded some three decades back. Hence, the fact that Infosys has undertaken a lot of sustainability and CSR related measures

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is of no surprise. But Infosys has not stopped at that. Making use of all the lessons learnt, it is now consulting other companies on their journey to green. Kris shares his hope of an equitable and socially-developed India, and feels that though in the short-run things might seem chaotic, they are on the right track.

Infosys was one of the few companies that had lobbied with the government for no tax on IT companies. What does Infosys feel about the new Companies Bill where you have to invest two percent in CSR activities?

I support these initiatives, but the only caution will be to make sure that this is not misused. We need to be very careful on how these policies are worded, interpreted and implemented. In the past, there have been many vaguely worded policies. If you look at the Companies Bill at present, they recommend giving two percent, and if you don’t, then you have to explain; your reporting requirements are then clearly waived out. I think there is some flexibility, while the reporting around it is mandatory. You were at the helm of BASD and also part of Rio 20+ negotiations. There hasn’t been a substantial verdict out of it and people now think it’s getting into a kind of sham thing. How do you react to such situations and negativities associated with it?

First of all, 193 countries are participating. There are many, many NGOs, associations and people like that. We are trying to create a document to get support from majority of the people. It is a very difficult task and it takes time and effort. If you look at the Rio 20+ document, the principles are clearly laid out. It points out differentiated responsibility in terms of poverty alleviation as one part of the priority, and sustainability as part of the sustainable society. I think it is a good document. It is to be implemented and one of the things they have specified is sustainable development goals. Every country has to come out with their experience and it is time now to put pressure on the government to do this properly. I also believe that the countries that see this as an opportunity and are able to implement it will be ahead of others. That is the way I look at it. Implementation will be done country by country and we will see that we can take leadership in this. This will bring healthy living, healthy food, and better environment. For example, the number of automobiles is increasing, so we have to see that there are fuel-efficient, hybrid vehicles. We need to research and create next generation of automobiles. We have to actually see that opportunity and the goal that is visible prompts you in a way. I see this as an opportunity for us to innovate and come out with new things that are beneficial to our society. India has been pushing about the responsibility of the developed countries. A lot of argument is going on that everyone has to be treated as par. What is your take on this?

Politically, we have to make sure that as a country we don’t lose our focus. Many of the things that we are doing are seen as fair and that is why some of those are put in the outcome document. There is a political stand that we have to take and then we have to take something that is from an external perspective. From a business perspective, you have to look at these opportunities in a pragmatic way. Can we go ahead of all, can we do something? This is an opportunity for all. Telecom revolution is the classic example where with maximum penetration and lower cost services, it became a tool in the hands of ordinary people. So we are talking about improvement in healthcare, education and financial institutions. We need to generate more power. We have huge number of educated people at the ground level. Still, electricity has not reached to all the levels. How do we take leadership in all these green kind of efforts? If you were to assess India’s role, where do you think India stands?

In a short duration we have seen a little bit of chaotic development happening because many people are trying to do many things. Of course, we always argue and debate, but when I see this from a medium-term perspective, I see we are growing in the right direction and we are doing the right things. If I look at the last 20 years (1991 onwards), the improvement has been dramatic. Across different government departments, from different political Today 20 percent ideologies and parties, development has been substantial. of our consumption We should look at things over is met using a period of time and not for renewable sources. a quarter or even a year. We We have partners should look at five years, 10 years or 20 years. to supply us from In the sustainable development per se, one of the biggest challenges that India is facing is the population explosion. Do you think that this needs to be considered?

wind and hydro, and now we are looking at solar

Wherever literacy is very high, population growth rate will come down dramatically, for example, in Kerala. The right thing to do would be to increase literacy, women empowerment, and things like that. We have to implement it throughout the country. You have also stated that sustainability will be for the 21st century what the Internet was for 20th century. What do you think will be the driving factors for sustainability to take off?

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IN CONVERSATION

not much entrepreneurship seen in this domain (sustainability, new products, ideas). What are your views on it?

These will happen in stages. I am optimistic as some of the companies are in the solar area and some are into wind energy. These things go through cycles: the first generation product will not be up to the mark, but second generation product will be up to the mark. There are economic titles which will also decide how these things really take off, especially on the IT side as there are lot of start-ups now looking at the opportunity that sustainability provides. Academic participation is still less in India. Do you think the companies need to partner with academic institutions?

It is true that academics collaboration in India is low. Also, we need to improve research activities. R&D happening at academic institutions has a long way to go.

In India, it looks a bit chaotic as many people are trying to do many things, but from a medium-term perspective I see we are growing in the right direction I believe that every industry can practice sustainability. If tomorrow all products are to be labeled with corporate sustainability, then all the systems need to be reengineered, which is lot of work. We have to look at buildings that are more efficient. Air conditioning, automobiles have to become efficient. IT virtualization, cloud computing, low power consuming system, iPads and other low power consuming devices will be important. Every industry I can think of gets impacted due to sustainability. IT companies have been at the forefront of sustainability as they are doing something constructive about it. Is it because you deal with a lot of foreign clients, the compliance, or because you are more tuned into what’s happening on the global platform?

It is because we are global and we work with some of the best companies in the world with certain initiatives. There is requirement from the suppliers about the practices. We take this as an opportunity as everything in sustainability will definitely require an IT. So those are the reasons. You spoke about innovation. In India, there is

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We are often compared with China on sustainability front. Do you think this is a fair comparison as China has gone far ahead in terms of sustainability? Are there any lessons we can learn from them?

There is something to learn from everybody. China is a competitor and it is also a partner as many of the products come from China. In a globalized world, you are collaborating and competing with all. What is the genesis of ‘going green’ at Infosys?

It started in 1990s, when we thought we were growing and we needed more facilities in place for more growth. We bought a large part of land and wanted to give it to our employees; we were doing a lot of things on water consumption to reduce the water requirement of the landscape. In 1999, we moved to our other campus and from there onwards we are continuously working and improving. Some of our campuses are really good as they have larger water bodies. This is a continuous process and as we learn more and as our capabilities increase, we will be doing more and more. Where do you think India’s future lies?

I am optimistic about the future and our GDP; the growth rate will improve to 10 percent. If we work together, we can make this between 8 percent and 10 percent and that’s what we should try as it will benefit everybody. We have to be very careful of how that growth happens; it can’t be consumption-led growth. For example, we should encourage more investment on public transportation. It should be a sustainable growth and that is the key.

IN CONVERSATION

M S Swaminathan, Emeritus Chairman and Chief Mentor, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation Foreign direct investment can be beneficial if it is controlled by a code of conduct and ethics. With the national food security bill, a historic transformation will come. Then everybody should be provided homegrown food. Then the attention on farmers will increase.

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“The evergreen revolution will help to make agriculture sustainable”

ankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan is an Indian geneticist and international administrator, renowned for his leading role in India’s “Green Revolution”, a program under which high-yield varieties of wheat and rice seedlings were planted in the fields of poor farmers. Swaminathan is known as the “Father of the Green Revolution in India” for his leadership and success in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. Talking at length with Desiree Lobo, Dr. Swaminathan advocates moving India to sustainable development, especially using environmentally sustainable agriculture and food.

the crisis. That is why the National Commission on Farmers recommended several steps. One recommendation was assured and remunerative price production cost plus 50 percent profit. That is the minimum the farmers should get. It is only right that the farmers should have a profit and a surplus to invest. We have to take a relook at the farming and farmers. After all, they are the citizens of this country. A number of state (agriculture) departments see farmers as beneficiaries. This is utter nonsense. It is we who are dependent on the farmers and we who are the beneficiaries.

You have gone down in history for pioneering the Green Revolution which you ushered in the 1960s. However, even though it was very successful, why is it that farmers are committing suicide? What happened and what is it that went wrong?

Degradation and erosion of arable land and the depletion and pollution of water resources result in the loss of rural livelihoods. This triggers unplanned migration of the rural poor to towns and cities, with proliferation of urban slums. The rise in the numbers of such environmental refugees threatens peace and security.

There are a plethora of factors that concern farmers in our country. When the Green Revolution was introduced and announced by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the population was only around 30-40 crore. Today the population has increased to almost 130 crore. And to make bad matters worse, prime farm land is being sold for the purpose of industrialization and development. Real estate has taken the place of farm land and as a result, the average farm size is decreasing. To add to it, uncertain weather conditions caused by global warming, amalgamated with traditional farming techniques, are causing crop failures. Lack of a good marketing system that provides the farmers a remunerative price for their produce, except crops like rice or wheat which the government of India and state governments buy through Food Corporation of India or State Food Corporation, are exacerbating

How does climate change result in the downfall of the farmers and what are the consequences?

As the chairman of the National Commission for Farmers, can we say that you would be ushering in another Green Revolution in agriculture?

A Green Revolution implies improvements in production. Green is the color of chlorophyll. We are all living as guests of green plants because we cannot survive without these plants. The earlier revolution saw a major increase in production. In 1947, we were producing six million tons; today we are producing 80 million tons and more. On the whole, I can say that food production has kept pace with

The biovillage project embraces jobled economic growth which is rooted in the principles of ecology, equity, energy efficiency and employment generation.

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IN CONVERSATION

population growth. But today, the major growth will be in ensuring that farmers produce more so that they can export more. And once exports rise, they will start having a bigger income. Technologies, which can help to enhance land, water and labor productivity, are urgently needed. They should lead to an evergreen revolution in small farms, i.e. increase in productivity in perpetuity without the associated ecological harm. The smaller the farm, the greater is the need for marketable surplus in order to generate cash income. Farmers must work to increase productivity of their lands in a sustained manner, thus bringing about an ‘evergreen’ revolution. But how can we go about this “evergreen revolution”?

Quick Take Agriculture is the backbone of India and the lifeline of not just the farmers but the entire population. It is impossible to imagine a nation completely starved without life’s basic necessities: food. It is time we realised the importance of plants in our lives, as without them we would cease to exist. Mr Swaminathan explains why he started the green revolution and the importance of it. He also touches upon the coming of an “ever green revolution” and its relevance today. According to him the Green Revolution implied improvements in production as it helped increase yield. However, this is not the case today as the capacity to support even the existing human and animal populations has been exceeded in many parts of the developing world. Hence, the future of food security depends upon population stabilization, the conservation and care of arable land through attention to soil health and the conservation and careful management of all water sources so that more crop can be produced per drop of water.

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Capacity to support even the existing human and animal populations has been exceeded in many parts of the developing world. Hence, the future of food security depends upon population stabilization, the conservation and care of arable land through attention to soil health and replenishment of fertility, and the conservation and careful management of all water sources so that more crops can be produced per drop of water. I coined the term ‘evergreen revolution’ to highlight the pathway of increasing production and productivity in a manner such that short- and long-term goals of food production are not mutually antagonistic. The aim of this new thrust is to lift food production well above the level obtained by the green revolution of the 1960s, using technology and regulatory policies more advanced and even safer than those now in existence. The evergreen revolution will help make agriculture sustainable. Is FDI in farming beneficial to farmers or are foreign investors only looking for profit?

Foreign direct investment can be beneficial if it is controlled by a code of conduct and ethics—a code of ethics. The bottom line is that it should be beneficial to the farmer because they constitute two-thirds of our population. With the national food security bill, a historic transformation will come. Then everybody should be provided homegrown food. Then the attention on farmers will increase. You have often advocated and promoted organic farming as it could lead to higher productivity. But how can one ensure that organic farming leads to a higher yield?

Sustainable organic agriculture will need more science, not less. Artificial barriers should not be created between scientific methods. It is important to harness all the tools that traditional wisdom and contemporary science can offer in order to usher in an era of bio-happiness.

What is it that motivated you to get involved with food and agriculture?

It is said that until something disastrous strikes, you will not appreciate what you have. In 1943, when I was a student at the University of Kerala, the great Bengal famine broke out. That really shook the entire nation. There was an acute shortage of rice and almost three million people died from starvation. During this period I was extremely and heavily involved in the freedom struggle, which Gandhiji had intensified and that was when I realized the necessity and importance of agriculture. That is why I decided to take up agricultural research in order to help farmers. Initially I planned to be a medical doctor because my father was one and that was what my family expected and wished from me. But since I was heavily involved in the freedom struggle, my main aim was help India gain independence. That is why I chose agriculture, because to me that was the best way to help India. During the time of colonialism in India, famines were frequent, and our average yields were very low. So my major aim was to break the yield stagnation and help our farmers double or triple their yields. Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy. Without agriculture, India would be nothing. It is therefore pertinent that we make the agricultural sector sustainable so it can not only enhance the economy but also the livelihood of the farmers. The MS Swaminathan research foundation has been doing a lot of research in the field of agriculture and crop management but has any of this benefited farmers?

Right from its inception, the foundation has been developing and following a pro-Nature, pro-poor, pro-women and pro-sustainable on-farm and nonfarm livelihoods through appropriate eco-technology and knowledge empowerment. It carries out research and development in the following six major thematic areas: biodiversity, biotechnology, food security, coastal research system, eco-technology and lastly information, education and communication. Our main aim is to empower farmers and improve their livelihoods. MSSRF has been intrinsically involved in the development of bio-villages. What are these bio-villages you speak of and how beneficial are these in a developing country like India?

A bio-village not only provides livelihood systems that include technical knowledge and skills, a selfperpetuating system of micro-credit within the community and access to the market, but also makes the villages self-sufficient and human-centric. The project began in 1992 with 42 participants in three

villages. It now operates in 19 villages with a team of 24 project specialists. What makes the Biovillage Project different from contemporary development pathways is its embrace of job-led economic growth which is rooted in the principles of ecology, equity, energy efficiency and employment generation. Contemporary development pathways are associated with four distressing features: a widening rich-poor divide in per capita income; damage to the basic life support systems of land, water, atmosphere, forests and bio-diversity; jobless economic growth and a growing feminization of poverty. One aspect of the bio-village is the conservation and improvement of natural resources, particularly soil health, water and biodiversity. The other aspect is improving the income of the farmers - higher productivity on farms and value added to primary products. What according to you are the urgent food problems?

There are three dimensions to the problem of food: it is easily available, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not easily accessible, and the absorption of food. The problem is not scarcity of food but rather lack of money which problematizes the entire situation. Inadequate purchasing power is due It is important to insufficient opportunities for gainful employment. What makes the to harness all situation even worse is that whatever the tools that food is accessible, is not absorbed traditional into the body because of pesticides, chemicals and lack of nutrients. wisdom and Meeting the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food security contemporary challenge will require a multinational science can collaborative effort to integrate the offer in order best research from science, engineering and socioeconomics so that techto usher in nological advances can bring benefits an era of biowhere they are most needed. Another happiness. solution is analyzing the contribution of different industrial inputs and environmental factors to assess the realizable potential of the genetically superior cultivars. The actual realization of this potential will be governed by the technologies adopted with respect to the three factors of land and water management, crop management and post-harvest management. You have stated that agriculture is the backbone of the country. If so, how can we make the agricultural sector sustainable?

Making the agriculture sustainable is not difficult. It only needs the right technology. Eco-technology means marrying the best of modern science with the best in traditional wisdom and traditional ecological prudence. I feel we must try to use all the technologies in this world if we want people to enjoy better health, better food and a good life. January 2013

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INSPIRING TALE

Retracing agro-diversity In what could have the seeds of an organic revolution, 2,400 marginal farmers in Karnataka are now part of a virtuous farming culture By Shikha Das Shankar

or a team of agro-scientists in the state of Karnataka, the hardest task was to convince farmers like Jayappa of the benefits of organic farming and help them attain a life of self-reliance. Jayappa was contemptuous of these members belonging to the Genetic Resource, Ecology, Energy and Nutrition (Green) Foundation and was unwilling to ascribe to the thought that organic farming was even feasible, let alone be swayed by its benefits.

Green Foundation took up a daunting task of moving farmers away from pesticides; the adapters are reaping advantages

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Talking to farmers about agro-diversity conservation when they had no understanding of the fact that species of traditional plants were fast becoming extinct was a challenge for a scientist like Dr. Vanaja Ramprasad. However, the Green Foundation under the pioneering work of Dr. Ramprasad was dedicated to the cause and persisted with their efforts to approach hundreds of farmers in the state and convinced them to attend workshops and demonstrations. It took just a couple of meetings for Jayappa to abandon the use of high-yielding seeds and pesticides and retrace the footsteps of centuries old farming practices. What he thought to be a low-yielding and undependable method of farming has today made his land more fertile and the surplus stock of grains is helping him plan for the future. Jayappa is a resource volunteer for Green, spreading awareness and knowledge in traditional farming methods to fellow farmers. His dream is to convince farmers in the region to give up chemical farming completely. Dr Vanaja Ramprasad and her team of doctors, scientists and business leaders started the Green Foundation in 1996 with an aim to empower small-scale farmers struggling to make ends meet. Community-based farming, unlocking traditional methods of farming that are much more sustainable, and seed production and preservation activities to enrich the biodiversity were among some of its initial efforts. In 2001, the first seed bank was established, access to which required nominal annual membership fees from farmers. This was a significant step in conserving the environment as highyielding genetically modified seeds - in use since the onset of the Green Revolution in 1960s - were wiping out heirloom seeds with valuable properties. An ecological disharmony marked by impoverished soil, drying underground water, and damaged agricultural biodiversity has been a discredited side effect of the green revolution

that has found little disagreement. Entrapment of the farmers in a financial quicksand was the subsequent outcome, one that still echoes 50 years after the first lot of high-yielding varieties of seeds were sown. Through Green Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts, farmers have learnt that high-yielding seeds have led to mono-crop farming with little or no diversity. Volunteers from Green travel across the villages to understand the problems facing the farmers and in return offer solutions. Certification programs to train farmers, community radio and distribution of written documents describing centuries old methods of farming have been undertaken to ensure that farmers have no dearth of information to help make the transition. Adopting this holistic approach has helped farmers overcome initial resistance. Issues like doling out large sums for high-yielding seeds and pesticides, high costs of pumping water into fields and use of high levels of chemicals degrading land and reducing yield drastically are common problems of farmers that have been successfully addressed through Greenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts. Farmers are taught to use natural pest control management techniques to reduce dependence on fertilizers and encouraged to use indigenous varieties of seeds that are more adaptive to local climatic conditions. Village development committees and self-help groups set up by Green promote women to take up farming, helping them become self-dependent. The Foundation has tied up with agricultural institutes, government bodies and NGOs to join hand in their efforts and with this have been able to change the lives of 2,400 marginal farmers. The Foundation has won many awards and accolades while the founding trustee Dr. Ramprasad has been recognized globally for her painstaking endeavors in the field of sustainable agriculture and empowerment of farmer community in Karnataka.

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OPINION

“The sight of garbage irritates me” Here’s what a determined group of trekkers can do when it comes to some not-so-beautiful mountains. Wongchu Sherpa

arbage on Everest. That sounds like climbing a mountain! Even though I have ascended Mount Everest, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Makalu, Sisha Pangma, Kilmenjero (South Africa), Mustaghata, Mount Renier (USA), Mount Fuji (Japan) and several more peaks, this challenge is not the downhill task as it may look like at first. Our team has been dedicated to the cause of reducing human-left waste on mountains. From what my observations and travels tell me, people need rules and penalties. People will litter, unless there are systems to control this tendency. In many countries, like those in US or Europe, the same policy has worked. If anyone throws garbage at a wrong place, there should be a five-year penalty of not being allowed in that area or something similar. We are working on some proposals of this nature, but nothing has been decided so far by the government. Disposal machines in a main bazaar and well-positioned boxes or bins in some bazaar chowks etc. have worked, as we have tried and seen. That makes Mount Everest cleaning campaign so crucial. People came to conquer this peak, but some threw garbage as souvenirs. That has been damaging for nature. That is why in 2008 and onwards we have been focused on picking garbage and then converting it into creative things by artists and to sell them to people. All the efforts that people have invested in this cause have started showing a flicker of progress. Now the garbage is a little lesser. We have started a system

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of depositing a not-so-small amount with the government before anyone takes off to the peak. They should show the garbage they ensure not to throw around when they come back, and only then the deposit is returned. In 2011, we picked up some 8 tons and 110 kilos of garbage. In 2012, we have amassed two tones, but our work and challenge still continues. The big question still remains though. Would people ever understand the gravity, or shall I say the height, of this issue? They will, I hope - with the right education, awareness and rules. All the water from glaciers is what we get to drink from our rivers. India should understand that its rivers should stay clean. It will affect kids and next generations and the way we fight diseases. Government laws and systems have to play a role in some ways. I have not seen any garbage at least in the jungles, mountains or rivers in places like Europe. That was a good sight. Mountains give us clean air, and Everest gives a rare pride that not many other challenges can offer. We cannot give anything back to them, except of course, some respect. Leave a footprint, but bring the shoes back! Wongchu Sherpa, Chairman of Peak Promotion Pvt. Ltd, Nepal (a government recognized leading trekking and mountaineering agency). He steered the Saving Mount Everest and Cleaning Campaign 2011 and is co-coordinator of Wilderness Medical Society for Mount Everest 2012.

Someone once said, “You don’t conquer Mount Everest. You conquer yourself.” Isn’t it right then to say, “You do not clean Mount Everest, you clean yourself?”

IN CONVERSATION

“Once an activity is more sustainable, it will also become more profitable”

eing the CEO and MD of one of the oldest and largest bourses in the world can be quite a daunting task. With millions being traded in every milliseconds, just ensuring that the system works well in order, is a KRA sufficient for the man at helm. Right? But not so for Ashish Chauhan, CEO & MD of BSE; for him it’s not merely about the system, but on the larger picture, namely, the health of the markets, social responsibility and yes sustainability. Years of experience as a consummate technologist - he was the CIO of Reliance Communication among other high-profile postings - has convinced Ashish to the necessary change to green. In an interaction with Shashwat DC, he talks about the BSE-Greenex, and how it promises to change the corporate face of India.

As the CIO of a top company you have seen a rising awareness of Green movement. How do you think the whole sustainability momentum is catching up?

There has been a lot of awareness about it for the last two decades because of the environmental impact of humans. It’s because of individual efforts on a voluntary basis which has affected this entire process. The voluntary activities and institutions like the government can feed on each other to make people aware and also contribute positively and significantly. How did Greenex (green index) come into being? What is the driving light behind this and how do you think it will help swirl momentum?

The exchange performs many functions in the society. One of the most important being what we call signaling. Signaling can be of various types, like whether they are price signals or whether they are relating to what is important and what is not. There are many industrialists who are ethical investors who invest strongly in green shares, the companies which are open to the green standards. Thus, this deals with

Quick Take By launching a green sustainability index, BSE is now actively promoting sustainability within Indian organisations. The exclusive club of BSE-Greenex, currently boasts of who’s who of India Inc., like ITC, HUL, Cipla, HDFC, Tata Steel and others. By bringing energy-related consciousness to the fore, BSE-Greenex, can play a big role in the promotion of sustainability. The index can also be a good starting point for investors looking out for green investment opportunities. Currently, the number of companies on the index are limited, but their could be more value-adds in the days to come. He believes that the exchange performs many functions in the society. One of the most important being what is called signaling. The BSE joined the Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) initiatives which was launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2009.

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IN CONVERSATION

Ashish Chauhan, MD & CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange BSE is moving in the direction of sustainability. â&#x20AC;&#x153;BSE Ltd is committed to working with investors, companies and regulators in playing a transformative role towards enhancing sustainability in Indian capital markets.

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IN CONVERSATION

signals apparent to the bench mark, vis a vis what the market is giving to the green companies, and second giving signal to these markets that these companies are dealing with sustainability. So basically, there are small steps to provide these signals about sustainability practices. Recently I was going through your comments where you mentioned that the Greenex is better than the Sensex. How are the two related?

There are several aspects to it. One is, of course, sustainability because, ethically, it is much more important to promote the companies in this index. But in addition, the society is looking at newer ways in measuring the companies’ performances. So sustainable activities are also included when the investor goes through it. And what we have observed internationally as well is that companies which are alluring more to sustainable standards, also get better evaluation from investors. So these foreign companies are smart in that they get better returns because they adhere to the principles of sustainability. One of the main factors is to promote low carbon green economy. How do you think this will happen and what do you think is the vision that we are looking at?

Green economy feeds on various other areas and activities to bring about a sustained momentum. Plus there are many companies and governments working on this so our work is only a small contribution to the overall scheme of things. The fact is that once an activity is more sustainable, it will also become more profitable. And these are the activities that come under the index signals as these companies are the future - they will become more ethical and more profitable. Right now the constituency has expanded close to 25. How do you plan to add more companies or promote this within companies?

It is a benchmark; basically, there’s a policy framework which is defined by the committee of experts in each field. It is done by the people who are experts in that field and who also specialize in index. They then define how many constituents they should have and what standards they should be adhering to and how to measure them. Once that is decided, the exchange which is in the index preparation only does it mechanically, so it is all rule based framework. The committee meets once in a year or two to define the number of constituencies they need to have based on the sample they have observed and the activities they have seen. What is your opinion on the qualitative sustainability reporting in India? Also there are varying standards such as GRRE and various others, so

which is the one that is supported or ranked highest by BSE?

In the last 20 years, most organizations have become very aware of the sustainability practices and standards and various ways and parameters of measuring all these activities. A lot more needs to be done, and BSE continues to look at a variety of parameters. The parameters should be measurable from the public domain as it becomes a lot easier. In addition, if a company has any additional information to provide, we can always consider whether the information is available in public domain and how to use it and how to improve the signaling. How has the response been from companies who have been listed on the “green” index?

The problem is, not many people are aware of how the entire movement is taking shape. There is enthusiasm from the companies who are there and because of this companies who are not listed are also getting excited. It is very heartening that Greenex has been noticed by most companies and their management as this is something which they have become sensitive about. Being a CIO and a CEO, you’ve had many business goals and have been involved in IT and green IT. What is your view on sustainability in India?

What is making the Greenex movement successful is the continuous information It is important sharing across various stakethat India holders. I am delighted that a number of youngsters are constantly checks also interested in helping and and measures its developing goals and ideas greenhouse gases which will help in the creation emissions. of a sustainable India. And I hope that by having a slightly sensitized population we will be able to preserve the planet for future generations. Most of the recycling in the world takes place in India. Our ancient traditions have also had a lot to do sustainability. India needs to stay within the limits of its use of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases. In order to do this, it is important that India constantly checks and measures its greenhouse gases emissions. Apart from Greenex, what are the other sustainable initiatives that BSE has in store?

BSE is one of the oldest and strongest institutions to be set up in India. In terms of its sustainable initiatives, BSE is watchful about its electricity consumption. We try to create processes even in the capital markets which eliminate the use of paper. The EIPO and other activities regulate the use of carbon and help in removing as much carbon as possible form the entire value chain. January 2013

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OPINION

Back to the Vedas? Taking care of the universe was seen to be the same as worshiping the Divine, and preventing environmental degradation was a form of worship Saroj Datar

conomic development can be legitimately credited for the current progress and prosperity, but it is also incapable of differentiating between use and abuse. The ecological, environmental and climatic degradations are major areas of concern around the world. World leaders are holding Earth Summits to agree on common action plans to benefit the entire humanity, but it is proving difficult to form a consensus on who will sacrifice the most. Here we can take a leaf from the Hindu philosophy, which focuses on individual sacrifice. Hinduism sees the cosmos as pervaded by the Divine. So taking care of the universe is the same as worshiping the Divine. Environmental protection, or preventing environmental degradation, becomes a form of spiritual practice, a form of worship. To learn and act sustainably is an urgent need for all. Why don’t we then take guidance from the tried and tested formula of ancient Indian wisdom derived from the Vedic scriptures? Several key principles have been observed to guide our sustainability efforts: Intergenerational equity: It’s about providing future generations with the same environmental potential as presently exists. Hinduism’s numerous classic restraints and practices, the yamas and niyamas, offer lots of practical guidance for those wishing to minimize their impact on the environment. If we are to observe

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Without the shade of the trees on their sides, water reservoirs are not strong and attractive. Therefore, one ought to plant gardens on the banks of lakes and ponds — Varahamihira in Brahatsamhita

non-stealing, asteya, we cannot use natural resources at unsustainable rates. When we do so, we jeopardize the life of future generations. This is effectively a form of stealing. Two ethics of sanyam (restraint) and maryada (limitation) say that one practices restraint and limitation not because one is forced to, but because it’s part of the lifestyle. Decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation: It’s about managing economic growth to be less resource intensive and less polluting. Scriptures identify three types of forests: Shivan or the forests that provide

prosperity; Tapovan or the forests for contemplation, and Mahavan or the natural forests where all species can find shelter. Once any of the original forests was cleared, Vedic culture required that another forest be established in its place. To completely remove the forest was simply not acceptable. A Peepal tree is known to absorb significantly high quantity of CO2 and thus releases equally high quantity of oxygen. Tulsi releases large amounts of oxygen for most of the day-night cycle. It is, therefore, advocated as a religious custom to plant it in gardens or in pots inside the house. The scriptures preach, “One who plants and looks after at least one of the trees of Peepal, Neem or Vata, and at least five of the edible fruit-plants like orange, pomegranate and mango and plants or creeper plants of green vegetables will never face hell.” Also, “one who cuts a green tree or plant is a sinner”. The Vedic sages had given many of the animals and tinier creatures an honorable place. Cow is the best example in this regard. Right from her milk being considered a complete food, the cow-dung and urine are also found to be extremely useful as fuel, fertilizer, disinfectant, antiradioactive agent, immuno-modulator, and therapeutic medicine. Integration of all pillars: It’s about integrating environmental, social and economic sectors when developing sustainable policies. Varahamihira gave detailed instruc-

tions for the construction of water reservoirs in his famous work Brahatsamhita. “Without the shade of the trees on their sides, water reservoirs are not strong and attractive. Therefore, one ought to plant gardens on the banks of lakes and ponds.” The Vedas advice tree plantation, more specifically the medicinally and nutritionally beneficial trees.

the ground. Tree plantation and forestconservation will also reduce the amount of soil wastage. The sacred law books are specific about cleanliness, “Let him not discharge urine or feces into the water, nor saliva, nor clothes defiled by impure substances, nor any other impurity, nor blood, nor poisons.”

Ensuring distributional equity: It’s important to avoid unfair and high environmental costs on vulnerable populations. Vedic discipline states that, “One should take out five spheres of soil from water body, proportionate to the size of one’s body, before bathing in a pond or water-pit.” This was to maintain the depth of the water body. From a recent geological survey, it is estimated that about 16.4 tons per hectare of soil is being lost in India every year. Imagine if every Indian followed this norm set by the ancestors, there would be benefits like maintaining cleanliness, improving capacity of the ponds and balancing soil availability in

Accepting global responsibility: This is to assume responsibility for environmental effects that occur outside one’s area of jurisdiction. Three grand concepts built on this truism: Vasudevasarvam the Supreme resides in all beings; Vasudhaivakutumbakam - the family of Mother Earth or the original ‘global village,’ and Sarvabhutahita - the welfare of all beings, represent a deep repository of ecological thought and practice.

Each person in ancient times was free to choose his profession based on his passion and capabilities. These professions were broadly based on the need of the society to take care of three basic shortcomings - Adnyan, meaning lack of knowledge; Anyay, or the lack of justice and Abhav, meaning shortage. Each professional was expected to understand how his profession helped to tackle one or more of these shortcomings, so that every member of the society could lead a better life. The time has come for all of us to learn sustainability principles and quickly implement this knowledge into bold and firm sustainable actions and initiatives. The United Nations has declared 200514 a decade of education for sustainable development, which aims to nudge us all to adopt new behaviors and practices to secure our future.

Education and grassroots involvement: This is the idea about people and communities investigating problems and developing new solutions.

Saroj Datar, is an academician and currently engaged as faculty at JDBIMS. She is also a HR consultant, working with various enterprises.

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IN CONVERSATION

Anupam Mishra, Water Conservationist We will have to revert to the old ways of water harvesting. This is nothing to be ashamed of. Why is the government ashamed of using a rich tradition that has been refined and developed over the years? Why does it consider it backward? It should see this system as progressive and practical. If people have new technologies that can enhance natural systems further, they should come as friends and share this knowledge to improve upon what is already being done.

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“It’s time to put water first” W hile rain-water harvesting has gained currency in the past few years, becoming a hot topic of eco-conservation, Indians have been indulging in water harvesting since time immemorial. The ponds, the bawris, the kunds or the wells, were all ways in which the ground water table was replenished. But then hap-hazard urban planning has more or less effaced these bodies, result acute water shortage across India. In fact, in some places, digging for water is much dexterous than digging for oil. Anupam Mishra, an environmentalist and water conversationalist, in a candid conversation with Desiree Lobo talks about the water crisis taking shape in the cities and the villages. He also spells out the measure that could help alleviate the pain.

There is a lot being said about the water crisis in India. Though rural areas are greatly affected by the crisis, cities are also suffering. Why is India facing such a huge water crisis?

A number of people blame the rainfall for being one of the major contributors to the water crisis in India. The water crisis in India is not on account of the rainfall, but rather owing to faulty water management. Nature still gives us as much water as it always did, but in the last 10 years our water management system has collapsed. We have stopped collecting water. The main problem is that we have various means and ways to distribute water but no method of saving and storing it. To add to it, we have changed our cropping patterns and introduced crop varieties that require more water. Our lifestyles should be based on the amount of water we have. For instance, while the water-rich Konkan area in Maharashtra should grow rice, water-stressed areas should focus on jawar and bajra. I am appalled by the scant respect we pay to water bodies, at the way in which ponds and streams in the cities are filled up for industry and housing. All the roads in urban areas are paved; we don’t even leave enough space around the trees. There can be water scarcity in a high rainfall region like Cherrapunji and hilly regions like Uttarakhand and there can be sufficient water available in low rainfall regions like Rajasthan—it all depends on how we follow the directions provided by Nature. The root of the problem is that we give more importance to land than water. It’s time to put water first.

So what according to you is the right approach to solving these problems?

In rural areas, traditional methods of collecting water in ponds and reservoirs could have helped the situation, but the problem has been compounded by the fact that today there is greater water usage. Traditional systems like step wells, tanks and ponds were the best way of tackling the chronic water shortages that plague the country. When the British first came to India, Delhi had almost 800 water sources of its own. Now there are no more than 10, and even those are heavily degraded. The best way to save what we have left is to go back to our traditional methods of rainwater harvesting and adapt them to our modern lifestyle. When I visited Rajasthan, I came across ponds built by villages The root of the in the deserts of Rajasthan. Many of the homes too had problem lies in built-in harvesting systems, land gaining with roofs collecting rain importance over water and diverting them into cisterns built underneath. water. Water A family could get its entire bodies were filled year’s water supply through up and replaced this method. You are going all out to promote rain water harvesting. But how can you be certain that this traditional method is the solution to the water crisis in India?

by housing complexes and shopping malls

The water crisis in India is a very nascent problem. It is not something that existed centuries ago. We can blame Nature, but it man who has caused the problem. Modernization and urbanization have made us extremely narrow minded. What development and industrialization have done is encroached on water bodies meant for storing rain water; cemented those and constructed high-rise buildings in those places. The key idea behind harvesting rainwater is to stop the water wherever it falls. The design and structure of the system determine how it is done. If the water falls in the courtyard, it can be harvested in an underground tank, with the roof tank attached to it through pipes. The capacity would vary according to the size of the house. Harvested rainwater lasts the whole season. So we help people build such systems January 2013

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themselves. The solution is not to go back to the 18th and 15th centuries but rather integrate modern technology with traditionalthought. Modern gadgets can also be attached, like installing a motor for lifting the water into the overhead thank. You have often criticized the government about its inability to act and resolve the water crisis. Can the government truly be blamed or is it just an easier way of pinning the blame on someone?

The government’s methodology of providing water is done by installing pipelines. If it is properly investigated, you will find that this system or method of providing water has failed in a number of places due to lack of electricity. Another reason why this method has proved inefficient is because most of the time the equipment is being operated by diesel. For instance, in Jaisalmer, a tube well has been dug to provide water to a cluster of villages. Diesel is usually brought in a truck for the purpose. Sometimes the truck may not turn up or the diesel may not arrive on time. At other times, the person overseeing the job may absent himself from work. Although the government has said that water will be supplied twice a day, many villages do not receive eater for days at a stretch. How optimistic are you that the new concept of making water available using modern equipment will truly work?

I do not think this system can survive. We will have to revert to the old ways of water harvesting. This is

nothing to be ashamed of. Why is the government ashamed of using a rich tradition that has been refined and developed over the years? Why does it consider it backward? It should see this system as progressive and practical. If people have new technologies that can enhance natural systems further, they should come as friends and share this knowledge to improve upon what is already being done. If there are new technologies that can work better than these ancient techniques, you can do away with the structures and burn my books! My experience, however, has frequently been that ‘experts’ come into areas they are not familiar with, bringing modern, expensive technologies that are not suitable for the region, and they make the problem worse. It has been predicted that by 2030, India’s water supply will be 50 percent short of demand. Do you think that working with traditional harvesting systems could meet this demand?

I have never said that the systems we promote are ‘traditional.’ We simply encourage the establishment of intelligent water systems that respect Nature’s laws. The techniques we share have evolved over hundreds of years and are carefully tailored to local conditions. Nature has not changed the way that rain falls, and until it does, we can’t change our fundamental means of collecting it. How we distribute and use water is another matter. The cheapest and most effective structures remain natural and earthen, and the best teachers remain those people who have lived in an area for decades, if not centuries.

Quick Take The water crisis in India is not an environmental crisis, it is a man-made problem. Water is the lifeline of the Indian population, of those who have to toil day in and day out just to fill one bucket of water. Metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Banglore etc pride themselves with winsome, modern architecture, awe-striking malls, and now, “The Palais Royal,” India’s first supertall building. However, development and modernisation is the bane of the water crisis. Industrialisation has deadened water bodies with cement, and in place, build “beautiful” high raised buildings. Water bodies are used for the purpose of storing and collecting rain water in order to prevent flooding. In the absence of these water bodies, “modern” cities will forever be submerged in water, while the villages will cry due to lack of it. The solution is to revisit our past traditions of rain water harvesting, and instead of depleting the ponds and rivers, create water bodies.

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OPINION

It’s HR, but with a difference It’s about businesses being sensitive to the human rights of the communities around in ways that are mutually sustainable Brig Rajiv Williams

orporate social responsibility (CSR) is a strategic approach towards sustainable development and is a key to addressing the social and environmental impacts. It is also a tool to address conflict situations and mitigate problems of anxious communities. To improve the business climate, the ‘business and human rights’ agenda has become critical, where corporations are getting engaged in making human rights a business case as businesses need the communities to give corporates the “license to operate”. Such community endorsements will only be given when corporates engage with communities through various CSR practices, and when they connect with people by talking the “language of the heart”. It is in such connects that corporates build trust and trust leads to social capital, which has a long-term sustainable impact on development. Such a process is different from a mere philanthropic project-based kick-start. The Charity Welfare Philanthropy (CWP) concept of the past is now being replaced by the triple bottom-line concept of people, planet and profit. While CWP is usually short lived with little re-call, CSR is a commitment and has a long-term impact which leads to sustainability. The earlier model of cheque-book philanthropy has to be replaced in case we are serious about sustainability issues and CSR is the right model of this agenda. The Government of India has issued the National Voluntary Guidelines on social, environmental and economic

responsibilities of business and is currently in the process of passing the Companies Bill in the Parliament. These policies have a strong linkage with the business and human rights agendas. In this context, the United Nations has recently passed the resolution by adopting the Guiding Principles (GP) on Human Rights and Business, wherein India has strongly supported the initiative. The GP framework of ‘protect, respect and remedy’ for corporations essentially focuses on the second pillar of respect. The Global Compact Network India Human Rights Sub Committee has formed the ‘India CEO Forum on Business and Human Rights,’ which is chaired by NR Narayana Murthy. All the above steps are towards making an inclusive society, and corporations are getting sensitized to this engagement. With the social media and other platforms now available to the laymen, the options have become restricted, so that corporations are inclined to make the environment more conducive to business through sustainable practices. Equally important is to report on the indices of sustainability through either the GRI framework or other frameworks being developed, like the Integrated Reporting framework. All such practices will help in a sustainable future and CSR would have a major role to play in driving the new corporate agenda.

The earlier model of cheque-book philanthropy has to be replaced in case we are serious about sustainability issues, and CSR is the right model of this agenda.

Brig Rajiv Williams, YSM (Retd.) is Corporate Head, CSR, Jindal Stainless Limited. January 2013

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INSPIRING TALE

Water’s tech stewards

Sarvajal is a community-based business solution for parched regions in Rajasthan and Gujarat faced with drying wells and high toxins content By Shikha Das Shankar

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he 3-am call for Ajanta is not of a friend in a relationship crisis. It’s the call of a necessity. She doesn’t need an alarm or a wake-up call from the family. Her body clock has become systemized to wake up exactly at three in the morning. A minute late will lead to unforgiving consequences that include having no water for drinking or cooking for the next 24 hours. The water tanker that travels to her town 200 kms from Ajmer in the water-deprived state of Rajasthan is not even half full. The pipes attached to the tank leak and there is a limit of three buckets per household, even if the family members total to seven - like in Ajanta’s case. The site where the tanker is parked is the sight of a calamity waiting to happen - hundreds of men, women

and children, old enough to hold buckets and pots, are toppling over each other to ensure their buckets are full before the tank runs dry. Ajanta has had to conform to the rule of the land. Drinking water is a rarity and she will make do with whatever she gets. Purity and safety are not even a consideration. Something so indispensable like water is also the cause of constant distress for millions like her. The brunt of India’s water-stressed status is felt critically across the nation, but more adversely in two states - Rajasthan and Gujarat. The arid and semi-arid climate of this region and overdrawn underground water are rendering drinking water scarce. The problem of impure water with high levels of toxic waste follows. The paucity of clean drinking water is also one of the top reasons for deaths in India. Water-borne diseases like cholera and diarrhea are rampant in both urban and rural India, killing hundreds, especially children, every year. A viable solution saw the light of the day when a non-profit organization’s concerted effort reached fruition in 2008. ‘Sarvajal’ is Piramal Water Private Limited’s ambitious effort to provide clean drinking water to people in the country. It started as a pilot project called the Bagar Drinking Water Initiative in Rajasthan with an aim to reduce fluoride content in drinking water in the Shekhawati region. The project carved the way to establish a market-based, cost-effective solution to provide purified drinking water through a franchisee model that encourages rural empowerment. Piramal Water provides the opportunity for local sellers, individuals and small businesses to use filtration equipments provided by the company and sell purified water within the community they reside in. Training, technical know-how, repair and maintenance are imparted by Piramal personnel while the income is based entirely on the amount of water sold. Clean water to the community at affordable cost along with the opportunity to become self-reliant, small-business owners reflect the organization’s commitment for uplifting rural parts of the region in multitudes. Today, the Sarvajal brand encompasses 154 franchisees providing potable water to 85,000 people in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The simplicity of the idea, and the ease with which this entrepreneurialbased model can be a success, is backed by intensive technological innovation and detail-oriented systems. All the filtration units in

use are connected through “Soochak”, a remote server from where information like filtered water output, pressure control and possible leaks are collected, and in case of irregularities, things can be addressed promptly. To add to the uniqueness and reach of Sarvajal, water ATMs are located across the states which provides 24/7 access to clean water using a pre-pay card that can be recharged using cellphone. The use of RFID technology makes every drop of water supplied to people accountable. What’s more, these water ATMs are solar-powered. Sarvajal was also awarded the Tech Laureate for 2011 for its innovative model. For the people of Gujarat and Rajasthan, Sarvajal is letting them have a free life with pure drinking water, something they had forgotten the taste of.

Solar-powered water ATMs have been set up to provide 24/7 access to clean water using prepaid cards that can be recharged using cellphones

January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

Niall Dunne, Chief Sustainability Officer, British Telecom It’s important to understand that a company or a region that controls its own energy destiny controls its future. And being an ICT company, our core ingredient isn’t wood or cotton or anything else; it’s energy. So we need to really understand how energy can benefit our entire ecosystem, which is something we can innovate around. We have to make sure that it’s not susceptible to environmental impacts.

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“Digital inclusion can empower communities and make amazing ideas happen” A s Chief Sustainability Officer at BT, Niall Dunne works with the Chief Executive, Chairman and executive management team to advance the company’s leadership as a responsible and sustainable business. Before joining BT, Dunne spent a decade leading sustainability practices at Saatchi & Saatchi. He has been as Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) of BT to lead the company’s climate change and sustainable development strategy. Niall will co-ordinate all sustainability activities across BT, ensuring sustainability practices are embedded into BT’s strategy, products and services. On his recent trip to India, Shashwat DC met up with him in order to get his perspective on why sustainable development is the need of the hour.

In a capitalist structure, shareholder profit is the biggest motive. How do you align thinking and a sense of responsibility towards the environment, when the main motive is to acquire more?

Organizations are looking to have owners on a longterm basis. These could be family-owned companies or a company like BT where some of the largest owners and shareholders are investing for the long term. So immediately everyone wants to have a conversation with us about what our goals are in 10 years or 15 years. However, this conversation will be totally pointless and superfluous without actually understanding where the world is going or what our role in it is. We’ve also seen that shareholders play an extremely important role in forming business decisions. There are more and more shareholders challenging the boards of Fortune 500 companies and demanding an answer about whether the company is dealing with some of these issues, or how they are delivering social impact and what’s their ability to

deliver social return on investment. Shareholders are now pushing organizations to actually take up environmental and social issues. This is very important and intrinsic if we wish to sustain the Planet for future generations. Look at what’s happening with India: for the past few months there have been horrific blackouts. This just tells us the importance of energy and the problems created because of the lack of it. China on the other hand has a very exciting growth market. It has added about 84 terawatts of energy to its grid and a lot of it is clean energy, whereas India has added only 14 terawatts of energy. So it’s important to understand that a company or a region that controls its own It is important for energy destiny controls its businesses and future. And being an ICT governments to company, our core ingredient isn’t wood or cotton or work together to anything else; it’s energy. So actually deliver we need to really understand economically how energy can benefit our viable solutions entire ecosystem, which is something we can innovate before we reach around. We have to make the tipping sure that it’s not susceptible to points environmental impacts, but rather build a network that has got clean energy and pass the sustainable value on to our customers.

It is said that corporates, governments and people are talking about sustainability only because they feel we have reached a tipping point and some action needs to be taken. However, should the transition have started a while ago and are people waking up a little too late?

I think the problem lies in the fact that we wait till January 2013

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the problem surfaces on our doorsteps. The ice in the North Pole has not just started to melt - it’s been happening for some time. We often feel that because an environmental problem is happening away from us, nobody cares. Today, these problems have reached the doorsteps of people. Look at the air pollution in Delhi or the Hurricane Sandy which caused so much of devastation. However, the important thing is that people are beginning to ask questions to businesses and governments who actually aren’t doing something about this. They now want to know why they aren’t putting more clean technology on the grid. Why aren’t they investing in carbon capture and storage? Therefore, it is important for businesses and governments to work together to actually deliver an economically viable solution. Our concerns shouldn’t revolve around whether or not we’ve reached a tipping point or not. We shouldn’t be selling the downside and the risk just to galvanize this change. The alternative is to actually sell the upside, sell the opporBusinesses need tunity, sell the 70 percent of to show they the green tech that will be understand right here in India by 2015, social issues and and have businesses working alongside the government to what they are make that happen. doing about that.

Governments should think about social returns on investments

You posted a status on your Facebook page saying “everything is connected”. Do you believe our anthropogenic actions are responsible for the world’s environmental problems?

Absolutely! I am of the opinion that everything starts with the individual. You need to travel the world and understand how someone’s actions can affect and impact the world. One cannot expect to be a partner to growth unless one understands what the social issues are at the grass-root level. CSR 1.0 gave some insight into this matter but it didn’t cover the issue in totality. The question is, as a business, how to do you differentiate yourself from those markets and actually deliver the social impact? In an organization, social impact is all about driving digital inclusion that gets people back in the job center, helps them help themselves, and improves education and healthcare. All of these things we can do with digital inclusion. Now in India, we have a phenomenal opportunity to do just that. Only 8 percent of the people are online and when you compare that with China, it is vastly different. So we have a great opportunity here to actually bring people online, but in the end, everything starts with the individual. When you empower someone or restore pride in their communities, you see amazing ideas happen. This for me is 40

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a very scalable model and works in slums and even in shanty towns. Just by simply being able to connect people, empowering them and help them help themselves, we have won half the battle. It is often believed that corporates are not contributing enough to the green movement, but what about the governments? Can the two work alongside each other to create an economically viable solution?

Governments really need businesses to be thinking that way; they need to see businesses as system thinkers. Businesses need to show they understand the social issues and that they are doing something about that. Governments do not think about RoI but rather about social return on investment (SRoI). They want to be able to show to people as quickly as possible that they actually care for the environment. Businesses that are doing just that can make it known that they understand that everything is connected. Because they are doing it, they know how this works; they know that at the end of the day there is commercial opportunity for us here as well. We have to prove though that we are willing to work at a grass-root level and solve some of these problems. Then use these proof points to actually show the government that it makes more sense to develop more digital inclusion initiatives that will bring people online. And instead of investing in military, railways or roadways, invest in digital inclusion. There are a number of businesses that are doing something green and are taking the initiatives to promote sustainability. However, they are still skeptical about the movement which pushes them to indulge in green-washing. Can businesses turn their skepticism into conviction?

Green-washing is very much like CSR 1.0, where organizations were keen to talk about their initiatives, but only about what they felt was important. They were not ready to talk about their entire business and hence there was no transparency. However, this has all changed considerably and we have now moved away from that in the last five years. Corporates are not just making empty claims, they are actually doing something about this. Companies are now rethinking their business models. They are now questioning themselves and their purpose as an organization. They want to establish the best possible way in which they can integrate and build sustainability into their purpose. However, before establishing and taking up anything, it is important that the entire organization, including the staff, is kept abreast about any developments. They will be the best judge of whether or not this is legitimate; they will know whether the claims of the organization are dubious or not and if the company has any intention to invest. They will also be the ones to come up with the best ideas. So businesses need to

find ways to engage the people and say “as an organization this is what we want to do, this is our higher purpose, bigger than shareholder value, and this is what we need to achieve.” The leaders of tomorrow will not just be figuring out how to use resources more wisely, but will also revamp their business models in totality and redesign their products. They believe in the power of advocacy—this is what the customers will say; this is what the communities will say. The leading businesses are beginning to realize that the answer is not merely green marketing; it’s actually about building a platform for advocacy using and reaching out to the networked world. Companies must remember that consumers are knowledgeable and savvy about the Internet and the social media. It is a place where they can address their grievances about those companies that aren’t involved in the sustainability movement. Companies must try and be transparent about what they are doing; otherwise, people will use networks to find that out.

A number of countries like the US, UK and other advanced places are more attuned to the idea of sustainable development. However in developing nations like India where the energy needs and social needs are very different, can the message of sustainability be made worthwhile to the people and companies?

At the heart of it lies the understanding that if the growth from India and China is going to be achieved in the same manner than the growth from US and UK using the industrial revolution technologies and linear business models, we will not be able to provide for 8 or 9 billion people. So now is the opportunity for India and China to create completely new systems of growth. One such way of going about this is to transform demand away from conspicuous consumption - where consumers aren’t aware of where things come from or where they go to - to much more contentious and collaborative consumption which is possible only in a networked world.

Quick Take Niall Dunne explains the importance of digital inclusion as a means to create a more sustainable future. Through digital technologies we know far more about the people we share this small planet with than ever before. “The opportunities to harness digital technologies to enable more sustainable lifestyles are everywhere: in our energy, transport and food systems, in our built environment, between machines and between individuals.” He also touched upon BT’s

role in integrating sustainable development into their core principles. “In recent years we have focussed around our main environmental impact – carbon emissions largely driven by our energy use – and invested in efficiencies which have allowed us to decouple our network growth from energy growth. This is a significant challenge in the ICT industry, and for BT – we consume around 0.7% of total UK consumption.”

January 2013

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INSPIRING TALE

Price-less W accounts The agent-led model has been lauded for bringing remote areas into the banking fold without actually opening a branch By Shikha Das Shankar

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e have heard the adage “a penny saved is a dollar earned” time and again while growing up. To imbibe in us the values like saving instead of spending, an earthen piggy bank was presented to every child with a message of great responsibility at hand. “Save and use the money only in times of dire need,” would echo in the minds of every child whenever tempted to break the hand-held money saver. This fundamental concept of saving forms the premise of living. And to help us live a better life today and tomorrow, we secure a significant part of our livelihood, and a part of our trust, in the institution of banking. We sleep with an assurance that our money is safe and growing in a bank. However, a vast majority of India’s population living in far-flung areas has been deprived of being part of this institution, primarily because of inaccessibility. India’s hinterlands are marked by intermittent electricity supply, water shortage, and poor connectivity to surrounding towns and cities. Facilities like banks and hospitals are as unseen as luxury hotels. For those living in these villages, traveling to the nearest bank, which might be miles away, is expensive and a day’s worth of work. Many of these farmers are illiterate, often wronged by unjust practices of intermediaries like money lenders, making them leery of traveling to financial institutions and taking advantage of basic banking services being offered to them at no special terms and conditions. While it is impossible to open a bank in every village in India, setting up ATMs, too, is unfeasible considering unreliable power supply. But when the knock on a farmer’s door living in the middle of the state of Maharashtra is of a walking-talking human

bank, it signals the coming of a wave of development much-needed for two-third of India’s population. Six years ago, India’s central banking body, the Reserve Bank of India, introduced a model that would bring banks to the doorsteps, literally. An unconventional alternative was provided by the Reserve Bank of India in the form of business facilitators and correspondents. These business correspondents (BCs) or agents are sent to villages that have no access to banks or ATM. They are trained to encourage people to open accounts and are equipped with tools to help withdraw cash and stay connected with the main banking facility. In many cases, these agents set up a small “bank” in their homes with no more than themselves at the helm of things. An application form, passport size photo, and fingerprints is all that is needed for a villager to open an account. The account holder, once enrolled, can also withdraw small amounts of cash from portable ATMs being provided in many towns and villages across the country. Not only is this atypical banking model sustainable, the ATMs are also solar-powered, thriving in any condition, hot or cold, and come with a fingerprint scanner for authorization.

Permitting third party vendors like self-help groups and micro-financial institutions as providers of banking and financial services through the BC model encourages every bank in the country to deploy a fleet of authorized agents to the most secluded parts of the country. Agents act as a bank, doing away with the need of dedicated brick and mortar structures, making it very cost-effective. The times called for a secure, low-cost and sustainable measure that would enfold farmers, daily-wagers, or self-employed workers living in remote villages in the banking purview, and this model stands up to the need.

The no-frills banking, introduced six years ago by the Reserve Bank of India, makes financial inclusion a realistic goal

January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

Chetan Maini, Founder & Chief of Technology and Strategy, Mahindra Reva We believe that the future of mobility will be characterised by the 5C’s— clean, convenient, connected, clever and cost-effective. The advanced vehicles of the future will not just offer unmatched features, safety and convenience, they will also be ‘clever’ and environment friendly.

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“EVs are now ready for explosive growth and mass uptake” W hile the world was amazed and enthralled when Ratan Tata announced the cheapest car in the world; the fact is many years earlier, in fact more than a decade or so before the Nano hit the streets, there was an Indian automotive company that did earned global laurels. Established in 1994, Reva, was one of the first companies in the world to come out with an electric-passenger car. The cars have received much accolade both in India and abroad. But sadly, due to lackadaisical support from the government and the markets, Reva has been more of an elitist purchase. But all that could change now, with the Mahindra company taking over Reva, and mass-producing the electric car. In an extensive interview with Shashwat DC, Chetan Maini, the founder and now the Chief Strategy Officer of Mahindra Reva, talks about the future of motoring.

When you donned the entrepreneurial mantle way back in 1994, the overall view towards entrepreneurs was not much conducive. What were the top three challenges that you grappled with? And were there butterflies and sleepless nights?

We started Reva at a time when the concept of electric vehicles (EVs) was very new to most people. Climate change had not been accepted as a pressing threat to the world, and oil prices were comparatively very low. The challenges we faced changed over time. Initially it was mainly technology to try and create affordable EV solutions. We developed several new technologies and invented and filed patents on key areas of energy management that were critical to electric vehicles. As we overcame technology challenges, the ones related to financing were there. After all, in the late 1990s India was not known for high-technology products. We had to work and convince financial institutions on the concept of electric vehicles and our unique approach.

As we moved on, the challenge was to move to markets and convince consumers about a new concept and since we were the only ones selling EVs globally at that time the task was even more daunting. Coupled with all of this, a few months before the launch in 2001, subsidies were removed and taxes were increased for EVs while being decreased for conventional vehicles.

Reva has sold more abroad than in India. Does that pain you? Do you think the government could have done a lot more in terms of promoting a zero-emission vehicle?

The future of mobility will be characterised by the 5C’s—clean, convenient, connected, clever and costeffective—driven by the fusion of electronics and IT with automotive technologies

Reva has sold equally in India and overseas. However, we definitely feel that Indian Government could have done a lot more. Nonetheless, Government has provided subsidy from November 2010 to March 2012 where the customer was eligible for either a subsidy of up to 20 percent on ex-showroom price or Rs 100,000, whichever was less. Regretfully, the scheme has been withdrawn since April 2012 from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). This has really hurt the entire EV industry in the country and we are hopeful on a reimplementation of the scheme from this financial year. Apart from this, certain state governments like Rajasthan, Delhi and Chhattisgarh have done their bits to promote sustainable energy by providing zero percent road tax and VAT. Moreover, a few states like Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra have lower tariffs as compared to other states where they charge 12.5 percent of the tax. What we need from the government here is that a uniform policy is implemented pan India and that would help us to scale up the sales in-country. January 2013

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Countries like Norway, US, UK, France and China have been massively supporting sustainable mobility. There are a few examples of countries implementing policies to encourage EVs. There is no import duty, toll charges for EVs in Norway, and moreover there are dedicated parking spaces for EVs. France gives a subsidy of 7,000 euros and Government of China supports every Many countries customer buying an EV with massively support $9,000. EVs. There are The government has announced a National no import duties Mission on EVs with the or toll charges in idea of putting five to seven Norway; France million EVs on the road by gives a subsidy of 2020. I do believe that such 7,000 euros while a holistic policy that covers demand incentives, R&D and China supports infrastructure will give the every EV buyer right impetus the country needs. The key is the timely with $9,000

implementation of this policy. What is the future of motoring according to you? With big automotive players now moving into the space, how would Reva handle the heat?

In the last three to four years, there has been a dramatic shift in how the world perceives electric vehicles. This change has been driven by a never before confluence of factors - change in customer preferences towards small, energy efficient cars, environmental concerns, government concerns on energy security and development of technologies resulting in major improvements in EV performance and affordability. These factors are leading to a fundamental change in the 120-year old DNA of the automotive industry - EVs have entered the consideration set of mainstream car buyers, governments are pushing for rapid uptake through a range of incentives and investments and the auto industry is forging new partnerships to take advantage of the new ecosystem opportunities emerging from this

Quick Take In spite of the fact, that India has been the home to one of the first ever commercial electric car company, Reva has not really received all the accolades that it so truthfully deserves. Nonetheless, with the incremental increase of petrol and diesel prices, customers are now looking at alternatives, and evaluating the car on the basis of operating cost. According to Chetan, Electiv vehicle (EV) is around 10x cheaper on a cost-per-km when compared to the average

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petrol and diesel guzzlers. Also, the government has woken up to the need to promote EVs, and the PM recently launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, wherein it will provide direct subsidies to EV buyers. The future of EV does indeed look bright, and with the power of Mahindra behind it, Reva is bound to be a name that we will be hearing quite often in the coming days.

radically different technology (e.g. battery makers and electronics companies). With all these dramatic shifts occurring, we believe that the future of mobility will be characterised by the 5C’s - clean, convenient, connected, clever and cost-effective. The advanced vehicles of the future will not just offer unmatched features, safety and convenience, they will also be “clever” and environment-friendly. The increasing fusion of electronics and IT with automotive technologies will give rise to vehicles with advanced intelligence and connectivity. Other developments in distribution models, financing options, flexible ownership models, personalization of vehicles and greater choices across the ecosystem will further alter the entire experience of interacting with the mobility ecosystem. We, at Mahindra Reva, are constantly innovating to bring the “future of mobility” into everything we do today. It is true that given the favourable conditions for introduction of EVs, several global OEMs have entered the segment. However, rapid uptake of EVs can happen only when they can be made affordable - this is a challenge Mahindra Reva has been striving to meet since inception through innovations in the way how EVs are designed and manufactured. Our strong R&D focus on areas such as lightweighting, innovative manufacturing processes and energy management systems is the core to making EVs more efficient and cost-effective. We have created an innovative and low-cost manufacturing process that will allow us to not only break even at lower volumes compared to traditional OEMs, but also build cars in one of the most environment friendly factories in the world. Our manufacturing plant was awarded the highest rating - Platinum - by IGBC, being one of the few auto plants to have this distinction. Furthermore, our amalgamation into the Mahindra Group has given us access to a wide distribution network and helped bring in synergies in manufacturing and supply chain and most importantly, propelled our brand into mainstream consideration. These developments are key to defending our technology edge and to move us into volume production in the marketplace. Now that Mahindra has taken over the operations, and considering the broad focus of the company in all sorts of cars, what’s changed for you? And how do you still find the motivation to keep going on?

Our entry into the Mahindra Group has been a very positive development. While we continue to remain an independent entity with control over core operations, we have developed excellent synergies with various entities within the Mahindra Group that add significantly to our competitive advantages. We have built synergies in the supply chain, we have access to a widespread sales network through the Mahindra dealerships across the nation, we work closely on

improving manufacturing process and vehicle-level aspects and most importantly, contribute to and derive from the Mahindra brand in unique ways. As a result, we have managed to retain our singular focus on electric vehicles while deriving several benefits from the wider automotive experience of the Mahindra Group. We believe EVs are positioned for explosive growth worldwide and in India. This is an exciting time to be in this industry. For me personally, it has been a dream to shape the future of mobility and with the support from Mahindra Group, I believe making it a reality is a lot closer. The new plant created for Reva is currently the world’s largest operational example of a plant specially dedicated to the assembly of battery EVs. How did the idea for the same emanate, considering that it’s already quite a costly process to create an EV?

The new plant is an expression of our innovations in low-cost manufacturing by radically rethinking and redesigning automobiles. Our plant and our process costs a fraction of set-ups worldwide. Our innovations enabled us to develop low-cost manufacturing techniques while also keeping the environmental footprint of auto manufacturing at an absolute minimum. Every Reva car built in the new plant will be ‘Born Green’, possessing one of the lowest ‘dust to dirt’ (a term denoting a vehiIn recent years, cle’s entire lifecycle) carbon there’s been a footprints of any car in mass production. ‘Born Green’ dramatic shift is an operating philosophy in how the world that Reva is committed to perceives EVs, and constantly strives to improve upon. It consists of a driven by a neverconscious effort to minimize before confluence environmental impact in all of factors its business areas including including major manufacturing, assembly, vehicle operation, supply improvements in chain management and disEV performance posal or recycling of vehicles and affordability and batteries. The solar panel chargers that are being created for Reva are very innovative. Can you share some of the ‘firsts’ that are associated with the EV?

There are several innovative features and technologies in our latest product that will be revealed at the time of launch of the product. We have filed for 26 patents in creating this product alone. In addition to the car, Mahindra Reva has developed a set of technologies for the ecosystem of EVs to enable customers to use our vehicles easily January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

can be further reduced while relieving the customer of any worries on the battery. These features make it significantly more attractive for customers to consider EVs. Although the upfront cost of an EV is higher, it is already possible for our EV technology to be comparable in total cost of ownership to that of a comparable small petrol car. With increases in volumes and improvements in technology, we expect the upfront cost will also come down. Until then, the government’s role in supporting this is important to bridge the gap as seen by consumers. Have you calculated how much carbon has been taken off the road because of all the Revas sold so far? How many have been sold?

Our innovative and low-cost processes will allow us to break even at lower volumes compared to traditional OEMs and also build cars in one of the most environment friendly factories in world while also further minimizing their environmental impact: Car2Home allows you to use your car’s energy to power your home in case of emergencies. The onboard computer smartly regulates the power to your home for several hours and ensures safety. Sun2Car through which your car can get charged directly from solar energy. A 10 sq m solar panel can provide sufficient energy to power our EVs for 15,000 km in a year. This system can be installed in home or office. Once installed your car can run free of cost for life. Do you think the cost of an EV will ever be equal to that of a normal hatch-back? And will breaking that barrier be essential for success in India?

EVs have several features that are found only in a higher-end variant of vehicles in India. First, EVs are automatic. And they are so without compromising on power delivery or energy efficiency. Second, the maintenance cost of EVs is significantly lower than those of fossil fuel cars due to fewer moving parts. Third, EVs are around 10x cheaper on an operatingcost-per-kilometre metric due to the low energy cost, which is also relatively less inflationary compared to fossil fuels. This leads to very predictable and fixed operating costs for consumers, freeing them from the clutches of oil price increases. Customers can enjoy greater energy independence by adopting our Sun2Car technology - the solar charging solution. Lastly, by using innovative financing mechanisms such as battery leasing, the upfront cost of the vehicle 48

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We have sold over 4,700 plus cars around the world and have covered over 200 million km. Assuming a saving of 100 gm per km, this already amounts to over 20,000 tonnes of CO2 reductions. You have said that the Lamborghini Countach is something that you have always been dreaming about? Is Reva the dream car you always wanted? Or do you still have a soft spot for the Lamborghini Countach?

Well, I was asked when I was younger what cars I liked and I commented that as most young kids - I always wanted a Lamborhini Countach. I still do have a soft spot for it (although one that is electrically powered!). Finally, India is home to the world’s cheapest car and the greenest as well, and ironically, we are not respected for entrepreneurial mojo. Do you think it’s time that perception changed or is a Reva or Nano merely an exception to the norm?

I think that such changes will take time. India is today known for its excellent IT services businesses, but not yet for its products. We need to create more and more world-class products and showcase them globally to change that. It took Japan 30 years, Korea 20 and we need to work to beat that. Your take on the recently announced National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, what sort of impact will it have on the EV sector in India? And will the Reva’s be cheaper now, by approximately how much (%)?

The announcement of the NEMMP2020 is very encouraging and we laud this initiative by the government. It is heartening to note that that government has recognised that EV’s are the answer to the issues of energy security and urban pollution. However having said that we still have to see what will be the policy, what it entails and when it shall be implemented. Till such time it would be speculative to make any guesses on its impact.

OPINION

Paradigm Shift Needed A shift of focus from energy or supply to the energy services can facilitate the transition to a more sustainable energy system. Rangan Bannerjee

e all realize the importance of energy in every aspect of our lives. The challenge in India is to provide access to convenient energy (electricity, cooking fuel) to our population. Our energy planning has been predominantly focused on supply – we project the future demand for energy and plan for new supply to meet this demand. Despite the best efforts of our planners and policy makers, energy supply has not been able to keep up the pace with demand, resulting in energy shortages. Several parts of the country have hours of load shedding and unreliable electricity supply. We cannot continue to rely only on this kind of supply in the future. It is not sustainable either, considering the finite fossil fuel reserves and the issue of climate change due to greenhouse gases. We need to understand that we do not have a demand for energy per se, but for the services that the energy provides. To illustrate this, consider an air conditioned office. We are interested in the comfortable condition and temperature (cooling) provided in the room, not in the electricity that is being used. If the existing system is replaced by a combination of solar power and an energy-efficient cooling system that consumes only 30% of the energy yet provides the same comfort, we will not have any objection. What we need are the energy services – cooling, illumination, motive work etc. In order to obtain these services, our primary energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas, solar) go through a sequence of conversion steps. Associated with each conversion step is an efficiency value. The

overall efficiency in some cases may be as low as 10%. Even with existing efficient technologies, there are several cost effective options that can be implemented. However, these options are unlikely to be realized without interventions and support. We need to have a paradigm shift to focus on energy services – not energy. This is easier said than done. Imagine Tata Power or Reliance Energy or MSEDCL selling you lighting and not electricity. Or Indian Oil Corporation or BPCL or HPCL investing in boiler efficiency or steam traps or heat pumps in industry instead of adding new refineries. This will require a re-orientation of focus for energy supply and distribution companies. The focus on supply is ingrained even in our vocabulary – we always talk about shortage of supply not “longage” or hike in demand. The development of Conservation Supply Curves - where the cost of saved energy is plotted against the energy saved - reveals that there are a number of energy efficient technologies/ system improvement options that can be implemented at costs that are lower than newer supply. A paradigm shift is likely to level the playing field for energy efficiency and Demand Side Management and facilitate the transition to a more sustainable energy system.

If the existing system is replaced by a combination of solar power and an energy-efficient cooling system that consumes only 30% of the energy yet provides the same comfort, we will not have any objection

Rangan Banerjee, is a renowned academician and is the Forbes Marshall Chair Professor in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering and was Dean of Research and Development from 2009-12, at the IIT-Bombay. January 2013 Sustainuance

INSPIRING TALE

‘Re’ cycled, literally Part-powered by a solar battery, the age-old rickshaw is reborn as Solecshaw and promises to end pullers’ drudgery but not jobs By Shikha Das Shankar 50

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he sinuous back alleys of old Delhi are cramped with pedestrians, children playing gully cricket, and rickshaw pullers. It’s hard to distinguish when the arterial road ends and the passageway into dilapidated mosques, temples and houses starts. The lanes are so narrow that if not on foot, the only way to access this historic region is by the tricycles called rickshaws. Rickshaw pullers start their day early, delivering sacks of cotton clothes, barrels of water or plying small children to school. By mid-morning, they start transporting people, including regular commuters and tourists. Some of their passengers are quarrelsome, haggling considerably to reduce the quoted fare by a mere Re 1. Others are generous, giving a few extra rupees for glimpses into the city’s past that the rickshaw puller narrated with much vigor. By late afternoon, the day starts to take a toll on the thin, frail bodies of these pullers and fatigue is visible on their faces. A few stretches, a cup of tea with dried bread and a pocket full of coins and some notes totaling in the range of Rs 50 to Rs 75 are the only rewards for the arduous task they carry out day after day. The plight of the rickshaw pullers in Delhi, and elsewhere, can best be described in a few words - hard work, little pay. Commuters using this form of short-distance transportation do not consider manual labor worthy enough of being rewarded high rates. This extremely physically-taxing profession does not yield enough to save them from malnutrition or to pay off the long-standing debts of purchasing the rickshaw. Those who rent rickshaws from owners need to pay the owners certain amount everyday, regardless of their earnings. Rickshaws form an integral part of India’s transportation network requiring a license and municipal approval. From serving commuters within the neighborhood to acting as feeder vehicles from major bus stops or Metro stations, people in cities big and small are dependent on rickshaw pullers. However, the prevalent conditions are unsustainable, and the misfortune of poverty summons most. In an effort to remove drudgery from the lives of these pullers, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMIR-CMERI) have together developed an eco-friendly, part pedal-pulled and part solar-battery-operated tricycle christened Soleckshaw to slowly phase out the old rickshaw. Depending on

the variant, batteries once charged at solar charging stations, can run for up to 100 km. With the dual-drive mode, these rickshaws can go as fast as 25 km per hour without the strains of manual pulling solely. There have been aesthetic changes to the tricycle too, along with a more ergonomic design to benefit both the driver and the passenger. Based on credentials, manufacturers have been selected to build Soleckshaws. The commercialization of the technology is underway and the market response has been more than positive. Entrepreneurs are interested in taking up large-scale production while rickshaw pullers are very keen on owning the new breed of rickshaw to free them from clutches of intermediaries. The challenge, however, is to aid end-users to procure the vehicle through a financial program supported by the government. To ensure the sustainability of the initiative, support of NGOs will be sought to help prospective owners get financial help as well as train them to ably use and maintain the Soleckshaw. The success of Soleckshaw is largely dependent on the pricing and availability of the charging station. CMIRCMERI says pricing will be very affordable and deployment of charging stations is underway. Buyers can procure a Soleckshaw on EMIs, paying the government as little as Rs 40-50 a month while receiving tax exemptions,

road-tax refunds and subsidies. Currently the new breed of green rickshaws is plying in Delhi, Kolkatta, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Durgapur, Ranchi and Ahmadabad. To take the initiative a step further, Soleckshaws will replace the postmenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bicycle, which is used to distribute mail across the city. In a survey conducted by Kinetic Motors, the company entrusted with the contract of engineering, developing and testing of Postal Soleckshaw, each postman in India covers 40-45 km and carrying mail weighing 10-15 kg a day. Postal Soleckshaw will help cover the area in less time while allowing to carry more mails in a single trip. The potentials of the project are huge and the benefits entail a better life for thousands of rickshaw pullers across the country. Most of us know the charm of riding the rickshaws through gullies and mohallas with the breeze and seeping light rays as companions through the journey. But the ride for the rickshaw puller himself has been anything but enjoyable. Perhaps the time has come where the driver will enjoy the journey as much as the passenger.

The semiautomated rickshaws have already hit the roads in some cities, but success will depend on the pricing and easy availability of charging stations

January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

Param Kanampilly, Chairman & Managing Director, Concept Hospitality The most difficult task about running an ecotel is to educate the staff. To overcome that, we had what we called as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;green team.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; We had two employees from every department in the hotel empowered to stop any practices that were not in line with our green philosophy.

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“It’s disappointing that eco-movement is growing at a snail’s pace” P aram Kannampilly is the director, Concept Hospitality, which is a hotel management consultancy rendering professional services including conceptualization, promotion, establishment, conduct, registration, management & continuance of hotels, clubs, resorts, time share schemes and other undertakings in the hospitality industry. Mr Kannampilly is a name synonymous with the birth of Ecotels in India or for that matter Asia. He is the driving force behind the phenomenal growth of Kamat Hotels (India), which from a small group has transformed into a chain of world class environment-friendly hotels. He is one of the foremost environmental champions in this industry with over 30 years of experience in hospitality. He set up and operated The Orchid Group from its inception in 1996 till 2007. Kannampilly is also a member of the Board of Governors at IHMCT Mumbai and chairman of The Institute of Hospitality, London (Western India Chapter). In a free-wheeling chat with Shashwat DC.

You have taken great strides to create ecofriendly hotels. But how did you get the public to believe that all this was real and not just subject to green-washing?

I realized that whatever efforts were put into making and developing ecofriendly hotels would all come to nothing until and unless there was proof that whatever was being done was true. I knew that until and unless we had an acceptance and a certificate stating that we had done this, nobody would believe us. So we took initiatives to spread the word as fast as possible. We were lucky that at the time of opening, there was a hotel convention. At the convention we invited all the heads to come and take a tour of our property. That was one way of winning over the public’s trust. But what we really wanted was a certificate that would really be proof that all this was not hogwash. So we wrote to Ecotel in the US and requested a certificate on the basis of the kind of work we were doing. They came and met us, verified our work and

even trained the staff on handling the facilities. As a result, we have a very educated and knowledgeable staff that is well versed on the subject of what an ecotel is and how an ecotel should function. Of course there was criticism but we were able to cut down on that by getting industry peers to see for themselves what we were doing so they wouldn’t think it was greenwashing. Mumbai is a hub where you have the leading brands as your competitors. Is there a space for five-star ecofriendly hotels?

We have an STP report that compares the performance of all the luxury hotels, so we know where we stand in the competition. We are at least three points higher than all the luxury hotels put together. Although that’s not much of a lead, it still is something.

To get the practices certified is a measure of consumption on a daily basis of what you’re wasting on earth. That’s where the hotel industry is missing the point

Although you started this concept in the 90’s and hoped that the ecofriendly movement would catch on, you are however, the only person to have not only initiated something like this but also extended the concept to other hotels that you designed. Why is this so? Do hoteliers view sustainable development as a risk?

In my experience, knowledge is something that everyone wants, but they do not know how to go about it. So on our website, we have put quite a lot of data on everything that we have undertaken. But somehow they are skeptical about it and none of the certifying agencies are really going out as educators. So it is slightly disappointing to know that many are not interested and that the movement is growing but at a snail’s space. January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

There is no dearth of money as far as luxury hotels are concerned. They spare no expense in investing in the latest technology or expensive upholstery. Why is it that these top hotels at that time not move into the sustainability space?

We coined a term at that time - luxury with responsibility. Our ads always carried the words “luxury with responsibility.” What this meant was that all our actions were behind the scene. Though our guests could comfortably enjoy air conditioning, they were unaware that an SDL was been used or that the hot water being supplied was not via a geezer. We make sure that though we are moving in the direction of sustainability, the comfort of the guest is never compromised. We made sure that whatever product we used had been certified as being environmentally friendly. We were the first to work with suppliers to take back their containers. We made sure that our products were never packaged in card board cartons but in crakes. All our pulses and vegetables that were packaged in polythene bags were immediately returned and we wanted cloth bags instead. Today a number of hotels have their buildings certified as being ‘ecofriendly.’ And that is where it ends. You can have 200 building that are certified as being ecofriendly, but what about the practices? To get your practices certified is a measure of your consumption on a daily basis of what you’re wasting on earth. That’s where the hotel industry is missing the point. Most of the hotels do not allow external certification mainly because A number of it’s easy to get a building hotels have their certified but what about the buildings certified staff and the practices that truly account for the waste? as ecofriendly, Of course something is betbut that’s where ter than nothing, but if you it ends. The most want to move in the direction difficult task of being sustainable, go the whole way. about running

an ecotel is to educate the staff

While sustainable development may seem rather fashionable, it may not be very affordable. Are customers willing to pay a premium knowing that the hotel is an ecotel?

A number of studies have revealed that between seven percent and 14 percent customers are willing to pay extra. If a tour operator gives tourists a zero-carbon emission holiday, they are willing to pay higher for it. We however have not conducted any kind of research because our country is still not getting the required number of tourists. We are getting about five to five-and-a-half-lakh customers, which is not that bad considering that China had to deal with much worse when they started out. Today, however, 54

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China gets about 35 million customers which is not the case with our country. Hotel business in India is dependent on the corporate movement. The corporate movement is a negotiated movement; it is not an individual choice movement. How this spans out is extremely simple. The company negotiates with a few hotels and you as an employee of the company will stay in one of those hotels if you wish to have your bills reimbursed. It’s difficult to conduct any kind of research as of now since the number of customers is not high. This will definitely change, but it will take time. Most of the hoteliers who wish to incorporate sustainability are largely driven by the advantages such as cutting costs and increasing profits. However, the equipment needed to consume less power, or air conditioners that emit no CFCs can be expensive. Is that one of the reasons for skepticism among hoteliers?

This and lack of belief also has a lot to do with regard to the skepticism. However, it is what happens in the long run that truly matters. Yes, initially it is expensive, especially since some of the equipment is not available in India. But if you look at the wider picture, incorporating sustainable practices within the hotel is considerably cheaper. Our hot water for instance comes from air conditioning plants. The heat from the air conditioning plant is used by a condenser to heat up the water to 50 degrees. So by doing this we are saving on electricity without compromising on the comfort of the customer. You have often stated that it is the staff that makes maximum use of the resources. How did you get the staff motivated to practice and understand sustainable development?

The most difficult task about running an ecotel is to educate the staff. That for us was the biggest challenge. To overcome that, we had what we called as a ‘green team.’ We had two employees from every department in the hotel empowered to stop any practices that were not in line with our green philosophy. And they became a powerful reckoning force. To further educate the employees, we made it mandatory that they sit for an exam testing their basic knowledge on the environment. So with that everything changed. This became very inherent to the hotel and was soon seen as a culture that needed to be followed. When you first came up with the idea of an ecotel, there was no question of competition, mainly because no one else was running an ecotel. Did you view sustainability as profitable or was it a risk?

The idea of creating an ecotel came with number of perks because, it not only was different but also had a competitive edge. That’s when I took it upon myself

to understand the subject of what sustainable development truly meant. That was when I realized that sustainability actually means three things - reduce, reuse and recycle. And it was on the basis of these three principles that we constructed the Orchid hotel. Our aim was to reduce on the energy system in the best way possible. So we made use of mono screw chillers - which is a type of conditioning plant that reduces the energy load considerably. I also made sure that during the construction of the hotel, the cement used had a recycling element in it. Then we wanted to reduce the water wastage because the BMC was not giving enough water. So we tied up with GEM who agreed to install a flow restrictor which cuts off water by almost 50 percent. We also made use of MDF made from cotton plants. All our furniture is made of MDF. That is how we have been able to build one of the most energy efficient hotels ever using the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle. Then we introduced a bumper panel, whereby

the air conditioning was reduced by two degrees; half a degree every half an hour. In two hours it was reduced by two degrees. How did you involve the guests to participate in the ‘green movement?’

We also created a small green button on the panel so that guests could voluntarily press it. By pressing the green button, guests were participating with us in the creation of a greener society. That is how we got the guests to participate into the act. We were the first to introduce an interactive TV because we wanted guests to know that our hotel was different. The interactive TV was essential as we had to communicate to each guest personally. It was with the help of these TVs that the message would flash, welcoming the particular guest and thereafter explaining what we were doing. That was how we built our clientele and fan following.

Quick Take Mr Kanampilly talks about how he set up the first ecotel in India and Asia. “There definitely was a lot to deal with especially since India lacked the technology needed for the construction of an ecotel”. According to him, the hospitality industry at that time had only three positions. A) hospitality which the Taj took. B) Professionalism which the Oberoi took. And C) Cuisine, which the ITC took. He had always been interested in the environment and began reading a lot about it in the 90’s and realized the advantages of running an

environmentally friendly business. That was when he decided to start a 4th position which was environmentally certified hotels. Despite the skepticism he faced with the industry, he managed to overcome this and make ecotels a new and exciting concept. “The idea of creating an ecotel came with number of perks because not only was it different, but also had a competitive edge. Although people were skeptical at first, once they visited our hotels, they began to believe that what we were doing was not subject to green-washing.”

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COUNTER POINT

A case for ‘developing models’ of sustainability If global growth is to be driven by Asian and African economies, it’s important for them to create their own sustainability strategies in sync with their growth needs Shyamanuja Das

he UPA fought and won elections on the plank of social and financial inclusion. Almost every policy that it framed carried the customary prefix “inclusive” to it. The 11th Plan (2007-12) was explicitly designed and projected as promoting inclusive growth. It was widely expected that this inclusive approach would continue in the 12th Plan (2012-17), too. But unlike 2007, when overall growth was taken for granted, in 2012, Indian economy has slowed down considerably and the business confidence is nowhere near what it was then. So, many expected that the 12th Plan would have explicit reference to accelerating the growth again. But what is heartening to see is that it adds sustainability as the third pillar of that growth strategy. It is especially laudable as the common perception somehow seems to be that faster growth and sustainable growth are mutually exclusive, more so for a developing economy. It assumes special significance as India - with its vast talent pool and big market is expected to be a testbed and role model for new approaches by all developing countries in how they drive their sustainable growth strategies. So far, it is the developed world that has driven the global sustainability agenda and the developing world has, unwittingly - and in many cases, somewhat half-heartedly - followed suit. If, going forward, the global growth is to be driven by the Asian and African countries, the sustainability agenda must be in sync with their growth needs. It is probably apt to highlight some of the fundamental differences that exist between these two sets of economy. Growth versus efficiency as value 56

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A first step would be to break free from the assumption that faster growth and sustainable growth are mutually exclusive— innovative thinking would help drivers: Growth has plateaued in the developed world. Value there is derived by being more efficient rather than by growing the market. So, a lot of focus is on efficiency, productivity and cost reduction. In contrast, the developing countries still have a lot of unmet demand and hence there is growth by expansion and market penetration and that derives the value for the business and economy in these countries. So, when developed world says it is compromising on growth, it means little. But when something affects growth in a developing economy, it has a huge impact on all aspects of economy, including the quality of life of its people. Aging economies versus young economies: Much of Asia and Africa - with exceptions of Japan and China - are young. Not only do they need opportunities, their consumption patterns in the next few years would be significantly different. Any sustainability agenda must take this into account. So, anything that

affects expansion significantly would severely impact global economy. On the positive side, many of the long-term sustainability efforts, which the developed countries have had limited interest in, can actually be tried in these countries. Limiting resource usage versus innovation. Much of the bad blood between the developed world and developing world over issues of emission and other points on sustainability agenda has been because the former has tried to force the latter to limit their use of resources or cut down on development to boost environment. But all this tussle has been on the implicit assumption that there is no third option - other than growth with negative impact on environment. This must be challenged. Can’t there be accelerated growth without too much negative impact on environment? Innovation is the only answer. India has a great role to play here too. Once some of these differences are taken into account, it would be clear that not only do developing and developed world need different approaches to sustainability, the whole areas on which their efforts get focused may also be different. Of course, the idea is not to create a divide between developed world and developing world with each pursuing its own sustainability agenda. Rather, it is a fact that these two blocks need each other and the global agenda for sustainability must be derived from ground realities and needs of both these sets of economies. Shyamanuja Das is a renowned journalist, editor and social commentator.

IN CONVERSATION

“Intellectual advancement has far outpaced the advancement of wisdom”

here is a constant debate over whether CSR and sustainability have a close nexus or whether the two are poles apart. It is the dilemma that Anurag Behar clears out. As the chief sustainability officer of Wipro, Behar knows the importance of Sustainability and the necessity of integrating it in the core DNA of the company. “The environmental issues at hand cannot be neglected. It is therefore important that every business take these issues very seriously.” In a candid conversation with Shashwat DC, Anurag Behar talks about the relevance of sustainability among corporates and answers questions about whether or not the objectives of the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit can be incorporated in business operations.

What do you make of all the debate on the scientific basis of climate change prognosis? After all, there are many claims to the contrary as well.

If you look at serious science, there is absolutely no debate. The current era is causing enormous, unprecedented change on the global climate. The real debate is on the implications of that - how much, how quickly, or the magnitude of its impact. There’s consensus on the fact that the next 100 years will not be the same. How different is what the whole debate is about. As businesses, what is sufficient for us is that it will be dramatically different. And that presents risks and opportunities for us. For instance, I don’t think there is any serious contention that the sea levels are going to rise over the next 40-50 years. With the minimum estimate talking of a few metres, it will play havoc for coastal cities. How do you incorporate principles of sustainable development in your business operations keeping in mind the triple bottom line objectives of people, profit and planet?

Quick Take The issues of the environment are not something we can dismiss easily. They are plaguing our world and hence businesses need to take into consideration the ramifications of their actions and should not be bothered about becoming green, but should be concerned about whether or not their actions are true to what their claims hold. India is a country which is abundant in resources but corporate need to take cognizance of the fact that many of the resources are not renewable. According to Anurag Behar, “Development comes at a huge cost; resources are depleted, greenhouse gases are emitted, untoward catastrophes take place etc. The pertinent question we need to ask ourselves is how can we best conceptualise development without harming the environment.”

First, a lot of measures that are undertaken to address people and Planet issues are in the short January 2013

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Anurag Behar, CEO Of Azim Premji Foundation & Chief Sustainability Officer of Wipro Ltd. The foremost thing is that an organisation must have a strategic and philosophical clarity. The top management needs to spend a lot of time brainstorming as to what are the objectives, what are the reasons, and what is the roadmap.

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IN CONVERSATION

term, economically beneficial. For instance, energyefficient campuses and offices directly add to the bottom-line. From a people’s stand-point, if you create a fair and ethical people’s environment, it has a direct effect on employee attrition. Clearly, there is a substantial set of actions and things that one does which help all three - people, profit and planet. So, there’s little debate on whether organisations need to do that or not. Also, there’s no question that there are some actions on the people and planet front that require substantial investments and that does affect your current profitability. But you view such investments as investments into long-term value, like you do for R&D. For instance, as Nicholas Stern states, if you are going to invest two percent of the global GDP currently, it takes care of the most acute climate change issues, which companies do anyways. It all depends on how you frame your approach to building value in the long-term. But then it is said that there is a cost one needs to bear for development—the forest needs to make way for the city. What’s your take?

Take the reference in the Mahabharata—that of the Khadavaprastha, where a virgin forest was burnt down to fashion the new kingdom of Indraprastha. The subtle message here is that development comes at a cost; the pertinent question is how we conceptualise development. How important is it to be being green and perceived to be being so?

I believe if you start bothering about being perceived as green, it is a problem, because then it is very easy for you to play to the gallery or play to your image, and these are things in which you yourself will get lost. Hence, I don’t think you should be bothered about being perceived as green. One should only be bothered of becoming green and when you do so, people will automatically know it. For instance, if you have 25 facilities in India that are green or say LEED-rated, you don’t need to keep publishing it in a newspaper every day - it’s going to come out anyways. So, one should only be bothered about the actions, the right ones, and the perceptions will automatically follow. How can sustainability be ingrained in the core DNA of the company? What are the key steps to do so?

The foremost thing is that an organisation must have a strategic and philosophical clarity. The top management needs to spend a lot of time brainstorming as to what are the objectives, what are the reasons, and what is the roadmap. Once that is done, the next step is to integrate it in the normal processes of the company, like budgetary planning. Sustainability

practices cannot run in silo—you can’t have a separate process that looks at greening. You must have it integrated with the core business processes. Third, one must not look at grand things. A bigbang approach is not the best or advisable. One needs to make incremental changes, so you will have to have smaller projects. You need to be able to sweat out the smallest of details and be able to measure everything. Fourth, you need to engage a large set of employees in this new thinking process. All your employees, irrespective of whether they are part of the measures or not, are your most important change agents in the transition towards a green organisation. Finally, it is equally important that you are able to communicate the same with all the stakeholders, like your suppliers or customers. They should also be engaged and in knowledge of what you are doing and why. What do you think of the role of a Chief Sustainability Officer and the relevance of that designation?

Such a role is needed in an organization because the stuff is new and it is not something that businesses are used to. Many organizations will not have CSOs as you don’t necessarily need a dedicated sustainability officer so long as somebody is playing that role. Somebody at the senior-most level has to actually pay attention to it. It might well be that in certain businesses a CEO himself is playing that role. For a long time, sustainability and CSR have been kind of interlinked. What is your take on the “giving back” approach?

A big-bang approach is not the best. One needs to make incremental changes, to be able to sweat out the smallest of details and be able to measure everything

To me, these are very different sets of issues. I had problems with the earlier usage of the term CSR, not because of the phrase, but because of the way it got used subsequently. Philanthropy is not a sustainability issue - it is something different. I think philanthropy is the issue of ‘you’ have wealth. ‘You’ can be an organization, a person or an influence. Then comes whether you would want to use part of that wealth or influence to help other social issues that are not directly in your line of business. Some people might give money, some people might want to advocate certain things, but they can’t disengage from social issues. Therefore, I won’t like to mix that up with the issue of sustainability and I think organizations and people have social responsibility beyond the issue of sustainability. January 2013

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OPINION

Put inclusivity before sustainability CSR and sustainability skirt the real problems of rising consumption and the widening chasm between the haves and have-nots Unmesh Brahme

ince its origins in simplistic corporate philanthropy, charity and ‘doing good for the less well-off’ in society, sustainability has come a long way in its meaning, significance and impact. From activist movements forcing corporations to own responsibility for their environmental ravages to companies embracing environmental jurisprudence, we have seen a sea change in the manner in which sustainability has assumed centerstage in business strategy and operations. Civil society partnerships with companies have been on the upswing and the ability of businesses to relate to a wider range of stakeholders than mere customers has been a welcome development. So while all seems good and positive and worth celebrating, this piece proposes a more inclusive way of understanding and practicing sustainability. First, the fact that “the business of business is business” drives most corporations in their quest for growth and profits. Economic and GDP growth is also measured by how much production, consumption and money flows permeate and increase in society and markets. So, the corporations produce, consumers consume, governments earn taxes, welfare allocations increase (not always) and life moves on as “business as usual”. The evolution of sustainability and corporate responsibility lies within this broad macroeconomic context, and thus we follow the problems reactively instead of finding solutions proactively. The added negativity to this process is the purposeful

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Even creating markets for the poor is not enough, since that benefits corporations more than the underprivileged communities and unhealthy distinction between corporate social responsibility i.e. charity, and sustainability i.e. environment, climate change, energy efficiency, pollution control and the like. So much so that corporations keep these two sides of the same coin as different portfolios, rather than a common platform for greater action and impact. Thus “inclusion” - economic, social and financial - does not form part of sustainability strategy as we see it today. The increasing divergence between silos of diversity versus affirmative action, employee engagement, charitable donations or environment, does not help either. To a large extent, CSR and sustainability today skirt the real problems that corporations create in society by fueling consumption. The have-nots exist in society because they do not have the purchasing power to pay for goods and services that the haves take for granted. The resulting inequality, human rights abuse,

and sometimes violence on the back of a society fractured on identity, caste or class can’t be resolved through welfare and charity alone. Even creating markets for the poor won’t be enough, since that benefits corporations and social enterprises more than the underprivileged communities in the country. That none of the production and consumption processes can be completely socially and environmentally friendly is the real issue, and finding solutions that create a peaceful and harmonious society can only be possible if inclusion and sustainability go hand in hand. It will help create appropriate distribution of wealth, equitable access to resources and a good quality of life for all. Ultimately, 600 plus districts in the country is not a large number to deal with if you combine the financial might of top 500 corporations government welfare schemes and bilateral aid agencies. So my challenge to corporations: start that Monday morning revenue, profits, stock price or economic trends meeting with also a brief talk about poverty alleviation. Think of ways and means to sell your products and services more ethically and with a conscience. You would do a lot better to be a real sustainable corporation for all stakeholders, transforming lament into celebration. Unmesh Brahme is a Yale World Fellow, co-founder of SustainabilityCXO Partners Worldwide and Climate Civics Initiative.

INSPIRING TALE

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Making husk bring some shine A start-up in Bihar is reusing husk waste to generate electricity for over 32,000 households in 300 villages By Shikha Das Shankar

inkar’s day starts in the paddy fields. The region is part of the fertile plain of river Ganges, which makes rice cultivation a safe bet for most farmers in the state. He grew up working with his father on these fields, learning to tackle the hardships of growing a healthy harvest. From flooding the paddy fields to the backbreaking task of planting separately grown seedlings requiring his entire family - including his four children - to finally drying cut sheaves of rice are the only things he knows how to do and the only way he can feed his family. Rice and barley from the land he tills is what feeds his wife and children. The carbohydrate rice-water separated from boiled rice his wife cooks every day is mixed with hay and grass to feed his cows. His house, like 80 percent of those in the state, is un-electrified with the only source of light being the kerosene-fueled lanterns. Little did he know that like him, thousands of farmers living in hundreds of villages in Bihar were going to be part of a revolution that would bring electricity into their homes, though not through the conventional grid-systems that had been failing them decade after decade. When the burning desire to wipe out darkness from the state of Bihar, one of the economically poorest states in the nation, met persistent endeavors to create a technology that would efficiently and sustainably produce renewable energy, Husk Power Systems (HPS) was formed. Gyanesh Panday, Ratnesh Yadav and Manoj Singh together worked to build what is today being touted as one of the most promising sustainable innovations in the country. The efforts to provide electricity to villages in Bihar saw realization in 2007 after crossing several hurdles. Most of the initial funding for the project came from the prize money won by one of the founders in the US. The renewable energy generation model is unique, simple and low-cost. It is based on the age-old biomass gasification process that unlike other gasification systems uses 100 percent producer gas, i.e. no second fuel like diesel is required to run the mini-plant. This proprietary electricity generation process provides electricity through 25kW – 100kW power plants and the

electricity generated is distributed to villages with up to 4,000 inhabitants on a pay-per-use basis. Farms, small businesses and houses are connected through insulated wires running through bamboo poles that also reduces the cost. HPS has managed to set up 84 mini-plants generating electricity for more than 300 villages (over 32,000 households) in Bihar. In the next five years, it expects the numbers to rise to 2,000 plants with around 5 million people having access to electricity from renewable source. This is a paradigm shift from the conventional way of producing electricity using diesel to run turbines and generators. States like Bihar form a significant part of India’s rice Husk Power belt, meaning the economy thrives on cultivation of rice. Numbers Systems formed say that around 1.8 billion kgs of by the trio of rice husks are produced annually, Gyanesh Panday, most of which are left to rot. Using the rice waste to generate energy Ratnesh Yadav is feasible on a long-term basis and and Manoj Singh has the potential to be replicated is being seen in other parts of the country. as a promising Through HPS’ energy generation, more and more villages are sustainable witnessing an unlikely phenominnovation enon, but the company’s efforts is not limited to electricity alone. Through its plants, it is generating employment for hundreds of people in the state. Apart from providing electricity to 200,000 people, it has employed over 350 people across the state. Sustainable development within the ecosystem in which the company dwells is top-of-mind as seen in its livelihood programs - like incense sticks manufacturing employing mostly women. Today Dinkar may not know that the rice he has been growing since childhood is responsible for the electricity-powered light under which he sits for dinner every night with his family. It would be nothing less than miracle for him. But for the rest of us, HPS rice light is a success story that shows how innovation used toward indigenous growth can catapult a state out of years of darkness. January 2013

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Prof. Herbert Girardet, Co-founder, The World Future Council (WFC) Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s democracy tends to be defined by short-term priorities. The people need to remind political leaders of the importance of long-term perspectives: the needs of future generations have to much more prominently feature in decision making.

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‘We need to create regenerative cities, not just sustainable ones’

erbert Girardet is an environment consultant, writer and filmmaker. He is a Co-founder, Honorary Member and Former Program Director of the World Future Council that developed sustainability strategies for London, Vienna and Bristol. Since 2005, he has been the Senior Adviser to Eco-City Dongtan, Chongming Island, Shanghai. Girardet has produced 50 TV documentaries on environmental topics. He is author and co-author of 12 books, which have been widely translated. The titles include: Blueprint for a Green Planet, Earthrise, and The Gaia Atlas of Cities. His report ‘Regenerative Cities’ was published in 2011. He is currently working as Senior Advisor to the Saudi Sustainability Initiative based in Riyadh. Girardet says that the characteristic of a truly sustainable city is, first and foremost, that it powers itself entirely by means of renewable energy systems. In conversation with Saikat Nandi.

Going green for many nations has become a sort of race, with each industrial nation seeking to out-green its competitors. Perhaps this movement will spur the creation of a rich, sustainable world, but how widespread is this green revolution, and are the developing nations out-greening the developed ones?

I wish I could agree that there was a global race to go green. At COP18 in Doha a few weeks ago, we once again experienced a yawning gap between rhetoric and action. Industrial countries are hooked on burning fossil fuels and developing countries are trying to catch up. Their growth is driven by increased use of fossil fuels; even if solar, wind and hydro power are becoming part of the mix. Oil, coal and gas are incredibly convenient energy sources and wherever new supplies are being found, they are being tapped. It would be an illusion to think that the world is going green whilst fossil fuels are our main energy source. Our reliance on technology is undeniable and this dependence is only likely to accelerate as the majority of the world’s population now lives in cities. As we consider the implications, the question of sustainability is often raised. How can technology in cities help deliver a sustainable future?

Urbanization is the most striking global trend at the start of the 21st century. Perhaps the greatest challenge now is to decouple urban growth and its dependence on fossil fuel technology. This is where India could take the lead. The importance of the solar cities initiative of the Indian government cannot be understated. The world is waiting to see whether this is a project of limited scope or whether this is a major urban paradigm shift. Managing growing cities and their supply of resources is a formidable task that places heavy demands on infrastructure and the environment. What should cities do to become more sustainable and resilient?

People at bottom of The central problem of modern cities is that their the pyramid make ‘metabolism’ is essentially the least demands linear: they extract vast on world’s resources, quantities of resources from Nature and dump but sustainability their wastes in the global is not just about environment and the the environment, atmosphere with little it’s also about concern about the consequences. If a predomisocial equity and nantly urban world is to opportunity be compatible with the biosphere it has to learn from Nature’s circular systems. Nature is a zero-waste system - all its waste materials are recycled into new growth. Cities can’t just take from Nature; they also need to initiate deliberate measures to replenish the soils, forests and water sources on whose health they ultimately depend. We need to create ‘regenerative’ cities rather than just sustainable ones. What sort of model would you suggest so that the benefit of sustainable development reaches even to those who are at the bottom of the pyramid?

People at the bottom of the pyramid make the least demands on the world’s resources, but their very poverty is certainly not sustainable because it is defined by hunger, insecurity and lack of access to education. Sustainability is not just about the environment, but ultimately also about social equity and January 2013

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opportunity. The United Nation’s new ‘sustainable development goals’ will need to be framed to assure global action on justice and new opportunities for the poor. Rapid urbanization can be a powerful engine in accelerating poverty alleviation. What are the challenges in alleviating poverty through urbanization?

India should make much more of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings. His message that ‘there is enough on earth for everybody’s need but not for everybody’s greed’ is as topical as ever.

Cities are engines of economic growth and thus job creation. Rural-urban migration is driven by the perception that cities offer new opportunities. Urbanization across Asia has tended to enable poor people to get better access to resources and to help alleviate poverty. The challenge now is to assure that environmental degradation and pollution are not a direct consequence of that. What would be some important takeaways for India to be more sustainable? How can India become more sustainable?

India is actually a lot more sustainable than Europe or America. It needs

to remind itself that its rich and diverse culture is primarily spiritual rather than materialistic, and that its mainly vegetarian diet has minimal environmental impacts. Modern India should make much more of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings than it currently does. His message that ‘there is enough on earth for everybody’s need but not for everybody’s greed’ is as topical as ever. Indians have a long tradition of living sustainably - or regeneratively - off the country’s natural resources. The challenge is to build upon these traditions and to combine them with the effective and ubiquitous use of modern green technologies. There needs to be active challenges to the headlong rush of rural people into mega-cities. Much more needs to be done to improve the viability of village living, and to facilitate the development of ‘intermediate’ towns and cities. India’s democracy tends to be defined by shortterm priorities. The people need to remind political leaders of the importance of long-term perspectives: the needs of future generations have to much more prominently feature in decision making. India has a rich diversity of important green thinkers and practitioners, but they have had difficulty to have their voices heard. The new media can help to assure that they get new opportunities to help define perspectives for India’s future.

Quick Take Rural-urban migration is driven by the perception that cities offer new opportunities. Urbanization across Asia has tended to enable poor people to get better access to resources and to help alleviate poverty. The challenge now is to assure that environmental degradation and pollution are not a direct consequence of that. Large-scale urbanization is an unsustainable process drawing on the Earth’s stores of nonrenewable resources. It greatly increases per capita use of fossil fuels and metals, as well as timber, meat and all types of manufactured products, with major external environmental implications. Industrial countries are hooked on burning fossil fuels and developing countries are trying to catch up. Their growth is driven by increased use of fossil fuels, even if solar, wind and hydro power are becoming part of the mix. The central problem of modern cities is that they extract vast quantities of resources from Nature and dump their wastes in the global environment and the atmosphere, with little concern about the consequences. Sustainability is not just about the environment but ultimately also about social equity and opportunity.

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OPINION

Making CSR sustainable Philanthropy-led spends are good, but inclusive business models-led projects can have larger, multiplier effects towards development objectives Poonam Madan

ith the Companies Bill, 2011 having recently been passed by the Lok Sabha, deliberations on its Clause 135 about corporate social responsibility (CSR) are bound to intensify further. The trigger for India to become the first country in the world to make ‘CSR spending’ mandatory was arguably the government’s moral thrust for businesses to give back to society. That said, it does not address the issue of companies adversely impacting society and the environment through their operations, while spending two percent of profit-after-tax or more on unrelated social welfare initiatives. Conceptually, the policy measure for proper CSR governance structure and reporting is good, as it seeks to ensure transparency and accountability and reduce the scope for exaggerated claims. The problem, however, lies in the interpretation of what constitutes CSR. The government says it has no wish to be prescriptive and that Schedule VII associated with Clause 135 is only illustrative of what CSR activities could be. This is indeed, the right approach. Yet, the tonality of that illustration is skewed towards predominantly MDG (Millennium Development Goals)- type social welfare spending, rather than sustainable business models for inclusive growth. If indeed, the trigger for government’s thrust on CSR is inclusive growth, then we need a larger focus on productive employment rather than on direct income redistribution, as a means of increasing

We need a larger focus on productive employment rather than on direct income redistribution, if our goal is inclusive growth incomes for excluded groups. I’d like to quote Montek Singh Ahluwalia from a recent panel discussion, “Inclusive growth in India will be possible only when people have higher income levels and as a result they will get social justice”. Yet, the tonality of that illustration is skewed towards predominantly Millennium Development Goals (MDG) type of social welfare spending than sustainable business models for inclusive growth. If the trigger for government’s thrust on CSR is inclusive growth, then we need a larger focus on productive employment rather than on direct income redistribution, as a means of increasing incomes for excluded groups. In July last year, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs updated the National Voluntary Guidelines for responsible business. These very comprehensive set of norms are in full synergy with international sustainability standards. Rupee spending on CSR activities under

Schedule VII may be one way to report, but that remains an input proxy—while the success of the mandatory CSR measure would be best assessed if duly validated social outcomes of business are measured. I can illustrate a clear example of inclusive business approaches through the key value proposition of the Financial Technologies (FTIL) group—“Creating markets, unlocking value.” The focus of FTIL is to build innovative technology solutions for democratisation of markets, empowering stakeholders for market access and transformational impact on the socio-economic narrative. Atom Technologies, a mobile-based payment solutions provider, enables communities in unbanked regions to make or receive payments and avail financial services. It also seeks to promote ESG performance and reporting on the same. The bottom line is that while traditional philanthropy-led CSR is a good-to-have, inclusive business models are a must-do, given their larger, sustainable multiplier effect towards the development objective. That’s what policy and regulation need to encourage and facilitate. As the rules of the Act are under development, we still have time for a formal consultative process to establish the crucial aspects of CSR—with a clear vision and objective for making this a progressive and path-breaking policy move. Poonam Madan heads Sustainability and Inclusion at the group level at Financial Technologies India. January 2013 Sustainuance

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Dr. Prem C Jain, Chairman, Indian Green Building Council My mission is that India must regain her old glory. We achieved a lot in 15001600 AD, but we lost it due to invasion and greed. Through the Green Building movement, I aim that India must be recognized as a world champion in preserving livesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including humans, plants and animals. India must become a truly global leader in sustainability and we will make it happen.

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“Green buildings and architectures are synonymous with our culture”

r. Prem C Jain is Chairman of Indian Green Building Council, which works towards the preservation of environment and mitigating global warming. Dr. Jain became a key figure in improving energy efficiency in India when his expertise was sought to rewrite the air conditioning, heating, and ventilation section of India’s National Building Code (NBC). He founded Spectral Services - the largest privately held consulting engineering company in India. Spectral has the distinct honor of having designed services system for 19 LEED Platinumrated green buildings. Spectral is now an Aecom company. Dr. Jain in a free-wheeling chat with Saikat Nandi.

India is witnessing tremendous growth in infrastructure and construction development. What do you feel about this sector in terms of awareness regarding green practices and green buildings?

Awareness has been our principle mantra. A nation like ours can only become green by building awareness on what green is all about. So far we have been able to build awareness, as green buildings in our country are synonymous with our dharma and our culture. Thus, we have been very successful in identifying green buildings as a way of life. For example, think of reuse of newspapers via the kabadiwallahs or recycling of old clothes that we give to vendors in return of utensils. It is a tradition. We talk about conserving, recycling and not spreading waste. So we have been very successful in building awareness in the country by identifying the values of the daily giving. We have nearly 10,000 people in the construction industry who have gone through one or the other way of a green building. There are nearly 5,000 architects across the country. We have been able to build awareness among the architects, the decisionmakers and more importantly, among the users. How far has our country been successful in acquiring green technology and harnessing green energy resources?

India is going to be more and more urbanised, so we cannot live in isolation. We have to scientifically

evaluate our old ancient wisdom, like the use of jharokhas, the jhalis or the aangans, as these were used by our ancestors in the past. The styles of building were different geographically. We have to quantify and scientifically evaluate our ancient wisdom and check how we can put it to practice in new constructions. There are a lot of tools from around the world on how to textually measure the immense of a building. We believe that we have the best ancient architectures with various scientific bases. We have also been able to bring a lot of technology from around the world, which is energy efficient and of Incentives like relatively low value. All companies abroad are willing to set up their giving five bases in different parts of India, so percent more technology is now available to us floor-area ratio next door. Are you satisfied with the kind of approaches being taken by policymakers in terms of promoting green buildings? What are your expectations in this respect?

for LEED or Griha-certified green buildings would make the mission much more robust

No, I am not at all satisfied with the policy makers. We wish that policy makers take a little more interest in what will happen to our country in terms of water and resources. The writing is on the wall that India has to urbanise. I was there in the Prime Minister’s panel for 12th five-year-plan and we did lot of research. It showed that in the next 20 years our requirements will be four times larger than what those are today. Have we thought about where the energy, water or resources will come from? So, it is mandatory that the policy makers become aware of what is looming ahead of us. Rather than complaining about the situation, we are involved in writing a ‘measure building code of India’ addendum which is at a nationwide circulation. If policy makers are not giving incentives, then I will go readily from bottom of the pyramid and make sure that these 5,000 strategies, which are applied worldwide, adopt sustainable parameters as their requirement. For approval of every new January 2013

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building, you have to visit the municipality. So when you go for approval they will ask whether it has NBC or not. If the building has NBC, then it automatically becomes green. Some municipalities are already giving incentives. Noida municipality gives 5 percent more floor area ratio (FAR) if you are LEED certified—Silver, Gold or Platinum. So if the government or our policy makers are to consider such incentives, it would make our mission much more robust. A large part of India is still not acting. There exist some differences of opinion with regard to the compatibility of LEED and Griha ratings in the Indian perspective. Are you taking any initiatives in making these ratings compatible with the way in which Indian architects design buildings?

Yes, of course. To begin with, we should encourage many more rating systems to come to India because neither Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), nor

Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (Griha) can handle all the buildings that are going to come up. The rating system is a scientific measurement. It does a great service to us in terms of quantifying and scientifically establishing ‘green.’ There are two systems right now. One is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system for India and then came the GRIHA. These systems have to coexist. There has been a great deal of effort by us, US Green Building Council (US-GBC) and Griha to find common denominators. We will go with one voice to a customer, and he will choose whether he wants IGBC, Griha, or Energy Star, depending on his background. There are minor differences between various systems available to us. A person can adopt what he likes. The mission is to make India green. Griha is being adopted by the government. I wish they adopt LEED too. It’s not about competing but about complementing each other. Many might go with both the ratings.

Quick Take The Green Building Movement in India is a step in this direction—to minimize the negative impact of construction activity on the environment. Green architecture is a term used to describe energy-saving, environment-friendly and sustainable development. Dr. Prem C Jain firmly believes that India will lead the Green Building Movement in the whole world. The reason for his belief is the inherent nature of Indian society and way of life. As a nation, we are taught to recycle

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all waste paper, glass, plastic etc. which are sold to kabadiwallahs and are recycled in various ways. Similarly, our homes are built around an aangan (courtyard), which brings in sunlight, but not the heat. All our ancient monuments are as green as it gets. Dr. Jain wishes that policy makers take a little more interest in the effort on what will happen to our country in terms of water and resources, because in the next 20 years our requirements will be four times larger than today.

VIEWPOINT

Only where there is freewill there’s way As we embark upon our journey of sustainability, it’s important to be sure that our thoughts are native and bondage-free Deepak Kumar

here is a common problem faced by the economy, society and environment today—that of being plagued by the invasive species. Invasive species don’t allow other plants to grow around themselves and adversely impact the agro-diversity and ecological balance of a given bioregion, and can be both native and non-native. The native ones, however, are less risky as their growth can be quickly spotted and checked. The non-native types are often adopted and planted by unsuspecting planters on the promise of, say, a bumper yield. By the time their poison teeth are revealed, the damage is done. A fundamental characteristic of invasive species is greed. No wonder then that the systems that adopt invasive business models or ways of living become unsustainable in the long run. Invasiveness can be infectious too. It secretes greed that permeates many surrounding bodies and makes those invasive too. Those bodies that are not affected are left to perish or are eaten up. All this builds a vicious cycle that perpetuates a culture of greater greed. Sure, such a culture can’t be the goal of the governments and businesses that have embraced sustainability as a guiding principle. After all, sustainable development is about building a virtuous cycle that’s driven by inclusive business paradigms and technologies. However, most of the models in the

A fundamental characteristic of invasive species is greed. Systems that adopt invasive techs or business models are bound to become unsustainable in the long run. last two hundred years have been developed in the West, and are, nonnative to countries like India. They need to be studied and re-engineered before being applied to local contexts. How does one achieve that? An answer could lie in the practices of domesticizing. The history of civilization shows that human kind has benefitted immensely by domesticizing various plant and animal species. Can non-native sustainability paradigms also be domesticized using similar principles? A first step would be to create a nodal body, or rather an ‘antibody,’ to act as a mechanism to filter out the invasive and wild species. Domesticizing, as a way of making invasive bodies inclusive, can be an

effective tool in speeding up sustainability agendas. To achieve that, the first thing we will need is a greater belief in our age-old wisdoms, much of which have been put to disuse in favor of the more fashionable western models, but are not necessarily lost. Be it in the area of green buildings, organic farming, or water conservation, today’s sad state of affairs has been a fallout of losing respect in our age-old practices and systems. Historically, for centuries, India was a melting pot of various cultures, ideas and models, but one where the incoming bodies always got naturalized and localized. The British rule marked a major exception when an invasive body was not domesticized, and instead successfully subjugated the natives. Perhaps the most telling manifestation of that is the way India’s cotton industry was systematically undermined and ruined. Even after 65 years of Independence, we are yet to fully respect and value our own troves of wisdom. We need to rediscover and resurrect those forgotten wheels of sustainability and also be careful that we don’t import bulldozers instead. Deepak Kumar specializes in market research and advisory and is reachable at deepakk@sustainuance.com, deepakk@saagainteractive.com January 2013 Sustainuance

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Kartikeya Sarabhai, Founder Director, Center for Environment Education If we just follow what other people have done and then we decide to copy things that are already outdated elsewhere, we will always be followers. India should have the ability to evaluate best options from around the world and choose the right ones.

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“The problem with India is that it is developing in an imitative manner” K

artikeya Sarabhai is Founder Director, Centre for Environment Education (CEE). He has served on many committees set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Ministry of Human Resource Development, primarily focusing on the greening of India’s formal education system and initiatives in biodiversity education. He is a member of the Earth Charter International Council. Sarabhai also led the first international conference on the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) and is a member of the UNESCO Reference Group for DESD. He is also the editor of the Journal of Education for Sustainable Development published by the CEE. He was awarded the Padama Shri for his efforts in promoting environmental education in Ahmedabad in 2005. Sarabhai talks at length to Desiree Lobo.

Sustainable development is a very nascent concept in India. What is the future of sustainable development in the country and can it be at par with that in the Europe and the US?

What is happening in the US and the UK is that they have to retrofit everything because they have already invested in an infrastructure or in a type of development that was not sustainable. They have to change it to make it normal. We have the advantage of doing something anew. If you take what urban India will look like in 2050, 70 percent of what we need would not have been built yet. So we can build it in the right manner from scratch - like the new power plants, road and transport systems or housing. If we just follow what other people have done and then we decide to copy things that are already outdated elsewhere, we will always be followers. So I think the most important thing for India right now is to have the ability to evaluate best options from around the world and choose the right ones by imitating someone, but also by learning from the

experiences of others. India needs people who can evaluate and take decisions rather than someone who can just go and copy something. The question India needs to ask itself is whether it can leapfrog and not go through that same carbonintensive development pattern. India needs to avoid building the wrong things if we want to develop in the right manner, and this requires us to take prompt and smart decisions. India is a developing nation, but is it developing in a very unsustainable manner? What is it that India needs to do so that future generations can live better?

The problem with India is that it is developing in an imitative manner. The paradigm of development which exists is unsustainable. It is not as if we are developing unsustainably, we are developing by copying a model that is unsustainable. A lot of thought needs to We were carrying go into investing and creating cloth bags and a sustainable system. If we want people to have mobility switched to the way people in the US and plastic. Now the UK will have in 2030, then with the US, we can go there without havwe are moving ing to first do what they are doing now. We did that with back to cloth. mobile phones. India went Surprisingly, we into the mobile phone mode view this as a US without having to first do all movement being the terrestrial. We didn’t put everyone on the terrestrial adopted in India link and then went mobile. For 80 percent of the people, the first phone they ever got was a mobile. But we’re not doing the same in transport, housing or shopping. So there are exceptions where India seems to have gone into the leapfrog mode but not in so many sectors. January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

You have always advocated education as a solution for changing attitudes towards the environment. But this surely is a long and slow process. Do we have that much time to spare?

Well, the thing is that you have to work at two levels. One is at the decision making level, where you need to immediately ensure that the decision is taken in a sustainable way. Therefore, the decision makers do need to be sensitized very fast, and giving them the type of technology that will enable them to make those decisions is important. But before we do any kind of decision making, we need to scan what the

We need to look at the West and have a dialogue about development, but only to learn what we can do differently to avoid getting into the problems they face

available options in the world are, and what people are doing. We need to be intelligent in our planning and that can only come through education. What we need is an education that will help one make choices so that one can create a more sustainable future. We need to look at the West and have a dialogue about development, and use that dialogue to learn what we can do differently to avoid getting into the problems they face. Sometimes that will mean thinking of solutions not necessarily discovered yet. We should not be seeking to find out how to build a flyover, for instance, but how to build public transport to avoid pollution and congestion. Though this might take time, if we have the will to do so, anything is possible Corporates are also looking at sustainable development as being economically viable. How can sustainable development go beyond being just a social cause or a CSR project? How can they integrate it as a part of their profits and dividends?

“We were carrying cloth bags and switched to plastic. Now with the US, we are moving back to cloth. Surprisingly, we view this as a US movement being adopted in India”

Quick Take The West has for centuries been praised for its latest technologies, high raised buildings, magnificient automobiles etc. But in the name of development, they depleted resources, usurped fertile agricultural land for construction, emitted and increased greenhouse gases etc. Therefore, many have this notion that to emulate the West, me must follow their unsustainable paradigm of development. “India needs to be leaders instead of followers,” Says Kartikeya Sarabhai.” We

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therefore need to think of solutions which have not yet been discovered. He hence proposes education as a means to hasten this process. “We should not be seeking to find out how to build a flyover, but how to build public transport system to avoid pollution and congestion.” Sarabhai feels that the choice for developing countries is to use a leapfrog approach into something that is aimed at the future. He believes that India should learn from these experiences rather than imitate them.

There are different forces that are acting upon cor- are now implementing. Water harvesting has been porates besides being enlightened, which is not good practiced for centuries. Every village has this Tanka enough. Corporates who wish to undertake sustain- (water tank) underneath the main courtyard and it able development and amalgamate it with their core saves water. We at CEE have actually put together a catalog principles need to do it well. If you do it well, it does make economic sense. But it makes economic sense of culture and which we co-relate with sustainabilonly if there are no short cuts. And none of this is ity. It is interesting to know how the entire world possible without the support of laws that show peo- is actually emulating some of these practices. The ple what the alternatives are - soft loans to change a US is promoting the use of cloth bags for shopping; technology or having enough technical consultants however, in India we were always carrying cloth who are capable enough to help the industry change. bags. Then we decided that we want to stay on par In order to promote sustainability among corpo- with the US, so we switched to plastic bags. And rates, we have taken the initiative to highlight some now because the US is propagating sustainability, we successful case studies and have these companies have moved back to using cloth bags. The surprising share their experience with others. This will be thing is that we view this as a new movement that much more convincing than someone who lectures the US started and is now being adopted in India. Even our lifestyles are them from outside the indusvery conducive to nature. try. Corporates need to look We have food habits that are at sustainable development not wasteful. In Gujarat, for differently and innovatively. â&#x20AC;&#x153;India needs to people will generFor instance, we ask itself whether instance, ally not eat mangoes after approached the problem of it can leapfrog the monsoon starts. Eating pollution by talking about during the right season waste recovery and not and not go using the pollution word at through that same means that you do not have to refrigerate everything. In all. When you look at what carbon-intensive the US they are organizing comes out of a pipe, it is poldevelopment campaigns in order to inform lution. When you look at it people the necessity of eating from inside, it is something pattern that in right season. We shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going out of your campus. So the West has follow traditions just because you can talk about it as waste traversedâ&#x20AC;? someone abroad is doing it. recovery and show people We should figure out and how much potential or profit know that our traditions they could make if they could sell it in a different way rather than just use terms were valuable in the first place. like pollution. This is why awareness through education is every important. Awareness comes at three The CEE has been promoting environmental levels: awareness among decision makers, awareness education in a big way. What are the other among consumers, and getting the message across activities that the CEE is undertaking apart from schools. education? You have been interested in preserving traditional knowledge. What are the tools you use to preserve this knowledge?

If you see where the solutions for the future come, India, though not developed, has been living in several sustainable ways for over 5,000 years. This happens because there is knowledge which is enshrined in what we do. If we look at how much protein we absorb when we consume Dal or something else, then it is not that much. But if you eat it with rice or cook it with rice, then it increases. Now that knowledge increases the protein intake by a tremendous amount. We therefore have to value it in order to put money into it. There are a number of traditional practices in our agriculture or fisheries. The farmers will let the cattle or maggots enter the field in order to fertilize the field by eating the stubs. So there are a number of traditions in India which other countries

Education at CEE does not have just one meaning to it. We look at education very broadly. So for example, last year, we were debating whether or not to introduce Bt Brinjal. And on behalf of the government, we undertook consultations and then came up with a report which is now widely used across India. We were also asked to do consultations with fishermen and people connected with coastline development. So one of the things we do is that we look at policies on behalf of the government, and undertake consultations. This is done so that when you come up with a policy, it is converted by the CEE into a more sustainable policy. We work with decision makers, industries and corporates. We are also trying to move towards a situation where we can look at many areas and call them Sustainable Development Zones. We are working with mining and agricultural areas to make them sustainable development zones. All this work that we are carrying out is in addition to all our school- and college-level programs. January 2013

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INSPIRING TALE

A hermitage’s tryst with green techs The Muni Seva Ashram in Goraj village of Gujarat is a live test bed for using technology to achieve sustainable existence By Shikha Das Shankar

ermitages, popularly known as ashrams worldwide, are religious or spiritual retreats that indulge seekers to attain intangibles like wisdom, peace and knowledge. References of ashrams have been made in ancient scriptures like Mahabharata with Lord Krishna seeking spiritual and intellectual enlightenment in Sage Sandipani’s ashram. During our country’s struggle for independence, Mahatma Gandhi spent twelve crucial years of his life at Sabarmati ashram, on the banks of river Sabarmati near Ahmadabad, working to uplift the downtrodden and teaching to become self-reliant. These monastic communities spread across the country maintain their spiritual sanctity even today and have come to serve the greater good of community welfare. People from far and wide want to experience the life inside an ashram for reasons as varied as rejuvenation of mind, soul seeking or help in times of need. One such ashram in the village of Goraj near Vadodara, Gujarat is taking spiritualism, social welfare and community service to a new

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level. Employing extensive scientific and technological innovations, the Muni Seva Ashram is the first green ashram in the country that works in collaboration with nature, using and replenishing its abundant supplies without causing any harm. Like most ashrams, Muni Seva, too, is symbolic of life lived with spiritually, joy and peace at its core rather than material wealth and mental disharmony. But this self-reliant community of young and old does it with a difference. It was started in 1960s as a small-scale, unstructured ashram by Pujya Anuben Thakkar to serve the needy. At present, the reigns are in the able hands of Dr Vikrambhai Patel, who in partnership with Deepak Gadhia, chairman of India’s leading solar system manufacturer, have integrated healthcare, education, agriculture and alternative-energy research into the ashram’s ecosystem. They use the latest technological innovation harmoniously with nature. It houses India’s first solar steam cooking system producing up to 35,000 meals a day, apart from a solar powered air-conditioning system, a solar-power plant, wood gasifier, a biogas plant and biogas bottling facility, and world’s first solar crematorium. It aims to become grid-free in the coming years and provide surplus electricity to nearby villages, too. The bend toward using Nature’s abundant resources for the ashram’s day-to-day work was seen twenty years ago, when a biogas plant was set up that provided gas to the kitchen and organic fertilizers to farms. Currently, a combination of biogas and energy from the sun channelized through reflection by five parabolic dishes is being used to fulfill the requirement of cooking for 150-odd people within the ashram. A cancer hospital within the campus has a high-energy requirement being met by solar energy. Around 1,250 square meters of reflectors direct the light onto a heat exchanger to produce steam that runs the air-conditioning within the hospital. The ashram produces its own grass to feed cows and superfluous water provides irrigation. Incredibly, 70 percent of the resources needed with the 300-acre ashram are generated in-house with efforts to be fully sustainable in the next few years. To avoid dependence on donations and government aid, the charitable setup was converted into a business model that is thriving - and sustainably so. The cost of services to endusers is on a pay-per-use basis, while the deficit is being met through donations.

Technology mixed with spirituality seems to be a potent combination in the case of Muni Seva Ashram. The serenity and beauty of this place is captivating, but deceptive as well. It’s hard to believe that the ashram located in the arms of nature is also its preserver. This place is indeed an abode of spirituality and also one that is preserving Nature’s valuable resources.

The ashram houses India’s first solar steam cooking system that can produce up to 35,000 meals a day, a biogas plant and even world’s first solar crematorium

January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

Devdutt Pattnaik, Chief Belief Officer, Future Group For Indians, Vedas are not ‘ancient’ texts, they are ‘relevant’ texts, which means, they are not of value because they are old, but because they are meaningful. They were always valued. Western ideas do not value the timeless; they therefore constantly seek solutions that are locked in space and time.

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“Every belief shapes behavior and every behavior has consequences” M yth, as defined by Oxford Dictionary, is a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events. But then, even when they are probably fictitious and not grounded on reality, they still play a very important role in our society. To be able to understand and assess their importance, we need a Mythologist. And who can be better than Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik, an author of many books and more importantly renowned as a mythologist who brings to fore the relevance of mythology in matters related to leadership, entrepreneurship, branding, management and governance? He serves as Chief Belief Officer of the Future Group. In a detailed interaction with Shashwat DC, Devdutt shares his views on how our current development can be judged on the scales of ancient beliefs, and what possibly the future holds. Excerpts:

What lessons can Indian mythology bless us with for today’s big question on keeping Mother Earth sustainable?

Mythology doesn’t bless anyone. Mythology is simply a set of stories, symbols and rituals that have been transmitted from generation to generation. Indian stories tell us that all things have a consequence. If today we feel that the world is under threat, we have to review our decisions of the past hundred years, or our notions of what constitutes development. For, it is these very developmental activities that threaten Nature. Is sustainability (the way it is being practiced) a linear concept or a cyclical one?

Sustainability as is being practiced is very linear; it is dominated by the Western discourse that is assumed to be global. It assumes that we can continue to live our lifestyle the way we do today by simply being

‘green.’ The developmental model will destroy the forests. On the other hand, without the developmental model we are doomed to live in poverty. We have to decide what matters more to us - poverty of people or survival of the planet.

Would the line “Nothing lasts forever, not even death” make us more cynical and irresponsible if misinterpreted in this context? If life is infinite, why worry? Why care about preserving the earth or its resources at all? On the other hand, if “You only live once” is the real truth, again why worry? Why not waste more?

Rich countries want the poor to sacrifice. Poor countries want a chance to plunder as the rich did. Nature does not care, and will always outlive humanity

Faith in one life can make us ambitious and greedy (we should become a millionaire in this one and only life). Faith in multiple lives can make us lazy and indifferent (why bother). Take your pick. Ultimately, everyone believes in whatever they want to believe. Every belief shapes behavior and every behavior has consequences.

Is there a subjective truth between both the kinds of humans: those who are indifferent about their actions and those who care about the alarming perceptions of climate change? Is there a reconciliation zone?

Everything is subjective. When railroads were invented, people thought the world will come to an end. It has not. Everyone believes his view is right and wants to force others to change; this is mental violence that is rampant in the world today. We want to save the world by being mentally violent. It will not work. Rich countries want the poor to sacrifice. Poor countries want a chance to plunder the world as the rich did. Everyone is convinced he is right. January 2013

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IN CONVERSATION

Nature does not care. One way or another, Nature will always survive and outlive humanity. Our anxiety comes from our refusal to accept that we as individuals can never ever control all of humanity, even for a good and noble cause. Has India towed Western culture too much or with convenient twists so far? How can Eastern logic control the damage made to the world so far?

Our education system is based on Western ideas. Our business practices, legal systems, political institutions, are all based on Western ideas. Western ideas believe that “things” will solve all the problems of life - either by creating more things, gathering more things or distributing things fairly. Indian philosophy says thought is more important. Unless we outgrow our greed and our fear of poverty, these problems will not go away. But when you say that, it is branded as “exotic” and not “pragmatic”, and is dismissed by all. No shareholder will allow you to

erode the bottom line for the sake of the planet. If we are in a loop of karma indeed, why is there a collective penalty for the irresponsible actions of a few? Can individual action in a responsible way be of consequence in this loop? When and how is redemption possible, if at all?

If you believe in karma, then you are responsible for actions of your past life, too. How can you be sure what damage your actions have or have not caused to the environment? Who can decide who is correct and who is not correct? Who is the judge? Are we willing to give up plastics and pesticides? Do we expect poor people of India to use heavy mud pots rather than cheap and light plastic pots for the sake of the environment? When you suggest that some individuals (rich and powerful) need to be held responsible, you are rooted in a very Greek mythic structure that despises authority. When you say redemption, it is rooted in a very biblical mythic structure that deems human activity as sinful. We

Quick Take Those who learn not from history are condemned to repeat it, goes the maxim. Though mythology doesn’t wear a tutorial hat, nevertheless, a deeper analysis of the little stories of gods and demons does give us an idea of what is right and what isn’t. Survival is not merely the be-all and end-all of human evolution, there is a much deeper strain, that can be understood only when we look within us. Mythology can be a stepping

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stone to that analytic journey. Devdutt presents a very anti-climatic view, namely that there’s a cost to development and we can’t escape that, but nonetheless, he also questions the wisdom of whether we need to blindly follow the western model of development. He questions the very notion of development and calls for a re-thinking not only on where we heading, but also the approach we are taking.

have taken decisions for which we have to pay a price. Can you expand and explain the role of a Chief Belief Officer and its need in a modern-day enterprise?

Belief is a subjective truth. A Chief Belief Officer’s role is to draw attention to subjective truths and expand them in a world that is so obsessed with objectivity that it has dehumanized society. You decide if subjective truth of employees, customers, vendors, shareholders and society at large matters in modern times. If it does not, don’t bother with CBO. It is hard to imagine a co-relation between Indian mythology and the laws and principles that govern many corporates. How have you managed to mix myth with reality and wisdom with idealism?

Mythology is the study of story, symbols and rituals that communicate the myth (subjective truth) of a culture. So first, it has nothing to do with idealism - that is religion. So let’s not mix the two. Second, there is mythology wherever there is culture. So there is American mythology, European mythology, Chinese mythology….the global mythology today essentially locates Western thought as rational and non-Western thought, particularly traditional nonWestern ideas, as mythic. The West cannot believe that there is nothing rational about it, or any other culture for that matter. Once upon a time, truth in the West came from kings and priests; now it comes from scientists. But it is subjective truth of the scientist, hence a myth. The notion that every corporate has to have a “vision” is rooted in the biblical idea of the Promised Land. There is nothing rational about it. It is a mythic structure that positions the CEO as a prophet who is taking the team on a journey through the wilderness (market) to satisfy God (shareholder). Structurally, this logical business practice is anything but rational. Any mythologist can see it; engineers cannot. I am making the explicit implicit and questioning the very basis of management science. Ancient Indian texts like the Vedas and the Upanishads always emphasized the need to pay attention to the impact of our actions on the Nature and the natural consequence of it on our society. Where do we draw this harmonious principle from? And can we say that we were an eco-conscious society, at least in the ancient times?

Indian thought is based on the notion of consequences or karma. This idea is excluded from Western management studies as it was thought to be rather exotic, not pragmatic. Now, suddenly as we see the price of industrialization and development all around us, the world is “discovering” the consequence of actions. And in typical Western style

is laying down rules and regulations, not realizing that even rules and regulations have consequences. For Indians, Vedas are not “ancient” texts, they are “relevant” texts, which means, they are not of value because they are old, but because they are meaningful. They were always valued. Western ideas do not value the timeless; they therefore constantly seek solutions that are locked in space and time. The tendency is not to look at the big picture, but at the narrow picture. Are the gods in Indian mythology eco-conscious or sustainable in their outlook? And if you were to bestow the Greenest God Awards, who will win the Gold, Silver and Bronze and why?

In the Mahabharata, Krishna tells the Pandavas, “If you want to build Indra-prastha, you have to burn the forest of Khandava-prastha.” For every action there is a consequence. Forty percent of India is unemployed. Do we want to build cities and industries for them or let them live in the poverty? If we want to build the city, the forest has to go. The price has to be paid. What are your comments on the posture taken by the recent Hindi movie OMG on the very concept of religion?

If today we believe that the world is under threat, we have to review our decisions of the past hundred years or our notions of what constitutes development

Religion is just structured mythology that is much favored in Western society, but not in Indian or even Chinese societies. These societies did not have rigid structured religions. But keep in mind, there are secular mythologies, too – like science, or rationality, capitalism and communism or nationalism, which are dismissive of human irrationality and emotions. Everybody believes in something. Some believe science will solve all the problems. Some believe science is the source of problems – it is the root of all developmental models and environmental problems. Likewise, some people believe religions helps; others believe religion harms. Take your pick.

Will Brahma or any other religion’s creator recreate the world if it indeed ends as is feared? Will there be any Noah’s Ark at all (even in a symbolic way)?

In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the world keeps recreating itself, so not to worry. But that is if you believe in these stories. As I said, everyone is free to choose the story they want. There is no escape from stories. Stories are all we have. Truth exists only in hindsight. January 2013

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GREEN TOON

Sustainuisance A modest take on all things not so mundane... By Rohan Chakravarty

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January 2013

JANUARY 2013

SUSTAINUANCE

Visionary Special

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