Category: Sectors

The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) has provided a grant to Saahas, a non-profit organization working towards waste management, to set up sustainable waste management infrastructure in 30 villages around the Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh next two years

The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) has provided a grant to Saahas, a non-profit organization working towards waste management, to set up sustainable waste management infrastructure in 30 villages around the Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh next two years.

By doing so, the TCCF joins the first-ever multi-stakeholder partnership to support the local government-run initiative towards waste management, along with the Ministry of Tourism, Madhya Pradesh, under their initiative ‘Clean Destinations’. The initiative also embraces India’s ‘Swachh Bharat’ mission to strengthen sustainable waste management across the country, especially in villages.

An MoU was signed today, in the presence of Hon’ble Governor Mr Mangubhai C. Patel; Smt. Usha Thakur from Minister of Tourism; Shri. Brajendra Pratap Singh, Minister Of Mineral Resources and Labour, Madhya Pradesh; Shri VD. Sharma, Member of Parliament, Khajuraho; Shri. Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Principal Secretary of Tourism Madhya Pradesh; Mr Sanjay Kumar Mishra, the District Collector; along with Mr Rajesh Ayapilla and Mr Rajiv Gupta from Coca-Cola India and South-West Asia.

Under the Responsible Tourism Mission, an innovative initiative Project ‘Clean Destination’ has been started by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, Department of Tourism. Shri Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Principal Secretary, Tourism, informed that, in the first phase, the project would be started in 30 villages around Panna National Park. An MoU has been signed between the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board and Bangalore based ‘Saahas’. The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) has provided financial aid for the same.”

Ms Saadia Madsbjerg, President of TCCF, said, “We are proud to use our resources to fund initiatives for creating sustainable waste management solutions. And we are humbly confident that this grant will help repurpose waste effectively on our journey to drive progress in the Panna National Park region. TCCF and The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) support achieving a World Without Waste (WWW), a bold, ambitious goal of achieving 100% collection and recycling by 2030. WWW signals a renewed focus on global sustainable waste management.”

Sonia Garga, Program Director, said, “Saahas is very excited to be part of this initiative, and we envisage that this project will become an example of sustainable waste management practices for national parks and natural tourist attractions. National parks pose some unique challenges due to their remote location and large waste generation by tourists. However, they also offer a great opportunity. The message of sustainable living can be conveyed very impactfully in these pristine surroundings. The parks can take this message far and wide through the large number of visitors coming from all over the country.

We look forward to contributing towards keeping our natural heritage clean and green!”

The key focus of this Solid Waste Management (SWM) program encompasses setting up infrastructure for waste collection and transportation systems, ensuring the creation of end destinations for all waste categories. Additionally, it incorporates Information, Education and Communication (IEC) and awareness campaigns to bring about awareness and behavioural change amongst tourists towards waste segregation and management.

Under this project, waste management infrastructure, including collection centres, will be set up for all 30 villages. This project will also provide motorized vehicles and pull carts throughout the project area for the collection and transportation of waste. Wet waste composting will also be set up for two larger villages, Madla and Hinauta. Separate colour-coded waste segregation bins will be placed at all prominent tourist spots and entry gates of the National Park.

The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board will play a pivotal role in implementing the project, with different state government departments and institutions, including the Forest, Rural, Urban and Revenue department and the district panchayat office. The department has extended its immense support by providing land to set up collection infrastructure along with necessary civic amenities across 30 villages to ensure the sustainability of SWM systems.

Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW), formerly known as Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions (RBEI), has partnered with Forests by Heartfulness to plant 25,000 saplings in a mini-forest plantation drive to celebrate its 25 years legacy in India

Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW), formerly known as Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions (RBEI), has partnered with Forests by Heartfulness to plant 25,000 saplings in a mini-forest plantation drive to celebrate its 25 years legacy in India.

This multi-city plantation across Bangalore, Coimbatore and Hyderabad kicked off in February.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr RK Shenoy, SVP – Mobility Engineering and Member of Executive Leadership, BGSW, said, “This plantation drive marks our commitment to sustainability. BGSW focuses on improving the quality of life, and this is reflected in our commitment to developing new products and high-tech solutions that are intelligent, connected, and sustainable”.

“We are celebrating 25 years of our legacy in India and our recent rebranding to BGSW through an initiative that will leave an enduring positive impact for many decades to come. Globally, Bosch has taken many steps on sustainability and is one of the first to be Carbon neutral. BGSW has been driving many initiatives, including lake rejuvenation. This is one more small but sincere step in conserving and maintaining the planet’s ecological balance. Together with the local community, we can fight climate change and create a healthy environment for the next generation.”, he said.

President and Guide of Heartfulness Mr Kamlesh Patel said, ‘Forests by Heartfulness is our endeavour to create widespread awareness and enhance sustainable green cover for the future generations. The amount of flora that needs to be replenished for the natural ecosystem to be restored is not an overnight process, nor can it be a single entity initiative. It is a shared responsibility amongst various stakeholders – corporates, governments, NGOs, forestry, and individuals. We are greatly encouraged to see corporates’ interest in collaborating with this initiative towards actively building a green legacy. We congratulate Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW) towards taking up this large-scale multi-city mini-forest plantation drive across many cities marking their 25 years in India and commitment to sustainability.”

With 25,000 Sapling across Bangalore, Hyderabad and Coimbatore, this project focuses on improving biodiversity, creating a microclimate to abate city pollution, providing naturally grown fruits and medicinal herbs to the local communities, raising the local water table, and reducing at least 5,000 tonnes of carbon emission over the next ten years. BGSW, with their NGO partner, Heartfulness, will collaborate with local communities to take care of saplings and provide the necessary technology for geotagging and monitoring their growth for at least two years to ensure nutrient management.

The 25,000 saplings will be planted using Forests by Heartfulness proprietary Heartyculture High Density (HCHD) plantation method. This method involves extensive soil reconstitution using Activated Biochar, Vermicompost, Cow manure, and Cocopeat. BGSW will facilitate the plantation of over 100 different species of trees to create a mini forest. The trees selected for the plantation drive are native endemic and supported through an extensive root network.

Cement giants, Ambuja Cements and ACC Limited, have jointly announced a mammoth project to remove plastic waste by commissioning its second phase of bubble barrier technology in BBMB Lake located in Sunder Nagar, Himachal Pradesh

Cement giants, Ambuja Cements and ACC Limited, have jointly announced a mammoth project to remove plastic waste by commissioning its second phase of bubble barrier technology in BBMB Lake located in Sunder Nagar, Himachal Pradesh. The cleaning project will be undertaken by the in-house waste management arm, Geocycle.

Bubble Barrier is an intelligent and non-invasive technology used to remove plastic from the water bodies, reducing the problem of marine plastic pollution in our country.

The CEO India Holcim and Managing Director cum CEO of Ambuja Cements. Neeraj Akhoury said, “We are committed to building a sustainable future by adopting clean and green technologies. Our efforts and expertise in co-processing have created a unique solution to sustainable disposal of the marine plastic waste that creates pollution. This initiative will also contribute towards promoting a circular economy. Taking this mission ahead, we will continue our efforts to implement this innovative technology across the country.”

The company has received a NOC from BBMB to install this innovative technology which will remove approximately 1500 tonnes per year of waste from the lake.

The BBMB Lake has been floating with light organic material, which has been accumulated over the years resulting in choking at the discharge point of the lake. The Company’s Geocycle Bubble Barrier technology will collect plastic and lighter materials like floating debris, organic wastes, etc., from the lake, thus reducing the chances of choking.

This technology has been installed in Himachal Pradesh with ACC Gagal Plant, which will serve as the co-processing centre for the plastic recovered from the lake. This project aims to co-process only a non-recyclable portion of the material collected, thus moving it to the existing waste disposal site of Sunder Nagar.

The recovered recyclable plastics will be sent to recycling facilities. In contrast, the non-recyclable plastics will be taken to Geocycle’s facility for pre-processing, then co-processing in ACC cement kilns at the Gagal plant.

The collection of plastics from leaking into the rivers will help the local community around the plant. Furthermore, the company has commissioned its pilot project in Agra, which has removed 500 tonnes of plastic waste from the Yamuna River. The company has recently received a NOC from Varanasi Municipal Corporation to install another bubble barrier technology.

Alstom has partnered with United Way Bengaluru (UWB), an NGO, to kickstart ‘Rural Rising‘– an integrated rural development program as part of its CSR initiative. The project is run at Selakarachal Gram Panchayat, Sultanpet Block in Coimbatore. It aims at improving the overall condition

Alstom has partnered with United Way Bengaluru (UWB), an NGO, to kickstart ‘Rural Rising‘– an integrated rural development program as part of its CSR initiative. The project is run at Selakarachal Gram Panchayat, Sultanpet Block in Coimbatore. It aims at improving the overall condition of the gram panchayat in the areas of environment, sanitation and education.

At the inaugural and Bhoomi Puja, Alstom handed over a tractor to the Gram Panchayat to strengthen the Solid Waste Management (SWM) system. The gram panchayat has been implementing a proper solid waste management system.

This tractor support will help put in place a systematic door to the door collection process and timely transport of the garbage, ensuring better hygiene and sanitation in the area. Kandasamy V.P. MLA, Sulur Constituency graced the inaugural event; Navamani, Block Development Officer; Maragathavadivu Karupsamy – President, Gram Panchayat and representatives from Alstom and United Way Bengaluru.

In addition to the Solid Waste Management initiative, community toilet construction and usage awareness activities have commenced helping the gram panchayat to improve the sanitation condition of the village and encourage toilet usage among the community members.

S Selvakumar, Site MD, Alstom, has said, “This project is a stellar example of Alstom’s commitment to promoting and funding initiatives that improve the living conditions and economic possibilities of communities. We are looking forward to providing holistic development to the people of Selakkarichal Gram Panchayat through this initiative. We have engaged a team of active and passionate employee volunteers who are keen to implement these interventions over the next three years”.

“Our commitment to helping rural societies develop their education, health and environment situation is echoing with our CSR partner Alstom and the Selakarachal Gram Panchayat. This initiative is a perfect private-public-partnership model of collaboration. This project has been implemented with a vision to empower the community members and ensure long-term sustainability,” said Rajesh Krishnan, Executive Director, United Way Bengaluru.

Alstom and United Way Bengaluru are also strengthening the Anganwadi Centres by building a new one and upgrading two more Anganwadi Centres with new services, facilities and infrastructure to make the centres happier, safer and conducive for children.

United Way Bengaluru’s early childhood education program, called the Born Learning Campaign, will be running in these Centres to ensure the enhancement of the developmental domains of children and capacity building of Anganwadi workers and parents. Apart from this, the project will also undertake livelihood initiatives, especially for women and youth. Overall, the Rural Rising initiative in Selakkarichal Gram Panchayat will benefit a population of approximately 6000 over the next three years.

Real estate developer, Lodha, has committed to setting carbon emissions targets in line with climate science with the Science-Based Targets initiative. This aligns with Lodha’s earlier pledge on World Environment Day to go carbon neutral by 2035. Lodha has received an exceptional score in S&P Global

Real estate developer, Lodha, has committed to setting carbon emissions targets in line with climate science with the Science-Based Targets initiative. This aligns with Lodha’s earlier pledge on World Environment Day to go carbon neutral by 2035.

Lodha has received an exceptional score in S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment that demonstrates its focus on sustainability and its net-zero goals.

Commenting on the announcement, Raunika Malhotra, President – Marketing and Corporate Communications, Lodha said, “As a leading real estate company, we recognize the crucial role that businesses play in minimizing the risk that climate change poses to our planet. Combating climate change has become imperative, and corporates like us have a major responsibility in promoting the transition to a low carbon economy”.

She added, “With a commitment to provide a better Earth to our future generations, we established a North star goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2035 and now taking a step ahead with setting science-based targets for reducing significant emissions. We expect that India’s stated goals and Maharashtra’s focus on Urban Renewal communicated at COP26 will enable us to implement the targets faster through the facilitation of technological options and favourable regulations.”

Science-based targets give a clear roadmap for companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thereby helping avert climate catastrophe and safeguarding businesses from climate risks. Lodha will align its roadmap with global best practices and emerging opportunities during the target-setting exercise. The company’s carbon neutrality road-mapping formulated earlier this year covers a broad scope encompassing energy efficiency, energy procurement, embodied carbon, waste, water, and transportation. Successful pilot projects will provide opportunities to scale up feasible solutions and achieve significant emission reductions for the overall buildings’ portfolio, including construction development.

The goal of halving the Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050 is critical for all stakeholders – governments, corporations, and the public. With climate change emerging as a primary concern, leading corporations need to declare their carbon neutrality roadmaps and plan of action for a zero-carbon future. This will bring the necessary awareness in the industry and the workforce – thereby causing a chain reaction and fostering innovation in the space, accelerating the solutions to decrease emissions.