Advertisement

Rajesh Mehra

Rajesh Mehra is Director & Promoter at Jaquar Group.

More From The Author >>

Give Back to Nature This World Environment Day

Given that a large population of India is dependent upon agrarian economy, India is highly vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change.

The depletion of natural resources and rise environmental alarms have been prevalent not only in India, but around the world. With a growing economy, such as ours, sustainable development is the need of the hour.

According to the Global Risks Report 2017 by World Economic Forum, changing climate is among the top tends that will determine global development, and the failure of climate-change mitigation and adaption water crises will be its key reason.

With the dawn of energy efficient technology, it is possible to move forward binding rapid development keeping the environment in mind.  The time has come for corporates, government and the consumers to take on an ‘green’ mindset and become sensitive to the wastage natural resources, be it water, electricity, minerals, land etc.

The Government of India’s Swaach Bharat Abhiyaan to is an initiative towards building a cleaner and environmental friendly society. Companies too our supporting the Government’s larger vision and building corporate sustainability strategies that will seek external impacts and not just mitigate internal impacts. India's INDC has committed primarily to reduce emission intensity of its GDP by 33-35% by 2030 from 2005 levels. For India to achieve this goal, companies will need to pitch in by focusing on renewables with a strong focus on solar, biofuels and wind.

As industry leaders, company owners and citizens of India, it is now imperative that we align efforts around intergovernmental initiatives such as COP21. Frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are also helping countries achieve their sustainability goals.

Given that a large population of India is dependent upon agrarian economy, India is highly vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change. However, India also has 30% of its population under poverty; 20% living without proper housing; 25% living without electricity and is a growing economy, thus economic and infrastructural development is critical too. Thus, in this setting it is most important that development projects such as Smart Cities be encouraged, keeping sustainable development in mind.

Efficient and environmentally friendly measures need to be undertaken at all stages of development. The developers today must be conscious of the environment and adopt a green, pro- environment, scientific and energy efficient mind-set for each stage of a project. The Modi Government's ambitious push toward e-vehicles is yet another set to control pollution and curb carbon footprint. Companies too are offering technologically advanced range of smart solutions, from LED lighting, water saving products such as flow restrictors, air showers, sensor faucets etc., waste management systems to name a few. Firms too are taking up the zero-waste approach with 100% recycling of water and other resources in their manufacturing facilities.

At the end, plantations, trees and other greenery is very essential in order to preserve natural resources and for the better livelihood of the individuals, animals, industries, agriculture, crops and forests. The economic impacts from green development are always positive, encouragement of greenery leads to a decrease in air pollution, the other factors such as water security, coastal communities, energy security, other infrastructural facilities, health related aspects, tourism, agriculture and forestry, food security and maintaining a natural ecosystem.

As citizens of a growing economy, we all need to pledge for sustainable living and give back to nature for its endowed us for all these years.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house


Tags assigned to this article:
world environment day

Around The World

Advertisement