Activities
The development process in India has been characterised by growing industrialisation. During the Eleventh Plan (2007 to 2012), it has been projected that, individually, industry and manufacturing will have to grow at an average annual rate of 9.8% to achieve an average growth rate of 9% per annum in GDP. The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has, in fact, suggested a growth rate of at least 12%–14% per annum for manufacturing.
As is well known, environmental risks are associated with various facets of industrialisation. In the background of continuously deteriorating environmental conditions and an increasing global demand for limited natural resources, demand for improved environmental performance and resource efficiency is growing world-wide.
Eco Industrial Development (EID) is a promising strategy to promote sustainable industrial development tackling environmental, economic and social aspects in a balanced manner. The eco industrial development approach offers, through a wide variety of measures and tools, opportunities to improve the environmental performance of individual industries and industrial parks/estates.
Under the ASEM Programme, the concepts of Eco Industrial Development (EID) are being developed/implemented in India since the year 2002.
Objective
The overall objective of the currently planned activities in India under the ASEM Programme is:
“Solutions for an environment-friendly and resource- efficient management of industrial areas, cluster and production sectors are successfully tested and propagated”.
Approach
The approach followed is a comprehensive approach addressing to the environmental issues in the existing industry parks, preventive approach and optimisation through proper planning of new industry parks, ensuring environment & resource efficiency in individual industries and dealing with supportive capacity development.
The main activities include:
- Implementation principles of eco-industrial parks in existing as well as new industrial parks. This includes undertaking of systematic siting and site master planning of new industry parks addressing to the environmental issues, as well as strengthening of environmental infrastructure in the existing industry parks. Towards this, the industrial park developers are supported through guidelines, tools and instruments covering the whole (re-)planning process (site selection, site master planning, etc.) which are also demonstrated.
- Development and implementation of procedures and methods of environment-friendly and resource efficient management in industrial clusters of different sectoral orientation. Towards achieving this, the activities are oriented towards strengthening of the capacities of park management entities with regard to organizational aspects and technical solutions and towards demonstrating resource efficiency measures at park level.
- Demonstration of reduction of specific demand for resources (energy, water, raw materials) in selected individual industries by introduction of environment management methods and optimization of production procedures. The supportive activities include stimulation of demand for improved resource efficiency in industries from the pilot measures and capacitating the local organizations within India to provide required services following three different approaches (viz. environmental audit, ecoprofit, green chemistry).
- Development of solutions for specific environmental problems (e.g. hazardous waste and waste water), testing and dissemination of lessons learnt or even promoting their replication.
- Development of policy recommendations and facilitation of stakeholder dialogue among public and private sector actors including key decision makers on national level so as to address sustainable industrial development in India.
Results to be achieved:
The anticipated overall outcome is, “Solutions for an environment-friendly and resource-efficient management of industrial areas, cluster and production sectors are successfully tested and disseminated”, and the anticipated overall impact is, “Prevention of environmental degradation and increase in resource efficiency in industrial areas and sectors”. The indicators of the results from the activities taken up are:
- The planning undertaken by government environmental authorities is according to the principles of eco-industrial parks have been implemented in at least 30 more industrial parks.
- Test reports of government environmental authorities confirm that in atleast 100 (from a total of 1300) medium and big enterprises in Karnataka a systematic internal handling and disposal of waste materials take place with the concurrence of the State Government.
- In Karnataka, developed instruments for hazardous waste management have been demanded by at least 3 other states and have been partially replicated with the concurrence of the State Government.
- The procedure and methods of environment-friendly and resource efficient management developed in industrial clusters are used in at least 10 more clusters of different sectoral orientation.
- In at least 50 companies, which were provided support at the time of introduction of environment management methods and optimization of production procedure, the specific demand for resources (energy, water, raw materials) has gone down by at least 10%.
