Resource Efficiency can drive Economic Growth and Cleaner Production in India
Over the last two decades, India has witnessed rapid economic growth with expanding industrial and service-related production. This has led to the increased generation of waste across resource streams with new kinds of material wastes being added to the mix; and its management poses significant challenges to government and society.
At IFAT – India 2017, India's leading fair for water, sewage, refuse and recycling, the European Union (EU) funded Resource Efficiency Initiative (EU-REI) organised a panel discussion by experts to discuss opportunities and potential in resource recovery and secondary resource utilisation. The panel brought together experts and stakeholders from industry, international organisation and think-tanks.
Ms. Henriette Faergemann, Counsellor, European Union Delegation to India, said that the Circular Economy Package of the EU provides opportunities for industrial innovation and competitiveness by encouraging the closing of the design-production-consumption-reuse loop, leading to creation of green jobs.
Dr. Dieter Mutz, team leader,of the EU-REI said that the initiative offers opportunities for collaboration, partnerships, and policy linkages across value chains to promote resource efficiency and circular economy in India. Rene Van Berkel, of the UNIDO, highlighted the need to pre-process waste to make it suitable for application as a by-product, substitute or resource. Dr. Prasad Modak, member of the Indian Resource Panel, emphasised the need for Resource Efficiency policy in India to promote the role of the informal sector and mainstream life-cycle thinking..
Ulhas Parlikar, Dy. Head, Geocycle at ACC Limited said that co-processing can be an alternative business model for secondary resource management. Mr. Sanjeev Sirsi, Head of Business Development at Grundfos India limited underlined that business is the driver for reaching out to people and optimising resource consumption. Dr. Shilpi Kapur, associate fellow with TERI, emphasised the need for scaling up business models on resource efficiency and added that technology upgradation and competition will enable the creation of markets in the long run.
The disposal of used products leads to immense loss of embedded value, energy and resources material. as well as imposing a heavy environmental burden on society. The recovery of these resources and their reuse can help to meet growing demand, ease the burden of managing waste, create new business models and jobs, and also augment the livelihood potential of the informal sector. Resource Efficiency-based innovation can also enhance the global competitiveness of Indian businesses and industry in export markets. New industries in recycling sector to improve secondary metals, innovative design and manufacturing can be created leading to the development of innovation hubs. Minimising and reusing waste can contribute towards greater resource security and help sustain development in the long term. Finally, reduced import dependence for critical and other metallic minerals helps to improve the country’s trade balance and promote economic stability. Globally, resource efficiency is high on political agendas of both the G-7 Resource Efficiency Alliance (February 2017) and the G 20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue (July 2017) for more efficient and sustainable usage of natural resources.
The Indian government is also making an effort to prioritize Resource Efficiency (RE) as a strategy with the establishment of the Indian Resource Panel (InRP) by the Ministry of the Environment Forests and Climate Change (November 2015) and the launch of a national RE strategy by Niti Aayog. The necessity of moving towards resource efficient practices coupled with management and utilisation of secondary raw materials (SRM) is increasingly recognised.
Within this context, the European Union has launched a Resource Efficiency Initiative (EU-REI) for India. It will be implemented on behalf of the EU by a consortium led by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII) and Adelphi.The workshop aims to facilitate the exchange of information between various stakeholders like government, industry, international organizations and civil society on secondary resources and solutions for their effective utilization.
About the European Union (EU):
The EU, which consists of 28 countries, has the world's largest economy and its third largest population, after China and India. Though richly diverse, the countries that make up the EU (its 'Member States') are all committed to the same basic values: peace, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. They have set up common institutions so that decisions on matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level. By creating a frontier-free single market and a single currency (the euro) which has been adopted by 19 Member States, the EU has given a significant boost to trade and employment. It is also at the forefront of policies on sustainability.
EU-India relations: For Over 50 years the EU and India have worked together to reduce poverty, prevent disasters, expand trade, and promote joint research in energy, health, agriculture and many other fields of mutual interest. More information at: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india