How green is the company?

The Green Company (Greenco) rating initiative of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) got rolling in early March, with the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) getting its certification. BIAL received the ‘Silver' rating for its environmental performance, and the company's certification put in place a green introspection effort by the Indian industry.

Greenco rates the environmental performance of a company, and thereby, is a step more advanced than certification under the ISO 14000 series, which assesses the environment management system. While a company can get ISO 14000 series certification if it has put its environmental management systems in place, the Greenco rating will come only if the company can show results across nine environmental parameters. In that sense, it is more of an end-of-the-pipeline assessment of a company's green behaviour.

PARAMETERS

The nine parameters assess a company's performance towards energy efficiency; water conservation; use of renewable energy; mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; conservation and recycling of materials; waste management; establishment of a green supply chain; product stewardship; and lifecycle assessment.

The five-level ratings (Certified, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum) give a scale for companies to benchmark themselves against the performance of similar institutions in the country and outside. While Gold would mean matching the national best, a Platinum-rated company should have environment standards equal to the best globally, say environment experts from CII.

The pilot phase of the Greenco process had begun in February 2011, with 49 companies volunteering to get their operations rated. CII expects around 20 companies to get their rating by the end of 2012. The rating is valid for three years, after which the company could request for a fresh audit. It could request for a fresh rating even earlier, if it believes that its environmental performance has improved.

The development of the Greenco rating system was done through a consultation process within the country, initiated by CII. It brought together experts from across specialities to develop a common system, to assess the green footprint of its member companies, who represent different sectors of the industry.

Interestingly, though India has been consistently taking positions on greenhouse gas emission commitments in international negotiations, it has been slow to develop an action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The National Action Plan on Climate Change was released in 2008, and only in January 2010 did the Government constitute an expert panel, headed by Planning Commission Member Kirit Parikh, to develop low-carbon strategies for inclusive growth. The final report of this panel is yet to be published, 26 months later, and its interim report only lists out a menu of options, without articulating the ways and means to achieve a green growth.

GHG EMISSIONS

In a year when the RioPlus20 global environmental conference is scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in June, the Greenco rating by the Indian industry is in line with the meeting's theme on developing a green economy. With three of the nine parameters — energy efficiency, renewable energy and mitigating GHG emissions — relating directly to the goal of reducing India's carbon footprint, and the rest contributing indirectly, the industry's initiative can contribute to a low-carbon growth.

In its interim report, the Kirit Parikh Committee has computed figures as to how much emission savings are necessary to have a 9-per-cent growth till 2020, and yet reduce the emission intensity (amount of GHG emitted per rupee) of the economy by around 25 per cent from the 2005 level. This would mean preventing the gross GHG emissions from growing beyond 4.81 billion tonnes in 2020 from the 2007 figure of 1.57 billion tonnes.

With the industry playing an active role in all three sectors of the economy — agriculture, marketing and services — it is its responsibility to reduce GHG emissions. When processes are put in place through Greenco rating for improving the environmental performance of power plants, factories, assembly units and some other facilities, they will reduce their emissions.

RESOURCE CONSERVATION

However, it isn't the promise of public good alone that will motivate the industry. In the medium-to-long-term, reduced resource use will reduce costs and increase profits for companies. Reduced use of water and energy, conservation, recycling of material, use of renewable energy, and recycling can have an immediate impact on reduction of costs and improvement in profits.

The other parameters required for Greenco rating are more difficult. Assessing all the sources from which a company could be emitting greenhouse gases and reducing it per unit of production is more difficult.

Developing a green supply chain will make sure that the ancillary products used in a company's production process are themselves green. With Greenco auditors looking at this aspect, they will make sure that the company isn't moving the more polluting operations to smaller units.

Product stewardship will make the producing company responsible for the product during its entire lifecycle, which, in turn, will encourage them to innovate, design and develop products that are less polluting during its life. When all these parameters are considered, and a company gets a Greenco rating, then the improved marketing edge can be well worth the effort.

By volunteering for the Greenco rating, some members of the industry have started to make their operations greener. The industry will have to encourage more companies to get their operations rated. CII would also need to continue to maintain the standard of assessment, so that with the years, the credibility of Greenco rating grows in India and abroad. This is a small beginning, but if the momentum is built, then with the years, it could add to a greener footprint for the Indian industry.

(The author is a journalist who has worked in environment and development sectors.)

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