Green Manufacturing in India: Balancing Growth and Sustainability

Manufacturing industry of India, which is one of the rapidly evolving sectors of the country has a great impact towards the industrialization process and in addition towards the country’s gross domestic product. But this sector also has a significant contribution to the environmental impact of the country. This is because the manufacturing sector contributes to nearly 25 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This statistic goes a long way in proving that there is need for the sector to embrace green manufacturing. These are some of the practices which are crucial in a way that the economic development does not degrade the environment. Let us understand how Indian manufacturers are successfully managing these two important objectives through different ways.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Integration

Among all the outlined measures towards green manufacturing, the enhancement of the efficiency in energy consumption and the implementation of renewable energy sources are the most effective ones. Due to rising costs of traditional energy and awareness of climate change, the Indian manufacturers are now focusing on technologies that minimize energy utilization. These strategies not only facilitate in controlling operational expenditures but also reduce greenhouse gases emission of manufacturing processes drastically. Through the use of energy efficient technologies and renewable energy resources, organizations can improve on their sustainability while at the same time increasing their capacities.

For instance, Tata Motors an Indian based automotive giant has been at the forefront of such initiatives. The company has implemented various efforts to adopt renewable energy including installation of solar power stations in some of its production units. Interestingly, the automaker has set up a solar power plant at Pune plant that has helped cut down the dependence on conventional power and also brought down the carbon footprint of the plant.

Pravin Karve, President, Thermax/Thermax Babcock & Wilcox Energy Solutions Ltd says "if all the energy producers & users look harder, they will find a lot many Practical Pathways to Clean & Green Energy"

Waste Minimization and Circular Economy Practices

Reduction of waste and implementation of circular economy strategies are parts of sustainable manufacturing. The old linear model of business where the company extracts resources, produces products, and disposes of waste is gradually being phased out by circular economy model. This model also tends to reduce waste and recycle most resources within the production process in an attempt to make the manufacturing process greener. Apart from helping to minimize the impact on the environment, this approach also helps to achieve cost savings because of optimization of resource use. Therefore, waste minimization and circular economy strategies can help manufacturers to make considerable improvements in both environmental and economic performance.

One of the examples of waste minimization in Indian manufacturing industry is the ITC Limited which is one of the largest conglomerates of India having operations in diversified sectors. The management of ITC has been proactive in the integration of circular economy especially in the paperboards and specialty papers segment. They have also implemented the “zero solid waste” policy that guarantees that all the wastes produced in the manufacturing process are either recycled or utilized.

Water Conservation and Management

Water management is getting more and more significant in India due to existing tendencies towards the shortage of water resources and the great requirements of the industrial procedures. Sustainable manufacturing requires conservative use of water and hence, effective strategies for water management are critical. Managers are now spending in technologies and procedures for reducing water consumption, reusing and properly discharging of water wastes. These practices do not only solve the environmental problems that are related to water scarcity, but also bring the long-term cost benefits and avoid regulatory penalties for manufacturers.

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), an Indian FMCG company, has been in the forefront of the water conservation initiatives. They have implemented several ways of saving water and this has led to the reduction of the overall water consumption. In its Khamgaon plant, HUL has been able to adopt a ZLD system where all the wastewater produced in the plant is treated, reused, and sent back to the production process. This achievement does not only decrease the water consumption of the plant but also supports HUL’s corporate responsibility to the environment.

Green Supply Chain Management

Sustainable manufacturing processes are not confined to the walls of an individual manufacturing plant but rather involve the whole supply chain. Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is the management of supply chain with an aim of incorporating environmentalism into the procurement of raw material, production, logistics, and the disposal of the final product. GSCM practices can be used by manufacturers to minimize environmental effects in the supply chain, improve resource utilization and the general sustainability. It also ensures that the firm complies with all the requirements set by the government and the consumers on the use of sustainable products and create lasting value for the firm.

Adoption of green supply chain management is illustrated by Mahindra & Mahindra, an Indian multinational business with a varied product range. One of its programmesis aimed at persuading the company’s suppliers to decrease their emissions and wastes, and switch to renewable energy sources. Currently, Mahindra & Mahindra engages in sustainability audits of its suppliers and then partner with them to enhance their sustainability index. Such an approach makes it possible for the entire supply chain to aid in the achievement of the company’s sustainability strategies while at the same time enhancing the firm’s growth agenda.

Product Innovation and Eco-Design

One of the main facets of green manufacturing is product innovation and eco-design because it deals with minimization of the effect on the environment from the product’s conception to its disposal. This is about the use of environment-friendly materials in production, designing products in such a manner that is easy to recycle and reduce energy used during the products lifecycle. Eco-design principles, therefore, help the manufacturers to develop products which are demanded in the market with aspects of sustainability with lower impacts on the environment. It also aligns with efforts to develop a sustainable economy; at the same time, it gives companies an advantage over their competitors.

Godrej & Boyce, a leading Indian conglomerate company has been a pioneer in implementing the idea of ‘eco-design’ in its appliance arm. The company has produced energy conserving fridges and ACs that were designed to use far much lesser power than the ones already in market which in turn means that the end users will also incur lesser costs for power in using the products and hence reduce on the effect of energy use on the environment. Besides energy efficiency, Godrej & Boyce has also ensured that the products are made from recyclable materials and the firm has initiated take back schemes for products that have reached their end cycle.

Growth and sustainability are two key components that are not only important for business strategy but also has moral implications for the growth of manufacturing industry in India. These strategies not only help in the protection of the environment for the longer run but also make the Indian manufacturers as pioneers in the Green Industrial Revolution all over the world. More firms adopting such strategies will ensure that India’s manufacturing industry expands its base and at the same time, minimize its negative effects on the environment, hence supporting the realization of a sustainable industrial revolution.