Project description

Title: Advisory Services for Environmental Management; component: environment-oriented production
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: India
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)
Overall term: August 2002 to July 2012

Context

SMEs are responsible for almost half the environmental degradation in India. Industrial clusters with up to 1,000 plants are often located in or near residential areas and may account for several thousand jobs. Shutting down or relocating clusters because of their negative environmental impacts causes social conflict and can result in substantial economic losses.

Objective

SMEs in industrial clusters have better environmental and resource management.

Approach

The component of environment-oriented production in GTZ’s environmental management programme aims at improving the environmental and resource management of SMEs in industrial clusters. The integration of environmentally viable production methods into the production processes should strengthen enterprises both economically and ecologically. All the departments in an enterprise — technology, raw materials, emissions, products, personnel — are covered. The introduction of environmental and social standards reduces health and environmental risks. By forging alliances with industrial associations, banks, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and other SME institutions, there is a greater willingness to accept investments by industry in environmental protection measures and technologies.

The initial measures focus on two industrial clusters of SMEs in the galvanising (Madurai, Tamil Nadu) and metal (Gurgaon, Haryana) sectors. The enterprises affected are those that require clearance from the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs).

The Indian galvanism industry usually uses obsolete technologies and does not have modern wastewater treatment facilities. The result is enormous environmental damage and the loss of valuable raw materials. In Madurai, around 100 factories in the city have been told to shut down. Eighty factories have combined to found the Metal Finishers Association of Tamil Nadu. They will relocate their operations to an eco-industrial park outside the city where they will have modern technologies and recycling methods as well as the latest waste, wastewater, and water management systems. No jobs will be lost and the competitiveness of the factories will be boosted. There are special training courses for environmental management. All 80 members of the association have pledged to introduce environmental management methods in the new location and to meet the standards of the environmental sustainability test. All the enterprises in the park have been granted clearance (including a successful environmental audit) by the environmental authorities. The Commission for Environmental Clearance (MoEF) has approved the draft concept. The site for the eco-industrial park has been bought by the association and the planning stage has been completed. Construction is under way and the factories are expected to relocate in mid-2007.

The introduction of environmental management methods and the use of modern technology will drastically reduce the consumption of energy and raw materials. Membrane filtration is used to fully recover the metal sludge in wastewater, which can then be reused as raw material. The filtered water can be channelled back into the process. Water consumption will be reduced by almost one-third and the consumption of the specific raw material will fall by about 15 percent.

GTZ’s environmental management programme supports the development of the eco-industrial park and cooperates closely with the Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, the Electroplaters and Metal Finishers Association of Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board and the CPCB. Because of its strategic importance, the European Commission also supports the project in Madurai (Asia Pro Eco Programme on Integrated Wastewater Management Concept for the Eco-Electroplating Park (EEP), in Karaisalkulam, Madurai, India). The Commission promotes primarily the transfer of know-how from Europe and the development of the technological concept. The European project partners are the University of Leoben, Austria and Adelphi Research, Germany.

In the Gurgaon cluster, the ASEM programme is implemented in cooperation with various German and Austrian partners. Initially, the measure was supported by an EU project but it is now financed solely through contributions from the enterprises involved. The Indian partner is the Gurgaon Industrial Association. The enterprises participated in an intensive one-year programme, which covers environmental audits, environmental management methods and other awareness-raising events. The consumption of energy, water and raw materials has consequently declined, and the enterprises have been economically and ecologically strengthened. Environmental and health risks have been reduced thanks to the introduction of environmental and social standards.

Advisory services in a metal-processing cluster have been initiated in the state of Punjab.

This project is a component of the programme

• Advisory Services in Environmental Management