LIVE COVERAGE OF RV DEBATING TOURNAMENT ON ROAD SAFETY & SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

The RV Debating Tournament 2012, conducted with the support of Michelin India, is one of the biggest tournaments in India that will focus on issues long championed by Michelin. RV college who is soon to be hosting the largest annual student competition in the world ,WUDC where more than a thousand university students aggregate in places across the world and participate in a week long competition .

The current debate which will happen over the weekend covers many intuitive topics on issues that affect our lifestyle, some of which Michelin has championed for long. Issues such as policies on road safety that needs to be tackled through innovative ideas, Sustainable mobility which is fast becoming a buzz word for most manufacturers as well as government policies. Also new progressive ideas that may very well become tomorrow’s policies such as tax rebates for contributions to road safety raises a number of interesting issues that will be debated by among the best debaters in the country.

These tournaments are a great place for students to get acquainted with the issues of road safety and sustainable growth and take the first step to having a tangible understanding of these issues that will be affecting them in their day to day lives.

You can catch the knockouts of this event live on our Blog at 1^st October 2012 – 2pm onwards

A reverse innovation wind blowing from the developing world

It is often thought that innovation requires huge financial resources. However, a closer look at what has happened recently in India shows that stringent economic conditions can substantially fuel it. Frugal innovation, i.e. “making do with what you have and never giving up,” is increasingly seen as a solution

At a time when in the “rich world” large public deficits makes it difficult to meet citizens’ rising expectations, a growing number of Western governments are drawing their inspiration from their developing world counterparts who have extensive experience in generating growth out of an extremely constrained economic and social environment. The idea behind frugal innovation is simple: based on an inversion of the traditional top down approach, take poor consumers’ needs as a starting point, work backwards, and strip the product down to its bare essentials. For example, Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel has drastically reduced the cost of providing mobile phone services by sharing radio towers with competitors and outsourcing network construction, operation and support to companies such as Ericsson and IBM*.

Books, articles and reports on the topic are flourishing. They attempt to uncover the parameters that make frugal innovation possible and successful. In short, frugal innovation is not just about redesigning products. It requires rethinking entire production processes as well as business models to squeeze costs and reach more customers who will then wonder, ‘Why buy a $10,000 device if the same company offers a slightly simpler one for $1,000?’

Born in the East, i.e. India, frugal innovation is spreading worldwide. Multinationals are starting to take up ideas developed in the emerging world and deploy them in the West. Have you heard of any frugal device developed in India that might soon become a world hit? Please let us know!

*For more details please see the excellent article Innovation’s Holy Grail, by C.K. Prahalad and R.A. Mashelkar, published in Harvard Business Review.

India’s social enterprise ecosystem: Recent developments and perspectives

Much is made around the bustling entrepreneurship of Silicon Valley and its flurry of start-ups. But Silicon Valley is not the only place where small, ambitious and innovative businesses are making a difference. In India, social enterprises have been flourishing over the past decade. Admittedly, their influence is great as they reach out to the almost 37% of Indians living below the poverty line. However, they are still largely under the radar of media coverage.

Fortunately, a new report by consulting firm Intellecap is shedding light on the recent developments in the sector. The study, On the Path to Sustainability and Scale: A Study of India’s Social Enterprise Landscape highlights key defining features of this type of entrepreneurship. First and foremost, the sector is still quite young, more than three-quarters of all social enterprises have existed for fewer than five years and 42% of all these entities were created within the past two years. Another important feature is that, unlike old-school businesses, these enterprises are extremely mobile. More than half have head offices in India’s main cities, while their operations network the country. Albeit small, they are already extremely powerful. They start with a limited pool of beneficiaries (17% have 500 or fewer beneficiaries) yet are able through the injection of venture capital to scale up very quickly. Twenty-eight percent already have 50,000 beneficiaries or more. Considering the young age of the sector, the immense public they reach and their proven capacity for growth, social enterprises are slated to carve out the features of the Indian business landscape.

While in some cases the growth of microfinance has had negative consequences in the past, the recent development of socially responsible enterprises seems to be on a different path. Not only because the lessons of the past have been learned but also because their heavy reliance on venture capital and crowd funding has made them more accountable than their predecessors. New social enterprises 2.0 are spearheading what promises to be a huge wave of developmental initiatives.

An unexpected treasure blowing in the wind

Some good news seems miraculous. A recent assessment by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reports that India has wind resources that are 20 to 30 times greater than the Indian government estimate of 102 gigawatts (GW). According to the study, the country’s wind potential could range from 2,006 to 3,121 GW, depending on turbine size.

The great news is that wind is one of the most cost-effective and mature renewable energy sources commercially available in India. According to Berkeley National Laboratory experts, the cost of wind power is now comparable to the cost of imported coal and natural gas-based plants. In other words, wind could become a significant portion of the country’s future energy portfolio.

However, a shadow looms over the good news. Although India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Berkeley Lab to collaborate on wind energy research, the government recently repealed key wind power tax breaks, which may seriously jeopardize future investments in the sector. With the tax change, wind development will only be allowed to claim accelerated depreciation of 15% of the cost of equipment, down from 80%. Government estimates show that the tax break prompted the setup of more than 70% of wind facilities in India during the year that ended on March 31.

If you are interested in the future of wind energy in India, please share your own thoughts and stories!

Innovative India: Three projects selected for Indo-US clean energy research

Here is a piece of news that should rejoice all those committed to the development of innovative sustainable solutions for a greener future: three Indian projects focusing on the development of renewable energies have been selected for funding under an India-USA agreement. The international partnership announced during President Obama’s 2011 visit to India set up a joint fund and cooperative processes between academic institutions, to support research and development of innovative solutions in green energies.

Under the agreement, three major U.S. research centers (the National Renewable Energy Laboratory NREL, the University of Florida and the Laurence Berkeley National Laboratory LBNL) will team up with three equivalent Indian institutions (the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad and the CEPT University, Ahmedabad) and bring together their brightest minds and their respective expertise to develop breakthroughs in clean energy research. Aside from knowledge and imagination, the international cooperation provides for $12 million (RS 125 crore) in funding over the next five years for each project, thus ensuring resources and peace of mind for scientists to conduct their research in the optimum conditions.

As for the broader framework, this is taking place under the benevolent auspices of the US-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC). This is a quick and exhilarating start for a broad partnership that is barely six months old, providing hope for quick progress and revolutionary results in a field that is critically underdeveloped yet promising for a brighter future.

Sustainability Reporting Gaining Momentum

More and more companies are touting their contribution to sustainable development via Corporate Social Responsibility actions, their environmental commitment and their social awareness. Nevertheless, civil society is hardly satisfied with lip service, now demanding proofs of their engagement, beyond the mere listing of a series of vague actions. As the matter is serious, invoking responsibility entails accountability. This is where reporting has a significant role to play.

A growing number of companies, professional organizations and experts (Confederation of Indian Industry, TERI, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs) are considering reporting an essential way to ensure that companies are engaging in sustainable development and that their action has a real impact. Voluntary commitment is slowly moving toward mandatory requirement applying first to listed companies (SEBI decision in November 2011) and maybe soon to others.

Sustainability reporting is not easy, given that it serves to assess the outcome of actions on variables that are not easily measurable. Too go beyond mere ‘green-washing’, this kind of reporting must take the various stakeholders’ seriously, by being sincere and accurate when presenting the outcome of actions. Citizens, shareholders and others can surely be trusted to judge actions whose main goal is to make the world they live in better.

What do you think? Would you be interested in receiving detailed information about what companies are doing to care for a better world? Would that impact your consumer behavior?

Let’s Pool Our Efforts for Sustainable Mobility

Cities are often said to be shaped by their mass transit system. For anyone commuting in Chennai and experiencing increased traffic congestion this is a relevant issue. Years of urban planning experience have shown that a collaborative approach is the only way that can actually embed sustainable mobility into the bustling city.

Aside from the emergence of new technologies in transportation, fuel and urban design, the shaping of new business models and collaborative partnerships is also fuelling urban planning. A platform such as City Connect (a partnership between the Confederation of Indian Industry CII, Tamil Nadu and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) created in 2007, which brings together industry, government and civil society stakeholders around urban India, has proven to be a crucial step towards an overarching approach to transport issues.

An example of this effort to pool various points of view and skills: Chennai City Connect, backed by Michelin India, has recently hired consulting firm Civitas to study the autorickshaw sector in Chennai. The report is now out and gives constructive insight into how to enhance sustainable mobility in Chennai.

Please share your thoughts on how to prevent lively Chennai from becoming a dead-end and turn it back into the crossroads it once was!

Chennai, in the Lead for Green Buildings City In India

Who would have believed that Chennai would feature the highest number of green buildings in India? Chennai has 42 out of 212 structures that have been certified eco-friendly by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

Eco-friendly buildings waste less water, generate less waste and optimize the use of energy-efficient systems. It does come with a cost: construction costs for a green building are 3% to 5% higher than for an ordinary building. However, subsequent expenditure is lower as, on average, green buildings consume 40% to 50% less energy and cut water consumption by as much as 40%.

Contractors see the trend as a new business opportunity and companies investing in eco-friendly construction as a new marketing tool. Whatever their motivations, the good news is still that green buildings are multiplying and they have a positive impact on the environment.

Would you be ready to pay a bit more for an environmentally friendly building? Please share your thoughts on this topic!

Carbon Footprint Study Draft Report: Renewable Energies a Top Priority for Tamil Nadu

Did you know that 75% of Tamil Nadu’s emissions stem from energy and power-related sources? This fact was revealed in the draft report of the Carbon Footprint Study by the Confederation of Indian Industry. The study, sponsored by Michelin India, is the first of its kind in Tamil Nadu. Its purpose is to help the State gain a greater insight into its carbon situation. Both total and per capita emissions have been calculated from data provided by 15 State departments.

Clearly, the outcome of the study points to an urgent need to adopt a renewable energy strategy to lower the overall carbon footprint of Tamil Nadu and bring it in line with the national commitment of reducing emissions intensity by 20 to 25% of 2005 levels by 2020.

The report lays down several recommendations including: adoption of voluntary renewable power obligation targets; creation of green funds; charge of a fuel tax on diesel and petrol to fund bio-fuel research, support technology absorption and public transportation system; adoption of green buildings in residential and commercial space.

Astonishingly, we also learn that a single tree can sequester 30 kg of carbon per year while the per capita carbon footprint stands at 1.59 tons. Afforestation would be the most obvious step, not to mention that it would entail so many other benefits…

Youth at the Forefront of the Change of Paradigm in Indian Philanthropy

The good news is that Indian high-net-worth individuals are donating an increasing share of their assets to philanthropic causes. The great news is that young people are at the forefront of this move. The India Philanthropy Report 2012 released in March 2012 by consultancy firm Bain and Company polled 400 high-net-worth individuals (with investible assets of more than $1.1 million) across Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune. The outcome shows that 52% of them intend to increase their charity contributions in 2012, after a 3.1% rise of their income in 2011, up from 2.3% in 2010. Among them, young people under 30 (accounting for one-third of survey respondents) appear especially willing to “give back to society” what they have received by investing in charitable causes.

Facilitating their donations and adapting to their preferred philanthropic methods could fuel this new trend. The development of this new class of donors could ensure a bright future for Indian philanthropy, although charitable organizations’ lack of accountability seems to be a deterrent to donations, for them. Philanthropic organizations will need to focus on delivering results to encourage increasing contributions from Indian donors, especially young donors.

ASER 2011: a Roadmap for Boosting Rural Children’s Education

What better goal than giving our rural children an opportunity to develop core skills? Unfortunately, school enrolment rates and education quality do not always go hand in hand. The Annual Status of Education Report 2011 released earlier this year by Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development, highlights mixed news for rural kids’ education.

The survey by local organizations and concerned citizens shows that extraordinary progress has been made in schooling rates: 96.7% of all 6-14 year olds in rural India are enrolled in school, a number that has held steady since 2010. However, more worrying are the reported reading and arithmetic levels in rural schools. With a few exceptions (among which is the state of Tamil Nadu), children’s ability to read and count has declined over the recent years.

Survey results clearly point to reconsidering the outcome of learning in rural areas. From this standpoint, effective school attendance, which is not the same thing as actual enrolment, should be a priority. Quality of schooling will also need to be targeted by education policies in the coming years, with a focus on enhancing pupil-teacher ratio in classrooms as well as schools infrastructure development, including libraries, bathrooms and water facilities.

Such steps are a pre-requisite for delivering quality education to rural children effectively and may provide a roadmap for all interested stakeholders in India, including private corporations and NGOs. Let’s give our children an opportunity to influence their own destiny!

Event: India CSR Mega Conference in Mumbai

Although it has gained in popularity over the past years, only few companies systematically incorporate CSR into their strategic vision.

The one-day quality-driven conference to be held on May 9 in Mumbai invites you to be part of a meaningful conversation about embedding corporate citizenship into the core of companies’ quest for competitiveness. This captivating forum will bring together global issues of corporate citizenship, ecological sustainability, dimensions of human resource management and community renewal and will be a rare opportunity to engage with industry experts.

Are you interested in the CSR and Competitiveness Conference? You can find more details at:
http://conference.indiacsr.in/index.php

A little outside help can go a long way: India and UK to create fund for renewable energy

In an effort to foster transnational cooperation around sustainability programs, in November last year, India and the United Kingdom agreed to set up a fund for developing renewable energies in the Indian subcontinent. The fund, formally created after a meeting between India’s renewable energy minister Farooq Abdullah and his British counterpart Greg Barker in Delhi, aims at encouraging the installation of green power technology, with a focus on cost efficiency.

Though a few solar hybrid pilot projects are already underway, the fund will be fuelling sector with additional rive, for the benefit of all. The proposed program is actually not the first initiative sponsored by British stakeholders in the country. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Prosperity Fund India program has been promoting sustainable development initiatives for several years.

With 38 ongoing projects and 5 tactical activities focused on low carbon growth funded as of now, the Prosperity Fund India has become a strong motor promoting sustainable development. The impending set-up of Fund for Renewable Energy is expected to mark a further step forward in India-UK cooperation.

The Planning Commission of India : “Help us plan India better!”

It is no easy task to strive for sustainable development and economic growth at the same time! However, the new trend of getting citizens more involved is a good indicator that the participatory approach is increasingly being viewed as the key to sustainable development.

For the first time, the Planning Commission of India has managed to set up a web-based consultation during the preparation of the Approach Paper to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-2017). An Interactive website has been created to enable all interested stakeholders to voice their opinions. The new web-based approach has completed the on-site consultations conducted across the country by organizations representing the various groups of citizens such as women, dalits and youth. All stakeholders have been encouraged to give their comments on the Twelve Strategy Challenges that refer to some core areas for sustainable development. Twelve challenges that all stakeholders interested in building a sustainable future should address.
For more details please see the above link.

CII-ITC rewards best practices in corporate-led sustainability efforts

Sustainable development is not only a matter of consumer awareness and policy initiatives, but is also a matter involving industrial movers’ efforts. Not only because providing products compatible with a sustainable development increases their value for consumers, but also because achieving sustainability will ensure better long-term perspectives for industry.

With this in mind and for the sixth time since its creation, the CII-ITC (CII-ITC website) has handed out its Sustainability Awards for sustainable industry efforts. The grand winner of this year’s ceremony was Tata Steel, which won the Sustainability Prize in Category A for Large Business Organizations for the fourth time since the award’s creation. The prize rewards leadership and excellence for work to improve economic, environmental and social performance.

Aside from acknowledging best efforts in sustainability, the advantage of the CII-ITC Sustainability Award is that, during the process, the center conducts a thorough due-diligence, provides extensive feedback to participants, thus allowing them to improve their existing model. Not only does the center spotlight best examples of sustainable industrial developments, but it also provides a platform for sharing best practices, enabling other companies interested in sustainable development to implement the most effective processes easily. This has made the award a cutting- edge tool in promoting sustainability, raising the bar year after year while sharing key knowledge. We tip our hat to this remarkable initiative.

Seven Indian NGOs among world’s Top 100!

It has become pretty fashionable to rank anything and everything. Some interesting top lists, however, can be found. An example? The Top 100 best NGOs, the first-of-its-kind world ranking recently published by The Global Journal – a Geneva-based magazine aimed at promoting “global governance” (Global Journal article).

The NGOs represented on the list are from all over the world. Many are from the United States, Europe, Africa, South America and the Middle East. Among the world’s top 100 NGOs, we are pleased to announce that seven are from India!

The rankings are as follows:
15. Barefoot College (Poverty Reduction)
21. Aravind Eye Care System (Public Health)
22. Pratham (Education)
27. PlanetRead (Literacy)
51. Gram Vikas (Community Development)
74. Rishi Valley Institute for Educational Resources (Education)
75. International Development Enterprises – India (Poverty Reduction)

For the full list of the Top 100 Best NGOs, please see:
(Top 100 Best NGO list)

Is there some refreshing good news from India you want to share? Just let us know!

2nd annual intelligent transport systems India highlights tantalizing outlooks for Indian road traffic

Over 100 million vehicles are already on India’s roads. The number may seem remarkably high, yet given the population of India and its projected growth, clearly India’s roads will become increasingly clogged in the very short term. Dealing with the population growth involves numerous challenges across the board, among which managing skyrocketing traffic on Indian roads is top of the agenda. Efficient and optimized traffic is key to ensuring safer roads, faster rides and minimum environmental impact of cars. In view of this challenge, the Intelligent Transport Systems India conference (intelligence transport india link) is emerging as a leading platform for defining and discussing key issues and outlining feasible solutions.

The second conference held this year saw the meeting of key stakeholders and provided participants with the insights from many specialists at the forefront of ITS design. During the two-day event that brought together public and private stakeholders, the main upcoming challenges for road transport management were addressed, cutting edge solutions potentially benefiting everyone from consumers to commuters, including drivers and pedestrians were outlined with paths for enhancing the safety, speed and efficiency of road transport systems in India. Above all, the conference was an outstanding example of how new solutions to industrial challenges could have wide and far-reaching benefits for a country on the fast lane of economic growth.

Event highlights: the Student Energy International Case Challenge

Imagine 120 students around the world were given the opportunity to tackle a real world energy problem. That was exactly what happened when the Student Energy International Case Challenge (ICC) (ICC Programs) took place on Jan 31st and Feb 1st, 2012. Students in North America and Asia were asked to develop a Global Framework of high-potential ideas to tackle the following problem: “As a global community, how do we provide emerging/developing nations with the energy services necessary to continue their rapid growth – and thereby continue to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty – without jeopardizing the well-being of future generations?”. Definitely one of the core issues of sustainability!

The Student Energy ICC was made up of two separate but interconnected events. The main one took place in New Delhi, in conjunction with two world-class events organized by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)  (TERI Website) : the Youth United Voluntary Action (YUVA) meet (YUVA MEET) and the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) 2012 (http://dsds.teriin.org/2012/). The Youth United for Voluntary Action meet was held on 30th-31st Jan, bringing together youngsters from all over the world. Selected participants had the opportunity to take part in the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) on 2nd-4th February 2012 and the Student Energy Challenge which was held between the two TERI-sponsored events, on Feb 1st. 

A satellite event was held in Calgary, Canada on Jan 31 by ISEEESA (Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy) (http://www.iseeesa.com/) a student organization at the University of Calgary. Students in Canada tackled the same challenge as their counterpart in India. The former came up with a framework from the perspective of developed countries, while the latter came up with a framework from the perspective of developing countries. If you are interested in the Challenge results, please see: Student Challenge. We are so glad India hosted this very special event, which shows once more the high potential of the youth all over the world. The Student Energy ICC proves that sustainability can be achieved only through a multidisciplinary approach and the joint efforts of all countries. So, let’s join our efforts for a sustainable future!

Welcome to Michelin India Sustainability Forum

Dear visitors,

Thank you for visiting us.
For us, setting up this blog has been an enriching experience. As a team of Michelin employees who were among the first hired for the company’s industrial project in Chennai, India, we were aware of the importance of sustainable development, but wondered what sustainability meant.

We quickly realised that for India, achieving a sustainable development included our direct contribution and that we (as individuals and employees of Michelin) could be the cause as well as the solution to sustainability for the project as well as the communities around us.

And what is the definition of sustainability? The one we have found most useful is the following. From the 1987 Report of the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development: “Sustainable development is about meeting the needs of society while living within the planet’s ecological limits and without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable development has three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – which are interdependent; for instance, the elimination of poverty requires the promotion of social justice and economic development and the protection of the environment”.

This definition has been included in the International Standard on Social Responsibility ISO 26000 (ISO definition)to highlight the relationship between social responsibility and sustainable development

So this blog, is one way for sharing with you the stretches of adventure and spans of rich experiences this expedition is certain to grow into. We hope you find this useful and interesting and invite you to also use this “eco-friendly” medium to think constructively, act consciously, seek openly and contribute significantly.

A journey that has commenced needs to find its destination. But our predicament, at this moment, is to define the endpoint that is ever evolving. Of one thing we are confident though, that there is a long way to go and this is just the Beginning! With this spirit of enthusiasm, we invite you to join our ‘Sustainability’ mission. We are always open to your ideas and inputs, so please email us at michelinindiaforum@gmail.com