World’s first action oriented renewable energy meet

Green energies and sustainable development are bustling growth industries in India. However, as with any quickly developing economic sector, keeping track of the major actors, upcoming startups and thriving wellsprings of tomorrow’s breakthrough ideas can be hard. Thankfully, there are landmark events such as the Reaction meeting which recently took place at the Chennai Trade Centre.

The event took place on July 26th and 27th and is already hailed by many as one of this year’s highpoint for renewable energies. Reaction 2012 has been organized by Energy Alternatives India (EAI) whose knowledge of the Indian renewable energy industry and expertise in clean technology is widely acknowledged. Self-titled “The World’s First Action Oriented Renewable Energy Meet”. The event had been conceived with a large public in mind, targeting professionals, academics, entrepreneurs, corporate actors or financial investors.

Impressively, the event was structured in a way that could prove satisfying to all those different attendees. More than a hundred experts gave presentations and held discussions on a wide range of topics, from biomass, to solar and renewable energies, as well as seminars on regulatory and incentive frameworks. To the satisfaction of many a long list of new topics and emerging ideas were covered in a professional way, bringing a high level of quality and knowledge to the discussions. The event had scheduled tightly meshed talks and presentations with networking opportunities. At a time when efficient and reliable energy production is more relevant than ever renewable energies have a definite window of opportunity to blossom. And the Reaction meeting is definitely at the center of it all.

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!

Community initiative driving equal rights

Sometimes the little details make the biggest difference. In India, where equal rights have yet to mean equal opportunities, it is all in the details. For instance, there are far fewer women than men driving on the country’s roads. Yet driving is an incredibly powerful tool for independence; something NGOs have been quick to understand could serve many women.

Over the past years a number of initiatives have been rolled out to provide Indian women with easier access to cars and driving. Indeed, the sector is promising enough for companies like For-She to appear and grow throughout the country. The business model is built around providing women with access to jobs usually restricted to men, such as commercial driving or personal protection.

However, not all initiatives are for-profit; in Chennai alone, a number of small non-profit organizations such as the Association for Non-Traditional Employment (ANEW) or Human Trip have been offering women free driving lessons and the opportunity to become Auto-rickshaw drivers. Michelin India has joined the effort by offering free training at its site in Chennai. With four hours of classes a day, the program has already enrolled 14 soon-to-be female drivers. With so many ongoing initiatives, women drivers have hit the ground running and they’re going fast.

Honor to those who dare: CavinKare Ability Awards 2012

Admittedly, what the disabled cannot do is obvious. What is amazing is what they can do. If you are looking for examples of unparalleled resolve to struggle for personal achievement, both in society and in personal life, just look at the winners of the 10th CavinKare Ability Awards. The (annual program), jointly organized by the (Ability Foundation) and (CavinKare Pvt. Ltd.), honors achievers with disabilities who have broken conventional barriers to realize their potential.

Created in 2003, the purpose of the CavinKare Ability Awards is to build awareness about the capabilities of the disabled. The awards are given in two categories: CavinKare Ability Award for Eminence and CavinKare Ability Mastery Awards. The Eminence Award is given to a disabled person who has shown a commitment to others that goes beyond personal achievement. The Mastery Awards are given to three people who have achieved excellence in any specific field.

For the 2012 Award ceremony on February 18 in Chennai, the four winners were selected from 131 nominees from 19 different states. Mohammed Iqbal from Ladakh received the CavinKare Eminence Award for his struggle to empower the disabled. In his fight for the rights of others, he has set up the People’s Action Group for Inclusion and Rights (PAGIR). BhavanaBotta, an amazing young woman from Chennai, received the CavinKare Ability Mastery Award. Asteroid cerebral palsy hasn’t stopped her from completing B. Com in corporate secretarial skills. She currently runs Saahaagika, a boutique selling Ahimsa and Organic silk products. CavinKare Ability Mastery Awards were also given to AzeemBolar, a hotel consultant from Bangalore struggling against deteriorating vision, and RiiteshSinha from Karnal, Haryana, who has set up and runs a Datamix computer Center; the boy who was refused admission to most schools has made a dazzling career in computer science.

The disabled want to be taxpayers, too. They also want to contribute to the country’s economy. Striving to build an inclusive society, with equal opportunities for all, is not an act of pity. People need people. Food for thought…

Ability is Possibility: Disability awareness program with the support of Ability Foundation

Persons with disabilities have talents, just like everyone else. However, they need motivation to bring out their hidden talents. Motivation comes from possibility. Having the right opportunity at the right time is the core idea underlying the disability awareness program Michelin India organized with the support of the Ability Foundation, a national cross-disability organization based in Chennai. (Ability foundation link)

The one-day program was held on February 4, 2012 at Government middle school in Soolaimani village and drew 150 people with different disabilities. Participants and their families were given guidance and counseling for enhancing the self-esteem and vocational skills of the disabled.

Mr. Joseph Ravi, District Disability Rehabilitation Officer, and Dr. Krishna Chandra, Deputy Director of Employment, Vocational Rehabilitation for Handicapped, attended the camp and disseminated information on the state and central government schemes available to the disabled. Participants received advice on how to access benefits provided in different government schemes and on employment opportunities, by the Ability Foundation staff team.

“We chose the Ability Foundation as partner for the program because of our shared belief that empowerment is a direct result of awareness of your talents, your rights and your knowledge of opportunities available to you.” Inspired by Jayashree Raveendran, Founder and Managing Trustee of the Ability Foundation, Michelin India is committed to underscoring the positive side of employing people with a disability. “It is not pity. It is not charity. It is not CSR,” as Jayasree says. It makes business sense. On the one hand, there are qualified persons who need opportunities and on the other, there are employers who can reap the benefits of hiring innovative, determined and dedicated persons. The opportunity is there for the taking!

Eye camps: our partnership with Sankara Nethralaya

National Highway 5 (NH5) takes a turn at Janapanchatram to converge into State Highway 51 (SH 51). Travel for 30 minutes and you enter into Sengarai. Tucked away from Chennai, this tiny village (1158 inhabitants) has little interesting information for a tourist or student of any subject or even an onlooker. But for us, this place is very special and shall remain so for a long time, for our learning curve in rural health interventions starts right here. It is not destiny that takes us here, but the findings of the conscientious “Household socio-economic survey” conducted by the Foundation For Rural Recovery And Development (Download Socio Economic survey) across 31 villages around Michelin India’s upcoming plant in SIPCOT’s Thervoy Kandigai Industrial Park, Tamil Nadu. The company initiates eye camps as a first step in the direction of addressing the healthcare requirements of the local communities and developing a long-term assistance plan.


Coming back to Sengarai, on 18 September, 2010, we conducted the first eye camp in association with SankaraNethrayalaya (Sankara Nethralaya link), a member of “Vision 2020: The Right to Sight India”(vision2020 website).The surprising turn out for the camp (over 200 people) was overwhelming, and it reiterated the figures in the ‘socio-economic survey’.

Since then, we have organized nine more eye camps. One each in Mukarambakkam, Palavakkam, KannanKottai, Latchivakkam, Sengarai, Thandalam and Kollanoor and 2 camps in Karadiputhur. Of the total 2291 people visiting these camps, 103 undergone cataract operations. An additional 700 people received spectacles and 51 have been identified for cataract operation.

It is truly inspiring to see people working together for the sake of a common project: the village people, volunteers from the neighborhood, Michelin colleagues and the Hospital team. We would like to express our sincere thanks to the highly esteemed doctors and medical staff who have been taking part in these initiatives. Their feedback is extremely important for us. Just to quote one of them, Mr. V. Sivakumar, Administrator, Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre, SankaraNethralaya (Sankara Nethralaya Homepage)said, “Efforts such as these from corporate bodies will go a long way in ensuring that health care services reach out to all sections of society”.