Case study | Good management practices, Tackling climate change

Pathway to Eco-Industrial Development in India

The industrial sector is a key driver of India’s impressive economic growth and, well-aware of the current environmental challenges, the Indian government and the industrial sector are giving much attention to sustainable development.

With this focus, the government and the industry have applied the Eco Industrial Development approach in the Indian context. It is seen that on the industrial park level, the challenge of Eco Industrial Development can be tackled by developing new as well as by transforming existing parks into Eco Industrial Parks.

The publication on Pathway to Eco Industrial Development in India effectively highlights various areas of work with specific examples of the achievements in sustainable development.

Main features and components

The publication on Pathway to Eco Industrial Development in India shows that thorough planning of new Eco Industrial Parks not only helps to reduce pollution, resource consumption and environmental impacts; but also ensures appropriate location, suitable infrastructure, synergy effects and public acceptance. All this helps enhance efficiency to a great extent. In addition to the environmental and social benefits, these features make new parks more attractive for investors.

On the individual industry level as well much can be done to improve environmental performance. Many examples described in this publication have illustrated the benefits of this process. It enables companies to gain monetary benefits while at the same time reducing their demand for raw material and energy, and minimising associated environmental impacts from emissions, effluents and wastes.

Implementation and work steps

Supported by appropriate information systems and training programmes, the management of industrial sites and individual industries have implemented promising measures.

Supported by trainings and advice from experts, many industries have successfully taken measures to improve their environmental performance.

Lessons learnt

Experiences in India show that even old parks with serious environmental problems can be transformed with often simple and inexpensive measures.

Output

The publication on Pathway to Eco Industrial Development in India effectively highlights various areas of work with specific examples of the achievements in sustainable development.