Sustainable and Environment-friendly Industrial Production (SEIP)
Project description
Title: Sustainable and Environment-friendly Industrial Production (SEIP)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: India
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India
Overall term: 2019 to 2022
Context
Industrial growth is one of the key aspects of a country’s development. The Government of India wants to enhance the manufacturing sector’s contribution to India’s gross domestic product, raising it to a 25 per cent share over the course of a decade and creating 100 million jobs. Currently, there are nearly 3,000 designated industrial zones in India. Some of these, such as the industrial corridors, investment regions and manufacturing zones, are very large.
The risks associated with industrial development include higher pollution levels, overuse of natural resources and increased amounts of waste and waste water posing a threat to ecosystems. In 2009, the Central Pollution Control Board declared that 150 stretches of river and 43 industrial areas were critically polluted. Pollution caused by hazardous substances from industry (such as waste, waste water and emissions) and the overuse of natural resources puts sustainable development at considerable risk.
The Indian Government has made a clear commitment to achieving industrial growth while also protecting the environment. At the same time, the private sector is increasingly interested in adopting modern processing techniques for clean and resource-efficient industrial production.
Objective
Indian public and private-sector stakeholders are jointly implementing strategies for efficient, environment-friendly and climate-friendly industrial development.
Approach
The Sustainable & Environment-Friendly Industrial Production project is being implemented jointly by GIZ and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India. The aim of the project is to mitigate a number of nationally significant environmental problems, with the main focus placed on industrial waste water management. The project demonstrates methods for the reduction of acute environmental pollution and for improving resource efficiency in industrial production. This involves piloting technical solutions as well as business and management models at selected sites, achieving positive results and direct impacts in terms of improved environmental conditions. These pilot approaches will serve as examples for subsequent replication nationwide.
The project activities are grouped into the following areas:
- environment-oriented modernisation of three industrial areas (showcasing solutions)
- establishing conducive conditions at the national and state levels
- knowledge management and dissemination
These activities focus on the conveyance, treatment, recycling and reuse of waste water, the management of sewage sludge, monitoring systems, and improving processes in individual industries. The measures are complemented by training and skills development, as well as the creation of a virtual platform for the exchange of best practice technologies.
The project also supports efforts to establish an enabling framework at central and state levels. To this end, it proposes new measures for the policies, plans and support programmes intended to prevent or reduce pollution and to improve resource efficiency in industrial zones. Actors, such as industry associations, industrial site operators and private companies, as well as relevant entities at the central and state levels, are all encouraged to get involved in the project at various stages.
Women are steadily emerging as change-makers in terms of behavioural change to overcome environmental problems. For this reason, the project is working to create practical management and planning approaches for sustainable industrial zones that are oriented toward the inclusion of women.
The pilot locations for the project are selected industrial areas in the states of Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Delhi. In these states, it is expected that the project will lead to the adoption of technological and managerial best practices promoting efficient, environment- and climate-friendly industrial development in 10 industrial zones.
Results
The project has started demonstrating possible ways in which industrial development can become more efficient and environment-friendly, as well as resilient in the face of climate change.
Progress has been made in skills development for technicians and other employees of the waste water treatment plants. The project has produced the necessary training materials, and seven institutions have so far become affiliated with the Skill Council for Green Jobs. A number of training-of-trainer and skills development programmes have already been conducted
Already, five industrial sectors have reported improvements in the operation of their treatments plants, leading to reduced pollution loads and lower operating costs.
Thanks to participatory approaches introduced by the project, a former waste dump in Delhi’s Patparganj Industrial Area has been regenerated into a park, and dumps in Vapi Industrial Estate in Gujarat have been removed, and 20,000 trees planted in their place.
International consultants have started developing new management structures and service delivery mechanisms for industrial areas, as well as online monitoring systems for industrial waste water, enforcement directives and green rating systems for industrial areas.
Meanwhile, work is also advancing in terms of the project’s support for policies at the national and state levels and on developing guidelines for adoption by the state governments.