 ONE YEAR DOWN THE LINE
Representatives of pulp and paper companies met the GRP
unit to take stock of their environmental performance, a year after the release of the
rating in a workshop organised by the Centre for Science and Environment.
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| One year after the paper sector ratings
were released, the project found that the companies had not only taken the rating
seriously but had also implemented number of recommendations |
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The feedback given by the companies were very encouraging. The
impact of the project can be summarised as follows:
 The
recommendations given by the project to the companies have been useful in convincing top
management for investments in technological upgradation. This has led to adoption of
better technology by few companies, better resource consumption and most importantly
investments in farm forestry.
In the
short span of a year, many companies have begun to alter their policy of buying wood from
natural forests and move towards farm forestry. The sourcing from farm forestry has
increased to 80 per cent from earlier figure of 60 per cent.
At the
time of rating, water consumption was as high as about 250 cubic metre (cum) of per tonne
of paper produced, it has gone down by 16 per cent one year down the line
In terms
of usage of chlorine, as many as 23 per cent companies have stopped using elemental
chlorine.
During
the rating, there was only one company which was certified for ISO 14001. Post GRP, there
are 3 companies with EMS certification and 8 are in the process of obtaining the same. The
feedback from paper sector was something unexpected. Companies had not only taken the
rating seriously but had also implemented some of the recommendations.
The impact of the project on pulp and paper sector only goes on to
prove that economic liberalisation and privatisation need not do any environmental damage
if adequate space and support is given to the civil society to act as a powerful and
knowledgeable watchdog.
GRP will not only help to improve environmental governance in the
country by introducing transperancy into the environmental performance of Indian companies
and put public pressure on them to constantly upgrade their work in this area but it will
also go a long way in lifting the environmental concern within the companies themselves
right to the top. GRP will make industrial leaders realise that environmental compliance
should not be restricted to meeting government norms but can actually become a proactive
exercise in which official norms constitute only the minimum effort.
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THE
FIVE
LEAVES
AWARD |
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 Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi - 110 062
Ph: 91-11-29955124, 29956110, 29956394 Fax: 91-11-29955879
E-mail: cse@cseindia.org Website: www.cseindia.org |
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