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Green Business Ideas – Innovations that can make a difference

A new partnership launched on 19 February 2013 by four UN agencies aims to support 30 countries over the next seven years in building national green economy strategies that will generate new jobs and skills, promote clean technologies, and reduce environmental risks and poverty.The four UN agencies – the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) – will provide a comprehensive suite of green economy services that will enable countries to transform their national economic structures to meet the growing demands and challenges of the 21st century. – (read more).

The Indian Budget for year 2013-14 was presented to the Parliament. With Fiscal deficit seen at 4.8 point of GDP in 2013/14; Gross market borrowing seen at 6.29 trillion rupees in 2013/14 and major subsidies bill estimated at 2.48 trillion rupees from 1.82 trillion rupees of which Petroleum subsidy is seen at 650 billion rupees in 2013/14 – Innovation is the need of the day.

Quoting the finance Minister – Growth is a necessary condition and we must unhesitatingly embrace growth as the highest goal. It is growth that will lead to inclusive development, without growth there will be neither development nor inclusiveness. However, I may sound a note of caution. Owing to the plurality and diversity of India, and centuries of neglect, discrimination and deprivation, many sections of the people will be left behind if we do not pay special attention to them. As Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel prize-winning economist, said, “There is a compelling moral case for equity; but it is also necessary if there is to be sustained growth. A country’s most important resource is its people.” We have examples of States growing at a fast rate, but leaving behind women, the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, the minorities, and some backward classes. The UPA does not accept that model. The UPA Government believes in inclusive development, with emphasis on improving human development indicators. I hope this Budget will be yet another testimony to that commitment. (Read full text)

While TV news channels, were filled with experts talking about the pro and cons. Not once did I hear and it may be my failing; any one mention about the National Action Plan for Climate Change Control. The Finance Minister briefly touched upon. And neither did anyone consider, Stiglitz – “compelling case of moral equity” – to be connected to the aspect of environment. Every budget talks of Sustained growth, NOT Sustainable growth.

While it would earn us some votes, when we say – ” a Country’s most important resources is its people” the real truth is – Every Countries most important resources are its Natural resources! And the ability of its people to use it sustainably.

As long as a Country is able to sustain its reserve of minerals, water, flora and fauna it shall be wealthy. And this is the most important resource which the people of any country need to be called developed & a super-power.

However, any MBA with a background in Economics and Law would find this hard to understand, simply because they have been trained in a way where the datum to measure success is different. While this catastrophic error in the modus of learning and business conduct has been recognised and thus the Inclusive Wealth Report and the Stern Review; the percolation of the thought from mind to matter is yet to make the desired impact. As is clear from the 2013 Budget India presented.

If we combine the UN agenda as revealed in the opening paragraph to the brief mention the FM took, it is evident that –National Innovation Council; can and should stand up and be noticed. Both the agendas of UNIDO & UNITAR can be addressed through it. While UNEP and ILO shall get a great boost.

It has the potential to be a game changer if participation to it becomes fashionable. Yes, it is an important marketing tool. Just as it is fashionable to be in the Social media, and thus its popularity, one must create the desire for the youth to be a member of the NIC. It must be made into a must have. The media should run a program which says ” have you given your idea for sustainability to NIC ? ” Are you one of the cool guys & gals who do? ” – Revolution can be created. The media has done it, it’s time it does so for the Country and the Planet.

And one does not have to be from the Science stream, to innovate. The Gujrat Chief Minister. Mr. Narendra Modi, was not explaining an invention, when he spoke at the India Today Enclave 2013 .But the ideas he gave of improving railways, or achieving sustainable urban /rural development are innovations in itself. The magic of Mr. Modi is not his politics ( most Indian’s are indifferent to politics and politicians ) but his grass-root approach to problems affecting the people. His ideas can be implemented both by individuals and the governments. This is the most endearing mantra. The mantra many politicians may be having but due to their love of politics have not brought them to fore, to the public; and thus be recognised as a statesman.

Gujrat is perhaps the only one which understand the potential of innovation quicker, and it is something the Government at the Centre and other States must understand. The people of India are not in love with petty politics and are almost everyday innovating and giving ideas which matter; as is evident from the article by R.N. Bhaskar posted in the DNA News paper on 13th March 2013 –

India has plenty of sunshine. It has many people. Consequently, it has very little land per inhabitant (see table).
Any policy regarding solar power must, therefore, take into account the twin advantages of people and sunlight. And this is where India appears to have forgotten something important – rooftop solar. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was right to harness solar power targeting a capacity of 20 GW by 2022. There have been significant successes as well: During the past five years solar tariffs have fallen from `19/kWh to `6.52/Kwh in the last round of reverse bidding in Andhra Pradesh. At this rate, solar power tariffs should reach grid parity before 2017.
But the Mission does little to harness the power of households. To understand this, consider India’s population of 1.2 billion. Assume five people to a household. That gives us 250 million households. To be conservative, let’s take just one-fifth this number, 50 million, as households with rooftops.
As Avinash Patkar, advisor, technology, Tata Power, explains, even a conservative figure of 200 square feet per rooftop (village rooftops can be significantly larger), with 100 watts of installed capacity per square metres, gives us a 2 kW system per rooftop. The 50 million households will thus have a combined capacity of 100,000 MW. That should give us an annual output of 1,600 kW/hour of installed capacity.
Critically important, this can be done without using up large tracts of land. Today, there is a growing suspicion that many solar farms have been put up because of the land factor.
Each household thus becomes both producer and consumer. The household consumes freely his own rooftop’s power but also earns when he sells surplus power to the grid. Since the distance between the solar panels and the households isn’t great, there will be huge savings in transmission (capital and recurring) costs. Once installed, maintenance costs are minimal. The savings would be massive for rural household electrification.
Some grumble about the capex involved. At around Rs 100/W, each rooftop would require investments of Rs 2 lakh. Collectively, the country would have to invest around $200 billion, or `10.84 lakh crore, (100/W x 2,000 W per household x 50 million households).
But large land tract solar producing are already spending that much. Moreover, considering the increased gas tariffs that the Rangarajan Committee is willing to pay to private gas producers this is a better way to create energy capacity. Finally, `2 lakh per household isn’t much, especially if it can be done on a public-private-partnership basis. Thus, India could save on energy import bills and have an environmentally friendly solution.
Some policymakers have begun to respect this concept. In November 2012, the Punjab government decided to make rooftop solar compulsory for all buildings, public or private, especially for houses constructed over an area of one kanal and above plots in the urban estate. It began to partly introduce what Germany did ten years ago, and revolutionised the solar power industry. But more on that next week.

The article & Mr. Modi vindicates what many were writing and some of those thoughts are reflected in Green Building Ideas:Using Solar panels as roofing sheet instead of asbestos; Green Business Ideas – Applying Solar OPEX model on Green Buildings will make Grid parity easy;Green Business Ideas: Solar Net Metering can help provide solar power in the night. And many such thoughts are posted everyday. Yet we do not find any real movement from the government of India to implement the thoughts in the scale and urgency it warrants.

But, when inaction can happen, even on ideas given by the Chief Minister of a State; especially in the matter of sustainable development and renewable energy; the situation is dire indeed. Development can’t be hostage to partisan politics especially if it has a direct bearing on the well-being of the planet. Lets’ for once stop thinking for the well-being of Humanity – the singular cause of all the devastation – and focus on the development of the Eco-system. A guide for Dummies is already found – The Story of Stuff – on You Tube; by TIDES Foundation. But it is the second part which is more interesting, The Story of Change – which actually shows us how we can turn the tide in favour of sustainable development goals.

It is indeed sad, as said by Bittu Sahgal in the gripping speech he gave at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2013 ( the video of which one can find in my blog under – Must watch) – we do not have enough anger to drive the change we require to save ourselves from Extinction.

Clay Cooker

If anger can’t save us and it won’t. Innovation and especially green innovation will. The only way forward today is to innovate a Green Business Idea every day and encourage the ideas which are already there, by bringing them into the main stream. If one visits the website of National Innovation Foundation, other than finding a pressure cooker made of Clay, featured here, one would also find some amazing products, which have yet to become main stream.

Natural Water Cooler

Perhaps with help of CIICESD and the likes we may see products like the Natural Water cooler, The Natural Water Cooler is a low cost, energy efficient, environment friendly water cooler that is based on the principle of heat exchange. It cools water naturally according to the external temperature and humidity.The technology has tremendous potential in dry and hot climatic conditions (i.e. tropical) and where electricity is not available. The use of copper tubes for flow of water has health benefits too.

If there is one thing I would like to see large corporations to use, and perhaps it can begin with the next UNFCCC meet, is the refrigerator which keeps vegetables cool and does not require any electricity to do so.

Clay Refrigerator

Why do the inventor of these products never get a Noble Prize? They should be probably the frontrunners for the Peace Prize, if not technical innovation, as these inventions could save and limit the use of many natural resources which are depleting towards oblivion. And there scarcity could lead to strife.

These ideas captures ones imagination as to how Sustainable practice can be implemented in the modern life-style, while living with the technology and materials which were developed by the early human civilization. Who knew how to be one with Mother Nature.

One can argue and it would most probably be true, that these products may not achieve the economies of scale. And would also have technical imperfection when matched against the perfection the GHG producing/consuming modern appliances. However, if one begins to change the datum of acceptance, to what is comfort and what is luxury, things may begin to look up. Further, the perfect machines of today were not the same when the were first conceived. Ford does not make the Model -T any more.

Already in the practice of LEED / GRIHA buildings we talk about thermal comfort and have understood what is optimum use. Yet the practice of it is limited. This can only change when the pundits of advertisement partner with the inventors to give the spin it requires to become popular & high-fashion and thus in time norm. And it should not be very difficult. because barely 60 years ago almost every house hold in India, cold water came from an earthen pitcher and cool air was mostly through passive cooling design, which still stand the test of time in the Palaces of India.

The innovators in India are simple people. Ordinary yet extra-ordinary is their approach. Especially the innovator of this simple product. A flower pot created out of cow -dung. In one simple stroke the inventor has captured methane, prevented GHG and given a 100% recyclable product. A lesson the west can learn to clear their cesspool.

A genius who would perhaps not even see the steps of the mighty UN. But someone whom India should hail as an hero. Because it is people like them who can solve the Global warming issue in a sustainable way.

Gopalbhai Surtia hails from Gujrat. So did Mahatma Gandhi.