The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Private sector's role in conservation under scrutiny

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 09, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Private sector's role in conservation under scrutiny

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, NOV. 8. The Confederation of Indian Industry's annual environment conference will focus on the private sector's compliance with sustainable development and management of hazardous waste and water resources.

Enviro-2004, to be held here between November 18 and 20, will highlight the growing influence of corporations in driving economic, environmental and social change, the need to conserve and manage water and identify sites for storing and disposing of hazardous wastes, the conference chairman, V.R. Pappu, told presspersons here.

Stakeholder demands

On November 18, the participants will discuss corporate sustainability reporting in the context of the expectations of investors and other stakeholders. ``They expect the highest standard of ethics, transparency, sensitivity and responsiveness from leaders and managers,'' Mr. Pappu said. Companies were facing clearly articulated expectations from customers and consumers on their contribution to sustainable development.

A number of countries had implemented strict environmental-safety regulations for imports and those which did not conform to the norms would be ignored, said K.P. Nyati, head, Environment Management Division, CII. ``The lack of corporate sustainability impacts on our growth, imports and exports. For instance, Volvo certifies that chemicals on its "blacklist" cannot be used in any of the components that it buys. In the European Union, motor parts must be recycled/recyclable after they are junked."

Over the next two days, the proceedings will focus on handling the vast quantities of hazardous waste generated by industries and tackling the water crisis. Reduction, recycling, treatment and disposal of industrial waste, understanding risks and liabilities in waste management, policy issues in inter-State disposal of wastes, water availability, conservation and reuse would be discussed, Mr. Pappu said.

Mr. Nyati said the strained relationship between non-governmental organisations and industry would be scrutinised. ``There has been a huge change in the corporate outlook. Several Indian companies have already started incorporating environment-health safety information in their annual reports.''

The participants would examine whether sharing information on the environment policy of the company proactively with the NGOs would help to bridge the yawning gap between the two.

A mission for representatives of industry would be organised on November 17 and 18 at Hosur to study the best environmental practices.

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