Back A coveted stamp
R. Savitha
| IT companies are keen on becoming environmentally-friendly entities because green's the colour of the future. |
ALONGSIDE writing software code and developing new technologies, IT companies today are also going green at a brisk pace. Besides the stamp of quality, they want to be certified eco-friendly too. eWorld offers a quick round-up of the action.
Priti Rao, who heads the development wing of Infosys in Pune, says Infosys has created its own environment management system called `Ozone initiative.' Under this, employees from various facilities are brought together under a group and their responsibilities made clear to them. These include segregation of waste, recycling paper, monitoring the usage of electricity and encouraging the phasing out of plastic. The basic idea is to show that as the IT industry in the country grows and employs thousands of young professionals, a cleaner environment is the order of the day.
Hari Prasad Hedge, General Manager, Wipro, is also of the same view. Wipro, one of the first to obtain the ISO 140001 Certification, has combined environment, health and safety factors so that employees are benefited the most. The stress is on energy conservation, water management, waste management and environmental legal compliance. Teams have been developed at each of their facilities where brainstorming sessions take place every month. These sessions track evolving technologies and how they can be fitted into the company's fold. PCS Industries, which is into the manufacture of personal computers, servers, laptops and which has now diversified to writing software in the application service provider (ASP) model, also follows an environmental policy and management system integrated into its day-to-day functioning. "We have tie-ups with vendors who collect waste packaging material such as thermocol and disintegrate it in a biodegradable manner,'' Arun Narayan Thomas, spokesperson of the company, says. The accreditation has been achieved for their Silvassa plant. The company's other manufacturing facilities, located at Goa, Pondicherry, and Dubai, will achieve accreditation within the next six months. Then there's the regular water check with a pH meter. . It also ensures that generators with high decibel levels are kept in an isolated chamber with sound-proofing. PCS has also opted for foam as its packaging material. Priti of Infosys says the Ozone initiative was started last year,and the first development centre to receive the ISO certification was Pune, which was a pilot project to start with. Now, the certification has been awarded to all its existing facilities across the country, including the development centres in Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Mohali and Mysore. The objective is to find out to what extent these measures have helped towards conserving water, electricity and paper. He says efficiency, due to these regulations, appears to have gone up by 10 to 15 per cent since accreditation.
Hari of Wipro says his company's environment initiative was started a year ago, and there has been about 45 per cent of water conservation on a regular basis. Wipro ensures that water is recycled and utilised for landscapes or any other activity where it is feasible, he says. A water consumption balance has been worked out. This starts from the point where a new facility is being constructed and is followed strictly at every point of time. Other initiatives include water harvesting for which the regulations are being drawn up. Canon India, a digital imaging company, is seeking to raise the awareness bar on the environmental distress at Siachen Glacier. The company has joined hands with the Himalayan club to `save the Siachen Glacier'. It is estimated that 21,6,000 tonnes of load has been transported on to the Glacier since 1984. About 12,000 tonnes of load is flown into Siachen Glacier every year, over 50 per cent of which has been dumped there as hazardous waste. Experts claim that 40 per cent of this waste is plastic and metal pollution at the Siachen has had adverse impact on the flora and fauna and is posing a threat to the livelihood and food security of people in the entire region.
Alan Grant, President and CEO, Canon India Pvt Ltd, says, "Canon is committed to environmental improvement of the region. The first step is to increase public awareness to help address the enormous stress on the glacier. This initiative in India is in keeping with our worldwide view, what we call Kyosei — a philosophy that reflects Canon's concern for the future.''
Picture by Bijoy Ghosh
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