Industrial Planning, optimum utilization of resources, water conservation, etc; are the just the few issues our government needs to address

Industrial Ecology appears to have captured the imagination of the corporate world in the developed countries. It is not only being researched by academics but also practiced in reality. Our first reaction on ‘Industrial Ecology’ seems like a contradiction since the general perception is that industries cause ecological damage. The term appears to suggest that it has something to do with industry and ecology, but its scope goes far beyond that. It aims to give a platform for planning strategies for sustainable development of industry while looking for a long term economic well being of the society.

While in the west, Industrial Ecology has been more focused on preserving their environment. In our country the aim of Industrial Ecology is to restructure the industrial system, which is quite unsustainable right now, so that there is an optimal use of all resources like raw material, energy, land, forest, human resources, etc. So this way, when companies start filing a CSR report, they need to look at their resource planning and waste management.

In developing countries resources are often scarce and the population density would feel the impact of unplanned activity, which does account for the availability of resources in the long term. For instance, after much controversy, in 1996 Supreme Court ordered relocation of a large number of polluting industries in New Delhi to the outskirts of the city. It was cited that the government agencies had not abided by the city’s zoning regulations spelled out in the Delhi Master Plan.

Another glaring example of traditional industrial planning which allowed cluster development without looking at the resources availability happened closer in Tamilnadu. First was the case of the leather tanning industry near Chennai which contributes about 225 million pieces of hide in India. In early 1970s the economic planners discouraged raw hide export and promoted tanning and exporting finished leather. With the total disregard to available resources, the polluting industry has greatly endangered freshwater in that dry region.

Primarily Industrial Ecology is the flow of material and energy resources, while an economic study is the flow of money. We have learnt to be careful of income and outflow of money but don’t care about where our resources come from and what’s happening to the by-products. In developing economies the resources are not pegged at market price and they don’t reflect the actual cost.

For instance, India ends up exporting water when we sell t-shirts or oranges in the global market. This concept is called ‘Virtual Water’ where the free water resource given to the farmer ends up as ripe oranges in gulf countries where they pay for water. Similarly if we produce a t-shirt in Tirupur we are exporting 200 litres of water, since that city doesn’t have any water. Basically when we are treating polluted water we are investing resources to make it toxic and then cleaning it up. Is it better to look at a cleaner process which utilises less water and less energy in treatment. Or look at locating tanneries along the seacoast where they can draw salt water, desalinate and then use it.

While clustering of same category of industry is happening now, we need to look at clustering of dissimilar yet connected industries which can create a symbiotic environment. For instance a whole lot of small scale industries can be located around a large steam generation plant to which they can be connected. One good example of Industrial Symbiosis has been the city of Kalundborg in Denmark where six different partners have come together optimising each other’s resources. Similarly in India we have distillery, paper and sugar factories which are located next to each other to use the by-products of sugarcane.

One great example of Industrial Symbiosis is Seshasayee Paper and Boards in Tamilnadu which has even involved sugarcane farmers into this process. The company has buyback agreements with the farmers and in turn also takes responsibility of supplying water. Much of the water supplied for cultivation is the treated wastewater from the paper production. The company also uses bagasse pith (a waste after the paper making) and other biomass as the fuel for its captive power plant.

There has been a rapid movement of manufacturing industries towards developing countries like India. For instance there has been a 200% growth in the dye industry in India aided by the removal of quota restrictions in garment production. This is quite a dangerous trend due to its toxicity and enormous water consumption.

Like the way we plan our resources at home or in an apartment block, we need to focus on optimising the usage on a large scale too. For instance, the water shortage in our cities is already reaching alarming proportions with ground water level going down even in Bangalore. In Chennai they are charging Rs.1500-2000 for a 2000 litre tanker and water is being rationed per person. So we need to think of ideas like drip irrigation for our kitchen garden, rain water harvesting and flush management.

Moreover since 92% of our water usage happens in agriculture, there is a need for material flow planning. While states like Bihar, U.P. can afford to grow sugarcane and rice, other states need to look at less water consuming crops like sunflower or maize. Research is going on, on the level of water usage in various countries for different crops. Since water is freely available in some parts of India, we are over indulgent, while other parts are suffering from drought.

Ramesh Ramaswamy is an expert in Industrial ecology and now heads Resource Optimisation Initiative. Mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Issue BG51 June05

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