Indian firms warming up to eco-friendly ways - DNA
October 17, 2013
Green is good Although heading in the direction of green IT and sustainability, India Inc has a lot to learn
Realising the importance of green and sustainable living in today's world, India Inc seems to be doing its bit for the environment. A Gartner report states that India’s spending on green IT and sustainability initiatives have increased by 17.6% to reach $29.2 billion in 2013. Last year, the spending was $24.8 billion.
Thanks to various initiatives by the government, which is pushing for changes that will likely set the tone for sustainable, low-carbon economic growth in the country in the coming years, businesses and investors in India are slowly waking up to green and sustainability issues.
"Many Indian organisations still lack the strategic focus that comes with a clear understanding of the core issues and key technologies that bring about real change in the vision for sustainability and green IT in an organisation," said Ganesh Ramamoorthy, research director at Gartner.
"Policy initiatives and regulatory measures from the Indian government will be the key drivers for implementation of some of the technologies necessary to usher in low-carbon sustainable growth," he added.
Though a few leading organisations in the country are beginning to make initiatives in this direction, they have a piecemeal approach that relies more on the hype surrounding the solutions, than on the real benefit of these to the organisation’s green vision.
According to Ramamoorthy, India Inc faces some unique challenges in terms of unreliable power infrastructure and growing urban-rural divide, which will give them the opportunity to innovate and test new cost-effective approaches and green technology solutions that may be adapted in other countries.
Even corporates feel that green initiatives will gain relevance to stay competitive.
"There are regulations that are going to come up in this space. More and more consumers are demanding green products. Hence, companies have to change their strategy to be more relevant to consumers," says Sandeep Kumar, global head, business consulting group, ITC Infotech.
