Whenever we talk of environmental consciousness, we often talk about how advanced countries in Europe and the US have brought about legislations that compel or incentivize environmental friendly practices. EU has been the most active when it comes to environmental awareness and has put in place strictures like the RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances), WEEE (Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment). Meanwhile, in the US the popular Energy Star Ratings is quite a hit, in addition to the numerous laws put in place by different states like California, etc.
Many people feel that such rules and strictures are a big reason why companies and enterprises in the US and Europe function in an eco-sensitive manner. And more often than not I come across arguments wherein it is stated that the reason why companies in India function with impunity is due to the lack of any formal structures or guidelines for the same. Come to think of it, lack of eco-friendly rules could be a part of the problem it is certainly not the sole or even the biggest one.
A big reason why governments and administrations across the west have adopted these rules are because of the high awareness levels of the end users. And this has been brought about by scores of NGOs that have taken green activism to newer levels. Thanks to the numerous NGOs not only the governments, even the companies have been forced to come clean on the way they function. Take the case of the US, there are scores of activists that have organized themselves into pressure groups, for instance the Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) or the Green Computing Impact Organization (GCIO) and the immensely successful Green Electronics Council that came out with the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to assist in the purchase of “green” computing systems. Even the industry players, to show that they are not all that bad as they are made out to be, have organized themselves into a action group called as Green Grid that advocates energy efficiency in datacenters and computing ecosystems.
To top it all, the dare devil Green Peace has jumped into the fray and now comes out with a quarterly report titled, Greener Electronics Guide, that ranks companies based on their environmental practices. Most of these are hardware vendors, and with every report the companies go up and down the rankings.
Such pressure groups shape the public opinion and there are lot of instances of customers and companies making their purchase decisions based on the reports and standards that these organizations publish. For instance there is a lot of support for EPEAT, the state of California has mandated that all the purchase decision for hardware must be made keeping in mind the guideline. Thus, much of the credit for green consciousness is due to green activism that is rampant here.
Coming back to India. While it is true that there is not much push from the government side, it is also a fact that there is almost zilch consciousness in the consumers mind. A customer here would not make a purchase decision based on the companies eco-track record, solely because he or she has not been sensitized to the need for it. This sensitization is usually done by such NGOs or pressure groups. Since there is not many of them in India, even the corporates are not that keen to go green. Green Peace to some extent has been doing that, talking about the use of toxic substances in HCL and HP products, but it has not really touched emotional chords because of the limited reach.
What we need is hundreds of activists in India, organizing themselves through the web and making green happen. There are so many of them within each company that do so in their own personal way. Somehow if the collective power could be tapped, somehow these disparate individuals be grouped and inspired to pick up the cudgels. For that we need scores of green activists across the length and breadth of this country. And till that happens, the governments or the enterprises will never feel the need to go green.
I for one, am ready to pick up the green cudgel. Are YOU??
Shashwat DC
(shashwat.dc@gmail.com)
