4 Organizations Working Towards Environmental Improvement in India

Like every year, 2022 will also witness themes and campaigns around World Environment Day. One of the most pressing topics of our time, around the environment is climate change. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth. Climate change has been a pressing issue all over the globe, for years now and there are organizations that have been working extensively to solve issues related to climate change.

While there are global campaigns, which will be organized around World Environment Day, there are four such organizations in India working extensively towards environmental protection.

1. PRADAN: Founded in 1983, PRADAN is one of India’s foremost social development organizations working on large-scale rural poverty alleviation. Given the deep deprivation in rural pockets, particularly among tribal and vulnerable groups, PRADAN promotes sustainable livelihoods, integrated with work on issues of gender, health, and climate change. It has worked extensively around Renewable Energy; Integrated with natural resource management; regenerative agriculture, carbon sequestration through large scale plantation of both forest (e.g. Arjuna, Asana) and non-forest species (Horticulture plants e.g. mango, guava), adoption of Solar Energy for rural electrification and irrigation; in-situ water and soil conservation through treatment of drainage lines, land levelling and bunding, staggered and contoured trenches, and creation of water harvesting tanks; promotion of climate-resilient regenerative agriculture.

2. Indian Biogas Association (IBA): The association has been working relentlessly towards the use of Biogas and Biofuels, which can be used to combat air pollution and attain the goal of a sustainable greener environment.  It has been instrumental in reducing compostable waste in various states. Presently, the industry is using a minuscule fraction of the highly potent organically degradable waste across the country for generating Biogas/ Bio CNG/CNG. The biogas industry can contribute significantly to the reduction of this waste if the scheduled commissioning of plants across India undertakes on time. Presently, there are around 200 odd biogas / CBG plants with the processing capacity of approximately 20,000 metric tons per day of all kinds of potential organic waste including MSW and other wastes like industrial waste, agro residues, etc. that are commissioned or in different stages of plant installation across India under various Government schemes like a waste to energy scheme of MNRE and Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. IBA is extensively contributing towards the abatement of global warming by reducing the emissions of Green House Gases.

3. Uflex Asepto: Asepto is the Liquid Packaging brand from the house of UFlex Limited. It is the first Indian manufacturer of aseptic liquid packaging material with a state-of-the-art facility. Its offering is designed to deliver user convenience, easy opening, and optimal shelf life to products like juices, non-aerated alcoholic beverages, and highly perishable liquid consumables. The company has been working towards sustainable packaging and recently launched India’s first U–shaped paper straw. The u-shaped plastic straw market also produces 5-7 billion plastic straws annually, which contributes largely to the non-biodegradable industry. The u-shaped paper straw will change the entire industry dynamics in the u-shaped straw industry and immensely help in reducing the carbon footprint.

4. TIDE: It is a Bangalore-based NGO, working for community development in the areas of Energy, Water & Environment, and Livelihoods. TIDE has a vision “To be consistently successful in addressing developmental concerns of needy communities through technological interventions.” TIDE has in the past 18 years, worked on over 170 projects, with over 30 technologies and products and has an annual saving of about 30,000 tons of firewood and about 45,000 tons of CO2 emissions. They also register students as “Environment ambassadors”, who carry the message of saving the environment everywhere. TIDE’s approach has been reported as Best Practice by The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).