Startups Helping - India Go Green

STARTUPS
HELPING INDIA
GO
GREEN
INDIA’S GREEN ECONOMY - AN INTRODUCTION
In recent years, India’s new age start-up companies

have increased their focus on environmental awareness
and are going beyond advocacy for plastic-free or
paper-free workplaces. The latest agenda is to drive
initiatives centred on responsibility towards
sustainability. Nearly all companies have begun
adopting greener practices to reduce their carbon
footprint- it refers to the amount of greenhouse gases
produced by a single entity and is measured as tonnes
of CO2 emitted per year. The following are some
examples of companies attempting to change their
carbon equation.
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STARTUPS HELPING INDIA- GO GREEN
WASTE MANAGEMENT - A PROBLEM IN INDIA
According to experts, millennials in India are largely

responsible for this shift towards eco-friendly practices.
India’s demographic profile heavily leans in the favour of
the youth who are driving awareness and change. “The
youth of today is extremely conscious of prevalent
issues that plague the environment, most particularly
waste management. This interest has been driven partly
by what they see around them, but also in large part by
companies mandating work hours to be spent on

community projects—employees now want to get involved at the ground level,”
said Manvel Alur, the CEO of ENSYDE during an interview with Economic Times.
ENSYDE provides design solutions on energy, water and waste management.
In India, >75% of the waste generated is recyclable, but ~30% is recycled. Waste
management is becoming a critical concern in the country and simply cannot be
ignored any longer. Recent estimates state that at the current rate of recycling,
India will need several landfills as large as the city of Bengaluru by 2030 to dump all
the generated waste. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, <15% of the
municipal solid waste generated is processed or treated. In India, efficient waste
management is plagued by various issues ranging from lack of proper guidelines,
planning on the part of authorities, poor waste collection, and treatment system to
poor awareness among citizens about waste segregation. Though there have been
numerous attempts from both urban local bodies and private stakeholders to
increase awareness about waste segregation among people, the impact has been
minimal simply because efforts were limited to only a few regions.
START-UPS ADDRESSING THIS CONCERN
To solve India’s waste miseries, several start-ups are getting involved and making a
difference. The following are some companies offering innovative, efficient
solutions for waste management and repurposing waste for goods with commercial
value.
EcoBuddy manufactures environment-friendly products and is driven

by the idea of encouraging people to reduce the use of non-biodegradable products
in daily life. The company offers alternate options for daily consumables such as
bamboo toothbrushes, cotton grocery bags and organic detergents for dishes and
laundry. Founder of EcoBuddy is a Pune-based engineer Suraj Said shared with The
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Better India that he launched this initiative because “There were quite a few
recycling units in the city, and yet there was so much waste. I wondered if it had
something to do with people’s lack of knowledge about waste and waste
segregation.” Initially, the organisation was involved in awareness campaigns but
as its outreach hit critical masses, it began manufacturing zero-waste products for
everyday needs.
Beco is another example of a consumer goods start-up,

which manufactures sustainable alternatives to single-use
paper and plastic products. The company produces
household items such as facial tissues, toilet paper rolls and

kitchen rolls made from bamboo pulp and corn starch.
These products are 100% biodegradable and do not deplete
natural resources such as trees and water.
Bare Necessities takes a cradle-to-cradle approach for each product

by using all natural, locally sourced ingredients that have no harmful
impacts on health or the environment. It is a zero-waste company,
hoping to change the narrative of waste in India. The company offers
a large variety of zero-waste lifestyle products ranging from home care,
personal care, dental care, hair care to stationary, mobile phone cases and bags.
Sutrakaar Creations is a project initiated by Neerja Palisetty

and offers solution to recycle paper waste anchored by the idea of

zero-waste. The start-up has invented an eco-friendly process to
recycle paper into textiles and is providing a source of livelihood for many
unemployed women. It uses discarded newspapers and all kinds of paper waste to
weave yarn from paper. The goal is to promote sustainable livelihoods in tandem
with environmental conservation.
Bluecat Paper, founded by Kavya Madappa, produces paper using

secondary agro and industrial waste such as cotton rags, flax, lemon
grass, mulberry, rice stubble, coffee husk, banana stumps, coconut
husk and elephant faeces. To make tree-free paper, the company
collects ~20 tonnes of secondary wastes from ~100 farmers and five factories every
month and produces savings of 30 tonnes of wood per month. In comparison with
the traditional approach, this innovative method of manufacturing paper saves
upwards of 55,000 litres of waters a day.
Founded by Shagun Singh, Geeli Mitti Foundation builds cool, durable homes
using mud, bamboo, cow dung and lime in villages. The organisation vouches for
sustainability by creating spaces and structure that abide by the most natural form
of living. The project aims to provide
alternative housing in villages, along with
creating awareness on reusing waste
materials for productive uses. A former
marketing executive turned environmentalist,
Singh uses scientific knowledge in her

architectural design. In conversation with She
The People, she highlights that, “the earth
bag technique is extremely important. It is
highly beneficial for earthquake-prone areas.
Many people do not know that during the
Nepal earthquake, in one area, only one
building kept standing while the others
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collapsed. It was because of the earth-bag technique that it was built with.”
Hasit Ganatra, an engineer, founded ReMaterials in 2013 to provide alternate

roofing solutions to villages. The start-up repurposes plastic and agricultural waste
to produce roofing tiles using innovative technology. The company’s goal is to
provide better roofing solutions than the traditional and metal cement sheets
currently available in the market.
Photoprint is a Pune-based enterprise that upcycles plastic waste into filaments

for 3D printing using proprietary technology. The company aims to reduce the
plastic waste that remains uncollected and littered in the country. According to
statistics published by the government, >15,000 tonnes of plastic waste is
generated daily; of this, ~6,000 tonnes ends up in dump sites or littered. It partners
with waste pickers to gather raw material for manufacturing. This plastic raw
material is converted into flakes, then melted and extruded to produce HDPE
filaments for 3D printing.
GPS Renewables is a waste-to-energy company that

has pioneered clean and low-cost technology for
biowaste management. It produces biogas and high-
methane-containing bio CNG (compressed natural gas)
in the process. These fuels can be used for power
generation and cooking purposes. This start-up was
founded in 2012 by IIM-B alumni, Sreekrishna Sankar

and Mainak Chakraborty. The company’s biogas units
are compact, prefabricated systems requiring minimal
space and installation efforts. The company is tapping
urban establishments to install the biogas units and
uses its patented remote monitoring technology to
maintain and manage odour and operational efficiency
by using IoT technology to ensure minimum downtime
for clients. The total waste handling capacity of these
units is 30-50 tonnes a day for 40 units, preventing
thousands of tonnes greenhouse gas emissions.
Chakr Innovation is a creative venture that converts pollutants to ink by setting

up ‘soot catcher’ devices. These devices have been specially developed to convert
soot spewed by diesel generators and engines into ink. The company’s main goal is
to help businesses can meet their regulatory compliance standards on pollution
and improve air quality in their region. At client site, it places the device close to
the exhaust of the diesel generator to capture all particulate matter. This matter is
then converted into ink, which has commercial value and is supplied to local ink
manufacturers. This method/technique reduces the company’s carbon footprint
and ensures compliance on industrial emissions.
Apro Green Tech, founded by Abhijeet Sirkar in Mumbai, provides assistance to

businesses and government bodies on corporate social
responsibility and green technology initiatives. The

company also helps them in planning rural/urban
development projects and integrating green technology
in infrastructure. It has been credited for developing
innovative uses to recycle plastic waste. One of its main
accomplishments is the ‘SUSLOO’ model, which is a
sustainable sanitation solution for public spaces. It
constructs specialised toilets by applying Apro’s
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patented ‘Bottle Brick Innovation’ technology using plastic and glass bottles,
recycled milk and juice cartons to avoid the use of natural wood. Other sustainable
sanitation innovations include bio-toilets, dual-flush systems, eco-blocks, sensors
for water tap in basins to reduce water consumption and diverting basin-used
water for toilet flushes. The start-up has another patent ‘Hemptech’ under its belt.
Hemptech is a technology to produce Hempcrete, which is a biocomposite made of
the inner woody core of the hemp plant. This gives a lightweight cement-like
insulating material, weighing about a seventh or eighth of the weight of a concrete.
Hempcrete provide a more sustainable alternative to construction material cement
concrete, which is a known source of heavy greenhouse gas emissions.
This For That is a peer-to-peer, mobile-app based, fashion swapping

platform for women. This start-up was among the first of its kind to
champion the cause of reducing fashion waste with wallets. Their
message appealed to consumers across the spectrum of cost savings,
free shopping using barter system and being environmentally friendly.
Their business model functions on the consumer need to regularly refresh their
closet without financial outlays. The app enables buyers to post items from their
closet for a credit value and exchange it for a different item of similar credit value
with another member in the swap community. The aggregator platform ensures all
quality control mechanisms are functioning well to ensure smooth transactions
and high customer service. Textile waste makes up >10% of waste in landfills, This
For That wants to tackle this problem by providing an alternative to fashion pieces.
Through their efforts, they hope that each item of clothing can have a longer shelf
life.
Proklean Technologies is helping industries

reduce the harmful effects of industrial
effluents on water bodies. These effluents are
responsible for the bulk of water pollution and
extinction of marine life. Proklean has
developed a unique, high performance and
probiotics-based solution that replaces soaping
agents and chemical surfactants used by
manufacturing plants across industries. This
solution is natural, non-toxic and fully

biodegradable. The company caters to the
largest waste producing sectors such as
textiles, leather and hospitality. Co-founder and
CEO, S. Sivaram Pillai, explained his innovative
technology to Business Today, "for the first-
time, a unique combination of naturally
occurring probiotic microbes (good bacteria, in layman's terms) and certain other
natural ingredients are being used to develop these products. We use a proprietary
fermentation and formulation process. Besides pollution control, there are other
advantages also, such as 20% water saving.”
Swajal, a technology start-up, has flourished in

keeping with the country’s sustainability agenda. The
company employs IoT technology to provide clean
drinking water vending systems powered by solar
energy. Co-founder Advait Kumar, in an interview with
YourStory, said, “these machines are 80% cheaper than
reverse osmosis systems or water coolers.” Most
companies nowadays rely on solar energy, partly or
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wholly, to power their offices and related infrastructure. Kumar believes his
products are a natural extension of the ongoing transformation in solar energy
applications.
Boss Lady is a natural, vegan, cruelty-free make-up brand founded

by Kajol Mahendra Bafna in 2019. Most make-up brands resort to
cruel product testing on animals. This brand was found in Mumbai
with a desire to have humane and responsible make-up products in
the market. The company’s products are made using ingredients such as jojoba oil,
sunflower wax, almond oil and calendula wax. Since the company began its
operations, Boss Lady has launched ~15 products that comprise different shades of
lipsticks, eyeliners and highlighters that provide cruelty-free make-up alternatives
to women.
Ecoplore is a green
marketing firm, which
aims to encourage
people to explore nature
in an eco-friendly
manner and promote
healthier lifestyles. The
start-up was nominated
among the top start-ups
for ‘Smart Fifty’ by IIM

Calcutta Innovation Park
for its unique take on
the tourism and
hospitality sector. The
founder and CEO,
Prerna Prasad’s
description of her venture with She The People is “Ecoplore is an endeavour to
protect the environment. Through our venture, we promote hotels that are at least
30% green inside their boundary and are made of non-concrete material. The idea
is to protect whatever serene environment we are left with.”
Antara Chatterjee founded Little Local to change the way Indians take vacations.
She introduced the concept of volunteering while taking a break. In an interview
with She The People, Chatterjee shared that, “I became obsessed with the idea of
merging travel, community impact and unique experiences.” Little Local’s
community impact and volunteering activities largely centre on environmental
conservation, with slight variations in activities across communities based on their
needs.
Dinesh Parikh, Sachin Sharma and Aditya Parikh founded Delhi-based GEM Enviro
Management in 2013. GEM collects pre- and post-consumer packaging waste from
factories, offices, hotels, motels and institutes. The waste is then recycled into
products such as T-shirts, caps and bags, which are then sold under its brand
‘Being Responsible’. The company also organises various programmes to raise

awareness about environmental sustainability and the importance of recycling in
corporates, universities and institutes.
ZunRoof is a home-tech start-up introducing smart and clean energy

choices to homeowners. The company helps generate electricity
through solar energy by using unutilised rooftops. Founded in 2016
by Pranesh Chaudhary and Sushant Sachan, the Gurugram-based start-up is aiming
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to become the largest solar rooftop

provider in India. It claims to have
assessed over 150,000 homes, made
designs for 17,000 homes and has
installed solar rooftops in over 5000
homes. In conversation with
YourStory, Pranesh talks about how
environmentally conscious their
office is, “We ensure our employees
always follow the best environment
practices. As a result, the last

person leaving the room switches
off any electronic appliance that is
not in use in the office. There is absolutely zero food wastage and employees water
the potted plants on their desk daily.” Apart from this, ZunRoof does not use any
paper in the office for printing, and ensures it takes full advantage of the fact that it
is a tech start-up and opts for communication via technology. “Technology is a key
differentiator for home-tech start-ups such as ours. Going paperless is not
something we have enforced, but was rather inevitable as it supports easy
collaboration within and across teams, ensures confidentiality, maintains a
historical record and keeps our employees connected irrespective of where they
are working from,” said Pranesh. Speaking about their other eco-friendly initiatives,
he shared, “Our office is well lit with natural lighting and we do not use any
artificial lights till 7:00 pm, and only energy efficient LED lights are installed in the
office. We have a strict no-plastic policy within the company, as a result of which
all employees have been provided with metal water bottles and only reusable mugs
and plates are used. All customer-facing processes are also digitised and executed
through our mobile app”.
Gurugram-based The Man Company is a male grooming start-up that

was launched in 2015 by Bhisham Bhateja. According to the company,
besides giving customer products that are beneficial to their aesthetic
improvement, it is meticulous about ingredients used in products. The company’s
entire product range is free from harmful chemicals and infused with essential oils.
Bhisham told YourStory, “We use 100% natural essential oils that are extracted
from herbs, flowers, seeds and fruits. The manufacturing of sodium lauryl sulphate
(SLS) has a drastic effect on the environment and using products containing
sulphates pollutes groundwater and results in bio-accumulation. All our products
are free of this harmful chemical and parabens. We are also strictly against animal
testing and our containers are recyclable.” The start-up also refrains from using
plastics as much as possible in its office space and all packaging products are
recyclable. Speaking about being eco-friendly, and how other start-ups can do the
same, Bhisham said, “Eco-friendly for us means reducing the impact we have on
the environment as much as possible. While we do have certain practices in place,
the key one being not using any SLS or parabens, we know there is still a long way
to go in this regard. Each company can decide the process for themselves, and
what best suits their values and ethos. As long as we stay honest, authentic and
true to the values and commitment to our customers, we will see success.”
Glass2Sand was founded as a zero-waste company to address the

growing menace of glass waste in Delhi. Founder Udit Singhal has been
named by the United Nations to the 2020 cohort of young leaders for
‘Sustainable Development Goals’, the highest-profile recognition
opportunity at the world body for youngsters who are leading efforts to combat
the world's most pressing issues. Through his initiative, empty glass bottles are
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prevented from being dumped into landfills. These glass bottles, if left unattended,
do not decompose for a million years. His venture collects and crushes them into
commercially valuable sand. Glass2Sand has stopped over 8,000 bottles from being
dumped in landfills and produced 4,815 kilograms of high-grade silica sand.
Ahmedabad-based EcoRight sells eco-friendly bags with an

emphasis on design to attract customers. Founded in 2017 by Udit
Sood and Nikita Barmecha, who launched the brand in India and the US via
Amazon, the start-up has expanded into other countries, including Europe,
Australia and Canada. The start-up sells eco-friendly jute bags and promotes an
environmentally conscious mindset in the office space as well. Employees do not
use any plastics in the office space and instead use biodegradable bags. The
company also practices rainwater harvesting at their offices and runs entirely on
solar power. It segregates the daily waste into dry and wet waste. The excess fabric
used in its products is sent from the factory for recycling. Apart from this, it has
reusable utensils in the office so that employees avoid using disposable cutlery
that comes along with food orders. The company’s efforts are aimed at making
India plastic-free. It claims that each EcoRight bag will in turn replace the use of 50-
100 plastic bags. Having sold over one lakh eco-friendly bags, EcoRight has
prevented the use of ~5,000,000 plastic bags.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES PROVIDING THRUST TO PRIVATE

PLAYERS
Government policies and corporate initiatives are helping India forge ahead with
its sustainability agenda. The government’s support—in the form of regulations
and commitments to amplify the use of clean energy resources and promote clean
energy concepts—has been vital in driving growth. Also, the authorities have been
undertaking several large-scale sustainable power projects to achieve the country’s
targets as per the Paris Agreement. India plans to have 175 GW of renewable
energy capacity by 2022.
The ‘National Solar Mission’ was launched in 2010, which aims to promote
ecologically sustainable growth as well as address India’s energy security
challenge. In June 2015, India’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi agreed to raise
the country’s solar power capacity target under the National Solar Mission is to
reach 100 GW by 2022. Under this mission, various incentives such as zero import
duty on capital investments and raw materials and low-interest rates and priority
lending sector have been set up for 2022.
Skill development in solar and wind energy sectors in India is expected to create
over 0.3 million jobs by 2022. To meet the rising demand for trained manpower, a
Na onal Solar
Mission is to reach
100 GW by 2022
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target of 50,000 ‘Suryamitras’ of skilled

manpower in the solar energy sector was
set for 2019-2020.
The ‘Green Energy Corridor Project’ in

India has received a Rs. 75.26 billion (US$
1.05 billion) soft loan from the German
Development Bank. This project aims to
improve the sector framework and
conditions for grid integration of
renewable energies with conventional

power grids. Through this soft loan, 40%
of intrastate and 70% of interstate
transmission schemes will be funded.
Distributing decentralised solar power and providing electricity to all has become
a major action point for the government of India. The programme includes all
households, urban villages and slums, which are currently not a part of the grid or
centralised distribution. However, there are a few cleantech companies that offer
standardised packages that enable people living in slums to switch from kerosene
to solar power. For example, Pollinate Energy sells renewable energy lanterns and
stoves on a five-week, interest-free payment plan to families, with bare-minimum
necessities, living in the slums of Bengaluru.
The government is making efforts to boost funding for start-ups working in the
sector by extending the capital gains exemption for investments by a year i.e. till
March 31, 2022. The government has also decided to extend the eligibility for
claiming tax holidays for start-ups by a year to March 31, 2022 as an incentive. In
addition to these extensions, the Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister for Finance also
announced that the government plans to incentivise the incorporation of One
Person Companies (OPCs) by allowing them to grow without any restrictions on
paid-up capital and turnover, and convert into any other type of company at any
time. All these initiatives are tied together with a common thread of building
sustainability within the business model. A sustainable business is any
organisation that participates in eco-friendly or green activities to ensure that all
processes, products and manufacturing activities adequately address current

environmental concerns, while maintaining a profit. In other words, it is a business
that ‘meets the needs of the present world without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.’ The Brundtland Report emphasised
that sustainability is a three-legged stool of people, planet and profit. Sustainable
businesses try to balance all the three parameters through the triple bottom line
concept across their supply chain-using sustainable development and sustainable
distribution to affect the environment, business growth and society.
Sustainability goals are met by following the tenets of carbon offsetting, which is a
way to compensate for emissions by funding an equivalent carbon dioxide saving
elsewhere. Carbon offsetting projects help combat global climate change as well as
care for local communities. In many instances providing much needed

employment, health improvement, biodiversity, reforestation and broad social
benefits to developing countries. Carbon offsetting is done by a stepwise approach
of calculating emissions, setting targets for reduction, implementing reduction
programmes, tracking success of carbon offset and communicating carbon offset
efforts, all the while meeting national and international regulations.
India is the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the
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US. During the Paris Agreement, India pledged to reduce its intensity of emissions
by 33-35% by 2030, compared with the emission levels in 2005. India has also
committed to reach 40% of its installed electricity capacity to be supplied by
renewable or nuclear sources by 2030. In line with its commitments fuelled by the
nationwide lockdown for COVID-19, India is on track to decrease its emissions.
According to Carbon Brief estimates, CO2 emissions fell by 30m tonnes of CO2
(MtCO2, 1.4%) in the fiscal year ending March 2020. This is the first decline
recorded in India in four decades. Furthermore, emissions fell by 15% y-o-y in
March and by 30% in April 2020.
ECOSYSTEM FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Climate change and global warming have been rising concerns in recent years. The
nationwide lockdown’s drastic impact on improving air quality in the country was
widely discussed - both in shock and awe. This has increased awareness among
consumers and led to the realisation that efforts on an individual level can have an
exponential impact to the whole. As a result, the country is recording a shift in
consumer preferences impacting daily habits and routines to even purchase
behaviour and brand loyalty. The following are some of the key shifts in consumer
habits impacting the growth of this sector:
Building Plastic-free Kits

Consumers are becoming more planned and
thoughtful in their use of disposables and

single-use plastics. Practices such as
travelling with a bag to go shopping, bringing
a coffee mug to the workplace, carrying a
water bottle and having a handy kit of cutlery
and metal straws have become commonplace.
Incorporating Plant-based Green Meals

Consumers are slowly shifting towards plant-
based meals, while some are adopting
entirely vegan lifestyles. The knowledge that
breeding livestock produces significant
greenhouse gases and consumes exorbitant

amounts of water is causing this shift in
lifestyles. Author and activist Michael Pollan
describes the new lifestyle as “if it came from
a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t”
in his book ‘In Defense of Food: An Eater’s
Manifesto.’
Offset Travel Footprint

Travelling by air, rail or road burns important fossil fuels and causes pollution. To
balance the damage done by their travels, consumers have sought alternative
methods to offset their footprint. Some alternatives include picking a direct flight
over a hopping flight and using the carbon offset programme with the airline.
These programmes financially support green projects and initiatives that reduce
pollution. Given that travel is one of the fastest-growing sectors in India and ranks
high on its carbon footprint; this trend is likely to have persistent consumer
demand in the future.
Electronic Waste Management

Digital adoption in India is happening at a lightning pace, but this is giving rise to
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billions of devices that cannot be repaired or

resurrected. Only 5% of these devices are
recycled or disposed of responsibly by
consumers. According to the Global E-Waste
Monitor, India generated >20 lakh tonnes of e-
waste in 2017; that number was expected to
grow by 500% in 2018. However, in recent times,
electronics stores such as Croma have begun
featuring e-waste drop off kiosks for consumers.
This move can meet the demand for proper
disposal of dead electronics/devices and the

rising consciousness among consumers.
Waste Compos ng
Start-ups such as TrustBasket and DailyDump are paving the way for India’s waste
composting movement. These companies have developed compact home
composting products that can turn food and kitchen waste into fertiliser. Vinita,
the lead researcher at DailyDump shared with Vogue India that, “at least 60% of the
waste generated at home is organic waste that does not need to go to the landfill.”
Zero-Waste Stores
Buyers are adopting zero-waste lifestyles and championing the cause for zero-
waste stores. Simply replacing a plastic bag with a cloth bag while shopping is no
longer enough to undo the damage done in packaging and delivery. Shoppers are
flocking to zero-waste stores that encourage buyers to bring their own boxes and
containers while shopping for pantry provisions. Brands and stores that reuse and
refill or use plantable packaging are on the rise.
One Green Investment

Forward-thinking consumers are pledging to
make one green investment per year. For some,
this means reducing their emissions on food
consumption by building a vegetable garden
for their kitchens. For others, it may imply
rethinking their power consumption and

straining scarce fossil fuels by installing a
solar-powered roof.
Reduce or Recycle
Consumers are championing the twin causes of sustainability—reduction and
recycling. In the pecking order of the green movement, refuse precedes everything.
If it can be refused, it does not need to be reduced, reused, repaired, repurposed or
recycled. Purchasing hybrid automobiles and electric vehicles is also a popular
choice among consumers wanting to elevate their green quotient.
Pre-Owned Goods
Purchasing or exchanging second-hand goods for similar goods of equal value is

gaining traction. The age-old barter system, coupled with modern aggregator
technology, is enabling numerous consumers to congregate and conduct ‘swap’
transactions in seconds. Driven by the idea of mindful consumption and knowledge
that fashion is among the highest waste producers, clothing swap applications and
events are witnessing record attendance by shoppers. Start-ups such as Exchange
Room, This For That and Swap are leading the charge in transforming mindsets and
plugging the consumer demand gap.
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Brand Loyalty
Stark shift in consumer preferences towards brands with recyclable packaging and
refillable programmes has been observed, especially in the fast-moving consumer
goods segment. Environmentally conscious brands whose products are free of
sulphates, parabens and carcinogens, and have been produced using a net zero
carbon emission approach are gaining popularity. sOn a personal level, we can all
aim to reduce our own footprint with a diet that involves less import, and by
reducing consumption, reusing whenever possible, mending what is broken and
engaging in a shared economy by renting or swapping. It is to say, shop if you
must, but boycott blind consumerism—it doesn’t make the world a happier place,”
suggests designer activist, Céline Semaan, in an interview with Vogue India. She is
the founder of Slow Factory, a sustainability-focussed design lab.
Do-It-Yourself Natural Alterna ves

Consumers are privy to the unintended
pollution cause by microplastics in
packaged cleaning and personal hygiene
products such as detergents and
shampoos. They are preferring soap nuts
over shower gels and shampoos or
purchasing soap starter kits to make their
own chemical-free soaps from scratch. For

cleaning products, consumers are
preparing solutions of baking soda and
vinegar for a chemical and pollutant-free
alternative.
Go Paperless
Paper-free transactions in banking,
insurance, purchase receipts and
government paperwork are a rising
trend across the country. As India is
adopting and adapting digital
modalities across its products and

services, consumers can hope to
attain a 100% paper-free lifestyle in
the future.
Awareness against Greenwashing

There is one downside of sustainability becoming a buzzword, companies and
brands may make unsubstantiated claims of being environment friendly as
marketing tactics. According to industry expert and founder of Slow Factory
Foundation, Celine Semaan Vernon, there is a high margin for unscrupulous
behaviour. She told Vogue India that, “the problem with the fashion industry’s
solution to turning plastic into thread, and later, a fleece or polyester item is that
once washed, these items release microplastics into the water. So are taking a
visible plastic bottle and returning it into the ocean as invisible particles.” The
awareness about this issue has consumers demanding detailed information on
product development, raw materials sourcing, conservation and recycling efforts
in production and distribution.
The consumer demand for sustainable energy and technology solutions has
boosted the Indian cleantech industry in the last few years. The country, with its
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aim to secure energy consumption and reduce pollution, is now seen as a

desirable destination and has a big market for clean technology with huge FDI
investments. The country is expected to grow its renewable energy capacity to
192.1 GW by 2023.
The 2015-18 economic boom was a key driver in the proliferation of clean
technologies in the market. During this period, India was one of the fastest-growing
economies in the world. The accelerated economic growth, coupled with the
demand for clean power and government’s support, made India an attractive
choice for eco-friendly investors.
Investments in clean technology and the renewable energy sector are being driven
by rapid urbanisation, depletion of non-renewable resources and effects of climate
change. The world’s largest solar park ‘Shakti Sthala’ is an example of one such
investment. It was launched in March 2018 in Karnataka with an installed capacity
of 2,000 MW by an investment outlay of Rs. 65 billion (US$ 2.3 billion). In addition,
private equity investments in wind and solar power increased to Rs. 60,000 million
(US$ 836 million) in 2017.
Regardless of all growth factors, this sectoral shift is obstructed by a few systemic
challenges. Renewable sources such as wind and solar are unreliable across
seasons and regions and cannot be trusted to generate large amounts of energy
without the ability to store surplus quantities for later use. Furthermore, these
resources have limited capacity to scale in line with the rising demand for power.
Another crucial challenge for the sector is the financial outlay for installation and
maintenance. As harnessing solar and wind energy entails proper system planning
and integration, which requires additional costs of research and technological
intervention.
Conclusion
Innovations by Indian start-ups are a testament of technological progress and
positive impact rendered from having an environmentally conscious approach to
business. Global climate, government support and private investments have
created a healthy ecosystem for start-ups to experiment and develop solutions
suited for India. Simultaneously, rapid development across India in the past few
decades, especially in mobility, infrastructure and urbanisation has changed the
balance of the environment unfavourably. The country needs to take leaps and
bounds towards being more environment friendly. Being environment friendly is
about taking the necessary steps and making conscious efforts to change lifestyles
and conserve resources. The effort to go green has been felt by many industries, as
companies are beginning to realise how their operations impact the environment.
From using recycled or renewable resources to reducing energy consumption and
waste, there seems to be a universal effort by companies and start-ups in India to
protect our planet and prevent climate change.
13

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STARTUPS

In recent years, India’s new age start-up companies

WASTE MANAGEMENT - A PROBLEM IN INDIA

According to experts, millennials in India are largely

companies mandating work hours to be spent on

START-UPS ADDRESSING THIS CONCERN

EcoBuddy manufactures environment-friendly products and is driven

Beco is another example of a consumer goods start-up,

household items such as facial tissues, toilet paper rolls and

Bare Necessities takes a cradle-to-cradle approach for each product

Sutrakaar Creations is a project initiated by Neerja Palisetty

and offers solution to recycle paper waste anchored by the idea of

Bluecat Paper, founded by Kavya Madappa, produces paper using

Singh uses scientiﬁc knowledge in her

Hasit Ganatra, an engineer, founded ReMaterials in 2013 to provide alternate

Photoprint is a Pune-based enterprise that upcycles plastic waste into ﬁlaments

GPS Renewables is a waste-to-energy company that

founded in 2012 by IIM-B alumni, Sreekrishna Sankar

Chakr Innovation is a creative venture that converts pollutants to ink by setting

Apro Green Tech, founded by Abhijeet Sirkar in Mumbai, provides assistance to

responsibility and green technology initiatives. The

This For That is a peer-to-peer, mobile-app based, fashion swapping

Proklean Technologies is helping industries

solution is natural, non-toxic and fully

Swajal, a technology start-up, has ﬂourished in

Boss Lady is a natural, vegan, cruelty-free make-up brand founded

for ‘Smart Fifty’ by IIM

‘Being Responsible’. The company also organises various programmes to raise

ZunRoof is a home-tech start-up introducing smart and clean energy

to become the largest solar rooftop

practices. As a result, the last

Gurugram-based The Man Company is a male grooming start-up that

Glass2Sand was founded as a zero-waste company to address the

Ahmedabad-based EcoRight sells eco-friendly bags with an

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES PROVIDING THRUST TO PRIVATE

target of 50,000 ‘Suryamitras’ of skilled

The ‘Green Energy Corridor Project’ in

renewable energies with conventional

processes, products and manufacturing activities adequately address current

care for local communities. In many instances providing much needed

ECOSYSTEM FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Building Plastic-free Kits

thoughtful in their use of disposables and

Incorporating Plant-based Green Meals

greenhouse gases and consumes exorbitant

Offset Travel Footprint

Electronic Waste Management

billions of devices that cannot be repaired or

disposal of dead electronics/devices and the

One Green Investment

rethinking their power consumption and

Purchasing or exchanging second-hand goods for similar goods of equal value is

Do-It-Yourself Natural Alterna ves

own chemical-free soaps from scratch. For

modalities across its products and

Awareness against Greenwashing

aim to secure energy consumption and reduce pollution, is now seen as a

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