Experts suggested measures to make Uttar Pradesh carbon-free and create a green environment at the CII conference
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) on Friday inaugurated the second edition of the UP Sustainability Conclave. On this occasion, discussions were held on the theme “Decarbonizing Uttar Pradesh: Promoting Net Zero and Green Built Environment.” Leaders from various industries and government policymakers participated in the event. Panel discussions were also organized on topics such as “Decarbonizing Uttar Pradesh: Policy and Regulatory Pathways” and “Decarbonizing Construction: The Role of Emerging Green Technologies.”
At the conference, Yawar Ali Shah, Co-founder & CEO of AMA Herbal and Convenor of the CII MSME Panel, said, “Pure air and pure water are our responsibility. We must pass on the same environment to future generations that we inherited from our ancestors. For this, we must first reduce the water used in households, as pumps installed in homes are lowering the city’s water table by three to six feet every year. At our factory, we have made special arrangements for rainwater harvesting, where a rainfall of just half an hour can store 1 to 1.5 lakh liters of water. To purify the air, we must plant more trees and stop concrete constructions around them. Such constructions reduce the carbon absorption capacity of trees, their roots cannot grow deep, and the trees become weaker.”
In this context, Navin Kumar, Director – Rolling Stock & Systems at Lucknow Metro, said, “In Lucknow Metro, with the help of over 300 water harvesting units, we are conserving nearly 5 million liters of water.”
This was followed by a panel discussion on “Decarbonizing Uttar Pradesh: Policy and Regulatory Pathways,” where Anjani Pandey, Business Head at Omaxe, said, “Like other sectors, the real estate sector is also concerned about the environment. There are two major reasons for this—first, the growing awareness among the public, and second, the rules framed by the government for environmental protection. During construction, we try to cause minimal harm to the environment and use maximum renewable energy sources. Nowadays, before buying any house or flat, people ask how much green area is covered. For private businesses, it is important to meet this demand to sustain themselves. Yes, it is true that keeping sustainability in mind increases construction costs, because what was once considered normal has now become a luxury—be it the use of solar energy or other technologies. Initially, it slightly increases the cost.”
Other panelists included Anil Kumar Mishra, Chief Town & Country Planner of the state government; Gaurav Pandey, Chief General Manager (Technical) of UPSRTC; B.S. Laspal, Chief Engineer of Military Engineering Services; Masarrat Noor Khan, Chief Engineer of PWD; and Chetan Tyagi, Joint General Manager (Environment & Social) of UP Metro. At the end of the panel, Amit Srivastava, COO of IGBC Lucknow Chapter, thanked everyone.
In the second session, a discussion was held on “Decarbonizing Construction: The Role of Emerging Green Technologies,” where experts shared their views on reducing carbon emissions through new technologies. Topics ranged from electric vehicles to sustainable water systems.
