The Colour of Money

The Colour of Money
Seeing green in everything is no longer such a bad thing, in fact the world is rooting for an environment that let’s everyone make money

“If rising electricity bils are bothering you, switch to electrical appliances with the BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) label. You can reduce your electricity bills and help India increase the availability of electricity, simply by buying refrigerators, ACs and tubelights that bear BEE’s star-rated energyefficiency labels.” This is how promotional activities about energy-efficient products
are being run, keeping in view the limited availability of generation capacity, besides the urgent need to maintain an ecological balance.
The focus is clearly on saving the environment, so much so that a business enterprise that does not in some way improves the environment, by either manufacturing or dealing in green products or services, is living in the dark age. The case for saving the environment has already been made. The question now is, how well enterprises can adjust to the new normal so that they quickly find new competitive edges in a market which wants only green products and services.
So pervasive is the concern for the environment that governments throughout the world have literally created a new ‘green market’ through mandates. The star label, which reveals to the buyer how energy-efficient a product is, has become a common sight on products across most countries ever since it was conceptualised two decades ago (see Energy Star Across the World). Though still being applied in India in phases, it is a sign of things to come and cannot be ignored.

The water heater industry is the most recent addition in the list of voluntary entrants to the star-rated category, and fan manufacturers joined two years back. While there is still time for star rating to become mandatory for these and other products, it is inevitable, and the smart ones are fast expanding their range of starrated products (see Rise of the Stars).

Star-rated products are designed to use less energy, thereby bringing savings formanufacturers as well as consumers. Very soon a lot more products will come under the preview of BEE’s star-labelling, and it may become near impossible to deal in a product that consumes energy and does not bear the BEE label. This is, therefore, the right time to begin thinking in terms of totally green dealings, something that goes beyond simply manufacturing or selling green products.
Any enterprise can be green, be it engaged in manufacturing, trading or providing a service. In simple terms, a green activity or product is one that uses less resources, consumes less energy during operation, and can be disposed or discontinued without causing damage to nature. So, it’s not enough to make a starlabelled product if in the process resourceslike electricity, water and effort are being wasted. Installing a green building product is of no use unless the processes in the building too do not use less of everything.

A new building does not become green simply by using more of star-labelled products; it needs to re-use everything that has been removed from site during its construction, avoid transporting material from distances as this causes consumption of fuel, and have as inhabitants only those who live nearby or use the public transport. This is the true meaning of being green.

Taking this forward, a retail store can be green by itself. The City Square Mall in mall-crazy Singapore wears its green leanings on its shoulder, with a slew of eco-features including waterless urinals in the toilets, dedicated hybrid parking for customers, rain sensors for landscape irrigation, and real-time displays of the building’s energy performance for shoppers’ information. To top it all, the mall also features a 49,000sft urban park that provides a learning experience about ecology and the natural environment.
On a smaller scale, shops too can become green enterprises. By installing energy-efficient equipment and controls such as star-labelled air-conditioners and fans, and time and motion sensors in toilets, meeting rooms and pantries, their electricity consumption can be reduced by as much as 25%. Further savings are possible with the use of LED lighting, and avoidance of glare and pollution of light outside the shop. Increased use ofInternet banking, and waste paper and cloth for packaging, adds to the greenness of business. Ensuring that customers do not have to drive down to the shop unnecessarily and deliveries are completed in minimum trips also is being green.

• Rise of the StarsStars play a vital role in the purchase of electrical appliances. Their upfront cost may be high, but the ownership cost of a non-star-labelled product, meaning the monthly electricity bill, is much higher.
  Purpose of Labelling
• The BEE star energy-efficiency labels have been created to standardise the energyefficiency ratings of different electrical appliances, and indicate their energy consumption under standard test conditions
• The labels indicate energy efficiency levels through the number of stars highlighted in colour on the label
• BEE star labels include a star rating system that ranges from one star (least energy efficient,thus least money saved) to five stars
  The size of the appliance does determine how much energy it will use. Always recommendthe size or capacity that is suited to the customer’s needs, not the largest available. The amountof energy that is consumed by an appliance is measured in watts and not voltage. This means that an appliance with low voltage will still use more energy. When left on stand-by mode, appliances continue to use a quarter of the energy needed to run them. It is, therefore, advisable to switch off appliances, and even plug them off when not in use.
  Current Labelling
• Mandatory: Frost-free refrigerators, fl uorescent tube lights, air-conditioners, distribution
  transformers
• Voluntary: Direct-cool refrigerators, colour televisions, electric water heaters, ceiling fans,
  pumps, LPG stoves
• In pipeline: Washing machines, set-top boxes, diesel gensets, invertors, UPS, batteries,
  passenger cars, fax machines, printers, computers, laptops, mobile phone chargers

It is evident that practicing green can not only prove profitable for the enterprise but also the customer. No wonder many entrepreneurs as insisting that they will only conduct a business that is green and nothing less, because they are not just driven by a cause but also a keen business sense.
The success of green business, particularly in the western world, has shown that it is economically feasible. Besides, the emergence of carbon emission reductions (CERs) as the currency of the future is a sign that ‘being green’ is soon going to be the only show in town. Companies are already generating CERs (1 CER= 1,572) by implementing environment-friendly manufacturing processes that cut emission of greenhouse gases at their premises, reduce consumption of energy, recover waste heat, use renewable energy, and install effl uent treatment systems.

Apollo Tyres, for instance, uses waste heat generated in its plant at Baroda for other manufacturing activities, thereby cutting use of electricity. This qualifies it for CERs. Pune-based Bajaj Auto, through
its subsidiary Bajaj Finserv that operates 138 windmills in Maharashtra, earned 1,00,000 units of CERs in 2008–09. For every megawatt of electricity provided through a windmill, a company earns between 2,000and 3,000 units of CERs. Tata Motors, Bharat Forge, Bajaj Finserv and Apollo Tyres are actively monetising their CERs. The domestic auto industry has earned nearly 3.77 lakh CERs, with an estimated value of 18.5 crore!

Energy Star Across The World
Energy Star is an international standard for energy-efficient consumer products,
which originated in the USA. It was first created as a United States government
program during the early 1990s, but Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan
and the European Union have also adopted it. Devices carrying the Energy Star
logo, such as computer products and peripherals, kitchen appliances, building and
other products, generally use 20–30% less energy than required by federal standards.
However, many European-targeted products are labelled using a different standard -
TCO Certification - a combined energy usage and ergonomics rating from the Swedish
Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO).

However, not everything that appears green need be so. Particularly in the case of products that claim to be green, it is wise to be sceptic to a degree. Instances of green washing, where companies falsely claim their products to be greener than others, or industries unjustifiably insist their technology is green, are increasing.

A declaration that paper manuals will no longer be included in appliance packaging is more a cost-cutting measure than an attempt at being eco-friendly. Similarly, claiming that a refrigerator is green because it is halon-free is utter nonsense, since the use of this gas is not permitted in the first place.
Or take CFL bulbs, which boast that they will pay back in six months time, use 80% less energy, and last 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. But, they don’t tell that it’s important to dispose themoff properly, because they contain mercury which can irreversibly contaminate the environment.
Profit by itself is not such a bad thing, what is bad is the willingness to harm the environment that our children will inherit. A polluter in any corner of the world has the potential to harm people of any country. A person with absolute disregard for the environment is jeopardising the whole community. But, eco-entrepreneurs are saving the world, and earning profit.

Being an eco-entrepreneur is easy. Just stop selling a GLS lamp, build only LEEDrated buildings, specify only proven green building products, design spaces that use only locally available materials. This year The Green List brings you some pretty impressive concepts that were launched in the last 12 months, and which will enable you to become one yourself. 

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