Group 7_A | SDG 9: Industry, Infrastructure and Innovation
Submitted by - Chaitanya Bhatla - BJ20014 | Kartikey Dwivedi - BJ20023 | Rishav Roy - BJ20042 | S Sekhar - BJ20044 | Vaibhav Handuja - BJ20057 | Sowdith Vemparala - BJ20059
Industry, Infrastructure, and Innovation is the ninth sustainable development goal as per the definition of the united nations development program. This SDG deals with the implementation of resilient Infrastructure and promotes sustainable industrialization along with innovation. With the rapid urbanization of the global population - over half the world population is now living in cities - the need for investment in this specific SDG is increasing day by day. Urbanization is driven by increasing investment in Infrastructure and mass transport, which leads to a need for a clear action plan for developing this SDG goal on priority.
Key goals of SDG #9
are:
Goal
9.1: DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE, RESILIENT AND INCLUSIVE INFRASTRUCTURES
This goal involves
developing reliable and sustainable transborder Infrastructure that will be
used to support the development and human wellbeing. The key focus is on
affordability and equitable access for all.
Goal
9.2: PROMOTE INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIALIZATION
The key goal is to
increase employment and gross domestic product share for the nations, focusing
on doubling the numbers for the least developed countries.
Goal
9.3: INCREASE ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS
Create a financial
environment that helps to increase the access of affordable credit to the small
scale industrial enterprises
Goal
9.4: UPGRADE ALL INDUSTRIES AND INFRASTRUCTURES FOR SUSTAINABILITY
By the year 2030,
push to improve the industries' operational processes to make them more
sustainable. It can be done in two ways, one with an increased resource use
efficiency, and another would be to drive investments in clean and
environmentally friendly technologies and processes.
Goal
9.5: ENHANCE RESEARCH AND UPGRADE INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES
To facilitate
target 9.4, an increased push to research new technologies or upgrade current
industrial technologies to become more sustainable is essential.
Goal
9.A: FACILITATE SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Facilitate
infrastructure development in developing countries through financial,
technological, and technical support.
Goal
9.B: SUPPORT DOMESTIC TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND INDUSTRIAL DIVERSIFICATION
Ensuring a
conducive policy environment to support the development of domestic industry in
the developing nations
Goal
9.C: UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
Significantly increase the access to technology and provide "internet for all" in the least developed countries.
Relevance
of Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure in India:
To become the
five trillion dollar economy, India will need to increase its share of
industrial output in the global economy. Though massive, India's population is
a blessing in disguise as it will function as the demand center for the world,
which should lead to increased investments in the industrial landscape.
The manufacturing industry, accounting for around 14.2% of the world's workforce of 2.9 billion, is a significant employer. As per a UN article [1], the manufacturing sector jobs have a 2x multiplier effect on employment in other sectors. And hence the development of the industrial segment is crucial for India. This development demands enormous technological progress, which can only be brought out by innovation, increasing process efficiency, and developing new sustainable technologies.
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| Source: UN SDG |
The government's increased interest in pushing industrialization in the country can be seen by implementing various policies and reforms recently. Moreover, with the global supply chain dynamics shifting from China, we can see how the emerging nations such as Vietnam and Mexico have catapulted themselves as the global suppliers of low-cost products, providing stiff competition to India. To dislodge China from its position and to cement itself as the top manufacturing hub, SDG 9 becomes crucial for India to implement. Some key moves by the government in this direction are below:
1. Infrastructure: The construction of National Highways/roads increased from 4,410 km
in 2014-15 to 10,824 km in 2018-19.62. The 12 major ports have a cargo handling
capacity of 1,477.22 million tonnes in 2018-19,63, which has grown by 84
percent from 801 million tonnes in 2014-15.6 [3]
2. Business Reforms: Implementation of various reforms have helped India Jump 79 places
in the World Bank's ease of doing business rankings [3]
Business
Implications & Responses
After the advent of
industrialization in the western world, there has been a massive improvement in
people's lives due to the products and services and the quality of employment
associated with such industries. For every 1.1 jobs created in the industrial
sector, there is an additional generation of 2.2 jobs in other sectors.
However, the spread of industrialization hasn't been uniform. Many parts of the
world have been left untouched by industrialization gains, which can be
quantified from the fact that 937 million people don't have access to
electricity.
SDG 9 aims to deal with this issue by industrializing the developing and
underdeveloped world sustainably. [4], [5] infrastructure plays a significant
role in the supply side. Better the road infrastructure, the more approachable
the markets are. This allows people to access a larger number of product lines
and simultaneously have access to a newer market for future growth.
In India's context, the government has taken various initiatives like Make in India,
corporate tax cut, expansion of SEZ's, etc., aimed at boosting industrial
growth and increasing the share of manufacturing from 16% in 2015 to 25% in
2025. The government also seeks to improve the infrastructure to aid
sustainable development through initial Bharatmala, Sagarmala, and Pradhan's Mantri
Gram Sadak Yojana.
Source: India Voluntary National Review 2020
There are innumerous
opportunities that arise with the fulfillment of SDG 9. Indian industries would
tap into markets that were earlier inaccessible to them, given the widespread
network of road, rail, power, and internet infrastructure. The government's
financial inclusion scheme of Jan Dhan Yojana and further supplemented by UPI
initiatives has enabled India's fintech sector's growth.
Businesses,
especially the Manufacturing and Chemical industry, have proactively identified
areas where they could ramp up to align with SDG 9. [6] It is strengthening its
production assets to promote resilience and create frameworks, checks, and
balances to enhance synergy among various value chain players. MNCs and other
big players have designed a roadmap to address environmental concerns, reduce waste
disposal costs, develop circular business models, and ideate new business
opportunities. In enabling and constructing resilient infrastructure solutions,
chemical products play an essential role. By collaborating with other
industries, chemical companies will further allow open innovation and manufacturing
developments to promote integrated and end-to-end models.
On the innovation
front, educational institutes have stepped up to help India in achieving the
goals. As of 2020, the top three universities of India are at 45 rating, which is
quite close to the 50 that it plans to achieve. With the launch of Jio in 2016,
internet penetration has more than doubled. Close to 40% of India has access to
internet connectivity. With the rise of EdTech in recent times, education for
all has materialized for quite a few sections of society.
Similarly, infrastructure
development has helped make rural areas more accessible. In a span of 4 years, the
overall construction of National Highways has increased to 10,824 kilometers. Ports'
capacity has been improved to facilitate better trade and shipment performance,
resulting in higher productivity.
Overall, India has implemented business reforms towards reaching SDG Goal 9. It has improved its Ease of Doing Business Rating to 63 in 2019, quadrupled on the design patents, indicating improved product development and design, and has successfully managed to have one of the lowest per capita carbon emissions in the world [7].
Suggested
Path & Road Ahead
The recent news of
LG polymers' Styrene gas leak at Visakhapatnam serves as an eye-opener for the
targeted $304 bn Indian chemical industry ranked 6th largest globally [14]. India has received over $1
bn in investment into the chemicals industry through the FDI route, which
allows for 100% investment. Chemicals currently are the largest exporting
(14.35%,2.68 L Cr) [17] sector
of India by value.
When states are
enacting laws to limit plastics usage, they are simultaneously supporting the establishment
of Plastic parks alongside the Petrochemical parks coming up as part of PCPIR
(Petrol, Chemical & Petrochemicals Investment Region) 2020-35 policy. The
packing industry takes up 35% of the volume produced, simultaneously supporting
4 to 5 million direct and indirect jobs across formal and informal sectors [13].
The rampant
emissions (6% of total India emissions) by fertilizer and petrochemical plants
like Methane and Ammonia all year round and the subsequent runoff [15] and seepage post-application
constitute a significant threat to the livelihoods if not the environment.
India is also the 4th largest agrochemical producer and is a net
exporter of pesticides [18]. However, the recent ban on 27 items after suggestions by the
Anupam Verma committee [16] means a loss of 12000 Cr opportunity and high import costs of the alternatives
(350 vs. 1100), which are currently not manufactured in the country. Chemical
farming is the backbone of our food subsidy program, which is the largest in
the world (1.84 lakh crores) and heavily subsidized by the government at all
levels through MSP, Subsidy, and waivers
The tanning &
dyeing industry is a water-intensive and highly polluting industry across the
plains in Northern India. The wastewater is rich in Hexavalent Chromium and
other dyes that are carcinogenic in nature. The samples containing over 6200
PPM of Chromium VI [11] in and around
Kanpur's city is a major indication of the pollution in the Ganges river. The
CPCB, in consultation with the Blacksmith Institute (not for profit working
towards recovering polluted sites in low & middle-income countries), has
implemented wastewater and soil treatment and encouraged alternatives in the community.
This is the way
forward, tying up with leading technological organizations to share the best
practices with all stakeholders. The setting up of 8 Centers of Excellence in
India, working primarily towards creating sustainable bio alternatives to
chemicals, is a welcome step. This knowledge must be expanded to all institutes
to create awareness at all levels. Industry and the Institutions must leverage
the National Skill development scheme to encourage the general population to
train in sustainable practices.
The accidents happening in the country could be prevented with specialized courses in Industry risk and process management for the higher power and periodic assessments of risk awareness for all the employees in high-risk sectors like petrochemicals and fertilizers, which are the major contributors to environmental disasters. An independent body [11] setting that could assess the Industry profile and readiness and suggest ways to mitigate or restrict the industry's faulty practices should be fast-tracked. The current environment audits (NEERI - EIA) [8] and the Independent audits [9] must be made public for greater transparency and quick action on the defaulters. The delay in the implementation and lax policies is the bane of this sector.
Companies like Pidilite, which is OHSAS 18001 [26] certified for Health and Safety management on the premises, are also working to install Solar & Wind plants, contributing to about 16 % of their energy consumption. Through rainwater harvesting, the company has captured over 30% of the freshwater consumed in its operations. It has recycled over 820 Metric tonnes of plastic and is leading the zero-liquid discharge at 29 of its units. Through sustainable thinking at every level, the entire industry can deem itself compliant, and with the impetus from the government, the sustainable path can at least be chosen.
Bain & Co.: Bain has achieved 100% carbon neutrality for the ninth year in a row. Bain has reduced Scope 1 and 2 direct emissions by 68% by switching to renewable electricity and improving its office spaces' energy efficiency. The company has reached its carbon-neutral status mainly due to employee-led initiatives across 58 offices from activities involving reducing office waste, increased recycling etc. [19]
Aditya Birla Group: The company is ambitious in its steps to become a leader in sustainable business practices across its global operations. The company has devised its own sustainable business framework for responsible decision-making with multiple business lines under the Group. The framework is based on three pillars of 1) responsible stewardship (driving mitigation and performance today to international standards), Strategic stakeholder engagement (Identifying externalities and risks of disruption), and future-proofing (building sustainable business models for mitigation and adaptation) [20].
Pidilite: Pidilite currently uses renewable sources of fuel for 52% of the total energy generated and plans to improve this figure in the forthcoming years. This has helped them save 24,739 tCO2 emissions and ₹10.8 Cr in monetary value. The power generated by their farm projects are used in Mumbai's corporate office, an example of an in-house circular model. They have implemented measures that resulted in an overall reduction of 29 MT/annum of plastic material. Pidilite has been quick to adapt to Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) status in 67% of its manufacturing units. It also plans to recycle 100% of the plastic waste collected as a part of Extended Producer Responsibility by FY 2020-21. [18]
RPG-Zensar Technologies:
Amazon: There have multiple initiatives by Amazon in the Affordable housing and disaster-resilient infrastructure for the communities that it serves in. Amazon has provided a $100 million commitment with non-profits to build a shelter for the homeless in Seattle. It has also offered an immediate grant of $2mn under "Rights now needs fund" to Alliance for education to help vulnerable needs during COVID times. Also, Amazon has spent over $17 million in cash and products to aid people suffering from natural disasters. [22]
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