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Abstract Physical, Regulatory and Brand value risks due to climate change challenges are foreseen by businesses globally. This paper is oriented towards these challenges and prepared a comprehensive Greenhouse gases (GHG) footprint plan and identification of mitigation opportunities for ONGC, a fortune 500 and national oil company of India. Internationally recognized standards and guidelines like Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ISO-14064, and American Petroleum Institute compendium have been referred for quantifying carbon emissions in nearly real 400 + operation control facilities. The GHG inventory is based on Operational Control approach to identify the boundary for which emissions are to be quantified and two significant scopes of emissions viz Direct Emissions and Indirect Emissions are identified and quantified. The quantification concluded that GHG emission footprint for the year 2016–17 is in the range of 9 million tons of CO 2 equivalent. GHG emissions mainly account due to stationary combustion, fugitive emissions and wastewater treatment, which share the around 56% of total emissions. Another 24–26% of emissions are contributed due to flaring, processes by glycol dehydrator, acid gas removal units, and by electricity purchased from the grid. As a result, it has been found that ONGC emits 187 kg CO 2 e emissions per tonne throughput and also compared with its global peer organizations. At the organization level, "Key Industrial Sites" have been identified as contributing higher GHG emissions and accordingly key "hot-spots," a list of 15 GHG mitigation opportunities have been proposed in the paper. Two GHG mitigation initiatives based on solar energy and bioenergy application undertaken at ONGC has also been briefed on case studies. Highlights • Comprehensive carbon footprint plan and identification of mitigation opportunities for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a fortune 500 and national oil company of India. • Guidelines like Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ISO-4064 and American Petroleum Institute compendium are referred for quantifying carbon emissions from direct and indirect sources. • Green policy, incentives and mandatory compliance. • CO2e emissions per tonne throughput and also compared with its peer global organisations. • Key hot-spots, with a list of 15 GHG mitigation opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we suggest how India can become atmanirbhar (i.e. self-reliant) in development of green energy technologies- solar, battery storage and green hydrogen, given its stated commitments in clean energy. First, we introduce a generalized policy design – a set of ten policy measures: seven necessary and three sufficient- with the former being on the supply side and the latter on the demand side. The paper argues that while the ideal policy mix would be technology dependent, based on technology maturity and the strategic positioning of the country, it should draw both from supply side (i.e., for domestic development) and demand side (i.e., for scale deployment). Then, we suggest the required individual strategies for each of the three technologies- such as a manufacturing focused policy for solar solely to develop competence in manufacturing; a bottom-up, manufacturing-led policy for battery storage with focus on deployment in parallel with technology development; and traditional top-down, research-led strategy for green hydrogen by entering via development through supply side and complementing via deployment through demand side. Finally, we compare these with the existing domestic energy industrial policies as well as those prevalent in other jurisdictions such as the US and China. • Create self-reliance for India in green energy technologies. • Develop generalized policy design with supply and demand side measures. • For solar, manufacturing focused policy for competence solely in manufacturing. • For battery storage, bottom-up manufacturing-led policy with deployment alongside development. • For green hydrogen, top-down research-led strategy where deployment follows development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the emerging landscape of Industry 5.0, the integration of innovative technologies such as Cognitive Digital Twins (CDTs) is pivotal for steering industrial processes towards sustainability and inclusivity, particularly in developing nations striving to align with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study explores the transformative capabilities of CDTs in Industry 5.0, concentrating on India's quest for inclusive and sustainable industrialization in alignment with SDGs. The inclusion of the TOE-HOT framework enriches the research's analytical foundation, providing a nuanced perspective to investigate the multifaceted dynamics of technology, organization, environment, and human aspects within the sphere of industrial evolution. By employing the Best-Worst Method (BWM), Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), and MICMAC analysis, the study delves deep into the synergies between industrial strategies, technology, and sustainable development. The findings reveal the paramountcy of the Technological Dimension, emphasizing CDTs strategies like real-time optimization and data analytics, which are instrumental in dynamically adjusting manufacturing processes and fostering alignment with market demands. The research also stresses the roles of various CDTs strategies like strategic alignment, change management, job security, skill augmentation, and environmental compliance in industrial sustainability and inclusivity. The paper concludes with invaluable insights for policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers, emphasizing the necessity for a holistic, interconnected approach to fully harness the potential of CDTs in realizing the aspirations of Industry 5.0 and contributing to India's sustainable industrial advancement by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal solid waste management has become a serious concern in India, and for efficient management, it is important that accurate methods are developed for estimating solid waste types, quantities and its distribution. Objective of this research paper, which is based on a HUDCO funded project, is to understand how residential land use and associated activities’ based specific key generators of solid waste in a small/medium scale urban area are related to the quantity of waste generated and thereby to model the same. The study is aimed at deriving a more rational method to estimate quantity of solid waste generated type-wise, in place of the per capita based en-bloc estimation system practiced at present. Criticality of residential land-use and related generators are identified through a Delphi/AHP based expert survey process. Their relationship to waste generation is established based on the field survey conducted in 2 select wards of three cities namely Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore and Kozhikode in South India. The sample size was 150 households/ward. The results show that when solid waste estimation based on land use parameters is attempted for residential land-use, not only factors like household size, and income matter but also factors like housing typology, floor area of the residence and lifestyle of the family etc. have a decisive role to play. In its results part, the paper presents models for estimating solid waste for residential land-use based on the critical generator parameters with established correlation. Then the paper discusses the survey based validation results of the models. In conclusion, the paper briefly outlines a system that can be developed to estimate solid waste generation at an appropriate level with superior quantitative and qualitative precision of waste estimation. It can have immense application in waste management related capacity building and in formulating suitable policy guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using two very different empirical settings, this paper emphasizes the required conditions for the successful crafting of sustainable institutions. In the first setting, different farmer groups in Cambodia and Vietnam try to establish a collective approach for small-scale community-based aquaculture and fail. In the second setting, the collective initiatives of urban women in India are analysed. The Indian women succeed in their objective of a fuel transition from firewood to gas cookers using a cooperative approach. Ostrom's variables identified in the “Multitier Framework for Analyzing Social–Ecological Systems (SES)” ( Ostrom, 2007 ) are applied to local collective action initiatives in both settings to understand which factors make some of the groups succeed in their objectives and others fail. This research highlights the complexity as well as the uniqueness of different SESs. At the same time, the paper contributes to demonstrating the usability of the SES and certain variables to estimate the likelihood of success of self-organisation and crafting of rules. It highlights the relevance of certain conceptual variables for sustainable or unsustainable outcomes for different cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The steel companies are becoming increasingly aware about the sustainability challenges. In order to become a responsible corporate citizen, the industry has responded to these challenges through adoption of pillars of sustainability. The industry has made the beginning with identification of sustainability indicators. The indicators have been developed specifically for steel industry. Generally, it is quite difficult to evaluate the performance of company on the basis of large number of sustainability indicators. Integration of key sustainability indicators is quite essential for decision-making. Composite indicators are an innovative approach to evaluate sustainable performance. This paper presents a method for development of composite sustainability performance index (CSPI) that addresses the sustainable performance of steel industries along all the three pillars of sustainability—economic, environmental and societal. Organizational governance and technical aspects have also been considered fourth and fifth dimensions of sustainability. The objective of this paper is to introduce sustainability and to present a conceptual decision model, using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to assist in evaluating the impact of an organization''s sustainability performance. AHP has been used to determine the weights at various levels. Sub-indices have been evaluated and aggregated to form CSPI. The effectiveness of the proposed model is evaluated in a case study for a major steel company in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Research on the status of green buildings, their drivers and barriers have received significant attention, however little has been done to develop an integrated strategy that will lead to the development of green buildings. The present study is a conscious effort in that direction. On the basis of exhaustive literature review a ‘Green Building Sustainability Model’ has been developed and structural equation modelling is employed to verify the research framework. The study clearly state that the intentions to maintain green performance levels and adopt green practices has to come from all levels of society. The conceptual model establishes hypothesized relationship amongst nine constructs: issues, challenges, government, corporate, developers, buyers, private bodies, strategic-mix and sustainable development and develop twelve hypotheses. The data is collected by means of questionnaire survey method. The empirical results reveal that collaborative efforts of government and other stakeholders (corporate, developers, buyers, and private bodies) play a significant role in developing a strategic-mix that would lead to sustainable development however government as a regulatory body plays the most important role in developing the strategic-mix that will lead to resource efficient future. The contributions of the paper lies in developing an original Green Building Sustainability Model’ and fill the research gap. Though model has been developed and empirically tested in India, it can be further tested on green buildings in other developing or developed countries. The model is generic and can be further tested for commercial and residential green building. The research results are of great relevance to the academicians, environmentalist, practitioners, policy makers and helpful to future research as reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of access to electricity in rural areas hinders productive activities, which in turn affects sustainable rural development. Off-grid electrification options can offer an alternative but in order to develop productive uses of electricity in off-grid area, a detailed study of livelihoods and potential areas for improvement in the value chain is required. This paper reports such a study where a livelihood baseline survey was undertaken in a cluster of five remote off-grid villages in Dhenkanal district of Odisha (India) and through a series of interviews, focused group meetings and stakeholder interactions, the study finds that value-added services can be developed through an off-grid electrification intervention. Electrification can support productive activities, thereby offering an opportunity for improved income generation and a better quality of life and a transition to cleaner energy sources. The study provides a novel value chain framework for linking off-grid projects with local livelihoods replicable across multiple geographies ensuring sustainability of these projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to be competitive, small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) should focus, not only towards their performance in operational dimension, but they need to integrate the environmental dimension through the balanced adoption of lean and green paradigms simultaneously. Prior research indicates the positive impact of integrated lean and green paradigms on a firm's performance and competitiveness. This paper applies an analytical hierarchy process approach to investigate the impact of select lean and green practices on performance benefits, and to evaluate the influence of lean and green paradigms on overall performance of SMEs. Total productive maintenance is identified as the most important lean practice, while ISO 14001is the most significant green practice. On-time delivery and a reduction in emissions are the most critical criteria for leanness and greenness, respectively. Based on the dynamic sensitivity analysis of three AHP models, we propose bundles of lean and green practices to surmount the market challenges faced by SMEs. These results are used to develop an integrated framework for lean-green system to guide SMEs towards sustainable growth. The findings are expected to benefit policy makers and industrial practitioners of SMEs to focus on a few vital issues to facilitate both lean and green manufacturing implementation and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategy that targets pollution prevention shall be the first one among sustainability strategies to be implemented to achieve early cost advantages and mitigate litigation risk. This article aims to isolate pollution prevention strategy (PPS) from other similar sustainability strategies and provides an independent scope of PPS. A questionnaire based survey was conducted among 689 managers of 60 Indian firms known for their orientation towards sustainability. Factorial analysis delivered five factors highlighting the composition of associated variables. Descriptive statistics was used to understand the relative importance of various aspects of PPS and status of implementation of this strategy in Indian firms. The results show that firms are paying higher attention to structured waste management and the priority is early cost advantages hence prefer less investment prone processes modifications. The initiatives are geared mainly due to short term advantages than top management commitment and pro-activeness to comply with environmental regulations. Firms believe in developing expertise and deploying standard practices. It is evident that firms specifically train employees for PPS implantation, but lags in empowerment of employees, resources allocation, cross-functional team formations and rewards for the employees. Also, PPS strategy is implemented as stand-alone strategy and lacks the integration with core corporate strategy. The study adds to existing literature by segregating PPS from other similar strategies like product stewardship and cleaner technology. Tested measure of PPS shall help managers to assess their performance to achieve pollution prevention goals. Further, the paper discusses some important managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively little research exists on a practical level of sustainable strategies, and organizations must concentrate and appreciate the gravity of the issue. Academicians have started to create awareness among the organizations. However, a consistent and exhaustive association of corporate sustainability with the firm's performance still requires more investigation. Thus, the key aim of this paper is to unravel the impact of environmental sustainability on multiple dimensions of a firm's performance. Sustainability taken for the study is the environmental dimension of corporate sustainability. /Analysis: This study considered financial performance, customer performance, internal business process performance, and learning & growth performance as four dimensions of a firm's performance. We used well-established scales for the concepts used in the paper, and all are validated in Indian demography using confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS. We collected 200 cross-sectional respondents sample from the senior executives of Indian business organizations. We then analyzed the association of environmental sustainability on the firm's performance using structural equation modeling in AMOS. We found support for our hypotheses. We observed that environmental sustainability has a positive and significant influence on the four vital functional performance of firms. The novelty of this research is to bridges the knowledge gap of establishing a relationship of sustainability with the firm performance considering all key functional dimensions. We also tested the theoretical propositions of stakeholder theory, signaling theory, RBV, and institutional perspective. • Research focuses on analysis of firm performance and environmental sustainability in emerging economies. • The influence of environmental sustainability on the overall and different dimensions of firm performance. • Research is contributing to the perspective of institutional theory, stakeholder theory, signaling theory, and RBV. • Research outlines implications of environmental sustainability efforts on various stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of ‘sustainable’ issues in supply chain is attracting much attention from the academia and corporate world. Sustainability has turn out to be a major concern for organizations to integrate ecological and societal issues in their business strategy. Therefore, this paper explores the importance of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) to implement Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) towards sustainability taking into account the automobile industry of India. The hypothesized relationships of the proposed framework have been tested by analyzing data collected from 123 Indian automobile organizations. This study examined impacts of CSFs to implement GSCM towards sustainability on current green practices implemented by Indian automobile industry and expected organizational performance outcomes by using multiple regression analysis. The findings point out that the ‘Regulatory’ CSF has been identified which plays the most important role in promoting the green practices. ‘Internal Management’ and ‘Competitiveness’ CSFs playing a crucial role towards achievement of expected performance outcomes. The present research will assist the practitioners/managers to understand various GSCM implementation issues and to improve their practices and performances towards sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has emerged as a big challenge not only because of the health and environmental concerns but also due to huge quantities of waste generated. It is observed from many research documents that most urban local bodies (ULBs) in India are unable to handle such huge quantities of solid waste due to financial and institutional debilities. Furthermore, ULBs rarely have sufficient funds, resources, infrastructure and appropriate strategies for improved solid waste management. Segregation of waste, door to door waste collection, technologies for the treatment of waste, land resources and scientific disposal methods are some of the major challenges. Recognizing these challenges, the two ministries of Government of India namely Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) have initiated several policies and programmes to improve the current scenario of MSWM in India. Environment Ministry had promulgated the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules in2000 which is now being revamped as Solid Waste Management Rules 2015 while the MoUD has prepared a draft manual on MSWM to support cities and towns on planning and implementing a proper MSWM system in line with the SWM Rules being promulgated in 2015. It is observed that many policies and programmes fail to achieve their objectives due to lack of clarity and awareness among the stakeholders and poor enforcement by the regulators. The present paper provides a comprehensive view of SWM and most importantly highlights some major points of the policies/programmes initiated by the Government of India to overcome the challenges of solid waste management in our country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small Hydro Power (SHP) is one of the most important renewable energy generation sources. It is a cost-effective technology that is being used for rural electrification in the developing countries including India. The Indian government is providing attractive initiatives to the private investors to promote faster development of SHP. Until now, a lot has been written about assessment, potential, advantages and the technical aspects of the SHP plants. However, the important business sustainability perspective has not been yet subjected to empirical analysis. Sustainable development involves three interconnected dimensions: social, economic and environmental sustainability. This paper attempts to investigate whether SHP business in India is a sustainable business. The study is based on the analysis of qualitative data acquired through 28 in-depth interviews with various actors that are connected to the SHP industry in India which include Independent Power Producers (IPPs), manufacturers, designers, consultants and representatives of various government organizations. The empirical material was collected in four states of India namely New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in February, 2013. The data was acquired by individual in-depth interviews, group discussions and direct observation of one SHP plant. The results show that all the three dimensions of sustainability are being realized to a certain extent. However, utmost efforts have to be undertaken in order to call this sector completely sustainable. Both benefits and challenges in all these dimensions are highlighted and recommendations towards a sustainable SHP sector are provided. Further, this study also proposes suggestions for the interested investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In a world increasingly affected by global environmental changes, Low Income countries will play an ever more central role in determining the future health of the biosphere. While global use of the biosphere''s capacity has increased over the past 45 years, per capita demand for biocapacity, as measured by the Ecological Footprint, has only increased in high-income countries and has remained constant or fallen in middle- and low-income nations. Consumption has increased faster than population in high-income nations, while population growth has been the dominant factor in middle- and low- income countries. Although listed in the middle-income group of countries, China showed atypical trends in the past 45 years, with a rapid increase in per capita Ecological Footprint that outstrip its gains in income. Typical trends were instead noticed for India, whose per person Ecological Footprint has fallen slightly. The results of this paper show that decisions made in China and India will be of fundamental importance for future global sustainability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents an overview of the existing indicators of development and positions them within the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainable development. It presents empirical evidence of sustainable livelihood security index (SLSI) at the district level in Gujarat. SLSI is a composite index having three component indices, i.e. the ecological security index (ESI), the economic efficiency index (EEI), and the social equity index (SEI). It finds that the SLSI based on its simplicity and flexibility, is one of the most comprehensive yet simple indices for measuring long-term livelihood security in rural areas. For instance, the eastern districts of the state, dominated by scheduled tribes’ population have very low EEI and SEI rankings, although they have high ESI ranking. These districts also have very low ranks in gender development index, education index, health index and housing index. Thus, the SLSI not only identifies the general priorities for development but also the nature and types of policies to be pursued in each study unit to enhance livelihood security. The SLSI facilitates consensus among different partisan groups like economists, environmentalists, and egalitarians by balancing their mutual concerns, could provide guidelines for achieving sustainable development. It can function as an educational and a policy tool for promoting a holistic perspective among planners, administrators, and development workers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mapping and managing groundwater resources are essential for socio-economic and sustainable development. Analysis of hydrogeochemical parameters of the groundwater for the Lower Ganga basin is presented to identify the contamination zones and also to understand the groundwater quality in this region. Drainage pattern analysis identifies five sub-basins in the region. Shannon's entropy information theory has been performed to compute the water quality index (WQI) without having any subjective bias in the analysis. The analysis of the WQI shows that sub-basin 2 (WQI = 38.35) has excellent quality of groundwater, whereas sub-basin 1 (WQI = 52.43), 3 (WQI = 63.94), and 5 (WQI = 82.79) are having good groundwater quality. On the other hand, sub-basin 4 (WQI = 102.99), which covers mostly the central part of the main stream, is found to be most contaminated and having a medium quality of the groundwater. Analysis of the groundwater parameters using the PCA indicates that the quality of groundwater in the study area is controlled mainly by three main factors, which are geogenic process (weathering and leaching of rocks), seawater intrusion (natural process), and anthropogenic activities. Furthermore, hydrometeorological analysis shows a gradual drop in precipitation, water level depth, and the percolation index (PI). This indicates an over exploitation of groundwater resources in the study region under the present circumstances of climate variability, population and industrialization. The results obtained in this paper are useful for identifying suitable sites for tube-wells and bore-wells for drinking and agricultural purposes, and also for developing an effective strategy to avoid further contamination of groundwater aquifers in the region. Results are extremely useful for government agencies and policymakers in achieving the United Nations (SDG-6) goals of suitable planning and sustainable development of groundwater resources by 2030. • The Lower Ganga acts as the accumulation zone of contaminants coming from the Upper Ganga Basin in northern India. • Entropy information theory has been used for the assessment of the WQI. • The primary contaminant in this region are TDS, F−, Cl−, and NO 3 −. • Spatio-temporal analysis of the hydrometeorological parameter shows the changing pattern due to climate variability. • Results are useful in achieving the United Nations Goal (SDG-6) for sustainable development of groundwater resources by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic waste is a secondary source of valuable and precious metals. In recent trends, urban mining of these metals has received significant attention due to its profitable prospects, extended business opportunity, source of livelihood and ultimately achieving agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. At the same time, the significant E-waste turns out to be an overwhelming challenge due to the presence of toxic chemical substances. The colossal E-waste generation has created multi-dimensional challenges over existing treatment options with its deleterious impacts on human health and environment. Most of the developed countries are having potential E-waste management technologies, technical knowhow and well-established system boundary. However, the case is not the same with the developing countries due to several challenges and lack of relevant strategies. Lack of data inventorization, illegal dumping, and non-availability of treatment options are the major challenges affecting the entire E-waste value chain in India. Hence, this paper deals with the strategic interventions conforming existing regulations which are crucial for a sustainable E-waste value chain, secured resources, societal well-being, reduced environmental impacts and overall sustainable development. Furthermore, relevant strategies i.e., eco-product design, circular resource management, extended producer responsibility, polluter pays' principle, life cycle assessment, 4R principle and bioleaching were identified and discussed as a future direction for Indian context. Formalizing the informal sector into a transparent recycling system is crucial which is highly recommended. Image 1 • Urban Mining of E-waste has emerged as extended business opportunity. •EPR & PPP are accorded as best policy tools for accelerating circular economy model. •Formalizing informal sector is crucial for sustainable E-waste value chain in India. •Eco-friendly resource recovery from E-waste is suitable for Indian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]