Reversal of fortune - how Kutch turned an earthquake to its advantage

Don't get me wrong - I am not for a minute suggesting that an earthquake can be a good thing. But in one region of India it seems that it has been a catalyst for sweeping economic reform that in the end has brought enormous benefit.

In 2001, the Kutch region was devastated by an earthquake that killed around 15,000 people and injured more than 150,000. Houses, schools and hospitals were destroyed in an area which already suffered from poor infrastructure and lack of employement opportunities. But 10 years on, Kutch is enjoying a boom. The city of Anjar has become a global pipeline hub, with capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year and expected to double. Steel mills have sprung up to cater for the pipe industry and the area's plentiful supplies of limestone and lignite have led to the establishment of cement plants. It is home to Welspun India, one of the largest textile factories in India. And at Mundra a new port has been established that rivals Mumbai.

The road network is excellent, and there is finally a railway station at Bhuj. The ports at Mundra and Kandla enjoy links to the Delhi-Mumbai line. Shops, restaurants and service industries have come up to serve the new industries and wages are high enough to attract migrant workers into the area. Arid farmland has become attractive real estate, turning impoverished farmers into wealthy men who have invested their new-found wealth in shops and other businesses.

The industrialisation of the area may not be an improvement from an environmental point of view, but it has brought previously unknown levels of opportunity and prosperity for its residents. What seems to have brought about this transformation is a five-year exemption from excise duty and sales tax, announced by the Central and State governments for new industrial investments in Kutch commencing production by July 2003. It was initially claimed that the tax breaks could bring in Rs 25,000 crore ($ 5.5 billion) of new investment, a figure that was first dismissed as wishful thinking, but is now estimated to have exceeded Rs 20,000 crore.

Kutch suggests that providing tax breaks for a disaster-hit district can instigate a virtuous circle of investment and growth that is sustainable, with the potential to not only rehabilitate victims but improve their quality of life.

Resource scarcity could hamper business growth, says Defra

Defra has conducted research to determine how scarcity of materials and resources could affect the viability of businesses in the future. Its Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Evidence Programme concluded that the depletion of some materials and resources might lead to price volatility as well as restricting their availability. The consequences could affect both the viability of businesses and their ability to deliver on policy goals.

Resource efficiency is a key focus for Defra. It considers that awareness of the threats is patchy and as a result not enough businesses are taking action to conserve limited resources and to find alternatives. This is very much a commercial issue: Defra has calculated that UK business could save over £6 billion by adopting resource efficiency measures that cost nothing or would pay back within a year.

Defra has already begun to tackle this issue with the ‘Saving Money, It’s Your Business’ campaign and the  ‘Can You Afford Not to?’ booklet. This new report identifies the resources posing the greatest risk to specific business sectors because of anticipated threats to their availability, providing data that will enable Defra to engage efficiently with individual sectors to mitigate the risk, as well as highighting opportunities for new markets and technologies.

Ethical url shortener

To be honest, I hadn't really considered the ethics of url shorteners until I heard about v.gd. In fact, the thing that first appealed to me was the opportunity to use a url shortener that can't be used by the people who distribute the kind of material I wouldn't want to be associated with. But having visited its website I've discovered a whole host of reasons why it's better than most - and here they are.

v.gd is the brainchild of Memset, which offers carbon neutral hosting and has a strong reputation in sustainable IT circles. Memset promises that v.gd will be ad-free and free to use forever, and is clearly a safe pair of hands for your data.

And if you were wondering, the .gd url extension is owned by the island of Grenada.

SKA standard for sustainable commercial fit-outs

The Royal Institute of Charterered Surveyors has established a benchmark and rating system for sustainable fitting out of office buildings. Complementary to the BREEAM standard, which includes to the building shell, the SKA standard considers the finishes, fixtures and fittings and comprises 99 good practice measures that can be applied to both new build and refurbishments.

A good practice guidance document is available for download - please don't print it as it is 206 pages long! There is also a free online self-assessment tool. Projects can also be certified by an accredited SKA assessor, subject to payment of a variable fee that takes into account the scale and complexity of the project.

CRC revenue recycling axed

Although the chancellor made no mention of it in his speech on the Public Spending Review, the revenue recycling element of the CRC has been dropped. In a press release issued by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, it was announced that the revenue would instead be used to support the public finances. The statement suggests that it will be invested in projects including "spending on the environment", although the £1bn it is predicted to raise would be a welcome contribution to the budget deficit.

This effectively converts the CRC to a stealth carbon tax and throws into doubt the validity of the early action metrics designed to earn a higher place in the league tables and a higher incentive payment.

The future of motoring?

A video report from the BBC today showcases the first hydrogen-powered car to be made commercially available - although not, so far, in the UK. The Honda Clarity is powered by an electric motor, which is charged by a fuel cell stack that converts the hydrogen to electricity and water. Its range is over 200 miles.

The catch, of course, is the lack of a hydrogen filling station network, but Honda has addressed this by developing a solar-powered hydrogen generation station suitable for domestic installation. It is designed to use grid electricity overnight to create 0.5kg of hydrogen, then return the energy to the grid from its solar panels during the day. The hydrogen generated in 8 hours is only sufficient for 30-35 miles, however.

Green Curtains

The simplest ideas are often the best, and this one is beautifully simple. Kyocera Group has planted "green curtains" around 20 of its facilities on three continents. Fruit-bearing plants are grown up temporary nets or trellises to shade walls and windows from the sun, reducing direct solar gain through the windows and thermal transfer through the walls. The green, leafy shade is attractive for its workers to look out on - plus they get the enjoy the fruit and vegetables grown by the curtains in the staff canteen.

The company even publishes a "how to" guide on its website for other businesses that want to emulate it.

The green curtains are comprised of cucumbers, peas and a bitter gourd called goya, and cover 32,750 square feet (3,043 square metres). Kyocera has calculated that they decrease the temperature of walls by as much as 15 degrees C (27 degrees F). At the same time, the green curtains absorb an estimated 23,481 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the effect of 761 cedar trees.

Kyocera has a longstanding reputation for environmentally-responsible business and also operates a "cool biz" dress code in the summer to help staff stay comfortable without resorting to air conditioning. And it's also in the process of installing the solar PV panels it manufactures on more of its premises. By March 2011, the company expects to have solar power installed at all of its 10 manufacturing sites in Japan plus 20 sites globally. These include a 214-kW solar power generating system at its global headquarters in Kyoto, and a solar grove in the car park of Kyocera’s San Diego facility, which also shades cars from the sun.

The new projects will boost Kyocera's total solar output from its own installations to 1,815kW, which combined with the offset provided by its green curtain, will help to reduce the company's CO2 emissions.

(Declaration of interest - writer is employed by a Kyocera Group company in the UK)