INTRODUCTION
The one-day Industrial Seminar on Expanding Awareness on Green Chemistry & Green Processes for Plant and Production Managers was organised on 16th October 2014, at Hotel Lords’ Plaza, Ankleshwar, Gujarat.
The objectives of the Seminar were as follows:
- To introduce and expand the understanding of 12 Principles of Green Chemistry and Green Engineering particularly amongst the Plant and Production Managers / Personnel
- To bring forth technical know-how of implementing Green Chemistry and Green Engineering practices with a profit-centric approach
- To introduce technical insights on integrating Green Chemistry based practices in their existing manufacturing units
- To connect participants to immediate solution provider companies/ institutes for resolving their environmental and expansion challenges
- To learn from locally implemented successful case-studies and exchange of experiences
ORGANISERS, SUPPORTERS & PARTNERS
The Seminar was jointly organised by Green ChemisTree Foundation (GCF) and Indian Chemical Council with support from Dept. of Chemicals & Petrochemicals (DCPC), Govt. of India; Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB); Jhagadia Industries Association (JIA); Ankleshwar Industries Association (AIA); Panoli Industries Association (PIA) and Industry Partners such as Aarti Industries Ltd. and United Phosphorous Ltd.
PARTICIPATION
The Seminar was well attended by over 100 Plant, Operations and EHS personnel of more than 50 chemical companies from Ankleshwar, Panoli, Jhagadia, Surat, Vapi, Nandesari. The companies participated were a mix of MNC (20%), Large (30%) and SME categories (50%).
SPEAKERS, CONTEXT & CONTENT
Leading academia experts who contributed to the deliberation includes Prof. (Dr.) V V Mahajini, Ex-Professor of Chemical Engineering,. Institute of Chemical Technology. Dr. Parameswaran, VP- Environment, United Phosphorus Ltd.; Shri J. D. Kalyani, Vigilance Officer, South Zone- Gujarat Pollution Control Board; Mr. Nitesh Mehta, Founder Director, Newreka Green Synth Technologies Pvt. Ltd & Green ChemisTree Foundation.
The Welcome addresses by an Industry leader Dr. Parameswaran and another by the Vigilance Officer of GPCB Mr. J D Kalyani, was the right blend as both the Invitees emphasised on the importance of Pollution Prevention at source. By sheer virtue of their industrial experience and expertise the audience could well relate to their sharing and common insistence on looking at ‘greener’ alternatives to implement before End-of-Pipe treatment.
Dr (Prof.) Mahajani’s Keynote presentation was a comprehensive overview on today’s environmental sustainability scenario, vis-à-vis the future and image of chemical industry, definition and scope of Green Chemistry and the opportunities that exist for companies to be ahead in mapping their green chemistry and engineering practices and implementation, along with few case-studies. Prof. Mahajani’s presentation was technically insightful and with several examples that can serve as instant “tip-offs” for the industry audience in adopting appropriate approach for addressing their immediate environmental and effluent challenges.
Equally inspiring was the extempore talk by one of the senior most Participants- Shri. Babubhai Patel, who shared with the audience on one of his pioneering initiatives on cavitation technology. The talk was followed by Mr. Nitesh Mehta’s presentation on Opportunities and barriers of Green Chemistry implementation. Mr. Mehta, a young Enviropreneur with his pioneering experience in the field of commercializing Green Chemistry technologies in Indian Chemical Companies, particularly those from the SME sectors, brought-forth the Business case of implementing Green Chemistry & Green Engineering as a long-term strategy to sustain our businesses not only in India but in the Global market. Mr. Mehta shared with the audience on the global trends, opportunities and challenges of Industrial Green Chemistry.
The Seminar aptly incorporated an informative presentation by the Senior Project Engineer, Mr. Mr. Hiren Bhendwal from Gujarat Cleaner Production Centre (GCPC), on the wide-ranging Govt. Policies and incentives on Green Chemistry, Clean Technology and similar environmental initiatives as available till date. Mr. Bhendwal’s comprehensive presentation on all the relevant schemes available in this direction was found to be of immediate interest to many of the Industry Participants.
The second part of the Seminar, brought-forth successful case-studies from locally situated companies such as United Phosphorous Ltd., Lupin Ltd, Heubach Colour Pvt. Ltd., presented by their respective Site-Heads and Plant Managers.
One of the key presentations was made by Senior Principal Scientist, Dr. R S Somani, CSIR-CSMCRI, highlighting case-studies of successful Industry-Academia Partnership models. This presentation showcased the technical strength and scope of Partnering with Research Institutes such as CSIR-CSMSCRI. These case-studies were further backed-up by following case-studies from the Industry.
SOLUTION PROVIDERS SHOWCASE / EXHIBITION
The key highlight of the Seminar was the Exhibition- an exclusive platform to tangibly connect environmental based solution providers to its industry seekers participating in the Seminar to seek short-term and immediate solutions for addressing their immediate environmental challenges at their respective Units.
Following companies participated as exhibitors in the Seminar:
Green Processes:
- Newreka Green Synth Technologies’ Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
- Geist Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Goa
Green Engineering:
- Corning India Ltd., Gurgaon
ZERO Liquid Discharge systems:
- PRAJ Industries Ltd., Pune
Research Institute:
- CSIR- Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavnagar
Environmental Analytical Equipment:
- PRIMA Equipments, Vadodara
PARTICIPANTS’ POST-EVENT FEEDBACK, OVERVIEW:
Rating Scale of 5 to 1 (5 – Excellent, 4 – Very Good, 3 – Good, 2 – Satisfactory, 1 – Poor)
| Topics | Rating |
| Keynote Presentation by Prof. (Dr) V V Mahajani) | 4.5 |
| Challenges & Opportunities by Nitesh Mehta, Green ChemisTre Foundation | 4 |
| Govt. Policies & Schemes, Gujarat Cleaner Production Centre (GCPC) | 3.4 |
| Industrial Case-studies: CSMCRI, Lupin, Heubach & UPL | 4.2 |
| Relevance of Solution Providers’ Exhibition | 3.8 |
| Registration Process | 4.1 |
| Assistance/ hospitality at the venue | 4.3 |
| Audio visual equipment | 4.1 |
| Onsite Management | 4 |
| Pre-event Communication | 4 |
The above feedback as shared by 25% of the participants after the event serves as an effective sample feedback indicating the overall deliverables of the Seminar. The above Average Ratings indicate that the event largely met the expectations of the Participants with regards to the content of the Presentations shared, relevance of solutions at the Exhibition booths, local case-studies and the overall execution of the Seminar.
OVERALL FEEDBACK & OUTCOME
To briefly summarise the overall outcome of the Seminar:
The Seminar & Exhibition effectively introduced the Industry Participants to various success-stories, local case-studies and relevant solutions with which they could identify their existing environmental and expansion challenges, and thereby impact their knowledge, willingness and commitment to incorporate new and emerging technologies.
- The above Seminar served as a platform to expand the existing awareness on the subject of Green Chemistry amongst the participating Chemical companies, and thus expanding their understanding on green chemistry and engineering based practices and technologies available for its industrial implementation
- The Seminar facilitated a bridge between the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and the Industry, and thereby transforming GPCB’s perception of approach from Policing to Partnering.
- The Industrial Seminar also served as an opportunity for the local companies to share experiences and case-studies, exchange initiatives and ideas and collectively evaluate feasible and implementable alternatives for impacting their immediate environmental challenges.
- The technical presentations introduced various potential solutions that can help in resolving some of the pressing environmental challenges currently faced by the chemical industry.
- The Seminar participants also utilized this opportunity to interact with speakers and experts for their guidance on their process relevant effluent issues, while exchanging their respective environmental issues and initiatives with other co-participants.
The Seminar, in addition also facilitated a valuably interactive platform for solution providers and solution seekers. A panel discussion chaired by Mr. Nitesh Mehta was incorporated with the Solution Provider companies as the Panellists, where they shared in a nut-shell about their core competency and the audiences asked relevant questions regarding the proposed solutions.
To download a brief report with photographs click here.
For more details contact :
Green ChemisTree Foundation
Tel. : +91 – 22 – 2879 1835 / 1275
Industrial Green Chemistry World 