The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), organized the third Haldia edition of Discussion Forum on Ecological Sustainability in the Industrial Region, on 29th November 2019 (Friday) at The Golden Retreat, Haldia. The first edition of this programme was held in July 2017 and second edition in November 2018 in Haldia. This is the continuation of the inaugural and the sequel edition held in Durgapur in February 2017 and July 2018 respectively, focusing on Durgapur - Asansol Industrial Belt.

The objective of the Discussion Forum was to bring together the stakeholders of Haldia Industrial Belt, Policy Makers and Industry Leaders to brainstorm and share the best practices and cutting edge technologies to take forward the industrial development of the State with adequate fortification towards vulnerability of ecology.

This year, the forum focused on "Environment and Industry" replacing "Environment verses Industry" - "Best Practices and Way Forward with Newer Technologies". Mr. Subir Chakraborty, Vice President, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Deputy Managing Director, Exide Industries Limited delivered the formal Welcome Address. Mr. Chakraborty emphasized that the right direction on the journey of the industrial development must be keeping with natural resources conserved. Given the present dynamics, regulatory framework will become more strict. He stated that the emerging technologies are to be leveraged for sustainable approach. He also mentioned that many Startups are coming up working on such technologies and they are to be brought forward through various platforms.

Mr. Arun Kumar Mukherjee, Mentor, Energy and Environment Committee, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Director (Technical), Prerana Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd delivered the Theme Address setting the agenda of the Forum. Mr. Mukherjee presented the videos of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Climate Change and Land Trailer; Global Warming and Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. He mentioned that Haldia is an eclectic mix of industries including Petrochemicals, Chemicals, Refineries, Oil and Gas, Automotive Batteries and Heavy Duty Batteries, Power; Metals; Edible Oil and others. Each of these sectors has respective challenges to environment governance. However, they all have their benchmarks of executions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency broadly describes sustainable industrial practices as the process of producing through the use of eco-friendly practices and materials that aims to reduce harmful impacts to the environment while conserving energy and protecting our natural resources. Implementing sustainable practices is more important than ever, for many different reasons. First, sustainable practices are not just right for the planet - it can also significantly enhance the safety of your facility, your staffers, your products, and your community as a whole. By creating products that are more eco-friendly, you can be sure that the people who produce and consume them will be safer, as well. Sustainable practices can also be very cost-effective.

The additional expenditures incurred for implementation of appropriate process and efficient equipment and raw materials pay off in the long run as efficiency, quality, best practices, image, branding and others. By improving the efficiency of your equipment and processes, you can lower energy consumption, decrease manufacturing time, reduce waste, and use less material - all of which can provide significant cost savings for you and your customers. More efficient, automated equipment can also allow for enhanced worker safety, protecting employees from the dangers of traditional equipment prone to malfunctioning. One avenue is the pragmatic cooperation between academia and industry jointly seeking ways to simultaneously reduce economic costs and metabolic throughput, such as in research on eco-symbiosis, waste management and recycling, criticality of metals, or the long-term stock and flow dynamics of basic industrial commodities. The Chamber is advocating for Sustainability partnering with The Energy Resources Institute (TERI). Our motto is 'Sustainability pays' and it is just not Corporate Social Responsibility. Our objective is to bring Sustainability in the core business strategy. The Chamber also believes is promoting the collaborations of industry and academia by bringing out International Publications, creating forums, and also exploring deeper engagements like incubations.

Mr. Brij Behari, Executive Director, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd delivered the Keynote Address on "Corporate Sustainability". He made a phenomenon presentation on how IOCL has adopted best practices for environment and sustainability approach in their core business strategy which is much more than corporate social responsibility. IOCL has invested nine thousand crore for the cause of the environment. They are leapfrogging from BS4 to BS6 category of fuel. Haldia Refinery has produced BS6 category of the fuel ahead of the scheduled time. This will transform the automotive industry. IOCL understands that India needs more energy for its development and world is looking towards India as a robust market. India requires more energy for infrastructure, and upliftment of the citizens. standard of living. Sustainability and climate changes are global issues. There have been development of cutting edge technologies and global best practices on how energy need and environment coexist. Network of pipeline for transporting product through pipeline is one of the focus areas of IOCL avoiding road transport. IOCL is rewarded financial incentive for reduction of energy consumption under PACT. Their processes now use energy more efficiently. India is fast growing in renewables and IOCL has commissioned a number of renewable projects which cover 5% of the company's electricity consumption. Solarization of retail outlets is another significant implementation under which solar panels in retail outlets are connected to grid which is helping in charging the vehicles. IOCL is targeting to make available 450 crore litres of ethane oil by 2022. IOCL is in discussion with Haldia Development Authority to jointly set up modernistic sewage treatment plant for reprocessing the canal water and using the recycling water thereafter in Refinery. IOCL is also developing mechanism to produce biofuel from crop residue which may be integrated with aggregated Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which will be sustainable affordable alternative to transportation. Water Treatment system is set up in Refinery. 86% water is recycled. Zero discharge of emission is targeted to be achieved.

There were two Discussion Forums on "Environment and Industry" replacing "Environment vs Industry" - "Best Practices" and "Way Forward - Newer Technologies".

Mr. Rajesh Khosla, Vice President - Manufacturing (Industrial), Exide Industries Limited; Dr. Sanjoy Chakraborty, Manager Environment, Haldia Energy Limited; Mr. Chandra Shekhar Prasad, AVP-Manufacturing, IRC Agrochemicals Private Limited and Mr. Subhasish Pal, Chief Manager-Technology, Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd graced the forum on "Environment and Industry" replacing "Environment vs Industry" - Best Practices. The Forum was chaired by Prof. Debabrata Mazumder, Dean, IIEST Shibpur.

Prof. Debabrata Mazumder, Dean, IIEST, Shibpur and Prof. B C Meikap, Professor - Chemical Engineering and Associate Faculty-Environmental Science, IIT Kharagpur graced the forum on "Way Forward- Newer Technologies". Mr. Rajesh Khosla, Vice President - Manufacturing (Industrial), Exide Industries Limited chaired the session.

Shri Hirak Jyoti Majumder, WBCS (Exe), Assistant Executive Officer, Haldia Development Authority and Mr. Prasun Kumar Mondal, Senior Environmental Engineer, West Bengal Pollution Control Board were also present in the programme.

The discussion forums were followed by vibrant interactions. The forums featured Industry-Academia connect where Mr. Rajesh Khosla, Vice President - Manufacturing (Industrial), Exide Industries Limited chairing the session, graced by two academicians and Prof. Debabrata Mazumder, Dean, IIEST Shibpur chairing the session, graced by Senior representatives from Industry.