From the Big Bang that gave birth to the universe billions of years ago, to the dark interiors of the Earth; our world is energy incarnate. We need to preserve the same.

Especially in a nascent economy like India, burdened by population – resource ratio gaps, the situation is dire (grappling with a minimum shortage of 10% every year). For this, we conveniently point a finger at the government; forgetting that four fingers are pointing at us.

So,can a group of students, impartenergy efficiency at a personal level?

Well, yeah absolutely!

I almost slacked off when I was first told about Mission Energy – extra time, extra projects. But with some research; I could persuademy parents, friends, teachers, neighboursabout “easy energysaving”everyday. I realized most just consider the energy crisis to be a distant proposition, not linking the changes all around them. Energy education can help them change their daily complacency.

So here are easy, mundane ways one can save energy at home–

1. The computer is a huge consumer of energy but is something we can’t do without. The monitor much of the computer’s total consumption of energy due to its display. Switching it off when just doing simple tasks like installing and downloading is a great way to cut down energy use.
2. A large amount of electricity in the house is used up a ghost energy or phantom load. This is the energy consumed when a device is technically “off” but is still consuming some energy – in LED displays, Power lights and other small devices. Phantom load adds as much as 11% to your bill so always switch off from the main plug.
3. Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes and air dry clothes.
4. In the summers, use thick curtains and keep most windows and doors closed so that rooms don’t get overheated by the sun as this helps bring down the need for AC’s and fans. Operate AC’s at low temperatures for a while to cool down the room and then operate it at a temperature higher than 25 degrees.
5. Always choose appliances having a 5 star BEE rating. They may seem expensive initially, but make up their cost many times over by reducing your energy bill.
6. Energy may be our wealth but it is not inexpendable and nor will it last forever – stars much bigger than the sun are huge balls of helium which emit heat and light. But when greed surpasses need, the star consumes more and more helium and becomes a brilliant supernova, only to consume itself and become a black hole. Thus, greed for energy cannot last.

Harsh Lahiri,
Student, Chiranjiv Bharati School,
Palam Vihar, Gurgaon

This World Environment Day, NDTV and Grundfos organised sessions to discuss energy-efficient solutions, ideas and energy-intelligent innovations.

Watch it here:
NDTV 24X7: 4 pm (IST) on June 5, June 7 and June 14
NDTV India: 11:30 am (IST) on June 7
NDTV Prime: 5 pm (IST) on June 7 and June 14

Session 1: Cracking The Energy Code – Taking Energy From A Cost To An Asset

Highlight current issues and gaps, suggest solutions, policy changes etc

Speakers
Mr Krishan Dhawan, Chief Executive Officer – Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, India
Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, Executive Director & Country Head – HSBC and Former President – FICCI
Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General- Bureau of Energy Efficiency
Ms Mili Majumdar, Director, Sustainable Habitat Division – TERI
Ms Beroz Gazdar, Head Sustainability – Mahindra and Mahindra
Mr Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General – Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
Mr Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director – Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL)
Mr N K Ranganath, Managing Director – Grundfos Pumps India
Dr Prem Jain, Chairman – IGBC – CII
Ms Deepa Sathiaram, Executive Director – En3
Mr Samit Aich, Executive Director – Greenpeace
Mr MS Unnikrishnan, MD & CEO – Thermax
Rohan Parikh – Head, Green Initiatives, Infosys

Session 2: India Energized – Innovations for a Greener, Cleaner Tomorrow – 30 mins
Showcase energy-intelligent ideas

Speakers

Ms Mili Majumdar, Director, Sustainable Habitat Division – TERI
Ms Sunita Narain, Director General – Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
Mr Jørgen Bjelskou, Group Public Affairs Director – Grundfos
Ms Beroz Gazdar, Head Sustainability – Mahindra and Mahindra
Mr Pavan Sachdeva, Sr. G.M. Public Affairs – Mahindra & Mahindra
Mr Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director – Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL)
Feli Visco, Founder, Lawma and Visco, Crowdfunding project “Lights In Pongging
Mr MS Unnikrishnan, MD & CEO – Thermax

Session 3: 
It’s All About ME – The Power of An Individual – 45 mins
Demonstrate how an individual/organisation can bring about change; felicitate winners of the Energy Challenge

Speakers
Mr N K Ranganath, Managing Director – Grundfos Pumps India
Mr S Raghupathy, Executive Director, CII-Godrej GBC
Dr Prem Jain, Chairman – IGBC – CII
Ms Sunita Narain, Director General – Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General – CII

Innovators showcased during the Sessions
• Mandar Tulankar, Engineer (Nagpur)
Innovation : Mobile phone Shoe Charger
Founder, Zero Point Energy Private Ltd. Focuses on building innovative products by harnessing the concept of converting pressure into electricity. Developed an innovative “Mobile Shoe Charger” that charges mobile phones while you walk. This promises to be a boon for rural India where lifestyles involve long hours of walking and lack of electricity; but everyone owns a mobile phone. This is a patented technology and has been recognised by various organisations (Winner, Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) 2012 ; Winner, Best Innovator Global, New York Stock Exchange in 2012).

• Mohd. Raaes, Mechanic (Sagar)
Innovation: A car that runs on water
This mechanic from Sagar in Madhya Pradesh has altered an petrol engine car to run on acetylene gas which he generates by mixing water and calcium carbide in a tank placed in the back of his car. It may sound easy but it took Raaes about 3 years to perfect this system and he has applied for a patent. Raaes is a self-trained mechanic, his garage has been his lab for decades. Raaes feels acetylene has a huge potential as an alternative fuel as it is not only cheaper than petrol or diesel but also is eco-friendly.

• Subhav Sinha, Engineer (New Delhi/Bangalore)
Innovation: Mitra – a solar personal mover
Designed in 2009, the ‘eureka’ moment for this idea came to Subhav while watching a cartoon! Subhav says that “an aspect which accelerated the idea was the excessive walking that we had to do in our college while walking from class to class.” It took him 6 months to come up with the first prototype. Mitr is a solar battery hybrid which can be used to avoid walking long distances in places like large factories, airports, warehouses, green buildings, tourist spots, etc. The vehicle is self-balancing and can be used on Indian roads. Further, this vehicle is around 80% more efficient than a petrol driven scooter or bike and can help greatly in reducing your carbon footprint. The project was a finalist at the CII India Innovation Initiative (i3), was used in the Commonwealth Games 2010 and part of the 10th Auto Expo in New Delhi. Subhav has filed a global PCT application for the innovation.

• Team Shunya – Deepa More and team, IIT (Mumbai)
Innovation: a solar-powered, sustainable house
In 2030, the number of urban middle class houses is projected to increase from 22 million to 91 million. If this growth is allowed to happen unchecked, the country cannot expect to grow sustainably. This team of passionate young engineering and architecture students is building a solar-powered, sustainable house for the Indian middle class, which could serve as the answer to India’s growing energy and housing problems. The house will incorporate some traditional building practices like vastu, a central space, community resource-sharing arrangements etc. and at the same time modern innovations such as structurally insulated panels, a novel HVAC system, building integrated PV etc.
They are India’s first entry into the Solar Declathlon about to kick off in Europe this month.

• Mansukh Bhai Prajapati (Rajkot)
Innovation: Mitticool – a clay refrigerator that works without electricity
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam called him a ‘true scientist’. A school drop-out, he has achieved a feat that many in the world envy. Mitticool, a clay refrigerator that works without electricity had turned the world’s attention to its creator Mansukhbhai Prajapati, a craftsman based in Gujarat. He was presented with a national award in 2009. Mansukhbhai is not keen on money; his ambition is to make more low-cost and eco-friendly products for the masses

• Versa Drives (Coimbatore)
Innovation: Superfan
Every household in India has a fan, however this is one product that has seen no innovation or upgradation in terms of efficiency for more than half a century. This is why Versa drives decided to come up with superfans: one of the world’s lowest power consuming ceiling fan (35W) that has the potential to reduce the consumption by half. Studies by Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment reveal that worldwide consumption can come down by 70TWh per year if when super-efficient fans are only used. Apart from energy saving, Superfan also has many beneficial features like IR remote for speed control, consistent speed even with varying supply voltages, in-built power factor control to reduce harmonics, manufactured as a green product using ROHS electronics, VOC free paint and a recyclable packing that’s free of polythene bags & thermocol.

Grundfos India is working towards helping Indian industries and corporates save both energy and water not only through it’s highly energy efficient products but also through the energy and water audits it conducts.

For us at Grundfos, taking our own medicine is more than anything, about creating environmental mind-set, management commitment and committed employees. Grundfos has made an internal commitment that the Co2 emissions by 2015 will not be more than the emissions in 2008. The company contributes towards energy and water conservation by reducing its own impact on the environment. Our headquarters in Chennai is India’s first gold-rated green building (LEED certification by USGBC in 2005) and is energy efficient with 100% recycling of the sewage, rain water harvesting and with solar collectors and photovoltaics. Grundfos India’s factory also received the gold certification in 2011 from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). In 2013, Grundfos India went in for a voluntary re-certification and in August 2013, the Grundfos office building was elevated to a LEED EB Platinum certification.

Early this year, Grundfos India also successfully installed of a roof top solar power plant at its headquarters in Chennai. The estimated annual power generation from this plant will be 78000 kWh with an annual cost savings of INR 13 lakhs. This will also lead to a reduction of 25000 litres of diesel consumption annually, contributing to a reduction of 70 tons of CO2 emission per year. With a capacity of 51.84 kW, this rooftop solar power plant is a grid connected system, consisting of solar photovoltaic panels, inverters and connecting cables. As this system does not have a battery, its operation is simple and it remains a completely green installation.

Like Grundfos there are many more examples in India of sustainable solutions that are also business wise prudent and pay back the investment.

Ranganath N.K.
Managing Director, Grundfos India

My MBA at Indian School of Business commenced at a time when the world was mourning the global financial markets crisis and rejoicing the Noble Peace Prize awarded to Al Gore and Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, heroes who highlighted the gory consequences of Global Warming with ‘Inconvenient Truth’ and the IPCC Report respectively.

As I advanced in my MBA coursework and learned about minimizing fixed costs and calculating net present value of potential investments, I was intrigued by their hidden costs on the environment and impact on local communities. I wondered whether disregarding the impacts on future generations were the root cause for crises — both financial and climate change. While the world leaders scrambled to save the world from financial meltdown, but seemed to be in state of denial for climate change crisis. Was this ennui due to the fact that financial crisis was very much on our face, with its painful effects visible, and aftermath imaginable, and the crisis due climate change was vicarious and to happen sometime in future — after all mantra is to ‘live for the day’, right?

I thought, perhaps, we cannot do much to prevent another financial crisis but we certainly could do something to stop the climate change. Hence I chose to focus on Sustainability at ISB. Generally sustainability is considered as cost; influenced by Professor Stuart Hart’s book ‘Capitalism at Crossroads’, I investigated various ways we could reduce simultaneously — ISB’s environmental footprint and costs. I presented to the ISB management a proposal for a ‘Sustainable ISB’. My proposal earned me the ‘ISB Torchbearer award’, as well as an offer to join the institution as the Director – Operations and Sustainability

Inspired by Dean Rangnekar’s vision of ‘Responsible Leadership’ to make a ‘Sustainable ISB’, I reached out to community for their help and found tremendous support. Student driven ‘Operations and Sustainability Council’ (OSC) transformed their existing emotional campaign from ‘Go Green’ to ‘Gree(d)n is Good’. Their campaign, inspired by Gordon Gekko, was an overnight hit and T-shirts championing the campaign became best seller. Strengthened by partnerships with ISB various stake holder — faculty, staff, and service providers — we delivered initial savings of ~ $130,000 to the School. In the process, our Co2013 OSC team emerged runners up at prestigious Graduate Business Forum for ‘Responsible Leadership’.

We broke the myth that driving sustainability is cost; in fact leading responsibly costs less — both in money and natural resources — and that is the way forward. It’s now almost a year I have moved to a new role at ISB and it’s a matter of pride to see that the seeds we sowed are now bearing fruits and many new seeds are sown every day by ISB’s sustainability team.
Aware of the “butterfly effect” —something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world — I am positive that if each one of us were to flap our wings we certainly can return the planet, to our future generation, in a condition much better than when we borrowed from them.

It is often said that a crisis is a terrible to waste; I would not like to say much about the financial crisis but do we really want to risk wasting the current climate change crisis?

Nalin Srivastava
ISB, 2009

Even though Energy Conservation is an integral part of GIL, I could see that this mission particularly enriched in a collaborative approach by my plant team. Various operational teams coming together to identify the projects, plan the implementation and accepting the responsibilities have really boosted energy levels of operational team. Within a short span of time, my teams have realized the benefits of successful projects irrespective whether it is small or big. Moreover, I could also see increased knowledge levels of various employees due to cross functional execution; just to quote an example, in a way to explore the reasons of stand by pump operation in one of the cooling towers, my electrical engineer has carried out a root cause analysis and identified severe pressure drop in pumping system and pressure drop across the plate heat exchanger. As everyone in quest of new projects, I could also see some novel technologies suggested by plant team.

In a nutshell, I could see a great spirit of teamwork with out of box thinking and ability to understand and explore the possible solutions beyond their respective areas; resulted in positive environment at shop floor as well.

Now, I would not like to limit this culture in my plant only for this mission but also to extend this as a yearlong program with same energy levels of employees. This will certainly enhances energy efficiency of the plant and also results in increased awareness and technical expertise in various fields.

P. P. Deo,
Plant Head, Godrej Industries Limited, Gujarat

The present era is one of exhilarating technological development especially in Energy use, management , efficient equipment and much more. It will be fair to call this an age in which technology is taking on a more complimentary role to human functions at different levels. Communication devices are not just that, they have virtually become personal assistants whereas Automation in our homes, factories require progressively lesser interventions from their operators.

The offloading of such functions to technology has perhaps created a dependence for and a disdain towards investing thought towards small but essential functions in daily life.

The awareness and eagerness to turn off light switches in homes has steadily dropped over time as electricity has become an integral part of our sustenance. A plant operator would be comfortable in his knowledge that supply to his machine or tool is controlled by the supervisory system and hence puts least thought to any possible wastage. Probably the realization that energy is not unlimited has steadily slipped out of our psyche as it has become more dependable & continuous. I wonder how we are keen to employ apps and settings on our mobile devices to conserve its battery when on the move but neglect doing so when having access to a charging point.

Although the energy saving appliances space is growing by the day with smarter and intuitive products that seek to negate the human interference in energy use or in controlling it, one can only ignore the importance of the same at their own peril.

User awareness is the key to the successful implementation of any technology and it is not different for energy efficient or energy saving devices/appliances.

A sophisticated occupancy based lighting system may not yield desired savings if the inhabitants find it cumbersome to adopt and find ways to bypass. Energy saving modes of power tools or other electronic devices may just be another rarely utilized fancy option unless the user appreciates their true potential.

The Human Factor is the enabler for all technology to realize their true potential and Energy being no exception, it should be our effort to create a sense of primary responsibility at the user level to enable technology to create a smarter & energy efficient system at our workplace or home.

Dr. Kamal Bansal,
Dean, College of Engineering Studies,
University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun
Saurabh Biswas,
Assistant Professor & Program Coordinator Energy System
University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun

– Creating a culture of environment awareness

In today’s world, global warming has become a hot topic of conversation and many IT companies are taking up initiatives towards the cause of the environment and doing their bit, be it in the area of energy conservation, water management, pollution control, etc.

In my view, it is important to have a “green conversation” with all the key stakeholders, which means to make environment awareness a way of life for employees and for the organization. Several studies indicate that one of the reasons for the failure of environment awareness programs and practices is that senior management and the organization downplay the impact of these initiatives on organizational life. Indeed, if such programs and practices are to succeed, it requires a collective effort from all the stakeholders involved, be it employees or the senior management team.

Virtusa has implemented many initiatives towards conservation under the “Code Green” initiative. The Virtusa campus (in Hyderabad) has been constructed with a holistic approach to sustainability, concentrating on areas such as water efficiency and harvesting, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

If you’re wondering what you and/or your organization can do to lessen your footprint on the earth, check out the following Top 5 Ways to Green Your Workplace!

1. Conserve energy: One of easiest ways to achieve this is through LED lighting. At Virtusa, we made the switch from CFL to LED without compromising on optimal lux levels required for working. Also, we realized workstation height plays an important role in utilizing daylight effectively.

2. Conserve water: Saving water is simple and it doesn’t take a lot of time and effort. Turning off taps fully and replacing leaking hoses and worn tap washers makes for a quick and cheap way of saving water. Over 60% of our water demand is met through recycled water from the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) which is used for gardening purposes, and water closets in rest rooms.

3. Create awareness programs: Creating environmental education and awareness programs not only promote a culture of collective responsibility but also self-awareness on how each employee can contribute to the cause both from the organization and individual perspective. For example: cycle to work program, emission test drives, eco clubs, etc.

4. Go paperless: Reducing the amount of paper used in the typical office can be difficult, but any attempt to reduce, reuse and recycle paper can have an impact. You can help save paper quite simply by printing double-sided and reusing scrap paper for notes.

5. Sustainability as the mantra: The key to sustainability is to be able to measure the programs that are being undertaken at regular intervals and inculcate it as part of organizational culture. At Virtusa, one of our core values is to “Reduce environmental footprint of services delivered to our clients by reducing cycle time, increasing right first time and aggressively measuring and improving quality and reuse at source.”

Praveen Upadhyay,
Manager, Head of Admin and EHS (Environment Health and Safety) for India Operations,
Virtusa

Sustainability is surely a buzz word these days but I have seen it in business at ISB. When an entrepreneur starts a new venture with some seed funding his first priority is to make the business sustainable because sustainability brings equilibrium in the ecosystem, which can be as big as a business environment or as small as a building. After working in upstream oil and gas industry for close to 5 years I understand the resources that go in to produce a single drop of oil. A penny saved is a penny earned- going by this rule and knowing the fact that the era of easy oil is over, we should be consciously moving towards saving energy as much as we can.

And nothing is better than starting energy conservation from our own home and our own offices. Today buildings consume over 25% of our total energy consumption and this figure will go up as we move towards more and more urbanization. A little share from this can squeeze the supply & demand gap of power in our country.

Acknowledging these facts, we, Co of 2014 at ISB, have come together to make our fellow peers aware of the latest on sustainability. We had organized a sustainability workshop-‘Anubhuti’ to demonstrate the energy conservation measures being adopted at the Mohali campus of ISB. LED light fixtures, basement lighting through solar PV, solar water heating for housing blocks, geothermal system for air conditioning and 100% recycling of STP water are some of the major energy conservation measures.

I think a main aspect of the ISB architecture which everyone on campus acknowledge is the efficient use of day light- from living rooms to corridors and from recreation centre to LRC (Library). It’s a fact that people enjoy more in a natural environment than in a concrete jungle.

Now it’s upon us as future business leaders that how we sustain both!

Tarun Bansal,
PGP Class of 2014, Indian School of Business,
Mohali

Here’s the list for Homes shortlisted for the Mission Energy Challenge:

1. Dinesh Kumar, Jaipur, Rajasthan
2. Narender Singh, Delhi
3. Dipak Khandare, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
4. Rohith Iyer, Bangalore, Karnataka
5. Chirag Solanki, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
6. Satya Prakash, Bihar Sharif, Bihar
7. Girish Kargeti, New Delhi
8. Laxesh Kumar Sharma, Uttam Nagar, New Delhi
9. Yash Arya, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
10. Somnath Banerjee, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
11. Amita Sharma, Faridabad, Haryana
12. Ameetsinh Vaghela-Vakiil, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
13. Saravanan Govindan, Bengaluru, Karnataka
14. Kewal Krishan Sarin, Rohtak, Haryana
15. Abdul Raheem Syed, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh
16. Ramesh Dutta, Delhi
17. Sreekanth Mad Halva, Bangalore, Karnataka
18. Piyush Joshi, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
19. Manash Ranjan Singh Thakur, Nuapada, Odisha
20. Deep Patel, Mandvi-Kutch, Gujarat
21. Manoj Jain, Bhiwani, Haryana
22. Vivek Arora, New Delhi
23. Maj Anand Dodamani, Hubli, Karnataka
24. Girish Kargeti, New Delhi
25. Vishal Pandya,  Bengaluru, Karnataka
26. Yatharth Bhatt, Anand, Gujarat
27. Sunil Sood, Ranchi, Jharkhand
28. Sanjeev Jain, Raipur, Chhattisgrah
29. Virender Jain, Hisar, Haryana
30. Sreekanth Ramaswamy, Bengaluru, Karnataka
31. Abhijeet Alone, Kolhapur, Maharashtra
32. Amuru V Pavankumar, Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh
33. Pradeep Menon, Bangalore, India
34. Ravishankar R S, Bangalore – 560040, Karnataka
35. Prasad Unnikrishnan, Trivandrum, Kerala
36. Sumanta Mukherjee, Bankura, West Bengal
37. Sapan Thapar, New Delhi
38. Yusuf Turab, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
39. Manas Kundu, Mumbai, Maharashtra
40. Rajkurrun, Naga Port Louis, Flacq
41. Vijay Kolaventy, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
42. Subramanian P Thrivikraman, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
43. Parameshwar KV, Mumbai, Maharashtra
44. Saravana Perumal Ramaswamy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
45. Omprakash Sukumalani, Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra
46. Mahesh Joshi, Udaipur, Rajsthan
47. Debabasis Sahoo, Kolkata, West Bengal
48. Ravi Teja Pabbisetty, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
49. Saurabh Surana, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
50. Binoy Kamath, Bangaluru, Karnataka
51. Kasturi Navalkar, Bangaluru, Karnataka
52. Ravi Prayaga, Pune, Maharashtra
53. Sundararajan Muruganandhan, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
54. Avijit Ghosh, Kolkata, West Bengal
55. Arif Ayyub, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
56. Sanjay Sangwan, Hisar, Haryana

Here’s the list for Educational Institutions shortlisted for the Mission Energy Challenge:

1. ISB Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
2. ISB Mohali, Mohali, Punjab
3. Samanway Sansthan, Koderma, Jharkhand
4. Kirk View School, Chatterjee, Gaya, Bihar
5. Maharaja Sayjirao University of Baroda, Navin Chandra, Vadodara, Gujarat
6. University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Bidholi Verma, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
7. Sanghamitra School, Gangula, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
8. AVM Schools, Gosrani, Mumbai, Maharashtra
9. Chiranjiv Bharati School, Gurgaon