Green’s the way to go

Every country wants to go green, but Indians can take a deep breath of fresh air as a recent international survey that tracks and reports environmentally sustainable behaviour has ranked India right on top with the greenest consumer behaviour. It may be a happy moment, but experts in the city say that it’s not time to be self-congratulatory and relax.
Says Nirmal, founder of Exnora International, “India always had green habits.But with the boom in the economy and development, things have changed considerably.” He attributes India’s top rank to the country’s low purchasing power. “If you look at the countries that top this index, the purchasing power is much lower than those at the bottom of the list. In some ways, it’s a blessing in disguise to be a developing country,” he says.
Kartar Singh, acting director of British Council believes that efforts to promote awareness on environmental issues have borne fruit of late.
“Youngsters these days are very receptive to new ideas and adopt green methods readily. They are instrumental in making changes in their circles,” he says, “However, what we should be doing is taking the green message, not just to the youth, but also the older generations, and the rural population too.”
Shruti K N, one of British Council’s climate champions, who has set an example of how an individual can make a difference, has recently distributed about 1,000 bamboo saplings along with her team of four, to households in T Nagar. Says Shruti, “We not only distributed saplings but also spoke to people about how they can help make a change in the neighbourhood. After this exercise, we realised that although many are willing to try green options, they need to be convinced on how to continue the activities on a long term. Many are still looking at winning fancy prizes for adopting green methods,” she laments.
Nirmal offers advice on how to keep one’s spending low and hence generate less waste. “Before making large purchases, as yourself these five questions - Do I want it? Do I need it? Can I be without it? Can I afford it? Can I postpone it?”
Mathew Jose, from the Youth Exnora wing, emphasises that the city desperately needs a better waste segregation system. “I strongly believe the golden rule — reduce, reuse and recycle — is a single formula that will make a huge difference,” he concludes.
marcus.clay@timesgroup.com
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