Chronicling the Journey of the Budding Indian Chemical Industry

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Green chemistry in India

In recent years, the chemical industry has acknowledged and recognised the importance

of compliance with environmental laws, and is taking numerous steps to this effect. Many major players are working to reduce their carbon emissions. Several companies are adopting innovative strategies to conserve water, including switching to sea water to reduce effluent discharge. However, as Mr Lohokare is quick to point out, common effluent treatment plants still require more efforts at the local level for effective effluent management.

More and more companies are switching to ‘green technologies’ in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint. Treated water is used in the development of green belts. Several key players in the domestic industry are now embracing ‘green chemistry’ to ensure sustainable development.

Some chemical manufacturers are also using low NOx burners to cut down on nitrogen dioxide emissions. National Peroxide Ltd, of which Mr Lohokare is the Managing Director, has begun to replace furnace oil with clean fuel to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions. He also adds that the company primarily deals in hydrogen peroxide, which is used in the manufacture of environmentallyfriendly propylene oxide–another ‘green feather’ in its cap.

Chemical ‘counciling’

Established in 1938, Indian Chemical Council (ICC) is the apex national body that represents all the branches of the chemical industry in India.

Today, this organisation works to spread awareness about the responsible use of chemicals, encourages R&D activities and efforts towards energy conservation in India. As Chairman-Western Region, Mr Lohokare emphasises that the organisation aims to make “meaningful contributions to the domestic chemical industry through various committees such as Technology & Energy, Infrastructure, International Treaties, Safety, Health & Environment, Responsible Care, Trade & Business Development, Vision Committee and REACH & Global Harmonised Systems”.

In his capacity as Chairman of the Technical & Energy Expert Committee of ICC, Mr Lohokare oversees the committee’s work on various trade-related issues such as rationalising duty structure, inking Foreign Trade Agreements, organising workshops, seminars and conferences to encourage interaction with the international chemical industry associations and analysing the impact of REACH on the industry, among others. He notes, “Under ISO 500001, the Technical & Energy Expert Committee draws attention to the latest technologies and trends that can be leveraged by the industry.”

ICC is also in the process of establishing the Perform, Achieve & Trade Committee, which will be functional by April 2011. Further, ICC has set up a help desk to assist the chemical industry in complying with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and also holds training programmes to spread awareness about CWC.

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