Auto Sustain, a public-private partnership project co-funded by DEG and implemented by UL DQS India and the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) in association with the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC), was launched at a CEOs Forum in Chennai on October 30.
Auto Sustain is an initiative by the project proponents to bring about a sustainable transformation in the automotive industry in India by helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the industry to adopt sustainable practices towards environmental protection and conservation of natural resources. The project, now in its first phase, will run for 18 months covering a wide range of activities benefiting the project beneficiaries.
The project launch was attended by dignitaries from the top management of various large and medium-sized enterprises, including Dr. K. Murugan, Executive Director of ASSIST, Mr. S. Muralidharan and Mr. D.K.S. Moorthy, both associated with ASSIST and the Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS), and Mr. S. Raj, Regional Director of IGCC (Chennai).
The key sessions at the Forum were addressed by guest speakers from Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. and Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt. Ltd.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Murugan briefed the participants on various PPP initiatives and projects implemented by UL DQS and ASSIST in India, Sri Lanka and other countries to build capacity across industrial sectors on practices supporting energy and resource efficiency.
In his keynote address on the Importance of Sustainability in Automotive Supply Chain, Mr. Erich Nesselhauf, Vice President – Procurement, Supply Chain Management & Logistics, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd., highlighted the various initiatives taken by his company on sustainable development, including integrating the supply chain in the best practices and compliance achieved throughout the Daimler Group. Adherence to sustainable practices by the supply chain is the key to achieving quality of products and services along with preservation of the environment.
Mr. Biju Balendran, Vice President, Plant Engineering from Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt. Ltd., highlighted the concept of Automotive Industry & Sustainability from an OEM Perspective in his address on the various measures adopted by Renault Nissan for resource optimization, energy conservation and reduction of GHG emissions.
Mr. Moorthy, in his address, stressed the importance of sustainability reporting and publishing of sustainability reports by enterprises to showcase the accountability of their actions and impacts on the society and environment.
Mr. Muralidharan shared his views on the current Indian automotive industry scenario and familiarized the guests with the many initiatives to be implemented during the course of the project to help the potential participants and beneficiaries gain maximum insight into the various benefits that could be drawn through active participation in the various stages of project implementation.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Raj highlighted the huge potential for the automotive industry, and stressed the need for sustainable development so that the sector moves in the right direction.
The participants from various organizations shared their ideas and views with the guest speakers and other dignitaries on the dais. The event provided an excellent opportunity for automotive industry leaders to network and exchange their views and experiences.
The project will be launched in Bangalore and Pune in the coming months to reach out to a larger group of beneficiaries from major automotive industry units concentrated in the few clusters across Chennai, Bangalore and Pune. During the course of the project, the beneficiaries will be engaged in surveys to understand the current practices followed by SMEs and would organize technical training workshops to build local capacity on sustainable practices among SMEs.
Technical assistance on ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, IQNet SR 10 and Global Reporting Initiative will be given to enterprises to help them align with environmental, health & safety management systems. A developmental project of this nature envisions helping its beneficiaries improve their environmental performance while improving their business topline as well as bottomline.