Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal recently emphasised on the importance of circular economy at the 14th CII Sustainability Summit 2019.

Speaking at the event, Goyal stressed the importance of Circular Economy as the key component of sustainability.

He said that ‘keeping it simple with minimal resources’ has been the Indian ethos, which has been inculcated from our forefathers.

Out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 12 particularly relates to responsible consumption and production. This must be looked at as a very serious commandment where industry leaders have a big role to play in the way people plan their lives.

He mentioned that Indian government has been at the forefront of the LED moment, which helped India bring down carbon footprint and led to lower electricity bills. It was based on affordable prices, which was later scaled up by the private sector.

He expressed that Indian Railways will be 100% electrified in 3-4 years, resulting in reduction of carbon emissions. In 10 years, it will run on 100% renewable energy, and there will be net zero emissions due to battery storage capability.

He stated that the concept of Circular Economy ensures that everything around us finds an effective value and non-usable waste is reduced to a bare minimum. According to a study, circular economy trajectory could bring annual benefits of ?40 lakh crore (USD 624 billion) by 2050.

He called out to youngsters and start-ups and said that the government is ready and willing to encourage any ideas that help us move towards a sustainable economy.

Acknowledging the dearth of natural resources and the consequences of the linear take-make-dispose model, which has consequences on environment, social inequity and climate change, Sanjiv Puri, Chairman, Advisory Council of CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development Chairman and Managing Director, ITC Limited expressed that any resource not fully utilized can be deployed to make a purposeful contribution.

He further elaborated that a transition to a circular economy, a tectonic shift is required in the way we work today.

A holistic approach is needed to look at the whole value chain from production to consumption, to see how we can re-engineer this change.

Stating that resource efficiency and economic growth are linked, he mentioned that the economic organs of society, that is, businesses, can make this change and find solutions.

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry congratulated the honourable Minister, Mr Piyush Goyal for Indian Railways banning ‘Single Use Plastic’. He stressed that ecological challenges need to be tackled on a war footing.