Green Chemistry: Indian Industry warming up to Global Action

There is growing confidence among industry by improving the overall resource efficiency, green chemistry can provide financial benefits to chemical companies from lower material usage, energy and capital expenditure costs in addition to environmental benefits. Moreover, the export oriented industries like Textile, Pharmaceutical and Pesticides are under pressure to find greener alternatives to comply with regulations in major export markets like Europe and United States. Indian industry has started taking small steps towards incorporating these principles while developing green chemistry solutions and approaches. Though, the sector is still in its infancy, it can definitely aid the industry to achieve environmental as well as resource sustainability.

Chemical sector is among the key focus sectors of the Make in India initiative. In sectors such as textiles, which have extensive use of both chemicals and water, green chemistry measures can not only play a role in improving their resource efficiency but also help reduce the effluent generated (both quantum and type) thereby reducing the adverse environmental impact of the industry. Many multinational companies have already embarked on the process of conducting extensive research to alter/enhance their production processes in order to reduce their environmental footprint, manufacturing cost and increase safety of their end products.

Drivers for green chemistry practices in Indian Industries

1. Buyer Demand and Regulation driving export oriented industries: This is relevant to the industries like textile apperel, pharmaceutical and pesticides which are heavily export oriented and will loose business if they don't comply to 
2. Increasing production cost: Due to increasing resource scarcity the resource cost is increasing. This is in turn increasing the overall production cost which directly affects the top line and the bottom line of any company. Therefore cost reduction is catalyzing action in resource intensive sectors.
3. Market Competitiveness and need for innovation: Customers are continually demanding better product at a reasonable cost. To remain compitative, companies have to innovate continuously and figure out new ways to provide better products at minimum cost. This is increasing the uptake of green and progressive chemistry in sectors like pesticides and pharmaceutical.

Right now the market for the green chemistry is quite niche in the Indian market at the moment, but is expected to grow into a full fledge industry accounting for almost US$10 billion by 2020.  Buyer demand and regulations in the export market as well as the ever reforming regulations in India are going to drive the adpotion of green chemistry in Indian Industry.

This brief from Sustainability Outlook is a primer on the Green Chemistry sector, its drivers and applications in the Indian Industry. 

To read the entire brief, click here.

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