IIMA talks ‘green’ on the second day of ConneXion

Day two of ConneXion, the management conclave of IIMA (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad)'s PGPX students, was devoted to green innovations.

The day began with an address by Dr JJ Irani, director of Tata Sons. He put forth a dynamic speech on the importance of innovation, more than of research and development. And citing reasons for this stand, Dr Irani said that while he is not against R&D, innovation is more important for him as it has more of a practical approach.

"For instance, Fujifilms changed their profitability pattern 15 years ago, when they started realising that the rug under their feet was about to get pulled off by fast-paced digitisation. Similarly, till 15 years ago, we did not know the impact of climate change on us and our future generations, as we were more worried about making profits," he said, in his address to those present.

"However, when we underwent mining 30-40 years ago, the holes dug for coal were later filled up and forest lands were created by us. Innovation in society helped us build our profits and also re-build the environment. Innovation hence, must take into consideration the climate, society and environment," said Irani.

Irani spoke about the availability of alternative sources of generating power at the moment, and mentioned that these are a tad bit more expensive than regular fossil fuels. "But if we want to ensure that our future generation does not have to wear masks, we must integrate these sources into our system and help reduce carbon footprints. We must just go ahead with what we think is right for the atmosphere, instead of waiting for the government to take measures", he said.

Irani concluded his speech with a question and answer session, by stating that India needs to permit free movement of fuel within states, in order to reduce digging. More so, profit-making bodies should use their profits wisely, in order to help the environment survive.

This speech was followed by a presentation and panel discussion by SK Das, CEO of Torrence Capital; Chender Baljee, CMD of Royal Orchid Hotels; Anand Iyer from Wipro EcoEnergy and Rajgopal Nogja, president of Lavasa Corporation Ltd & HCC Real Estate.

While Das explained various modes of investment in bringing green technologies to India and about the existing investment pattern involved for tackling climate change, Baljee spoke about setting up an 80-room all-brick hotel at Baroda and his on-going construction at Jaipur, a similar hotel. These bricks, however, are being supplied by a plant in Ahmedabad.

Nogja spoke about the 3,673 trees which were chopped off for constructing Lavasa. However, he did mention that this was compensated by planting of 8 lakh trees in Lavasa. 

The speakers told the students that it is important for them to take the right measures now, with respect to green cover and innovations. They also said that the students' managerial skills are required for maintaining green cover in the country.