New Delhi, India
The purpose is to unite on an international level, reduce India’s carbon footprint, and green the planet overall. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham joined European Union (EU) missions in India alongside more than 15 other organizations and signed the “Green Pledge”.
The agreement extends the commitment to adopt a number of sustainable measures nationwide, including reducing plastic use, managing waste responsibly, and reducing water and electricity consumption.
“Both the EU and India are committed to sustainability and circular economy,” said Mr. Raimund Magis. He is the chargé d’affaires ad interum for the Delegation of the EU to India. “By joining our efforts, we can make a significant contribution towards sustainable development.”
The event took place in New Delhi and Dr. Shyam Diwakar represented Amrita University. He is the Lab Director of the Computational Neuroscience and Neurophysiology Laboratory, as well as an Associate Professor at the School of Biotechnology.
Diwakar explained the university’s environmental initiatives are aimed at innovating solutions in sustainability defined by simple, practical steps that can be adopted on a large scale. Several of the projects and events have been formally recognized by UNESCO as part of the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development.
“Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has been leading sustainability and nature harmony efforts by involving students and communities in planting trees, recycling organic wastes, treating waste dump regions with biologically natural methods, advancing research towards waste-water treatment, and informing people about the effects of plastic degradation,” Diwakar said.
“This includes leading community groups across India in cleanups of public trash, as well as the construction of more than 12,000 toilets in rural areas to eliminate open defecation. In fact, the toilet project also focuses on training village women to build and maintain them, thereby giving them a new skill set to earn a living.”
Sports associations, universities, civil society organizations, industry partners and service providers from across India also attended the event to sign the Green Pledge. The European delegation launched a social media campaign named “Lead the Green Change” that invites the general public, institutions, associations, corporations and universities to join in so they can also reduce their carbon footprint and green the planet.
Some of the partners in India include:
– Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
– Four universities: Jadavpur University, Savitribai Phule University, Assam Bosco University and Amrita University
– Three luxury hotels in Delhi: The Park Hotel, The Oberoi and The Lodi
– Several leading civil society and developmental organizations including: Development Alternatives, Project Mumbai, International Institute of Waste Management, Karo Sambhav, the Holy Cow Box, Ploggers of India
– Regional sports associations including: Karnataka State Cricket Association, Goa Football Association and Assam Cricket Association
Other EU embassies that have reported on steps to achieve the Green Pledge are in Slovenia, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Czech Republic, Italy, UK, Lithuania, France, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands.
