The pandemic has exposed the world’s fragility to forcing major events, and with nations trying to reset after troubling developments of the past two years, sustainability and resource efficiency remain among the most discussed topics. have emerged.
We have seen the devastating effects of global warming – wildfires, extreme heat, moisture loss, air pollution, cyclones, flash floods and zoonotic diseases occurring with even greater frequency of late. After the recent shutdowns, increased economic activity led to global energy shortages.
For corporates, sustainability presents an opportunity to lay the groundwork to emerge as future-ready enterprises by combining environmental goals with their digital transformation agenda.
The institutional push for sustainability is growing. Sustainability reporting norms from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) now mandate an environmental, social and governance (ESG) overview.
Investments in ESG themed funds grew 2.5X from $275 million in FY15 to $650 million in FY21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been emphasizing on the mission circular economy. He has said that we must “reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, redesign and re-build”. Even the Budget for 2022-23 talks of a roadmap for a circular economy.
The circular economy aims to maintain the value of the products over a long period of time with the help of better design and repair principles. The circular consumption movement can be supported with the help of policy tools such as the right to repair. This will enhance resource security which is the key to the success of missions like Make in India.
It will also enhance livelihood security for the informal sector. Simply put, repairing a product or extending its life cycle rather than buying and buying a new one is both an energy-saving and economic solution.
Many companies have been forcibly hired into obsolescence. For example, at one point in time, an Apple phone would slow down if you were using the latest version of the software. Europe fined Apple €25 million for this.
Printers have chips that prevent cartridges from being used after a certain limit of use. Some products are impossible to repair without permanently damaging them.
The Right to Repair movement is gaining popularity around the world. In November 2021 the European Parliament passed a resolution mandating that some products such as TVs need to be independently repaired for 10 years.
France has passed a law establishing a classification index of repair of many products. How can we speak of education for all, in times of hybrid work, without ensuring that everyone, especially vulnerable groups, have access to cheap and long-lasting, repairable tablets and computers?
Furthermore, a narrow view on e-waste is related to the heavy environmental shock.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board report in 2019-20, India generated 1014961.2 tonnes of e-waste for 21 types of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Such e-waste also includes hazardous substances such as lead and mercury and valuables such as iron, steel, copper, aluminum and plastics.
While the good is to save, we cannot fill our landfills with hazardous chemicals that will sit in groundwater and affect both land and aquatic life.
Being the third largest producer of e-waste after China and the US, India needs to think holistically about e-waste and the longevity of the products.
Doing things sustainably means making sure our products are repaired and not thrown away in a short amount of time. With the wide reach of the digital economy, we need to look at digital repair in a more organized manner and not dump our mobile phones or tablets after 1-2 years of usage.
Therein lies a huge opportunity, and India’s immense engineering talent can change the repair story and make India the repair garage of the world. We can extend the life of e-products by repairing such products and making them more affordable. Building on our repair momentum with repairable guidelines, we can export repair work and perform even better on climate action.
The repair economy is worth $100 billion. In 2017, the Swedish government introduced a 50% tax break for using repair services on consumer goods. It is important to design a policy framework that allows for the dissemination of more sustainable ideas and indigenization. the future is now. Let’s not lose momentum.
Ajay Choudhary is the founder of HCL and the chairman of Electronics Sector Council of India.