By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 8 Jun: The 8th edition of CII-Northern Region Inter Industry Competition on Environment, Health and Safety Management (EHS) was organised from 27 to 29 May over virtual platform to acknowledge the vision and exemplary commitment of the companies towards environmental responsibility, concern for occupational health and safety of employees and society as a whole.
Harak Singh Rawat, State Minister of Forests & Environment, said that environmental issues are attracting concern of all stakeholders across the globe. COVID-19 pandemic has brought the attention of global leaders to addressing Environmental Issues and Global Warming. He added that the Government of Uttarakhand is proactively promoting and working towards reducing carbon footprints and requested industries’ support by adopting best practices to accomplish these targets for our future generations.
He claimed that Uttarakhand is set to become the first state in the country to assign a monetary value to four of its critical natural resources – Air, Water, Forest and Soil. The quality and quantity of these natural resources would determine the Gross Environment Product (GEP), which will be used in evaluating State’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP). This is important since Uttarakhand is a landlocked State with 75% of its area covered by Natural Resources that cannot be used for industrial and developmental purposes. He shared that the quantity of bio medical waste in the State has increased to 7 tons out of which 5.5 tons is due to the COVID pandemic. A new bio medical waste facility is being set up at Narendra Nagar and over a period of time more such facilities will be set up in other districts.
Abhimanyu Munjal, Chairman, CII Northern Region, while delivering his address at the Valedictory Session, today, shared that due to the ongoing pandemic the responsibility on the EHS professionals in industries has increased manifold. He highlighted that the pandemic had caused significant personal and business disruptions to virtually every aspect of life. Businesses are being challenged by the financial markets, supply chain threats, cybersecurity threats, plus questions regarding future growth, sustainability, and expansion. The immediate focus for the business community is on the safety and welfare of employees, as well as economic survival. Notwithstanding these concerns, companies, and in particular their environmental, health, and safety staffs, need to be prepared to address employees’ concerns regarding issues related to the company’s COVID-19 response and management.
Vipul Dawar, Chairman, CII Uttarakhand, in his welcome address stated that the competition is an annual feature organised jointly with CII – ITC Centre of Sustainable Development to recognise exemplary performance of industries in the area of Environment, Health and Safety.
The three member jury for the competition included Shikhar Jain, Principal Councillor, CII ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, Gurugram, Dr YK Saxena, Advisor – EHS, CSR & Sustainability Services, TÜV Rheinland Group, and Ashish Singh, Pan India Head – Facility Management & EHS, Factory Manager – Daman, Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt Ltd.
Vipul Dawar announced the results. Tata Motors Ltd, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, won the trophy for the first position, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, emerged as the 1st Runner-up followed by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, as the 2nd Runner-up.
EHS Consistency Award was bagged by Saint Gobain India, Bhiwadi, Rajasthan; ITC Limited – PCPB Division, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, won Best Environment Practices, while Best Health & Safety Practices was bagged by ITC Limited, Foods Division, Kapurthala, Punjab. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, Gurugram, Haryana, won Best Innovative Practices in EHS; and Best Debutant Award was given to Mahle Anand Thermal Systems, Greater Noida, UP.
Special recognition prizes were bagged by ST Telemedia GDC India, New Delhi; Mindarika Pvt Ltd, Manesar, Haryana; Tupperware India Pvt Ltd, Dehradun, Uttarakhand; Afcons Infrastructure Limited, Katra Dharam Bridge Project, J&K; Mahle Anand Filter Systems Pvt Ltd, Gurugram, Haryana; Reckitt Benckiser India Pvt Ltd, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.
