Green products top issue for Indian manufacturers: Survey

Mumbai, Oct 1 (UNI) An international study on ''Sustainability and Environmental Trends'' has revealed that development of ''green'' or ''environmentally-friendly'' products is the most important environmental issue facing manufacturing businesses in India today.

The study conducted by Harris Interactive for Dow Corning Corporation says that more than one in four managers and professionals rank ''green'' as a higher priority than other environmental factors such as increasing energy efficiency or reducing waste.

But the study of more than 1,000 people in seven countries also reveals how attitudes about sustainability vary across the world.

While, managers in India, China and the Americas for example, consider the health and safety of employees, customers and supplies as important, in Korea, the highest importance is given to long term sustainability of the business.

The other key findings shows that customers and the government are seen by companies in India as the most important influencers on sustainability and environmental decisions. Just over 60 per cent of people rated each of these as a top three influencer. However there are marked differences between countries in the United States and Europe, customers were considered the most important influencers.

Environmental and sustainability programs have a strong influence on whether a company in India will be considered as a potential supplier. One out of every two managers consider environment/ sustainability factors of critical importance a significantly higher level than their counterparts in China (26 per cent).

''Although there are differences in emphasis around the world, it is evident from this research that sustainability is becoming more and more important for companies of all sizes in India,'' said Peter Cartwright, Dow Corning executive director for environment.

''Managers in India clearly understand the importance of innovating products that have less impact on the environment and are also safer for people,'' he added.

One recent development has been the introduction of a new technology that reduces the water and energy used by textile finishers in India for denim processing, said Cartwright.

UNI