Today's one of the important topic is "Does good Environment performance contribute to competitive advantage". There is a growing realisation that to meet rising customer's expectations amidst international competitions while complying with regulatory needs and societal obligations, keeping pace of development, in harmony with environment, is probably the solution. This is possible through adopting the path of sustainable development.

Sustainable Development 

It is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological developments and institutional changes are all in synergy leading to enhancement of both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations. To translate this intention to action we need to integrate business operation with environmental aspects and the impacts. In simple terms we have It to be conscious about the following

Resource

• Kind of resource we use. Reserve capacity, consumption / depletion rate, scarce / plenty. 
• If it is a mineral, iron ore, dolomite, limestone, bauxite etc., methods used for its extraction. 
• Ore overburden ratio and its dumping, handling of fines, land use pattern, consumption of water, energy, amount of degradation of eco-system viz. land, water bodies, different species in forest land etc.

Preservation of forest land and regeneration of forest coverage which act as "sink" for absorbing green house gases like CO1 and supplies oxygen, protects soil erosion, provides food, fodder, fuel besides adding value to the medicinal plants. Proper resource accounting will enable the society to adopt the right option between alternatives such as exploitation vis-a-vis preservation of the sensitive eco-system, or concurrent exploitation and regeneration of eco-system to the extent possible.

It is very essential that before starting a project, Environment Impact! Assessment (EIA) and Environment Management Plan (EMP) must be made. This study will indicate the following:
 

• Location
• General Topography
• Population 
• Linkages, road, rail, water, etc.
• Climate
• Resources used
• Process adopted
• Emissions
• Energy
• Water
• Soil
• Waste generated, hazardous/ non hazardous and their management through reduction, reuse, recycle etc.
• Mitigation measures suggested with alternative methods, land use pattern probable degradation of environment and their restoration regeneration.
• Risk Management and disaster management plans

Reports with proper documents should have approval of regulatory agencies, before starting the project. 

Process

During operation of the process, continuous improvement of environmental parameters with pre determined values and its conformance with regulatory needs must be assessed by conducting environmental auditing. This is a management tool comprising a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of how well environmental organisation, management systems and equipment are performing with the aim of:

· facilitating management control of environmental practices and 
· compliance with company policies, including meeting the regulatory requirements.

It may be noted that the process of auditing may be an internal auditing at periodic interval and should be taken as one of the agenda in the industrial management, irrespective of the size of the company. 

Environmental Audit

Environmental Auditing must be conducted in three distinct phases: 

· Planning or pre-audit activities
· Action or site activities
· Post audit activities or follow up 

In planning or pre-audit activities

· set objectives and scopes 
· select audit team 
· prepare audit plan 
· schedule site activities

In action or site activities 

· opening meeting 
· site inspection 
· data gathering
· verification 
· evaluation 
· close out meeting 

· report 
· corrective action plan 
· develop corporate environmental strategy
· decide on timing and next audit 

Advantages or an Environmental Audit 

• Assesses company's environmental performance
• Provides baseline for monitoring future performance 
• Highlights areas of concern 
• Highlights areas of environmental success 
• Identifies potential cost savings 
• Reduces risk of criminal and civil liability 
• Keeps company ahead of legislation 
• Improves dialogue with regulatory authorities 
• Increases employee awareness 
• Evaluates work force training effectiveness 
• Improves public relation 
• Improves environment 

· Goal identification and scooping 
· Inventory analysis 
· Impact analysis 
· Improvement analysis 

Goal should be specified in terms of:

· reasons for carrying out the LCA 
· the intended use of the results 
· the intended audience 

In the scope of product life cycle from planning through production, distribution and packaging, utilisation to disposal items to be carried at each stage of life cycle are:

· Natural resource consumption rate of depletion, reserve capacity etc.
· Energy consumption
· Water contamination
· Land use pattern and degradation
· Air emissions
· Water contamination
· Noise
· Waste generation and overall impact on eco-restoration.

Having made an inventory analysis involving data collection for each element within a system boundary, classification, and valuation is done in Life Cycle Impact Analysis. 

Classification

Grouping together the inventory parameters into a number of impact  categories such as resource depletion, ecological and health pacts relationship may be drawn for specific impact categories such as global warming, acid rains, etc. 

Characterisation 

Acquisition and interpretation of the relevant physical, chemical, biological and toxicological environment characteristics is conducted to know the impacts associated with and inventory parameter.

Valuation
It is a subjective process where results of characterisation are compared.

To quantify environmental aspects, technologies like process flow diagram, mass balance and identification waste streams are used where in any unit operation, mass of the input is balanced with mass of output. 

We may take an example. While trying to eradicate vehicular pollution through various alternative ways application of LCA gives us following options:

· Lead free petrol with catalytic converter, usage of methanol etc.
· Fuel cell/Solar battery
· LPG/Hydrogen etc. ,
· Reduction of weight of the vehicle maintaining its strength, Properties, corrosion resistance, durability, formability, weldibility etc.

Comparison between steel, aluminium and plastic, steel has a better competitive edge because of 100% recyclability, less energy consumption viz. 8.2 Gcal/Tonne of crude steel against 80 Gcal/Tonne in aluminium and 24.3 Gcal/Tonne in case of plastic. Though steel is preferred for above reasons, but its reduction of weight gained prominence. This massage to the steel manufacturer to development of ultra light steel auto body (ULSAB) which made it possible to reduce the weight of a standard car from 320 Kg to 250 Kg, reduction of 70 Kg.  This provides customer satisfaction, eco friendliness and economy.

Clean Technology

We will quickly discuss about the technology which is environmentally benign and known as clean technology which attacks the problem at the source and different from clean up technology dealing with end of pipe treatment. It is defined as continuous application of an integrated preventive environment strategy to processes and products so as to reduce risks to human and environment.

For process 

This means conserving raw material and energy, eliminating toxic raw materials and reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes before they leave a process.

For products

It means reduction of impacts along the entire product life cycle from raw material extraction to disposal known as cradle to grave concept which we have already discussed.

Clean UP Production/Cleaner Production

Clean up production looks apparently cheaper but really does not solve the problem and cleaner production has been found to be eco efficient and economic in the long run. But its investment cost is higher and cost of capital being very high in our country, its implementation is posing a problem.

Let us cite an example; though steel is considered eco-friendly because of its 100% recyclability, its requirement of raw material, energy, water, generation of waste and emissions are quite high for scale operation and that is why steel industry is considered as one of the polluting industries. Roughly to produce 1 T of steel it generates 1.1 T of waste.

In SAIL we have attempted partial conversion from end of pipe to clean technology such as:

• Ore beneficiation and eco-restoration of degraded lands
• Coke ovens from 4m tall battery to 7m tall battery
• Blending of coal with higher imported % low ash, high V M coal 
• Bell less top, higher blast temperature 
• Coal dust injection 
• Open hearth BOF Continuous Casting
• More thrust is required on effective utilisation of waste heat, introduction of compact mill, etc. to produce contemporary products at competitive prices to ensure sustained market prominence. This issue is being considered. 

In various pollution control programmes undertaken during modernisation and special action plans approx. Rs. 1100 Crores has been spent to meet by and large the regulatory norms in air and water and gains obtained are as follows:

To consolidate the gains of investment, continual improvement in technology is a must. If the expenditure is not made on time, then cost of environmental degradation becomes starting. As calculated by NEERI, between 1980-90 GDP growth shown as 5.66% (Rs. 2,02,354 Crores) becomes negative when degradation cost is considered and comes to 5.73% (Rs. 3,33,652 Crores).

Introduction of clean technology with a well established Environment Management System (EMS) and a proper attitude towards environment will protect our common future.

EMS

This is the part of overall management system which includes organisational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing. achieving, reviewing and maintaining the environmental policy. EMS in place with effective functioning will help in accredit ion of ISO 14001. In SAIL, introduction of EMS is 3 of our units is already in progress. 

In conclusion, we may quote Aristotle saying, "Excellence is an art won by training and habitation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit". Let us inculcate that habit of respecting nature in all human actions to protect our common future.