Kolkata Raj Bhavan shows the way

The Hindu , Sunday, June 21, 2009
Correspondent : Ananya Dutta
Behavioural changes help reduce carbon emissions

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KOLKATA: A new study of the environmental impact of the lifestyle of West Bengal’s Raj Bhavan conducted by the Global Change Programme of Jadavpur University here reveals that bulk institutional consumers can significantly reduce carbon emissions through voluntary initiatives.

According to the report, titled “Climate Responsible Lifestyle Initiative at Raj Bhavan”, the technological and behavioural changes adopted by the residents of Raj Bhavan have enabled them to reduce its carbon emissions by 73 tons per year and generated financial savings amounting to more than Rs. 3.5 lakh.

Voluntary

The voluntary actions undertaken by Raj Bhavan are a replicable experiment for sustainability that can be taken up by other bulk institutional consumers, according to Prof. Joyashree Roy, leader of the research team that prepared the report.

The study proves that the environmental benefit from voluntary initiatives like the ones undertaken by Raj Bhavan, including two-hour black-outs and reduction in the number of cars in the Governor’s convoy, can be evaluated, a key element of the Bali Action plan.

“The report proves that behavioural change is much more important than technological changes in reducing negative effects on climate change,” says Prof. Roy. While emissions from lighting services came down by 13 per cent through technology changes, they came down by 50 per cent due to behavioural measures.

The cost-benefit analysis in the report shows that measures for energy efficiency and climate mitigation are economically viable. The initiatives resulted in a 15 per cent reduction in the annual electricity bill as well as yearly savings of nearly one lakh rupees in the expenditure on diesel. The report also details the measures that Raj Bhavan can adopt to become carbon-neutral -- the net effect of all activities would yield zero carbon emissions. This includes generating one-third of the electricity demand from solar sources, procuring bio-fuel from algae growing in the ponds of the premises and replacing the diesel cars with electric cars. What began as a voluntary two-hour black-out at Raj Bhavan to share the citizens’ plight slowly grew into a more meaningful exercise in how an institution like Raj Bhavan can impact the environment, said West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi at the release of the report this past week

 
SOURCE : Sunday, June 21, 2009
 


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