ELI Research in Action Team Treks to India

• Pages: 51-51

MAY/JUNE 2011 ❧ Page 51

Copyright © 2011, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, May/June 2011

ELI Report

Electric motor scooters

and elevators were among

the f‌ield trip highlights

that awaited John “Jay”

Pendergrass, ELI Senior

Attorney, as he returned

to India in January to

conduct a set of two-day

workshops for industry

managers on provideing

environmental compli-

ance and safety in the

workplace.

e f‌irst, “Environ-

mental, Health and

Safety Workshop,” was

held in Ahmedabad, Jan-

uary 24-25, at the Indus

Institute of Technology

and Engineering, an ELI

partner.

e workshop attracted

plant managers, engineers,

supply-chain managers,

and other EHS profes-

sionals who were given

the opportunity to learn

from highly respected

faculty drawn from local

government and academia.

ese included the head

of the Environmental

and Forestry Department

of the State of Gujarat;

members of the State Pol-

lution Control Board and

other state agencies; and a

professor from one of the

national law schools.

Following a day of

classroom training, partici-

pants were given a plant

visit to Electrotherm, a

leading India-based f‌irm

that produces furnaces

used in steel plants. In ad-

dition to furnaces, howev-

er, the company manufac-

tures zero-emission electric

motor scooters.

Next stop, Bangalore,

where ELI has been con-

ducting EHS workshops

since 2004. e “Environ-

mental Occupational Safe-

ty and Health Compliance

Workshop” was held

January 27-28 at the Na-

tional Law School of India

University, drawing some

50 attendees, including

factory managers, EHS

managers, and engineers

from both large and small

multinational and India-

based companies. Classes

were led by faculty from

the National Law School;

a senior enforcement of-

f‌icial for the State Pollu-

tion Control Board; and

an EHS manager from GE

India.

e workshop was

not without its ups and

downs — literally. eir

f‌ield trip consisted of a

visit to the Otis Elevator

facility outside Bangalore,

where participants exam-

ined how Otis manages its

natural lighting, chemical

handling, and wastewater

treatment. ey also re-

viewed the plant’s energy-

ef‌f‌iciency programs, rain-

water harvesting system,

and occupational health

and safety programs.

Overall, the partici-

pants were pleased with

the workshops. “Mind

blowing in the depth and

information provided,”

exclaimed an Ingersoll

Rand manager from the

Ahmedabad camp.

Another, an Otis-India

manager, commented that

“the manuals provided in

the course are really use-

ful for our daily manage-

ment.”

One f‌inal shared senti-

ment was expressed by a

facilities manager, who

thanked “all the speakers

in making the program

so educative and interac-

tive. In my opinion, we

should continue to use

this platform to share our

best practices and take our

learning to implementa-

tion in our respective or-

ganizations.”

ELI Research in Action Team Treks to India

Participants prepare a presentation on ndings of site visit in

Bangalor.

GE India’s health expert G.S. Naveen addresses the workshop in

Bangalore.

Workshop participants test drive zero-emissions electric scoot-

ers at Electrotherm, outside Ahmedabad.