India Workshop. ELI travels to South Asian economic giant to bring message of improving environmental law and facilities management

• Pages: 55-55

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 ❧ Page 55

Copyright © 2010, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, Jan./Feb. 2010

ELI Report

critical work this organiza-

tion does. You serve as a

source of best practices,

and as a non-partisan fo-

rum for debate on issues

that impact each and every

person on our planet.

“We need that kind

of forum now more than

ever as we begin working

to meet two of the pre-

eminent challenges of our

generation . . . the twin

challenges of combat-

ing climate change and

creating the clean energy

economy of the future.

ELI . . . is primed to help

us become both stewards

of an environment and

stewards of an economy

that will sustain not just

our generation, but that

of our children and grand-

children.”

Mark Udall described

how the architecture laid

in recent decades for legal

protection of our land,

water, and resources—

such as the Clean Air Act

and Clean Water Act—

continue to serve us well

today, but went on to ad-

dress the issues facing the

next generation.

“We must not only

protect this architecture

and ensure that it works

rationally and well — a

mission ELI helps fulf‌ill

— but we also face a new

set of global challenges

that in many ways are

more daunting.” He noted

Professor Armin Rosencranz of Stanford University takes the

podium at the EHS workshop in Bangalore, India.

ELI President Leslie

Carothers and Senior At-

torney John Pendergrass

traveled to Bangalore, In-

dia, in November, where

ELI, in partnership with

the National Law School

of India University and

several U.S. corporate

partners, hosted its well-

established training work-

shop on environmental

law, safety, and health for

factory managers.

e goal of the work-

shop was to educate fac-

tory managers and other

staf‌f members about In-

dia’s environmental and

safety laws and require-

ments. e workshop

aimed to “inf‌luence

values, change behaviors,

and improve skills” by

communicating the im-

portance of complying

with environmental laws

and by providing practical

strategies for compliance.

irty-f‌ive managers from

f‌irms ranging from small

and medium-sized enter-

prises to multinational

companies participated.

Representatives of

several sponsoring U.S.

companies met at Gen-

eral Electric’s research

and development center

the day after the training

session to discuss environ-

mental issues of mutual

concern. Carothers and

Pendergrass also traveled

to Ahmedabad to meet

with leaders of the Indus

Institute of Technology,

another host site for the

training course, and to

call on governmental of-

f‌icials in Gujurat who

have participated in the

training.

“I was impressed with

the knowledge and ex-

pertise of the ministry

of‌f‌icials,” commented

Carothers. “As a former

environment commis-

sioner in Connecticut, I

also appreciated what a

huge job they have with

minimal staf‌f resources.

at makes it all the more

important to build com-

panies’ commitment and

capacity to comply with

India’s rules.”

India Workshop ELI travels to South Asian economic giant to bring

message of improving environmental law and facilities management

Sessions on the f‌irst

day of the workshop

covered the importance

of compliance, pollution

control laws, institutional

mechanisms, the Indian

Environmental Legal Or-

der, and e-waste.

e faculty included

Professors M. K. Ramesh

and Sairam Bhat of

NLSIU and Armin

Rosencranz of Stanford,

experienced environment,

health, and safety manag-

ers from GE-India and

Honeywell, the Secretary

of the state Ministry of

Environment and Ecol-

ogy, the head of enforce-

ment of the state pollu-

tion control board, and

engineers from a non-

prof‌it e-waste recycling

organization.

e second day of

the workshop consisted

of a f‌ield trip to Arvind

Mills, a manufacturer of

jeans for Gap. is visit

allowed participants the

opportunity to witness

the practical application

of compliance with en-

vironmental, safety, and

health regulations. e

workshop concluded with

a discussion of what the

participants observed and

lessons learned.

that climate change is

“arguably the most press-

ing [one] we face in the

21st century,” in addition

to the dangers presented

by resource depletion and

population growth, pov-

erty, and energy sustain-

ability.

Both senators reiterated

their commitment to pass-

ing legislation that will

combat climate change

through clean energy

mandates.