Identification of Enviro-Eco Indicators for Environmental Sensitivity

Process industries all over the world are diversifying progressively into more capital intensive and energy intensive areas which are continuously degrading the environmental quality. In order to maintain the competitiveness in global market, the industries keep on restructuring and/ or reengineering to ensure desired environmental quality with decreased costs of production, operational safety- cumflexibility through innovative technology. These goals are intricately linked to waste minimization and overall environmental performance. Considering the future environmental and energy scenarios. Ecomark is now recognised as a pre-requisite for sustainable development and eco-friendly environmental management in industries. The preventive and reactive approaches do not complement each. other in the current practices of environmental pollution prevention as reflected in legislative, administrative and policy formulations. The regulatory frameworks have focussed mainly no pollution control .through end-of-thepipe (EOP) treatment, which allows wasteful use ofresourcesandthenconsumefurtherresourcestosolvetheenvir onmental problems in a particular medium. However, the practice - in vogue seldom achieves industrial economy since energy intensive cleaner technologies have emerged as a hall mark of industrial production. This calls for an integrated Ecomark approach considering continuous assessment of manufacturing process vis-a-vis state of the art of cleaner technologies of industrial production. This paper addresses itself to the development of Ecomark Indicators with a systems approach concept considering the possibilities of energy saving, raw material saving and water budgeting through consideration of resources of protection of environment as an integrated framework for the practical implementation.