Shifting paradigms of environmental management in the manufacturing industries

The growth of the manufacturing industries all these years has been guided by the necessity of increasing production of goods. This has led to serious environmental consequences such as climate change, ecosystem destruction, and depletion of natural resources and degradation of water resources, air and soil around these plants. Worldwide the focus of pollution control in the industry has shifted from end of pipe treatment to avoiding pollution, clean technology and sustainable development. Henceforth environmental considerations shall play a substantive role in the future development of the manufacturing industries. Though there is a step-by-step improvement in the environmental management over the years, serious efforts are necessary to further improve its environment friendliness. The author feels that a policy guided approach is needed in this perspective. Environmental sustainability can be achieved through the formulation of a national environmental policy incorporating the various elements concerning technology and management and strictly applying it to the industrial development process in the manufacturing sector. Elements of such kind of an environmental policy are outlined in this article. The said policy can be also integrated to the overall environmental policy of the country.