Green Dealership

Green Dealership

Kailash Gupta, Past President, FADA

The terms Global Warming and Green House Effect are no longer new for us - unfortunately. With sang-froid we talk of Ozone Layer Depletion. On issues involving Climate Change, we are blasé and indifferent. We don't turn a hair when we are told that we are sitting pretty in the face of an environmental challenge of life-threatening proportions. No, we mentally shrug our shoulders and reassure ourselves that someone will pull the plug, will diffuse the ticking bomb, before it is too late. I really think it is time we stopped believing in such fairy tales.

The sordid, bitter truth is that there is no hero to save us in the nick of time. Not because there are no heroes, or they cannot be created, but because the nick of time is upon us already... and it finds us utterly unprepared.

I need not talk about WHY this crisis is upon us. Our constant degradation, our ruthless (mis)use of the earth's bounty, our short-sighted race for being better and faster needs no elaboration. We have plundered the earth and created massive imbalances in eco-systems around the world. Species are going extinct bring about a chain reaction in more species getting wiped off the face of the earth.

The nick of time is here as I said. To tell you the truth, I was perhaps as blissfully unaware of what was happening around me. I too had consoled myself with the thought that SOMEONE will surely do SOMETHING before things get too bad.

And then I heard that in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh - my home state - the water crisis is acute enough to warrant water rationing. Honestly, this was too unpleasantly close to home. I was upset and worried.

It was then that I began to gather information about this crisis. The internet of course proved to be bounteous supplier of all kinds of information. I found statics, pictures, short films and detailed, impassioned write-ups on this very real challenge at our door-step. I felt as if I was being given a glimpse of a whole new world that I never knew existed. And then I remembered Satre lament that half the world doesn't know how the other half lives.

Carbon Dioxide (CO²) Increasing in Atmosphere

The atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, have increased since pre-industrial times, a nearly 34% increase. CO² concentrations in the atmosphere are the highest in 650,000 years. CO² is a by-product of the burning of fossil fuels, such as gasoline in an automobile or coal in a power plant generating electricity. The automobile industry's contribution to emission of CO² and greenhouse gases goes from 33% in the US to 42% in India.

Obviously, the automobile industry has a major contribution. This is because the industry is not only producing unacceptable quantities of CO² but is also the nearly sole producer of other greenhouse gases like methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and chlorofluorocarbons.

The Ecological Crisis

Factors that affect dynamic change in a given ecology are largely due to a-biotic factors:


▪	Water, which is at the same time an essential element to life

▪	Air, which provides oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide to living species and allows the dissemination of pollen and spores

▪	Soil, at the same time a source of nutriment and physical support

▪	Temperature, which should not exceed certain extremes, even if tolerance to heat is significant for some species

▪	Light, which provides energy to the ecosystem through photosynthesis.

An ecological crisis occurs when the environment of a species or a population changes in a way that destabilizes its continued survival.

Once the environment of a species changes in a way that it becomes hostile to it, obviously, the species will become extinct. When one species becomes extinct, the species that depends upon it for food is threatened too. It must either adapt, or if it can't, it must perish too.

Green House Effect

Water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and chlorofluorocarbons found in the Earth's atmosphere act as Greenhouse Gases. These gases allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely. When sunlight strikes the Earth's surface, some of it is re-radiated back towards space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap the heat in the atmosphere. Many gases exhibit these "greenhouse" properties. Some of them occur in nature (water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide), while others are exclusively human made (Chlorofluorocarbons and Ozone). Over time, if atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases remain relatively stable, the amount of energy sent from the sun to the Earth's surface should be about the same as the amount of energy radiated back into space, leaving the temperature of the Earth's surface roughly constant.

The Solution

The solution for this crisis cannot be simple. Not only because the challenge is complex, but because there are two more factors to deal with. The sheer magnitude of the challenge is mind-boggling. And then of course, there is the factor of time. We've been unheeding for so long that now there isn't much time left. The time factor alone changes all the equations.

To restore the environmental balance, we must not only stop the damage, but also must take positive steps to undo the damage already done. Fortunately, the earth's eco-systems are strong and resilient and have a tremendous recuperative capacity which can kick in without much effort on our part. All we need to do is to help it get up and running. From then on in, it will repair itself.

The challenge must be attacked at two levels. The proposed solution is therefore two pronged:

1.	Stop Further Degradation:

		Reduce CO² emissions:

		▪	Researching alternative fuels like bio-fuels, solar power and hydrogen power.

		▪	Build engines which, though running on fossil fuel, will minimize CO2 emissions. The hybrid car market is poised on the verge of a much desired breakthrough.

		▪	Over Rs. 2 lac crore needs to be spent in making sure we get the right crude oil - the kind that will keep emissions to a minimum. For this, the government as well as the automobile manufacturers must come together.

		Reduce Energy Consumption: Reduce electricity consumption and try replacing traditionally produced energy with alternative GREEN energy source like solar and wind power.

		Reduce Waste: Cut down on paper consumption because all paper is made from wood pulp. To feed our demand for more and more paper, trees are being chopped down all over the world.

		Reduce Water Consumption: A steadily depleting underground water table will make it more and more difficult for vegetation - and hence human beings - to survive.

2.	Reverse Degradation with A-forestation: A reduction in further emission, though much desirable, is still not enough. It might stop further damage but will surely not restore the damage already done and cannot help the degraded environment a chance to recuperate. This can only be done through reversing the damage brought about by deforestation.

The Responsibility of the Automotive Industry

The responsibility of the automotive industry in taking steps to protect and nurture the environment lies not only with the principal companies. They are making their contribution not only in improving designs to reduce emission; most principals are also contributing in environment protection practices as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility measures.

We, at the dealership level can also contribute in a major way to support the initiatives taken by our principals. We, at Commercial Automobiles, have taken many steps.

Actions taken by us to stop further degradation:

	Steps to Reduce CO₂ emissions:

	▪	Organized a 3-day Free Service Check-up Camp for ensuring reduced fuel consumption/cost and to lower the emission of harmful greenhouse gases.

	▪	The Check-up Camp was organised for both Passenger as well as Commercial Vehicles. Have received a very good response from the customers.

	Reduce Energy Consumption:

	▪	Electricity Consumption has been reduced by 50% by using CFLs.

	▪	We are using solar powered lights on a trial basis. In case it proves to be economically viable, we intend to convert most of our lighting into solar powered lighting.

	▪	We are studying ways in which our employees might get involved in the use of Solar Water Heaters for their homes.

	Reduce Waste:Paper consumption has been cut by 25% and we are aiming at 50% reduction.

	Reduce Water Consumption:We will be setting up waste water recycling plant and have begun work on Rain Water Harvesting. Under this, we are setting up rain water harvesting facilities at our corporate office as well as at our workshop to help conserve water within the city.

Reverse Degradation with a Massive A-forestation Drive:

It is our commitment to plant 15,000 trees by the end of this year's monsoon. For this -

	We have initiated the setting up our own nursery to have saplings of Laxmi-taru, Neem, Jacaranda and tulsi ready by monsoon. These plants have been selected for their following properties:

	▪	Laxmi-Taru: It is a very leafy, long lived tree of great height. Every part of it can be used for something so it is economically viable plant.

	▪	Neem: It has extraordinary ability to cleanse the environment and can also be used for multiple medicinal purposes since it has strong anti-bacterial properties. It is also a leafy, long lived tree with a huge canopy.

	▪	Jacaranda: This too is a leafy, long lived and tall tree with am amazing spread. In addition, it looks beautiful with its blue/ purple flowers.

	▪	Tulsi: This is an ideal plant for places where big trees cannot be planted for lack of space. Its medicinal, environment cleansing properties are well-known.

	We have begun by planting ten trees for each of our employees.

	We have begun planting 5 trees at each customer's home/ office premises. We have covered 25 customers already and will be covering our entire customer base. The response we have received - in terms of building customer relationships, has been gratifyingly enthusiastic.

	We have begun giving one sapling, a packet of seeds, one green awareness brochure and one MOVE GREEN car sticker to each customer at the time of new-vehicle delivery.

	We have also initiated talks with various government bodies including the RTO, Municipal Corporation, Highway Authorities et al for granting us permission for our social forestry plans for converting waste public land into mini-parks and tree plantation along the highway.

	Tree plantation will also be undertaken within the premises of selected educational institutions so that the new generation is readied for the environmental challenges of tomorrow.

	These measures will help us create enough awareness, so that other companies and institutions will be inspired to join us in this movement and we can target 1,00,000 trees in the next one year.

Support and Encouragement

In this entire campaign, we have received encouragement, guidance and motivation from all officers of Tata Motors Officers including the MD. We have also received encouragement from both NADA and FADA.

In Closing

The most essential human need is to leave footprints behind in the sands of time...

The question we need to ask ourselves is...

Are we going to leave behind footprints which show evidence of our plunder and destruction.." or those of nurture and protection... ?

Will our children curse us for having exploited and devastating their home... or will they see a stamp of our love in the way we have kept their home safe and vibrant... ?

Let us all make sure we leave a safe, vibrant and ALIVE earth for our children.

Let's MOVE towards a GREEN dealership....