Recently, world leaders came together in Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (or Rio +20). The aim was to tackle environmental issues that face the planet today. Their main discussion point was developing a “green” economy which promotes economic advancement while sustaining environmental integrity. Going “green” has probably become the cliché of the decade. However there is good reason for this. As more carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere, the planet is getting warmer. This has led to ice caps melting, sea levels rising and changing weather patterns. All this directly affects us all, some of us more than others. For some it’s just a hotter summer, for others it might entail becoming homeless environmental refugees due to erratic weather behavior.

Specifically looking at India, it is plagued with environmental problems. The air, water and soil are quickly getting polluted. Furthermore biodiversity is being lost as forests are being cut down. The people worst affected by this are the poor who are at the mercy of Mother Nature.  Hence, there is an urgent need for us to start taking India’s environmental degradation seriously. In line with the concept of a “green” economy, the rapidly expanding  building and interior industry  which has started to prefer  more  eco-friendly  , sustainable  building  and infrastructure materials  like MDF and other such  engineered alternatives  to plywood panels.

Greenply ‘s Green Panelmax MDF attempts to be an eco-friendly product while catering to the needs of manufacturers of different goods. These boards are produced from 100% renewable and sustainable wood resources sourced from agro-forestry plantation trees that have a life cycle of 3-4 years and cause no depletion of forest cover area. The furniture made from these panels is durable and trendy and is becoming acceptable, not in urban scenarios but also in the rural interiors, where they are being considered a good alternative to cheap quality  plywood commonly used  for making economical furniture.

This is only one example of how we can go “green” but given the pace of economic growth these are the kinds of innovations we need for sustainable development in India in the coming times.

Credits: Ms. Priyanjali Jain