Launch of Maharashtra’s 1st Circular Lab at MET IOM
MET IOM Circular Lab' - India’s 1st Circular Lab in collaboration with ICCE, New Delhi was inaugurated by Dr. Ramesh Unnikrishnan, Adviser - AICTE in the presence of stalwarts in the field of environment and sustainability such as Mr. Atul Bagai, Country Head, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Mr. Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mr. Rahul V Poddar, Managing Director, The Shakti Plastic Inc and Mr. Karan Thakkar, Founder and CEO, Threco- The Recycling Co. and many more delegates, academicians, industry professionals and media. The living laboratory is expected to provide seamless transfer of knowledge from research findings, reusability and replicability tools to help foster effective transformational solutions for business and society.
International Research Conference on ‘Transitioning Towards A Circular Economy – Opportunities & Challenges’
Taking the theme of sustainability forward, MET IOM in collaboration with ICCE (International
Council for Circular Economy) had organized an International Research Conference on
‘Transitioning Towards A Circular Economy – Opportunities & Challenges’ on 19th November,
2022. National and international researchers would be exhibiting their novel research on topics related
to sustainability and circularity.
Circular thinking has always been prevalent in Indian society; its fundamental tenet being
value generation must be separated from resource use. For our industrial systems to become more
competitive and less reliant on resources, a development strategy that promotes the best use of
resources is the need of the hour.
To take a holistic view of products and processes, a circular thinking and an interdisciplinary
approach that takes into account socio-technical, managerial, and environmental variables are required
for this paradigm shift. The ultimate aim of this conference was to create a platform of innovative
strategies that would help businesses to smoothly transition from linear to circular economy which
will be inclusive by the thought leaders and exclusively used by all.
Zero Waste Campus Initiative
Marking the end of the Zero Waste Week (30 th March, 2023 to 5 th April, 2023), the Circular
Lab & the Social Cause Committee at MET IOM unveiled the eco-brick table at the hands of actor
and social entrepreneurs, Mr. Karanvir Bohra and Ms. Teejay Sidhu.
The Social Cause Committee showcasing its pledge to waste management and sustainability
created a writing table using eco-bricks created from non-recyclable waste i.e PET bottles and single-
use plastic. The initiative was started by Social Cause Committee in the month of February 2023,
where student members of the Committee began collecting single use plastic waste from students of
MET IOM. Students then created eco-bricks using the waste generated from the Institute and made a
table of it. This recycled table would be donated to underprivileged students who are a part of the
Adhyapan Initiative of the Institute.
At the event, the Sustainability Initiatives and Zero Waste Audit Report were also
inaugurated. The Audit Report, in which the data was collected and assessed by ICCE to evaluate the
Institute’s efforts in creating a Green Campus and for awareness about green initiatives at the
Institute.
Internal Audit of The Campus
Our aim is to sensitize students, staff and society about the importance of Waste Management. In March, 2022, MET Institute of Management adopted a Sustainability Initiatives, which outlines new goals that will lead the campus to become zerowaste. Our zero waste goals are as follows:
In order to perform the internal audit, the process included different tools data collection such as physical inspection of the campus, interviewing key persons, and filling the questionnaire provided by ICCE. The study covered the following areas to epitomize the current status of the environment management in the campus: o Energy Conservation o Water management o Waste management o E- waste management o Green area management.
NATIONAL RESEARCH CONFERENCE ON 'HOLISTIC VALUE CREATION THROUGH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT'
Sustainability was crucial for maximising the organisation’s long-term high value creation. The
corporates are under inspection for their contribution to society and environment. The companies need
to create a strategy lead action plan and incorporate the key parameters and metrics required for
sustainable investing. This conference gave a foresight for local sustainable action plan linking with
global practices; from micro to macro level.
The aim of the conference was to identify the challenges and prevailing practices leading to
sustainable production and consumption patterns to bring holistic value creation for society at large.
So, there was an urgency to understand and discuss the factors in detail and to take action in the
various areas with new solutions in every sphere of our societies to bring significant societal change.
The Sustainability Hackathon
On 30th April, 2022, students organized a Sustainability Hackathon; where 6 sustainability goals were
the major focus and few models were created on some environmental problems which can help them
to resolve in a sustainable way. The six areas were: 1. Energy & Buildings 2. Integrated Mobility 3.
Sustainable Waste Management 4. Urban Flooding & Water Resource Management 5. Air Quality 6.
Urban Greening & Biodiversity
Hon'ble Shri Aditya Thackeray, Minister of environment, Tourism & Protocol, Govt. of Maharastra,
had inaugurated the Hackathon and also addressed the crowd with his future vision and outcomes of
his departments and the need of the hour on climatic change issue. He was very delighted that the new
generation was not only focusing on just the development but for a sustainable development for the
future. He also expressed "We are at the hour when sustainability has to be our focus, not just for the
future generations but for ourselves".
International Research Conference on ‘Transitioning Towards A Circular Economy – Opportunities & Challenges’
Taking the theme of sustainability forward, MET IOM in collaboration with ICCE (International
Council for Circular Economy) had organized an International Research Conference on
‘Transitioning Towards A Circular Economy – Opportunities & Challenges’ on 19th November,
2022. National and international researchers would be exhibiting their novel research on topics related
to sustainability and circularity.
Circular thinking has always been prevalent in Indian society; its fundamental tenet being
value generation must be separated from resource use. For our industrial systems to become more
competitive and less reliant on resources, a development strategy that promotes the best use of
resources is the need of the hour.
To take a holistic view of products and processes, a circular thinking and an interdisciplinary
approach that takes into account socio-technical, managerial, and environmental variables are required
for this paradigm shift. The ultimate aim of this conference was to create a platform of innovative
strategies that would help businesses to smoothly transition from linear to circular economy which
will be inclusive by the thought leaders and exclusively used by all.
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
Under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), MET Institute of Management has pledged to help
in the transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge
institutions to help build an architect of an inclusive India.
The Institute has adopted five villages - Komarpada, Chinchapara, Shivajinagar, EktaNagar,
MoriPara in Goregaon East area and conducts various social activities on a continuous to aid
in rural development.
To conduct various programs, MET Institute of Management has received Rs. 50,000/- as
seed money from UBA.
As a part of the UBA, the first campaign in the area adopted was to help in detection and
eradicating of cataract in a systematic manner. For the same regular Eye Testing Camps are
conducted once in a month followed by operations of patients detected with cataract
problems with the help of NAATA Foundation and Rotary Club Goregaon
MET IOM paid for the Eye Testing Camp expenses which was approx. 7,000/- per camp, for
4 months to cover all villages adopted by MET IOM with NAATA Foundation. And the
operation expenses of approx. 20,000/- per patient would be paid by Rotary Club or other
funding partners.
UNGCNI : MoU signed for research related to climate change and grant of Rs. 1,20,000 received for research for the same.
MET Institute of Management and GCNI signed an MoU on 22nd April, 2023, to carry out a
CSR Research Project in the area of SDG 13 Climate Action focuses on improving education,
awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity building on climate change
mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
The objective of this project is to co-create and implement a district wide climate change and
risk mitigation pilot to support target 13.3 across aspirational districts in Gujarat and
Maharashtra. The districts will be selected based on availability of bio-mass and plastic waste
in the district and the project will be implemented across entire district adopting a saturation
approach. A youth engagement strategy will be deployed in partnership with leading NGOs/
academic institution of the district with credibility and presence.
The project is a multi-year project divided into 2 phases
a) Pilot phase: Extensive primary and secondary research, identification of the district(s)
where the project will be implemented
b) Implementation phase: Based on the pilot report atleast one district will be selected for
focussed attention and a long-term project implementation strategy will be prepared and
submitted.
Support Warli Art – Felicitation of Guest Speaker with Warli Painting
The Warlis or Varlis are an indigenous tribe or Adivasis, living in mountainous as well
as coastal areas of Maharashtra-Gujarat border and surrounding areas. They have
their own animistic beliefs, life, customs and traditions. The Warlis speak an
unwritten Varli language which belongs to the southern zone of the Indo-Aryan
languages and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
The Warlis carry on a tradition stretching back to 2500 or 3000 BC. Their extremely
rudimentary wall paintings use a very basic graphic vocabulary: a circle, a triangle
and square. Their paintings were monosyllabic. The circle and triangle come from
their observation of nature; the circle representing the sun and the moon, the triangle
derived from mountains and pointed trees.
The Warli art is losing its value among the tribe itself due to modernisation and lack
of resources. These artists are not earning enough to support their families, they are
facing challenges for survival in the 21st century, so gradually they are diverting to
other means of livelihood.
We at MET under the MET Seva are supporting such artists and trying to revive the
art by giving training to the young generation mainly women. The objective is to
provide them a platform to express their talent and give them opportunity to earn
from their skills. The products are entirely made by them and the revenue is directly
going to them. This will prevent migration of such tribal people to cities for odd jobs
such as construction work where women labours are working almost 14 hours for
only Rs.100.
©Mumbai Educational Trust, All rights reserved | Last Modified Date: Sunday, April 28th, 2024
