„Nature has been kind to man since ages, yet we do not appreciate it,“ says the initator of Envirocare Green Awards (EGA), Dr. Nilesh Amritkar, Mumbai. EGA is an award that is conferred to those who strive to protect our environment by adopting or innovating measures which help create a sustainable environment for us as well as our future generations.
Envirocare Green Awards 2021 was hosted online on 16th July. The event was graced by the esteemed jury, patrons, applicants and more than 450+ attendees making this event a grand success.
The jury and patrons along with EGA Secretariate decided 5 winners and 4 special citations out of 60+ applications from 6 countries including India, Nepal, Nigeria, Singapore, United Kingdom and Egypt, owing to the exemplary work done towards environment and sustainability.
Motivated by the Vison of Sustainable Care
The EGA initiative was started by Envirocare Labs in 2018 to appreciate and motivate professionals & organizations to think green & contribute towards a nation that is not only progressive but also responsible towards our Mother Earth. It is a non-commercial activity of self-motivated likeminded people dedicated to making a positive difference towards Sustainable Care.
Video of the opening of the EGA ceremony, CEO Mr. Deshpande introducing the efforts of Envirocare Lab to realize SDGs and Dr Nilesh Amritkar, Founder Envirocare Green Awards, with thoughts on the Awards.
As we are facing challenges now pertaining to global warming, climate change, floods, droughts, cyclones, typhoons, nature reminds us that it is not to be taken for granted. It’s time we hit the pause button, rewind and introspect. It’s time we take steps towards rebuilding and restoring what we damaged in the first place. It’s time we give back to the nature. United Nations celebrates World Environment Day every year to create awareness amongst the masses. This year the theme is ‘Ecosystem Restoration’, we must think different and act responsible.
This was the motivation for establishing Envirocare Green Awards. It is conferred to those who strive to protect our environment by adopting or innovating measures which help create a sustainable environment for us as well as our future generations. The objective is to inspire stakeholders to think green & contribute towards a world that is not only progressive but also responsible towards its provider. The application for this prestigious award is on an online platform and is open for all across the globe.
Envirocare Gren Award Logo
The jury and patrons were impressed
The 60+ applications from 6 countries underwent a rigorous 3-level screening, a preliminary screening conducted by the EGA secretariat team. This was further evaluated in terms of the initiative’s significance pertaining to Planet | People | Profit by the jury panel from 6 countries including India, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Middle East and Nigeria. 21 applicants who had done a phenomenal job towards environment and sustainability were shortlisted and further evaluated: The applicants presented their work and talked on their concept in terms of creativity and innovation, impact, sustainability & scalability of their initiatives. This session was extremely enriching and a great learning experience for all. The jury and patrons were impressed by all of the presentations and were left mesmerized by the essence of the amazing work that was being done by these organizations. Basis this evaluation, the jury and patrons along with EGA Secretariat finally decided 5 winners and 4 special citations owing to the exemplary work done towards environment and sustainability. Envirocare Green Awards 2021 was hosted online on 16th July . The session began with Mr. Rahul Deshpande | CEO Envirocare Labs – a knowledge partner to Envirocare Green awards addressing the gathering. He was proud of the work undertaken by the EGA secretariat and extended full support for this global event over the coming years.
The Concept of Personal Social Responsibility’
Dr. Nilesh Amritkar, Founder Chairman EGA, spoke about his vision, concept of Envirocare Green Awards, the journey and how the objectives to encourage,empower and enlighten the minds towards sustainability are being met. He mentioned that the nature has been calling out to us for help, the solution lies in three concepts – CSR, PSR and Green Balance Sheets.
Founder Chairman of Envirocare Green Awards, Dr. Nilesh Amritkar sowed the seeds of this concept in 2018.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is something that has been implemented with since years and is a familiar concept. Dr. Nilesh introduced the concept of Personal Social Responsibility:
it is the duty and responsibility of every individual towards Mother Earth. When an individual takes steps towards recreating, reimagining and restoring our ecosystem it can be termed as ‘Personal Social Responsibility’.
He also emphasized that just as we give significance to the accounts balance sheet, organizations and individuals should adopt a new concept ‘green balance sheet’ which can be achieved and maintained by sustainable steps thereby creating a robust system for all.
The journey of Envirocare towards sustainability started with planting 100 saplings every year at the customer’s premises, the concept of EGA materialized in 2018, and each year the program is gaining more and more significance. This year, EGA thought of making the event unique, by designing Sustainable trophies that have been created using waste wood material. „Envirocare has always believed in the motto Encourage | Empower | Enlighten and with this in mind, we have planted 121 trees via a foundation in a tribal area in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu honoring the jury, patrons, applicants, sponsors and EGA secretariat members. Dr. Amritkar was proud that his small sapling is blossoming so beautifully and is now a global event.“
EGA event created a unique platform
It was a platform for industry, academia and regulators to join hands for a common cause. The three key note sessions allowed the exchange of ideas and enriching knowledge.
Ms. Karin Heinze’s session was very insightful into the Organic world and how it plays a pivotal role towards a sustainable future. Mr. Sarit Das shared his journey into the world of science and innovations to combat the environmental issues faced by our world. Mr. Arnab Deb elaborated on the plastic waste and how we can move towards sustainability and overcome the bioaccumulation of plastic.
Everything starts with an individual towards attaining the 17 SDG Goals
Dr. Nitin Nagrale | CEO Quality NZ & Founder of HPMF who has been associated with EGA since past two years was impressed by the scale up that has happened and mentioned that the most unique aspect is that there were two sets of eyes to conduct a thorough evaluations and conclude upon the true winners. The diversity shows the value that EGA has created and the participants have showed their interest. Mr. Benedict Odjobo | Assistant Chief Technologist NABDA liked the level of transparency that the EGA team has provided and thanked the entire team. Everything starts with an individual towards attaining the 17 SDG goals and stressed on PSR. He also mentioned that he would like the applications be open throughout the year especially the EGA knowledge series.
5 Award Winners and 4 Special Citation Awards
The award declaration ceremony was amazing, full of enthusiasm and zeal. The 5 award winners were
> Centre for Environmental Research & Education (CERE – India) - Mumbai,
> Proplant Foods - Ahmadabad,
> Jalaposhan – Bengaluru,
> Kaybee exports – Thane
> Mondelez – Thane.
Each of these winners truly deserved to bag the trophy as their entire team is dedicated towards the mission to make our planet a better and greener world. The winners could not contain their excitement and thanked the jury and EGA secretariat for considering them and were overwhelmed with the kind of learning experience this event was.
There were some organizations whose contributions towards Mother Earth deserved special attention, special citation awards were conferred to
Mission Green - Mumbai,
Green Rangers – Nepal,
Battery Life 2 – Mumbai
and a very creative teacher Mr. Richard Wan from VVM Enterprises who composed Environmental Awareness Videos for young children.
Not only do they strive to restore our ecosystem but also top leave a better planet for our future generations and educating them regarding sustainability.
The jury and patron members too congratulated the winners. Dr. Amar Supate – Principal Scientific Officer MPCB congratulated the team on successfully conducting the event. He has been associated with EGA since its inception, he expressed that he was pleased to see this award getting bigger and bigger each year. He was pleased to witness the international reach and amazing applications.
Dr. Prabodh Halde | Head Regulatory Marico a renowned figure in the food industry expressed his enthusiasm and happiness over the success of this event and also wished to continue being a part of this global event. Inspite of the lockdown the team has managed to involve so many people and participation. This pandemic has brought about the significance of Mother Earth & Sustainability. He suggested that we should create an awareness about this award in schools also and encourage the youth towards this movement in the form of videos and posters. He emphasized that the real motivation has to be towards the future generation.
Dr. S.K. Tyagi | Former Additional Director & Divisional Head CPCB felt that the event is very encouraging towards creating awareness and motivating individuals, innovators, researchers and the industry. All the applicants were extremely good and he congratulated the winners and all the applicants who have participated and hoped that this movement percolates to a larger population. He appreciated the guest speakers too and he stressed that we have lost touch with the ancient practices and encouraged to go organic.
Thus, the day ended with everyone having a big smile on their face because they knew that this event has created a family with members who have pledged to change our world and make it sustainable for all.