Greenply Ensures that We Breathe Clean and Safe Air in Indian Market

Safeguarding the health interests by way of assuring to improve indoor air quality in homes of its consumers, Greenply Industries, one of India’s largest interior infrastructure brands with over 30 years of experience in manufacturing a comprehensive range of plywood, block boards, decorative veneers, flush doors, and other allied products announced that the Company has brought in its California Air Report Board (CARB) certified and compliant Green Gold Platinum Plywood to the market. 

The Breathe Healthy Green Gold Platinum Plywood combines health and durability of the highest quality and conforms to E-0 grade emission of Formaldehyde (European Standard) and low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) which makes it the best solution to improve the indoor air quality of our interiors and enable us to breathe clean and safe air. The product is available in various standard thickness viz. from 4 mm to 25 mm with a warranty of 27 years.

California Air Resources Board (CARB) is the "clean air agency" in the government of California. Being a CARB compliant product means that this Green Gold Platinum Plywood has been manufactured in compliance with CARB air pollution rules and regulations and has attained and maintained all the parameters those ensure a healthy indoor air quality and protects the consumers from exposure to toxic air contaminants.

Remarking on the new product which has hit the market, Mr Sanidhya Mittal, Joint Managing Director – Greenply Industries Ltd said “With increasing awareness about the harmful consequences of air pollution on human health, consumers today are extremely concerned not only about their’ s external environment but also about the Indoor Air Quality where they live. This rising concern pushed us to come with an innovative product which will be free from emission of any harmful gases and ensure a complete peace of mind for our consumers in the aspects of indoor air quality, and environmentally friendliness. Green Gold Platinum Plywood being a CARB compliant product, our consumers using it in their homes will now breathe clean and safe air.”

The Compliance made sure that the plywood emits negligible formaldehyde and that its manufacturing facility has an on-site testing mechanism to monitor quality of the product in this regard. CARB standards are usually stricter than those required in other regions of the world and thus products which are CARB compliant are generally considered as one of the most environmentally friendly and safest products when compared to the many others.

About Greenply Industries

GREENPLY INDUSTRIES LIMTED (Greenply), is among India’s largest interior infrastructure brands with over 30 years of experience in manufacturing and marketing a comprehensive range of plywood, block boards, decorative veneers, flush doors, and other allied products.

Greenply commands a 26% market share in the organised plywood market. The company has a strong leadership presence with 55 branches (including virtual branches) and 7,500+ channel partners across India. However, Greenply is currently making its presence felt across the globe, with 4 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, which includes the operations in Gabon, West Africa. The organisation has received several awards and certifications for implementing best work practices across factories, maintaining eco-friendly manufacturing, and ensuring quality and guaranteed products, including the prestigious FSC-COC, CE and E1.

Strengthening the business – Greenply is constantly striving on building a sustainable operational framework crucial for continued value creation by working on capacity building and securing resource availability. Therefore, Greenply is amongst the first ones in this sector to use Okoume – a natural timber harvested under the Sustainable Forest Management plan. Greenply has been encouraging timber plantation and agroforestry in marginal and degraded farmlands near their manufacturing sites, ensuring environmental sustainability. For the future, Greenply plans to put in place the right building blocks for sustainable long-term growth and value creation for all stakeholders.

Is Silicon Valley seeing shift from Chips to Bricks?

Forget microchips. Silicon Valley sees a profitable future in the humble brick thanks to a low-energy production process that illustrates the greening of the US technology capital.

Brick maker Calstar Products is backed by venture capitalists whose vision is to create buildings less expensively and in a way that saves energy. “We think it is time for a second industrial revolution,” said Paul Holland, a partner at Foundation Capital, which invested $7 million in Calstar. EnerTech Capital led another round that raised $8 million for the business.

Currently about 40% of US energy use goes toward the heating, cooling and general operation of buildings. Silicon Valley is finding high-tech ways to make ageold materials, pursuing carbon dioxide-eating concrete, windows that insulate better than walls, and wood substitutes.

The field is still new. Venture investments in green buildings have waxed and waned with the recession, but involved 45 deals worth about $350 million the past year, according to Cleantech Group LLC.

Bricks have been made pretty much the same way for 3,000 years, until Calstar’s scientists came up with their new technique, said Chief Executive Michael Kane. Ordinary bricks are fired for 24 hours at 1,100°C as part of a process that can last a week, while Calstar bricks are baked at temperatures below 100°C and take only 10 hours from start to finish, Kane said.

Lower energy costs mean higher profit, allowing the company to pay for its research and compete against large companies that have economies of scale. The new bricks — which the Brick Industry Association says are not actually bricks — will sell for the same price as traditional claybased ones.

Agencies

$2 tn in revenues for green businesses by 2020

Global revenues from climate-related businesses such as energy efficiency rose by 75% in 2008 to $530 billion and could exceed $2 trillion by 2020, HSBC Global Research estimated.

In the 2006 Stern Review on the economics of climate change, climate-related revenues were forecast to climb to $500 billion by 2050. “We can see that this seemingly huge figure has already been surpassed well ahead of time as more and more businesses adapt their business model,” said Joaquim de Lima, global head of quant research for equities at HSBC.

The climate sector has surpassed the size of the global aerospace or defence industry, with the United States, Japan, France, Germany and Spain accounting for 76% of global climate revenues, the report found. For revenues to rise to $2 trillion, the way energy is generated and used needs to change and continued government support is needed.

The four core investment pillars will be low-carbon energy production, energy efficiency, control of water, waste and pollution and climate finance, the report said. Energy efficiency recorded the highest investment returns in the year to date at 30%.

“This is a very significant trend given the substantial share of climate stimulus funds that have been directed at energy efficiency and energy management by governments across the globe,” HSBC analysts said.

Agencies

New green computing centre from Microsoft

In an eco-friendly move, Microsoft has announced that its new center at its Redmond headquarters will cut the company's carbon footprint by 12,000 metric tons per year. The Redmond Ridge 1 centre will combine Microsoft's research laboratory servers from individual product groups with the corporate systems that process other data, reports BusinessGreen.com.

According to the software giant, the facility is due online in April 2010 and will provide major power efficiencies. "The opening of Redmond Ridge is a big milestone and represents a real transition point in the company's culture," said Rob Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist at Microsoft.

The building has been designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, using air heat exchangers to keep the temperature down. Air conditioning starts only if the temperature rises above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. "This facility is a great example of how technology can help improve the energy efficiency of a company's operations," said Bernard.

The move is causing something of a cultural shift at Microsoft, however. Engineers developing new code are physically removed from the servers testing it for the first time. Microsoft has not said how much of its computing it intends to centralize, but is aiming to cut its carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2012.

Agencies

Is Wipro riding on the recovery wave?

The last two quarters were a bitter time for the computer industry in India. However, with a slight recovery seen in sales during January, Wipro Infotech wants to ride on the recovery wave in the notebook segment by launching its new series.

As per IDC reports, notebooks market will see a growth of 12% in India and with this expectation, Wipro has rolled out e.go, its new range of notebooks in India.

Talking to CXOtoday, Anand Sankaran, Chief Exclusive of Wipro Infotech said, “The industry has gone through a rough period during the last two quarters but we are seeing a sign of recovery since January 2009 and expect this trend to continue. We have launched our new range we reach out to the bold new Indian.”

This is Wipro’s second range of notebooks launched and will cater primarily to the Indian market. What more the e.go comes in three models and most unique one is the 7F3800 with a 10 inch ultra portable netbook priced at Rs 19,990 excusive of taxes. It comes in four vibrant colours including chrome red, ocean blue, racer yellow, autumn red and coral blue. “We are setting a new revolution by coming out with a netbook priced sub of Rs 20,000 that more ever comes with such high features,” said Ashok Tripathy, General Manager & Head, Computing Division, Wipro Infotech.

The notebooks have been designed integrating aerodynamics contours with advanced thermo dynamics to ensure perfect harmony of design and function.

The company plans to reach out to the enterprise as well as the consumer segment. “We have seen a negative growth in the enterprise segment but the consumers’ continue to show a positive trend in sales,’ said Sankaran.

Besides the range also comes with all ‘Green’ features that are eco-friendly and have all RoHS complaint features installed that can be recycled without causing any damage to the environment.

In fact, Wipro recorded a 60-70% jump in notebook sales during the last year but due to the present global scenario doesn’t permit similar growth this year, said Sankaran.

Wipro will target the consumers segment by selling its new desktops at Reliance Digital, Next and Pantaloon’s E Zone outlets across the country. “We expect to add more retailers in the coming months,’ said Tripathy.

Wipro has a manufacturing capacity of 1.5 million units from its two units at Pondicherry and at Uttaranchal. However, they did not disclose if the plant is utilizing its full capacity at it two units or not.