The Industrial Waste Management Association (IWMA) has called on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to boost their adoption of renewable energy sources as a strategy to cut power consumption and enhance profitability. This appeal was made by IWMA president K Bhaskaran during a seminar held in Coimbatore on Friday.
Seminar Focus on Waste-to-Resource
Addressing the gathering at the seminar titled “Accelerating Industry Towards Net Zero: Integrating Energy, Circularity, and Financial Enablement”, Bhaskaran highlighted the importance of converting industrial waste into profitable resources. He noted that only around 3,500 units in Tamil Nadu generate hazardous chemicals, and these are performing well in waste management. The IWMA, he said, acts as a bridge to bring waste-to-resource technologies to MSMEs.
MSME Sector Significance
B Kayalvizhi, assistant director (central government) for MSMEs, emphasized the sector's vast scale. MSMEs span manufacturing, services, and trading, employing over 51 crore people across India. They account for 38% of the country’s overall growth and produce more than 7,500 products nationwide. She cited clusters such as Coimbatore pump sets, Tirupur textiles, and Salem furniture as examples.
Devakumar, president of the Chinnavedampatti Industrial Association, stressed that waste management is critical for over three lakh MSME units to prevent air, land, and water pollution. He called for stronger government support, policy frameworks, and collaboration with the environmental sector to make the Net Zero target achievable.
Event Participation and Sessions
The seminar was organized by IWMA in association with the Chinnavedampatti Industrial Association and saw participation from more than 100 MSME units from the district. The event highlighted opportunities along with central and state government schemes and support available for micro, small, and medium enterprises. Special sessions covered clean energy transition, energy audits, resource recovery, circular economy, green finance, and subsidies. Experts from organizations such as CII, DIC, IEAC, ICCW, and IIT Madras contributed to these discussions.
