ECONOMY & POLICY

"Reducing Carbon Footprint: Strategies for Environmental Sustainability"

Somewhere in 2006, Swedish pension funds concerned with global warming and environmental degradation were looking to diversify their portfolio to include investments in environment-friendly projects that would not carry additional risk. They could not find any such instruments. This led t...

Somewhere in 2006, Swedish pension funds concerned with global warming and environmental degradation were looking to diversify their portfolio to include investments in environment-friendly projects that would not carry additional risk. They could not find any such instruments. This led them to explore the possibility of creating an instrument like a regular investment product in terms of yield, security, risk and maturity, while addressing concerns related to the environment. After many discussions with stakeholders, the draft of an instrument was prepared. With this, investors approached the World Bank within a month of deliberations, the Bank accepted the concept and worked out the details and the first ‘green bond’ was born in 2008. This bond created the blueprint for today’s green bond in terms of the criteria to be followed to be classified as one. While drafting the product, financial and environmental teams interacted, understanding and addressing their respective concerns, to ensure that the bond meets the objective with which it was designed. This included criteria like opinion from recognised climate research institutions, transparency and impact reporting. This bond established that it is possible to raise funds at competitive rates for environmentally sustainable projects and that there is a large pool of investors willing to invest in such bonds. What are green bonds? Green bonds are fixed-income instruments funding projects related to the climate and environment. However, deciding what should count within that definition can be difficult. The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), International Capital Market Association (ICMA), European Union and Chinese government have developed guidelines to define green bonds. Broadly, green bonds finance projects aimed at energy efficiency, pollution prevention, sustainable agriculture, fishery and forestry, the protection of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, clean transportation, clean water and sustainable water management.

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Infrastructure Urban

Welspun Enterprises Wins 910 MLD Panjrapur WTP Contract

Welspun Enterprises (WEL), the infrastructure and energy arm of Welspun World, has secured a major contract from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to design, build and operate a 910 million litres per day (MLD) Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Panjrapur, Maharashtra.Valued at approximately Rs 31.45 billion, the project encompasses end-to-end civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation works, including the construction of a treated water sump and pumping station. Of the total value, nearly Rs 11.56 billion is allocated to Operations & Maintenance (O&M), with an additional..

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Infrastructure Energy

Mitsubishi Power Wins Boiler Upgrade Contract for O Mon 1 Plant

Mitsubishi Power, a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, (MHI), has been awarded a contract to support the oil-to-natural-gas fuel conversion at the O Mon 1 Thermal Power Plant in Can Tho, southern Vietnam. As the OEM of the plant’s existing boiler, Mitsubishi Power will supply key equipment—including new gas burners—and implement a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to reduce NOx emissions and help the plant meet stricter environmental standards.The O Mon 1 facility includes two 330 MW units that commenced operations in 2009 and 2015, with all major equipment or..

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Equipment

Liebherr’s 10,000th XPower Wheel Loader Joins BERGER’s Fleet

BERGER Rohstoffe GmbH has welcomed the 10,000th Liebherr XPower wheel loader to its operations at the Schlag granite quarry in Passau. The milestone machine, officially handed over at Liebherr’s Bischofshofen plant in May 2025, underscores the long-standing partnership between BERGER, Liebherr, and the Beutlhauser Group. Equipped with Liebherr’s signature power-split travel drive, the new L 580 XPower is already delivering strong results under demanding quarry conditions.At the Schlag quarry, BERGER Rohstoffe processes approximately 200,000 tonnes of Bayerwald granite annually into high-qu..

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