Micro-measures can have macro-impact

What I'd like to see is for companies to have an impact beyond their own walls," said jury member Rajat Gupta, during the JSW-TOI 2014 Earth Awards. Gupta explained that companies need to start thinking not just about "what they can do in their boundaries but also outside and adjacent to them."

A technology company, for instance, can develop products, which reduce the consumption of energy in buildings or cars through sensors and control systems . Similarly, reducing emissions during the manufacturing of cement diminishes the carbon footprint of the structures built using that cement.

One of the award winners, ACC Ltd's Kymore Cement Works, for instance, uses tyres and other waste materials as a source of fuel. "Tyres are green products, made of rubber, which comes largely from trees," explained Gupta.

Other awardees like Tata Consultancy Services aim to extend green practices such as waste reduction and water efficiency into the supply chain by putting pressure on their suppliers.

"The computers that we currently purchase are green-rated ," explained Aniruddha Agnihotri, head of health, safety and environment at TCS. "There is a green label, which is a certification to show that it is energy efficient and has used less-toxic chemicals during the manufacturing stage."

Agnihotri said TCS was initially "propelled" to be more energy efficient by its global customers, so it should apply similar pressure on its vendors and contractors.