Bengaluru association wants a union ministry for green economy

BENGALURU: Tucked away in a corner of leafy Jayanagar is a small office of the Association of Green Industries and Services (AGIS). Started in December 2017, the association aims to bring together green businesses from all over the city, state and the country on a single platform, so as to make themselves heard not only among people, but also policy makers.

Initiated by Sunil Kumar Sood, a certified energy auditor and one of the directors of AGIS, the association is taking baby steps now, with 15 companies and 65 individuals. “We are a first of a kind association in the country that wants to support a green economy by bringing everything into one launch pad,” said Sood, who is also has his own company LCG Energy Consultants.

Other directors include Shailaja Rangarajan, founder ReChakr Solutions that runs the up-cycled store Rimagined, Ravish Bhat, founder, BRICS that makes natural cleaners and Yogesh Shinde, founder, Bamboo India.


Besides holding on-ground events, road shows and seminars to raise awareness for sustainabile living, the association is proposing a ministry at the Center for green economy. “We held a five-day workshop on the different aspects of green economy that included waste management, composting, and sustainable menstruation among other segments. The entire workshop was over WhatsApp, where experts and green enthusiasts debated what initiatives are required in a green economy,” said Sood. It was during discussions on the forum, which saw over 200 participants, that the need for a separate ministry was felt. “As an association, we will be now approaching political leaders who believe in our ideology and can take this forward at the Center,” he said. Currently, one of the challenges that green businesses face is the ‘over attention’ to solar energy. “We want the government and people to wake up to the different kinds of green products or businesses that are now in the fray. Besides this, we will also be working at grass roots, with people and universities to raise awareness and showcase job opportunities in the sector,” Sood said. A not-for-profit company AGIS also wants to build an online marketplace for green business to sell their products and services. “Currently, there is no single ecommerce platform that is available. We are working to build one. It will include domains like energy conservation and efficiency, waste management, hand looms, natural replacements to plastics, green building materials, organic foods, green events, zero waste services afforestation, among many others,” he said.