COIMBATORE: Industrial Waste Management Association (IWMA) president K Bhaskaran on Friday appealed to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to increase renewable energy adoption to reduce power consumption and improve profitability.Bhaskaran was speaking at a seminar here on converting industrial waste into profitable resources and accelerating the transition towards net zero emissions over the next decade. He said only around 3,500 units in Tamil Nadu generate hazardous chemicals, and they are performing well in waste management. He said IWMA is working as a bridge to take waste-to-resource technologies to MSMEs.MSME assistant director (central govt) B Kayalvizhi said MSMEs span manufacturing, services and trading, and employ over 51 crore people across India. She said MSMEs account for 38% of the country’s overall growth and produce more than 7,500 products nationwide, citing clusters such as Coimbatore pump sets, Tirupur textiles and Salem furniture.Chinnavedampatti Industrial Association president Devakumar said waste management is critical across over three lakh MSME units to prevent air, land and water pollution, and called for stronger government support, policy and collaboration with the environment sector to make Net Zero achievable.The seminar, titled “Accelerating Industry Towards Net Zero: Integrating Energy, Circularity, and Financial Enablement”, was organised by IWMA in association with the Chinnavedampatti Industrial Association. More than 100 MSME units from the district took part in a seminar. The event also highlighted opportunities, and central and state govt 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, with experts from CII, DIC, IEAC, ICCW, IIT- Madras and others.EOM
