Sustainable ways for food, entertainment and environment during the pandemic

A small Finnish town has shot into fame by launching a novel 'green project' and an out-of-the box app. Lahti, a town of 120,000 inhabitants lying an hour's train ride north of the Finland's capital Helsinki, emits 21 kilos (46 pounds) of CO2 equivalent a week. Lahti launched an app to track the carbon footprint of the town's citizens, by tracking individuals on their car use, meat consumption, etc. The EU-funded "CitiCap" project allows individuals in the town of Lahti to track their carbon emissions as they move around, using an app that detects whether they are in a car, on public transport, walking or cycling.

The CitiCap app gives each participant of the town, a weekly carbon "budget" based on their personal circumstances. Anyone who uses up less than their allocated carbon allowance each week earns "virtual euros", tradable for benefits such as swimming or bus tickets, as well as free bike lights or a slice of cake and a coffee at a cafe. Ultimately this Finnish town wants to experiment with a personal carbon trading scheme, by exploring new ideas and methods for energy saving, emissions reduction and environmental protection.

Is any town or city in India going to launch such a novel app and scheme to reduce the carbon footprint of the citizens? The New India should launch such creative and progressive apps, not just to track the citizens' carbon footprint but also to track their smoking and tobacco consumption levels. We know that chain smoking or other forms of tobacco consumption curtails a person's life span by 10 to 20 years. On the contrary, our policy makers are contemplating tracking people who are spending more than Rs 20,000 for health insurance in a year.

Lahti is a pioneer in the 360- degree turn towards sustainability transformation. Environmental education and the inclusion of citizens are an important part of the goals of this green city. The regional environment week has been introduced since 1997, and it encourages the companies and residents of the city to take green actions together. A new waste management system based on source separation was introduced way back in 1998. The separation of biowaste, energy waste, cardboard, paper and mixed waste started on properties with at least 10 apartments. The separate collection of energy waste and its use in energy production increased the waste recovery rate and decreased the amount of waste going to the landfill. Lahti has also stopped using coal in the spring of 2019, when the new bioenergy plant Kymijärvi III replaced the coal-fired Kymijärvi I power plant. The city is now heated with recycled fuel. Lahti has received the honour of becoming the European Green Capital of 2021. Both of Lahti’s ambitious goals to become carbon neutral by 2035 and carbon negative by 2050, and the city government’s practical steps to support and introduce the latest technologies to make the city greener and more efficient, make this small town in southern Finland an example for all world cities to follow. Can a New India turn any of its towns or cities to become the Asian Green Capital?

Finding somewhere to watch live music can be a challenge during the Coronavirus pandemic, but a southern Californian hotel has found a solution by holding 'rooftop concerts' that allow guests to social distance while watching from their balconies. Is any star hotel in India going to launch such rooftop concerts so that their guests can watch them, without deviating from social distancing norms, from their room’s balconies?

Food waste is a bigger problem than many people realise. In fact, nearly one-third of all food produced in the world is discarded or wasted for various reasons. That means nearly 1.3 billion tons every year. Did you know that about 40 per cent of the food produced in India is wasted? Despite adequate food production, the UN has reported that about 190 million Indians remain undernourished. It is further estimated that the value of food wastage in India is around Rs 92,000 crore per annum. The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to push food wastage further high. India might have registered even higher food wastage during the Coronavirus lockdowns, because of disrupted supply chains and people hoarding food. Shutdowns and movement restrictions have led to an enormous wastage of perishable food items like vegetables and fruits in India. Mountains of food, including eggs, milk and vegetables, are going to waste. Transformative reforms are needed in food storage, supply chains and recycling systems.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a food waste minimisation campaign as China continues to grapple with a slowing economy and the Coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the food supply chain. Following Xi's dictates, the Wuhan Catering Industry Association urged restaurants in the city to limit the number of dishes served to diners. A system where groups must order one dish less than the number of diners. Under this system dubbed 'N-1', a group of 10 people can only order nine dishes. Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, in 2013, China has launched an anti-food-waste campaign that targeted extravagant feasts and receptions held by officials, rather than putting the onus on the people. In July 2019, the city of Shanghai has introduced strict regulations forcing individuals and companies to correctly recycle their food waste.

Does  'Atma Nirbhar Bharat' envisage any major investments aimed at developing much more productive, climate-resilient and sustainable food and agricultural systems? Is the 'Mann Ki Baat' of our supreme leader on the same page as those of global leaders when it comes to food security and food waste minimisation?

(V Venkateswara Rao is a retired corporate professional and a freelance writer)