For a country which provides 25% of the world’s cotton, sustainability has been a long traditional approach. However, as the world and India push the eco-friendly theme towards the mainstream, green skills and talent is on the rise. Naresh Tyagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd, gives a view of the existing green talent and jobs in the country’s textile sector.
Economic Times (ET): Are you seeing a growing demand for green jobs and green skills in India and how much of that demand is coming from textiles?
Naresh Tyagi (NT): Globally, everyone is now demanding more and more sustainable product and services. There is a big surge in terms of sustainability as a mainstream theme, not as a sideline. India is one of the largest textile manufacturers and at the same time it is one of the largest domestic market consumption for textile. With respect to all these things, there is a lot of demand for green jobs in this sector.
ET: Can you give us some details about the different kinds of green jobs that are coming up or are currently present in textiles?
NT: For sustainable consumption and sustainable manufacturing, there is a whole life cycle of the product and service, which needs to be done. R&D and product development becomes very important here. Then, there is manufacturing, sourcing, procurement, the way it needs to be ethically manufactured and sourced in that green environment. Garment as industry is still a mix of organised and unorganised. So, how to bring that unorganised sector into sustainability? That systematic change requires that skill set in every domain. Then, green infrastructure and logistics, because it is also important how you distribute and collect your product. There is demand for jobs handling both downstream and upstream logistics and transportation. And then finally, to do all these things that retail store, you need employees to explain to the consumer about the product’s sustainability.
A green job demand is not only for the elite professional or expert, it is even going to be in the unorganised sector for waste management, sorting, segregation, technology, etc.,.. Even for general management also, there will be a lot of regulatory issues and compliances that need to be followed.
ET: Can you talk about the role of technology in providing these green skills?
NT: I think technology is the main enabler here. The way people shop, e-commerce is becoming a key platform. Consumers want to know how that brand and organisation is making the product and we see a lot of demand for that traceability and transparency. They want to have all these information on their mobiles. This is where data analysis can be vital.
Further, every third person and company is now in a digital platform for sustainability related thing- whether it is consumer interface or government regulatory requirement for TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) or BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting) for the listed company or even for their internal efficiency improvement to get visibility. I see technology more as an enabler to accelerate the whole transition, whether it is from linear to circular or it is from conventional or traditional. Change will always come through innovation and technology will make it faster.
ET: What are the challenges and limitations that exist in green skills in textiles?
NT: I think there are a lot of challenges. And for our country, I think a challenge is also an opportunity. One of the first being education. There are many sustainability-related programmes and courses available at university level and graduation level, but not at basic school level. By the time children go to university, it is very late. So I believe basic education on sustainability at the grassroot level is important. There needs to be more awareness, behavioural change in habits and mindset right from the school level.
Another challenge is the unorganised sector, which provides services such as waste management. All the textile, food and electronic waste is collected and segregated by MSMEs or small enterprises in the unorganised sector. They do not get any formal training which can be dangerous for their work. So, the challenge lies in how we create customised training and awareness programme for the unorganised sector, especially MSMEs, who are not part of that formal education ecosystem.
We need to bring these skill sets into the labour force via ITIs (Industrial Training Institute) and other institutes for green hobs.
ET: What are your expectations and projections for green skills in the textile sector in India?
NT: The themes which will give maximum job opportunity in the next two decades include- changing business model from linear to circular and transition from traditional energy to renewable energy. There is a lot of sustainable finance coming through for renewable energy and waste/water management.
There is also a lot of work and research going on around sustainable agriculture- regenerated cotton and other raw materials in textiles. So, if we see the whole ecosystem, I think this will be the largest job opportunity in India.
