A Bosch initiative to improve the air quality in India's biggest cities came to national prominence at an environmental summit held in June. The "Clean Air for Bangalore" campaign was actually initiated in 2004 by the former head of development at Bosch Diesel Systems in India, Gerhard Ziegler, as a purely local initiative.
At the conference in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, organized by Bosch Limited in association with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, decision-makers from the worlds of politics, business, and management all promised their support. The industrial boom and the growing number of vehicles on the road mean that air pollution in India is on the increase. The experts at the summit all spoke out in favour of modern technologies being employed to reduce the pollution from car exhausts.
Bosch is setting an example to other organizations in this respect. "When I arrived in India in 2004, it was evident that more and more people were suffering from breathing disorders," recalls Ziegler, who has since returned to Germany. "We simply had to do something." A Bosch team took up the challenge and developed concepts that were rolled out in a gradual process. The collaboration with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has been particularly successful. Bosch supplied diagnostic instruments to measure pollutant emissions from Bangalore's buses. This made it possible to reduce the emissions by modifying the engine settings. A number of BMTC's buses have since been equipped with Bosch injection systems. Emissions from private vehicles in the city also have been measured.
Maintaining the pressure Politicians have long been in support of Bosch Limited’s campaign. For instance, there are moves to expand the local public transport system. Tougher environmental laws also are under discussion. The company is maintaining pressure to keep the subject on the agenda. One recent activity that was organized by Bosch was the "Bosch Run", which took place in Bangalore in June. The company also plans to push ahead with improvements by introducing further technological developments.
The environmental summit showed that there is still a lot of room for improvement in India. "In Bangalore we succeeded in bringing decision-makers and stakeholders to the table," emphasizes Gerhard Ziegler. "They all agreed to the common goal of clean air."
