Cleaner Air - Better Life aims to support a nationwide movement to cleaning air by

Lending common platform to governments, businesses, communities, and change makers to improve air quality

Building momentum and capacities for evidence-based action on the ground

Providing industry leadership for driving cross-sectoral action on air pollution

Cleaner Air - Better Life is doing so by undertaking

Independent and actionable research to support communities and decision makers to assess air quality issues from a life-cycle perspective

Engagement with local communities, policymakers, industry leaders and change-makers to design and execute solutions with participatory planning

Assessment of solutions for key issues/sectors and dissemination of good practices for wide scale adoption

Creation of evidence & strategic campaigns to educate specific target groups on the health, economic, and social impacts of air pollution

Current Initiatives

India CEO Forum for Clean Air

'India CEO Forum for Clean Air' is a clarion call to India's top CEOs to come together and contribute towards making the air quality in India better.

This platform aims to galvanize the Indian Industry to find lasting solutions to India's deteriorating air quality by

1. Providing collective leadership to Industry sub-sectors for emission reductions

2. Enabling Peer learning, cross-fertilization of ideas, and pooling of industry resources for high-impact projects

3. Undertaking proactive engagement with government and citizens

The forum creates awareness about the role industry can play in scaling sustainable business solutions and what it needs to do for balancing economic growth with sustainable development.

CEO Forum - Architecture

Members' Roles and Responsibilities

Sustainable Transportation

Industry Platform on Sustainable Transportation aims to scale Electric Vehicle (EV) supply chains in India by mapping barriers and building consensus on pragmatic solutions.

The platform aims to foster new knowledge and understanding of the opportunities and challenges in India for faster adoption of EV technologies.

It will also inform the design of the government’s policies on electric mobility by bringing key outcomes from the platform to the attention of the policymakers.

This platform is joined by members from diverse backgrounds including automobile and component manufacturers, energy companies, industry associations, and research institutions demonstrating leadership and action in this area.

Crop Residue Management

‘Cleaner Air - Better Life’ provides the knowledge platform to all stakeholders including farmers and rural entrepreneurs in Punjab and Haryana for improved crop residue management practices and sustainable agricultural practices.

Crop residue burning is a key factor behind peak air pollution episodes across many cities of North India. It also impacts the rural air quality and health of farming communities.

The decades’ old practice of burning, combined with the overuse of inorganic inputs, is severely impacting soil health, leading to lower productivity in the long run.

‘Cleaner Air - Better Life’ provides the programmatic and research support to CII Foundation on the Crop Residue Management Programme.

It is also mapping opportunities and demonstrating actionable solutions while piloting with rural communities of Punjab & Haryana. These solutions range from sustainable agriculture interventions (in-situ management and agricultural biodiversity) to use of biomass (ex-situ management) in green and clean products or as clean fuel.

Airshed Management

Clean Air Better Life propagates the scientific evidence for implementation of actionable and cost-effective solutions in participatory manner with local communities and stakeholders to improve air quality.

CII partnered with NITI Aayog in 2017 to create four multi-stakeholder Task Forces to design source-specific action plans for severely polluted Delhi NCR based on the latest scientific evidence and consultation with stakeholders across common airshed.

In 2020, we started working in one of India’s fast developing logistic and business hub, Indore Metropolitan Region, to demonstrate airshed management and planning approach in partnership with the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Smart City Indore, California Air Resources Board and Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi), Lung Care Foundation and Respirer Living Sciences. The objective is to develop a robust framework for data-driven approach on air quality management across rapidly developing Indore Metropolitan Region.

The Pioneers

These are the visionary leaders who took the first step towards creating a cleaner environment and galvanize others in the Industry to join the movement.

Mr Ashwath Ram

Chairman, CII National Initiative: 'Cleaner Air - Better life'
Managing Director, Cummins India Ltd.

Mr Tejpreet Singh Chopra

Co-Chairman, CII National Initiative: 'Cleaner Air - Better life'
CEO & President, Bharat Light & Power Private Limited

Mr Puneet Kumar

Managing Director, Accenture India

Mr Vineet Mittal

Chairman, Avaada Group

Mr Nitin Prasad

Chairman, Shell Group of Companies in India

Mr Mahendra Singhi

Managing Director and CEO, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited

Mr Balasubramanyam Rajagopal

President, DSM India Private Limited

Ms Rhea M Singhal

Founder & CEO, Ecoware Solutions Private Limited

Mr Madhav Krishna Singhania

Deputy Managing Director and CEO, JK Cement Limited

Dr Naresh Trehan

Chairman and Managing Director, Medanta Heart Institute

Dr Pawan Singh

Managing Director & CEO, PTC India Financial Services Limited

Mr Puneet Kaura

Managing Director & CEO, Samtel Avionics Limited

Mr R Mukundan

Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Limited

Mr Sanjiv Paul

Vice President (Safety, Health, and Sustainability), Tata Steel Ltd.

Mr Masakazu Yoshimura

Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited

Mr. Rahul Sharma

Deputy CEO, Aluminium and Power Vedanta

Mr Sukhmeet Singh

Founder, A2P Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Other Members

The Clean Air Declaration

An eight-point declaration named ‘The CEO’s Declaration for Cleaner Air’ has been drafted to convey the Forum's broad charter. All Forum members are expected to sign this declaration as a mark of their endorsement and commitment to the cause of Cleaner Air – Better Life.

We, the signatories to this declaration endeavour to act in the following areas

Demonstrate the use of clean fuels/technologies & showcase best management practices for addressing ambient air pollution

Design, pilot and scale-up high impact multi- stakeholder projects under Corporate Social & Environment Responsibilities to promote sustainable solutions to air pollution

Set targets & objectives for mitigation of air pollution linked directly or indirectly to business operations.

Promote peer learning among organizations for faster adoption of solutions across industry & geographies.

Handhold and build capacities of Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for sustainable supply chains & reducing overall air pollution footprint of products/services

Build capacity of implementation/ government agencies to design new programs/ policies, & improve design/ delivery of existing programs/ policies aimed at air quality improvement

Proactively engage with statutory bodies & research agencies for enabling scientific understanding of sources & evidence-based action.

Raise awareness on health impacts of air pollution & to build momentum for local action by engaging with employees, citizens & community-led organizations