Sustainability

Researchers from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, have developed a new environment-friendly process to manufacture black terracotta wares. The procedure merges traditional pottery with modern engineering and has finally been granted a patent.

The work was headed by Professor Swadesh Kumar Pratihar, Professor of Ceramic Engineering. The group consists of Mr. Shiv Kumar Verma, Senior Technical Assistant, and Dr. Rupesh Mandal, a research scholar at NIT Rourkela.

'Terracotta' in Italian means "baked earth." It has been part of the Indian craft traditions for several centuries.

Red terracotta is common and is produced by firing clay in the presence of air. Iron in the clay oxidises during firing, giving it the familiar red colour.

Black terracotta, on the other hand, has a shiny, mirror-like finish and requires totally different techniques.

For ages, black pottery has been produced all over India by slow and time-consuming processes. Nizamabad's black pottery is just one example from Uttar Pradesh.

A glaze prepared with local clay and organic matter called “kabiz” is applied by artisans. The surface is polished with mustard oil and fired in sealed vessels filled with cow dung, straw, and wood chips.

This finish stage requires skill, close supervision, and specialized clay.

There are similar traditions found elsewhere. In the village of Nixi in Tibet, red clay is combined with white sand and baked quartz.

After this, the pottery is smoked using sawdust to turn it black. Most of these methods take two days and rely on the burning of large amounts of organic fuel.

They also emit toxic gases which may be harmful to workers.

This is what the NIT Rourkela team wanted to address. The patented process reduces the firing time to less than seven hours; neither does it involve open fires nor any smoke is generated.

The new process also removes the need for rare clay types or highly skilled artisans.

According to Professor Pratihar, the trick lies in heating the pottery in a vacuum, where there is little or no air. During heating, carbon-rich oil breaks down and produces carbon monoxide and soot.

This creates the reducing atmosphere needed to produce the black colour without polluting the environment.

The method yields a uniform black finish. Application of the described method is possible in any region. It avoids health hazards, there is no burning of organic material, and it makes traditional knowledge compatible with modern manufacturing. The researchers say the process will support sustainable production while helping keep terracotta craftsmanship alive.

Sustainability is no longer constrained to classroom lessons or special projects as the idea of green living becomes a lived experience for students whose schools and universities reflect such an atmosphere of responsibility toward the planet.

Mrs. Rashmi Mittal, Pro-Chancellor of Lovely Professional University, says, "The educational institutions around the world now are realizing their key contribution towards the creation of a sustainable future. In this transforming scenario, campuses need to go beyond their existing role and act as models for an eco-friendly life by creating facilities and practices which directly contribute to attaining United Nations SDGs." The integration of green infrastructure with responsible practices is fast becoming the core of educational development.

The mission at Lovely Professional University in translating broad SDG pillars into tangible, on-ground action encompasses the following: large-scale solar capacity and rainwater harvesting systems contribute directly to global goals related to clean energy and water; waste management is done through in-house sewage treatment plants, on-site segregation, composting; and lush campuses with thousands of trees are symbolic of a commitment toward sustainable communities and life on land. Further, electric vehicles and bicycles being made available for daily commuting reduce the carbon footprints and hence present greener modes of transport for the students and staff.

While this is not a completed project, it is an expanding ethos. The idea is to embed sustainability right at the heart of campus life, so that it becomes intuitive and instinctive in the daily experience. This collective effort and goal-oriented integration is one which educational institutes and organizations can take up for making our planet more livable and 'smart' in the true sense for future generations. Be it large-scale universities or grassroots educational foundations, the story remains the same: campuses need to set examples in terms of sustainability practices if their students are to pick up values concerning environmental responsibilities.

 They build environments that teach by example. Students don't just hear about climate change; they witness how solar panels power energy, grasp how recycling preserves the future of our resources, and feel how trees cool the air. These lived experiences often last longer than remembered lessons. The push toward green campuses is not about reducing carbon footprints or ticking compliance boxes; rather, it is to do with the shaping of a world view for the future generations. 

The Bangalore School has been awarded SDG Silver Hero Award for Global Sustainability Awards 2025. Founding Director Ms. Usha Iyer attended the presentation of Global Sustainability Award for 2025 in the School Leaders Category at Miranda House in Delhi. The Sustainable Development Goals of the UN are woven into every aspect of the curriculum and culture at a Whitefield school.

She was recognized for her inspiring and progressive leadership to develop educational frameworks at schools that inculcate the value of sustainability and a sense of environmental awareness and global responsibility in young children. This accomplishment at Bangalore School has been a result of the leadership provided by the head of the school, Ms. Manju Chakrawati; the head of the center, Ms. Nithia Govindraj; and the coordinator, Ms. Devika Chanda, whose perseverance introduced principles of sustainability into the daily activities and culture of the school.

Of all the projects that the school has done, innovative environmental stewardship at the juncture with community service and experiential learning lights up a culture whereby students grow into responsible, compassionate global citizens.

"This award is truly an acknowledgment of our students, teachers, parents, and larger community who share our vision to build a better sustainable future," Ms. Iyer said gratefully. It places The Bangalore School in the league of pioneering institutions within the domain of sustainable education in India, showing just how schools can become powerful agents of change. Their work encourages and inspires other organizations concerned with education to involve themselves with issues of sustainability in shaping a greener and more equitably balanced world for future generations. That Bangalore School achieved this underlines the fact that early childhood education lays the foundation for both environmental stewardship and social responsibility. This recognition says volumes about their commitment to sustainability and innovation; hence, The Bangalore School is the leader in that field within India

True learning happens at the juncture of curiosity and experiences. A child learns lessons in patience, empathy, and respect for life while planting a seed and growing it or even while watching a bird build its nest, which stays in the child's memory far longer than anything they read from school textbooks.

Outdoor learning enables the child to observe, question, and relate to the world. As many studies have established, with increased hours spent outdoors, children show improved concentration, their mood improves, and their creativity is enhanced too. Children learning among trees and soil will not just learn about the environment, but they will be a part of it.

It is not all about Earth Day; it is about what one does each day: separating trash, composting food scraps, or reusing old things instead of throwing them away. The practice of switching off taps, collecting rainwater, carrying refill bottles-all go toward instilling environmental awareness. Even sewing up a torn school bag instead of immediately buying a new one helps to teach a lesson: big changes in life start with little, everyday decisions. More and more young people turn vegan or onto plant-based diets not for some sort of fashionable trend, but as a deliberately conscious choice in the care of the planet. Animal production for food requires huge water, land, and energy supplies. 

Choosing more plant-based meals is one concrete way of reducing pollution and protecting natural resources. Children learn by observing much more than from anything else. A teacher who tends to a school garden or composts at home is teaching values much more powerfully than with words alone. It is when the lessons of science are correlated with renewable energy, or geography teachers do the same with conserving water, that the idea of what sustainability is all about gets redefined-turning it from a subject into a way of life. Real-life linking makes students take responsibility for the environment personally. 

Climate change is not something that would happen; it's a reality concerning rising temperatures, floods, and shrinking forests. Education should prepare the children not with fear but with optimism and problem-solving skills. The children become aware that every contribution, however small, adds up to so much in the general process of calculating their carbon footprint, exploring renewable energy solutions, or thinking through ways to reduce plastic use. Wonder is the beginning of sustainability. Let the children be awed by earth, and it shall surely follow that they care enough to want to protect it. 

Curiosity sparks care, and care leads to action. Maybe the best classroom still lies outside four walls under the open sky, where a child listens to the rustling of leaves, observes the rhythm of life, and realizes he or she is not separate from nature but an inseparable part of it.

According to Minoo Rathnasabapathy of the MIT Media Lab, one of the leading voices in responsible space systems, if space sustainability has to be achieved, available data has to be provided to the emerging nations.

According to Minoo Rathnasabapathy of the MIT Media Lab, a strong advocate for responsible space systems, the sustainability in space science depends critically upon how space data presently available are accessible to emerging nations. Free and open access to satellite and other spaceborne data allows developing countries to engage actively in space activities related to the monitoring of environments, management of disasters, and also the accomplishment of SDGs.

International efforts highlight the fact that Earth observation and other space-based technologies are vital information providers in respect to climate change, disaster management, and economic development all over the world. Programs on open data policy and related training will help developing countries use space data effectively to level the playing field in the global space ecosystem.

This is reiterated by the likes of Rathnasabapathy, who asserts that inclusive data sharing is not only a technical call but one way toward social equity and environmental stewardship. Locating space science in wider strategies of sustainable development secures benefits for all nations from the advantages brought about by activities in space, not just the traditional space powers. This chimes with international frameworks such as the UN's Space2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals that encourage collaborative, responsible, innovative uses of space for the good of all humanity.

Essentially, it calls for democratized access to data concerning space science for the emerging nations, underpinned by investments in capacity building and international cooperation that will pave the way for a more equitable and effective stewardship of space resources and technologies.