Overview

The Blue Collar Green project series was developed under the Indo-German Environment Partnership (IGEP) Programme of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to address the challenge of sustainable industrial development in India. With the country's rapidly expanding industrial sector and ambitious workforce growth targets, the project sought to build capacity among public and private agencies involved in planning, operating and revitalising Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones. The series encompassed site analysis, the development of national planning standards, and the creation of comprehensive training tools and curricula to convey sustainability principles in an accessible, participatory manner.

Approach

The project combined field-based research across five Indian industrial parks — including APSEZ, GIP Jadcherla, ALEAP, MPSEZ, VATVA and VAPI — with the development of a structured training system grounded in the DGNB Industrial Districts certification framework, adapted for the Indian context. DGNB Quick Check pre-assessments were conducted across all sites, evaluating ecological, economic, socio-cultural, technical, process and innovation quality dimensions. Key findings were translated into a national guidebook for industrial site planning and a purpose-built training toolkit, enabling knowledge transfer across a broad range of stakeholders from policymakers to blue-collar workers.

Outcomes

The project produced a comprehensive and transferable capacity-building infrastructure for sustainable industrial development in India. The Blue Collar Green reports (Volumes I–III) established an evidence base for green industrial district planning, while the DGNB pre-assessments demonstrated certification-ready performance across all reviewed parks, ranging from Silver to near-Platinum level. The training materials and interactive game-based tools enable practitioners at all levels to engage with sustainability planning principles in applied, participatory settings. The work contributed directly to the GIZ's national capacity-building agenda under the Make in India programme context.

Client

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, New Delhi, India

Partner

BuroHappold Engineering (project delivered during tenure)

DGNB – German Sustainable Building Council

Timeline

2013 – 2015