Since 1994, TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) and SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) have partnered to develop innovative solutions to energy, environment, and social issues of few energy intensive small-scale industrial sectors. The sectors identified for interventions were the following.
Gray iron foundries (cupolas)
Glass units (pot furnaces and muffle furnaces)
Brick kilns (vertical shaft brick kilns and bull’s trench kilns)
Puffed rice making
Biomass gasifier-based thermal applications (silk reeling, cardamom drying, and other sub-sectors)

In each of these sectors, demonstration units were set up to showcase energy-efficient and environment-friendly technological solutions. To spread awareness, TERI facilitated a few replication units in each of the sectors. The interventions also stressed on making the technological solutions more holistic by integrating the social concerns of the workforce.

TERI adopted a bottom-up approach and encouraged greater participation by industry associations in the decision-making process. This helped in integrating the concerns of local industry in the overall project design. The solutions were developed by pooling multidisciplinary competences: international experts, local consultants, and grass-roots-level NGOs (non-governmental organizations).

The demonstrated technological solutions developed by TERI have improved energy efficiency significantly, and consequently reduced GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions to a great extent. In addition, the new technologies have brought about a sea change in the pollution levels at worksite. The interventions have also resulted in increasing awareness on energy-efficient and environment-friendly technological options among a large number of small and micro enterprises located across the country.

The interventions owe their success to a large number of stakeholders (local/international consultants, fabricators, masons, entrepreneurs, industry associations, and partner NGOs) who worked hand in hand with TERI. In order to build on the existing informal network of different stakeholders working in the small and micro enterprise sectors, TERI has launched a new initiative – CoSMiLE (Competence network for Small and Micro Learning Enterprises) in 2005, with the support from SDC.