PUNE: The Union railways minister, Suresh Prabhu, in his e-address at the 6th CII GreenCo Summit 2017 said that all-round effort were being taken by the Indian Railways to reduce carbon footprint of railways by 3 %. "Economic development should not take place at the cost of environment. The damage caused to the environment can be much more harmful than the profit the industry manages to earn," Prabhu said. The summit was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and was held in the city on Thursday. R A Mashelkar, the former director general of CSIR and the president of The Global Research Alliance, said that compliance with environment protection norms alone is not enough. Instead of considering it as an adversity, we must look at it as an opportunity. Proactive approach to what could be the sustainability needs in the future will prove crucial to corporate competitiveness, Mashelkar added. He said that disruptive ideas to harness science will put India ahead in shaping ideas that will benefit the human race in general and go a long way in optimization of natural resources. The government should also put in place policy initiatives for replacement of harmful inputs by eco-friendly ones for industrial consumption.