World Environment Day: Corporate houses commit to circular biz model to reduce waste

New Delhi, Jun 5 (PTI) On World Environment Day, leading corporate houses announced their commitments to a greener earth and a regenerative business model to minimise waste.

On Thursday, many companies committed to moving towards plastic neutrality by reducing the usage in their packaging with sustainable innovations, increasing collection and scientific disposal of plastic waste and consumer engagement.

Companies, such as ITC, reaffirmed commitments to initiatives to manage, recycle and replace plastic packaging waste with a three-pronged framework of 'No plastic, Better Plastic and Less Plastic'.

It focuses on community-based waste management programmes and investments in sustainable packaging innovations.

This innovative approach not only encourages ITC to continuously improve recyclability and optimise packaging across its own FMCG brands but enables it to offer a bouquet of sustainable packaging solutions for a range of consumer industries, replacing plastic with biodegradable materials, designed for recycling.

ITC, which has achieved plastic neutrality status for 4 years in a row, "aspires to make 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable, reusable, compostable, or biodegradable by 2028, as a part of its bold Sustainability 2.0 Vision".

"As a part of its credo of 'Responsible Competitiveness', ITC has adopted a 360-degree approach towards enabling a circular economy. The integrated strategy includes spearheading a number of scalable, replicable and sustainable community-led waste management programmes.

"This framework inspires us to innovate and optimise packaging across our businesses and operations, besides offering a range of eco-friendly packaging solutions for various industries," said S Sivakumar, Group Head – Agri and IT Businesses and Sustainability, ITC Ltd.

Leading French Sporting goods retailer Decathlon announced the launch of its circular business model in India, furthering its global commitment to sustainability, waste reduction and a regenerative business.

Decathlon’s circular business model in India is currently anchored around three core offerings - repair services available in over 95 stores, second-life resale of refurbished products in more than 90 stores, and buyback of used equipment in over 50 stores, which will be slowly scaled across the country and will later be made available online.

Through circular models, such as repair, buyback, resale, and DIY spares, Decathlon is set to triple its circular turnover by 2027, a projected 200 per cent growth compared to 2024.

"With this pioneering step, Decathlon becomes the first sports retailer in India to embed circularity at scale," it said, adding that its India launch is a key part of Decathlon’s global decarbonisation strategy, which includes achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a 42 per cent reduction in absolute CO₂ emissions by 2030.

FMCG firm Marico, which owns brands like Saffola, Parachute and Livon, announced the introduction of its first-ever initiative to assess Packaging Material Circularity Score.

The initiative, part of Marico’s broader sustainability agenda, is built around 10 opportunity levers, including material circularity, design efficiency, end-of-life recovery, elimination of uncommon/hazardous materials, EPR performance, consumer engagement, and innovation.

"By FY30, the company aims to achieve over 30 per cent recycled content in non-food plastic packaging, transition to a 100 per cent recyclable packaging portfolio, and ensure zero hazardous waste-to-landfill across its directly owned manufacturing units," it said.

Leading Packing solution provider Uflex said reliance on flexible packaging cannot be ignored, as it is essential for delivering food, pharmaceutical, and other consumer products while ensuring safety, durability, protection from contamination, safer transportation, and enhanced accessibility.

However, it said, plastic has lower greenhouse gas emissions than non-plastic alternatives. In contrast, materials like glass, rigid PET, and steel require significantly more water and fossil fuels to produce.

"We believe that the problem is not plastic itself, but how we manage its lifecycle. At UFlex, we’ve developed technologies to recycle even the most complex mixed flexible waste.

"With a recent investment of Rs 317 crore in new recycling plants and a globally scalable recycling infrastructure, we are enabling a future where plastic is reused, repurposed, and responsibly managed," said Jeevaraj Gopal Pillai, Director - Sustainability, President - Flexible Packaging and New Product Development, UFlex.

The company also appreciated the government's efforts in strengthening the regulatory framework through extended producer responsibility (EPR) guidelines, in which a target for the collection, recycling, reuse, and use of recycled content in plastic packaging has been fixed to promote sustainable packaging.

"We have already been working along these lines and are ready to empower brand owners to meet their EPR commitments and set a global benchmark for sustainable packaging," he said. PTI KRH KRH BAL BAL