ITC's Sustainable Initiatives on World Earth Day: Moving Towards Plastic Neutrality

As the world grapples with plastic pollution, sustainability has become a top priority.  Companies across India are embracing eco-friendly practices, aligning with the theme of World Earth Day 2024: "Planet v/s Plastic."  Among these leaders is ITC, a prominent Indian conglomerate, pioneering innovative and sustainable packaging solutions.

ITC Champions Sustainable Packaging Alternatives

Recognizing the growing concern around plastic waste, ITC has emerged as a champion for sustainable packaging.  Here's a glimpse of their efforts:

• Plant-Based Packaging Solutions:  ITC has introduced a variety of eco-friendly, plant-based packaging options across a wide range of products.

  • These solutions span from convenient takeaway meals to personal care products like soap and shower gel bottles, and everyday essentials like salt and biscuits.

• Addressing the Food Delivery Challenge:  India's booming food delivery culture, while convenient, generates significant plastic waste.

  • To address this, ITC has developed a range of recyclable packaging solutions specifically designed for food items, requiring ingenuity and technological advancements.

Innovative and Recyclable Packaging Options for Various Products 

ITC's dedication to sustainability extends across its diverse product portfolio:

• Food and Beverage Industry: ITC Paperboards and Packaging Divisions offer recyclable, biodegradable, and polyethylene-coated barrier boards specifically designed for the food and beverage industry.

  • A prime example is the Filo series, catering to the growing food service and delivery market.

    • FiloPack is a packaging solution for the food services industry, while FiloServe offers a versatile option that transforms into plates, trays, and food liners.

    • Importantly, both these solutions are 100% recyclable within existing recycling systems.

• Other ITC Products: Sustainable packaging solutions are being implemented across a range of ITC products:

  • Sunfeast Farmlite biscuits

  • Aashirvaad organic atta and salt

  • Sunfeast Yippee! noodles

  • ITC Master Chef Frozen Snacks

  • These solutions include 100% outer paper bags and 100% mono-material PP laminates, significantly reducing plastic usage.

• Personal Care Brands: Several ITC personal care brands are progressively adopting recyclable packaging options:

  • Fiama

  • Savlon

  • Engage

  • These solutions involve using post-consumer recycled materials and shifting to 100% paper-based recyclable cartons.

Beyond Packaging: ITC's Holistic Sustainability Approach

ITC's commitment to sustainability extends beyond packaging solutions:

• ITC Hotels: ITC Hotels have replaced plastic water bottles with eco-friendly glass bottles. Additionally, plastic straws, stirrers, and other plastic items have been substituted with paper and wood-based alternatives.

• Wellbeing Out of Waste (WOW): This flagship initiative focuses on solid waste management and citizen awareness.

  • Reaching over 22 million citizens, 6 million households, and providing livelihoods for nearly 17,000 waste collectors, WOW tackles plastic waste at the ground level.

  • In addition to WOW, ITC collaborates with the Swachh Bharat Mission for community-driven decentralized Solid Waste Management (SWM) programs across 32 districts in 10 Indian states.

ITC Achieves Plastic Neutrality and Sets Ambitious Goals 

ITC's dedication to sustainability is demonstrably successful:

• Plastic Neutrality: For the second consecutive year, ITC has exceeded its commitment on plastic neutrality in FY23. This achievement involved collecting and sustainably managing over 60,000 metric tons of plastic waste.

• Future Goals: ITC remains committed to long-term sustainability. Their ambitious aim is to ensure that 100% of their packaging is reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable within the next decade.

By prioritizing sustainable practices and developing innovative solutions, ITC is leading the way towards a plastic-neutral future in India.