Cigarettes-to-biscuits conglomerate, ITC, which has  been solid waste recycling positive for over 13 years, is now all set to move  beyond plastic waste neutrality next fiscal. The company will replace and  recycle more plastic than it would use through its operations this year.
 

For a company  with large-scale operations in FMCG and hospitality, this has been made  possible through the scaling up of a slew of holistic initiatives pivoted  around in-house innovation in packaging materials, robust waste management  programs which focusses on source segregation, sustainable business practices,  and social business models with mass impact.
 

"ITC's Sustainability 2.0 vision encompasses an  ambitious roadmap towards new benchmarks in enabling a circular economy that  reduces, reuses and recycles waste to optimize resource use and lessen the  burden on the planet," said Sanjiv Puri, chairman & MD at ITC.
 

"ITC's 'Well-being out of Waste" program today covers  over 13 million citizens addressing municipal solid waste management.
 

We aim to ensure that 100% of our packaging is  reusable, recyclable or compostable in the next decade. In addition, we have established  a Centre of Excellence to progress on sustainable packaging, with some  solutions already made commercially available," he added.
 

The company is set to collect more than 30,000 tonnes  of plastic waste this fiscal year from 24 States, which is more than double  that of last year's collections.
 

In the ensuing fiscal, ITC's collections will exceed  100% of plastic packaging introduced in the market.
 

ITC has adopted a multi-pronged approach to reduce  plastic in the company's operations spanning FMCG, hotels, paperboards and  packaging, agri-business and IT.
 

This  includes creating robust next-generation environment friendly packaging  solutions, mega-scale waste collection program under its flagship waste  management initiative 'WOW - Well-Being Out of Waste' as well as focussed  interventions in rural areas; a culture of plastic-free operations, in line  with its philosophy of 'Responsible Luxury' to eliminate single-use plastic usage  in ITC Hotels; and innovative models for sustainability which have plastic  reduction and management at their core.

Read the Article on The Times of India :
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/itc-to-go-beyond-plastic-waste-neutrality-next-fiscal/articleshow/82165357.cms