ITC Ltd, a diverse entity, announced on Wednesday that it is speeding up its efforts to go beyond plastic neutrality, having sustainably managed more than 54,000 tonnes of plastic waste across India in 2021-22. According to the company, its flagship solid waste management programme, Well-Being Out of Waste' (WOW), has reached 1.8 crore citizens across 46.7 lakh households in India's large and small cities.
"This year, ITC went beyond plastic neutrality thanks to a large-scale and integrated solid waste management programme. Furthermore, the company is utilizing cutting-edge innovations to develop industry-specific sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging," said Sanjiv Rangrass, group head, ITC Life Sciences & Technology, Central Projects, EHS & Quality Assurance, ITC Ltd.
"Efforts to move beyond plastic neutrality and sustainable waste management will continue apace in the years ahead as part of our Sustainability 2.0 agenda," he added.
Under Chairman Sanjiv Puri's Sustainability 2.0 vision, the company strives for inclusive strategies that can support even more livelihoods while also exploring new avenues to combat climate change.
ITC stated that the amount of plastic waste managed exceeded the amount of plastic packaging used by it during 2021-22, allowing it to reach the plastic neutrality milestone.
The company also stated that it has taken a multi-pronged approach to reduce plastic in its operations, which include FMCG, hotels, paperboards, and packaging.
These include, among other things, developing robust next-generation environmentally friendly packaging solutions, mega-scale waste collection programmes under its flagship waste management initiative 'ITC WOW – Well-Being Out of Waste,' as well as targeted interventions in rural areas.
Problem of Plastic Pollution:
The issue with plastic is that the vast majority of it is not biodegradable. Because it does not rot like paper or food, it can remain in the environment for hundreds of years. Every year, 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced, with 40 percent of that being single-use plastic - plastic that we will only use once before discarding.
