Embracing the 3Rs: How Indian Businesses are Leading the Charge towards a Circular Economy

The circular economy is the cornerstone of sustainable development, assuring continuous economic growth without causing environmental damage. Embracing it is exceedingly essential for fighting climate change, especially now that the severe impacts of climate change are becoming more evident with unprecedented spells of extreme heat waves in the Indian peninsula and deluges in neighbouring countries. As we continue to realize the necessity of preserving the environment, some businesses are taking proactive steps by integrating the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) into their core operations to do their bit in minimizing waste and promoting sustainability

The circular economy, based on the concept of reducing, reusing and recycling materials that are already available in the system, holds the key to address 70% of global greenhouse emissions. It contradicts to current linear model, placing an emphasis on closing the loop to maximise the use of resources.

Ms. Vandana Tandan, Head of Markets for India and Bangladesh at SIG Combibloc, says that the Swiss-based establishment, specialising in manufacturing advanced aseptic packaging is socially responsible and ardently believes that conserving the planet is a collaborative responsibility of all. 

She added, “Our day-to-day operations are well aligned with the principle of sustainability. All our aseptic packages are made of renewable materials with the lowest carbon footprint and are responsibly sourced. Additionally, our state-of-the-art packaging manufacturing unit allows us to produce packages of different formats and volumes on a single line, effectively reducing both time and waste.”

Reaffirming the commitment of the company to promoting circular economy to Sustainable Development Goals as laid by the United Nations, Ms Tandan asserted, “Our business practices are well aligned with this belief, and we are expediting our efforts each day to make the world a better place to live. We give back more than we take from the planet, and we are continuously working towards making our packaging better. From 2030 we will take back more carbon than we emit and by 2030 we will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and will continually keep doing it year on year.” 

Pursuing a similar precept of a zero-waste economy, Green Power International Pvt. Ltd. (GPI), a leading EPC power generation company, is taking measures on their part to promote natural gas-based gensets and carbon capture technologies to reduce emissions and contribute to sustainable energy solutions.

Mr. Varun Puri, Managing Director at Green Power International Pvt Ltd. said, “The global outlook is increasingly focused on greener power generation technologies and possibilities. We align ourselves with the UN Climate goals and India’s commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2070. To reach this goal, multiple approaches are necessary, including carbon capture, electricity generation from hydrogen and solar plants, and electric vehicles (EVs).

Sharing about the company’s initiatives, Mr Puri revealed that the firm’s focus is not only on providing gas gensets to the client. It specialises in providing customised solutions in which heat generated from the gas genset is further utilized and channelled into industrial processes. The company also uses biogas produced by specific industries by installing a biogas genset to create electricity, which aligns with its commitment to promoting circular economy. To further the company’s efforts, GPI also buys the gensets back from customers, refurbishes and sell them. 

Discussing the company’s forthcoming initiatives he said, “Our goal is to create cleaner spaces, and following this trend, we are now venturing into Compressed Biogas (CBG) generation, which is a cleaner fuel than natural gas. We are also exploring ethanol and methanol generation, which are cleaner sources of fuel, similar to Compressed Biogas. Green is now in our DNA. What started as a business opportunity has now become a matter of pride for us.” 

The concept of circular economy is not new, but few businesses have succeeded at integrating it into their business practice at a large scale. To meet the Sustainable Development Goals, it is imperative to embrace the circularity in the system. The sooner we make it a part of the system, the faster we can pave the way for a sustainable future.