India to be the First Asian Country to Launch a Plastics Pact
The India Plastics Pact, is a joint initiative between WWF India and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)The Pact targets to enable businesses to transition towards a circular economy for plastics by 2030
New Delhi: H.E Mr Alexander Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, launched the India Plastics Pact, the first in Asia, at CII’s 16th Sustainability Summit. The India Plastics Pact, a joint initiative between World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF India) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), will bring together leading businesses at a national level to make commitments for building a circular system for plastics. The Pact envisions a world where plastic is valued and does not pollute the environment.
It is supported by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) and WRAP, a global NGO based in the UK. WRAP provides operational and technical support to Plastics Pacts in Europe, the Americas, Australia and Africa and fully supports the Pact in India.
India generates 9.46 MT of plastic waste annually, of which 40% is not collected; about half of all plastics produced in the country are used in packaging, most of it is single-use in nature. Commitments made under the Pact aim to keep plastic packaging in the economy and out of the natural environment. Today 17 businesses including major FMCG brands, manufacturers, retailers, and recyclers have committed to the Pact as founding members, and nine have joined as supporting organisations.
At the core of all Plastics Pacts lie four ambitious, time-bound targets for reducing, innovating and re-imagining plastic packaging. The India Plastics Pact’s targets to be achieved by 2030 are:
- Define a list of unnecessary or problematic plastic packaging and items and take measures to address them through redesign and innovation
- 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable or recyclable
- 50% of plastic packaging to be effectively recycled
- 25% average recycled content across all plastic packaging
Other dignitaries present at the launch Professor Sir Duncan Wingham, Executive Chair of the Natural Environment Research Council and Marcus Gover, CEO WRAP.
The India Plastics Pact aims to empower businesses, governments and the entire plastics value chain to transition towards a circular economy for plastics in India. The Pact will stimulate innovative new business models to reduce the total amount of plastic packaging. It will also help build a stronger recycling system, ensuring that plastic packaging can be effectively recycled and made into new products, and back to packaging with the support of all stakeholders.
Activities immediately after the launch will focus on collectively identifying projects that can deliver the most significant impact in the long and short term. This could include identification of barriers to incorporation of recycled content in packaging, design of reusable packaging and removal/elimination of unnecessary plastics packaging.
Mr. Arvind Wable, President, WWF India, said, "The India Plastics Pact provides a strong platform for Indian businesses to drive actionable, sustainable solutions and accelerate the transition toward a circular economy.”
Commenting on the Pact, Mr Jamshyd N Godrej, Past President, CII & WWF India, said, “Innovation, collaboration and voluntary commitments contextualised for India and led by Indian companies will help the transition to a circular economy for plastics. The Plastics Pact model offers this solution. While this pact is already active in a number of other countries, I commend CII and WWF India for bringing this initiative to India".
“I am certain that the Founding Members and Supporter businesses and organizations present here will lead the way towards better use of plastics and create the large impact which will benefit all sections of society and industry in our country”, said Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.
Marcus Gover, WRAP CEO, said, “The India Plastics Pact is about action on one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues and WRAP is delighted to be able to share our expertise with CII and WWF-India. This important new programme will drive forward coordinated action to deliver ambitious targets. It will transform the use of plastics across India, just as we are doing in the UK, Europe, US, Canada, South Africa and Chile. I look forward to working and then supporting the India Plastics Pact for years to come.’’
The Pact supports the business commitment component of the Un-plastic Collective ambitions, a platform co-partnered by UN Environment Programme-India, CII and WWF India in 2019 that seeks to minimise the externalities of plastics on the social and ecological health of the planet.
Notes for the Editor
For further information visit www.indiaplasticspact.org
For information about the Members and Supporters, visit the website.
About WWF India
WWF India is committed to creating and demonstrating practical solutions that help conserve India's ecosystems and rich biodiversity. With more than 50 years of conservation journey in the country, WWF India works towards finding science-based and sustainable solutions to address challenges at the interface of development and conservation. WWF India is part of the WWF network, with offices in over 100 countries across the world. WWF India works in many states of India, through our state and field offices. The organisation works in different geographical regions and across thematic areas, including the conservation of key wildlife species and their habitats, management of rivers, wetlands and their ecosystems. On the sustainability side, the focus areas are climate change adaptation, driving sustainable solutions for business and agriculture and empowering local communities as stewards of conservation. We also work in combatting illegal wildlife trade and in bringing environment education to students through outreach and awareness campaigns. http://www.wwfindia.org
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
About CII:
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering Industry, Government, and civil society through working closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders, and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry. For 125 years, CII has been working on shaping India’s development journey and, it will continue to proactively transform Indian industry’s engagement in national development. The premier business association has more than 9100 members, from the private as well as public sectors, and an indirect membership of over 300,000 enterprises from around 288 national and regional sectoral industry bodies. CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community.
To know more, log on to: https://www.cii.in/ and https://sustainabledevelopment.in/
About WRAP:
WRAP is a global NGO based in the UK. It is one of the UKs top 5 environmental charities and works with governments, businesses and individuals to ensure that the worlds natural resources are used sustainably. WRAP collaborated with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to launch the first Plastics Pact in the UK in 2018. WRAP is the charity leading The UK Plastics Pact (a world first) and the Plastics Pact in Europe, Canada, US, South Africa, Kenya and India; as well as, Love Food Hate Waste, the Courtauld Commitment, the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, Textiles 2030, and Recycle Now. WRAP works collaboratively and develops and delivers evidence-based, impactful solutions to reduce the environmental cost of the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the plastic packaging we use. Founded in 2000 in the UK, WRAP now works around the world and is a Global Alliance Partner of The Royal Foundation's Earthshot Prize.
For further details, please contact:
Komal Chaudhary
Senior Manager, Media & PR, WWF India
kchaudhary@wwfindia.net
Akriti Paracer
Senior Programme Officer, Sustainable Business, WWF India
aparacer@wwfindia.net
Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus