Skip to content

Unilever Hindustan Unilever Limited Change location

Accelerating Bharat’s transition towards an inclusive circular economy

Published:

Our endeavour to accelerate circularity of waste has led to the creation of Project Circular Bharat.

Smiling worker stands in front of a wall of compacted, recycled plastic bottles and packaging materials, promoting sustainable recycling practices.

Project Circular Bharat represents HUL's blueprint to help establish viable circularity models in India, that are scalable, replicable and socially inclusive. It is built on lessons learnt to drive plastic circularity, challenges faced, and the progress we have made to move the needle on the ground through practical, tested solutions. The project brought together governments, startups, civil society organisations, and waste management experts who share our commitment to accelerating this shift. Project Circular Bharat has demonstrated how collaboration catalyses systemic change and proven impact, aligning with Unilever's sustainability agenda.

Project Circular Bharat connects three critical levers:

  • Responsible citizenship: Behaviour change to inspire source segregation
  • Social inclusion of waste workers
  • Integrated recycling infrastructure to establish a viable, scalable circular system.

Anchored in innovation and a solutions-led approach, the project is powered by a robust network of partnerships, bringing together 20+ partners across 10+ Indian cities including three key Central Government Ministries critical to waste value chain in India – Environment, Housing and Social Justice.

Responsible citizenship

HUL designed a robust door-to-door behaviour change programme that enrols college students as ambassadors of change to inspire people to take everyday actions to segregate waste. So far, the programme has inspired 5,45,000 citizens in Maharashtra.

Two Indian students in blue shirts present information on a tablet and clipboard to a woman in a striped shirt with a blue scarf, likely for a survey or community outreach program.

Social inclusion of waste workers

HUL, in partnership with United Nations Development Program (UNDP), runs a first-of-its-kind programme focusing on linking waste workers with government social protection schemes. Through the program so far, 20,000 Safai Sathis have been linked to social protection schemes and dignified livelihoods.

Four smiling Indian women showcase their Bank of Maharashtra loan documents outside the Ghatkopar branch in Mumbai, highlighting financial inclusion and women's empowerment.

Integrated recycling infrastructure

HUL has set up viable and scalable end-to-end Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) enabling waste collection, segregation, processing, and recycling in partnership with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), State Bank of India, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Xynteo along with other implementation partners. Under this pillar, 7 Material Recovery Facilities have been set up so far.

Two women workers sorting recyclable plastic waste on a conveyor belt at a recycling plant.

Building the plastic ecosystem: ‘An Awareness to Action Toolkit’

In 2024, HUL deepened its catalytic role by launching ‘An Awareness to Action Toolkit' with three key Central Government Ministries: Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and Ministry of Urban & Housing Affairs. The toolkit provides open-source actionable frameworks and tools to accelerate circularity at scale across the country. All the material can be found at https://projectcircularbharat.org/

People attending a meeting in a conference room with a presentation on screen.

Did you know?

The toolkit enables users to customise proven creative assets for their Behaviour change initiatives—marking a first-of-its-kind innovation in the industry.

There is much more to be done, and undoubtedly, more to be learned. But as we continue on this journey, we want to invite other like-minded players to partner with us – hoping it can help spark new ideas, collaborations, and actions.

Back to top