Transitioning to a circular economy approach is at the heart of our strategy for a waste-free world. We are committed to reducing our waste footprint, be it reducing waste from our operations, food waste or tackling plastic pollution.
Tackling plastic waste and enabling plastic circularity
At HUL, we are continuously looking at new ways to reduce, re-use, recycle and recover packaging and waste as we move towards becoming a zero-waste business.
We are committed to accelerating a transition to a circular economy, moving from the linear take-make-dispose model to a regenerative approach, which keeps materials at their highest value for as long as possible.
Less, better and no plastic framework (1 of 3)
Less plastic
Sometimes a complete rethink of how we design and package products is the best way to reduce plastic. We have resized sachets across our Hair and Home Care portfolio, developed a new slim cap design for our Glow & Lovely tubes to reduce the use of virgin plastic.
Better plastic
We have been thinking of innovative solutions to redesign our packaging by cutting down the use of virgin plastic and replacing it with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content.
Since many years we have been working with recyclers, nurturing startups, and championing sustainable practices. In 2019, we achieved a significant milestone by incorporating PCR into shampoo bottles for the first time and since then have been expanding PCR inclusion across all brands. Some of these include Vim Dishwash, Surf excel Matic, Comfort, Love Beauty & Planet, Dove, and Sunsilk.
We have been amongst the few FMCGs in India to successfully commercialise the use of recycled content in our nutrition portfolio for example Kissan Squash beverage bottles.
Likewise, in a groundbreaking collaboration with our supply partner, we pioneered PCR in all our secondary flexibles packaging since 2022.
No plastic
No plastic means rethinking how we design products, developing whole new business models, and new shopping experiences for our consumers. It also means switching out of plastic for alternative options such as metals, paper and glass.
We have developed coating technology to replace the polymer coating in our soap cartons.
Our Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) journey (2 of 3)
The Plastic Waste Management Rules in India have been evolving; new guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) came into effect from February 2022.However, at Hindustan Unilever, we have been collecting plastic waste since 2018 and started formally recording data since then. We were one of the first companies since 2021 to collect and responsibly process more plastic than we use in the packaging of our finished products and we continue to do so year on year.
Moving to other packaging materials (3 of 3)
We are on our way to achieving a deforestation-free supply chain by using 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper and board since 2023.
While we prefer paper packaging from well-managed forests or recycled materials, safety regulations may necessitate virgin paper and board sourcing. In such cases, we procure from certified sources with a complete 'chain of custody' from the plantation to us, certified by bodies like FSC or the Global Traceability System.
Our metal packaging, primarily for deodorant cans, emphasises post-consumer and post-industrial recycled content. We source approximately 600 tonnes of metal for packaging. Additionally, our glass packaging for Foods and Refreshment products, amounting to nearly 14,000 tonnes, follows strict regulations.
Our partnerships for a waste-free world
We are working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Xynteo India to create a circular economy for plastic waste management and support the social inclusion of thousands of workers within the informal waste sector.
Decentralised waste management ecosystem (1 of 4)
We have set up end-to-end waste management projects that enable waste collection, segregation, processing and recycling of community and household waste. The projects have been set up in partnership with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), State Bank of India Foundation, Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Xynteo. The centres also create livelihood opportunities for Safai Saathis and are scalable to create wider impact in society. There are five centres in Mumbai and two in Aurangabad.
Driving behaviour change in communities (2 of 4)
Waste segregation at source is the first and most effective step for effective waste management. We have designed a behaviour change programme named ‘Start A Little Good’. Through door-to-door interventions, we encourage citizens to segregate their dry, wet and hazardous waste. College students enrol to become ambassadors of change and support with demonstrations that explain how a simple act of segregating waste can create a big impact collectively.
2+ Lakh citizens reached across Mumbai and Aurangabad
Driving behaviour change among children (3 of 4)
The children of today are the changemakers of tomorrow. To instil the habit of waste segregation and recycling at a young age, we developed the ‘Waste No More’ curriculum in partnership with Xynteo.We work with state Education Departments by leveraging government e-learning platforms such as Diksha in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana for dissemination of the curriculum content.
Improving the lives of waste workers (4 of 4)
Waste workers are the backbone of waste management systems. Through Project Utthaan, in partnership with UNDP, we are enabling access to government social protection schemes covering food, health, safety, security and financial inclusion for Safai Saathis and their families.
5000+ Safai Saathis and their families linked to government schemes so far
Waste-free manufacturing
We’ve spent many years reducing waste in our operations and we continue to look for innovative ways to eliminate and extract value from our waste streams.
Creating impact through waste-free manufacturing initiatives (1 of 2)
Our waste-free manufacturing has led to tangible improvements, such as:
- Achieving a 58% reduction in factory waste since 2008
- Recycling 100% of non-hazardous waste generated from all our factories and offices in environmentally friendly ways
- Equipping factories with pre-processing facilities for efficient waste management
Striving to create waste free communities around our operations (2 of 2)
Through Prabhat, our community development initiative around our operations, we have been driving behaviour change and end-to-end community waste management initiatives.
Our work includes, creating community biogas plants, creating awareness about waste segregation at source, promoting organic kitchen gardens that use compost in households and upcycling waste into value-added products such as benches and handwashing stations.
In the scale up phase of this initiative, we are implementing door-to-door waste collection drives in communities around our Rajahmundry and Pondicherry factories, using eco-friendly collection vehicles.
