ITC Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division (PSPD) has collaborated with Invest India to launch ITC Sustainability Innovation Challenge, to support innovative start-up ideas on sustainable packaging and smart waste management solutions.
A paper, paperboards and speciality paper maker, ITC PSPD, through the Startup India portal, is inviting responses from start-ups towards challenges laid out by the company to find sustainable and smart technology-based solutions that can substitute single-use plastics and automate the waste segregation process with smart technology-based solutions to improve efficiency and speed.
The start-ups selected for the ITC Sustainability Innovation Challenge will be offered incentives at various stages of the programme. The challenge includes mentorship from experts, paid pilot opportunities and assistance in testing and certification at the Development Stage. The stage will be followed by support to enable market expansion and capacity building through funding opportunities in the Early Market Play Stage. Additionally, start-ups, at the Late Stage will get procurement opportunities and could be evaluated, on a case-to-case basis, for funding and acquisition opportunities. The deadline to submit the proof of concept is 28 February 2022.
Vadiraj Kulkarni, CEO, ITC PSPD, said the disposal of plastic and non-biodegradable waste continues to pose the biggest challenge in solid waste management in India. The problem is further aggravated due to inefficient segregation of post-consumer waste at the source, which leads to a lot of waste ending up in landfills which is highly polluting. “We, at ITC, believe that businesses, both big and small, with their immense managerial and innovative capacity, can come together to contribute significantly towards finding innovative and sustainable packaging and waste management solutions leading to transformative changes in society. This philosophy manifests in the new ‘ITC Sustainability Innovation Challenge’ which underlines our ongoing engagements with the start-up ecosystem through collaboration with Invest India to crowdsource out-of-the-box ideas for phasing out single-use plastics by 2022,” he added.
Deepak Bagla, MD and CEO, Invest India, said, the ITC Innovative Sustainability Challenge will lead innovative start-ups will be able to showcase Made-in-India solutions that propel India towards a circular economy.