Latest news with #Sumant
Time of India
04-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ITC's eco push: Sustainable plastic alternatives soar 2.4 times in 3 years
Live Events Diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd is making significant strides in its sustainable materials and packaging capabilities, underscoring its focus on organic growth and long-term innovation, according to B. Sumant, Executive Director of ITC Ltd. In an interaction with, Sumant talks about the company's expansion plans, supply chain resilience, investments in advanced R&D and digital technologies, and more. Edited excerpts:ITC's paperboards and specialty paper division (PSPD) is a market leader in the value-added paperboard segment. It has sustained its leadership position over the years through focused innovations, the development of customised solutions for end-user industries, and capacity augmentation. It has leveraged its integrated business model and pioneering work in adopting Industry 4.0 ITC's packaging & printing business is one of the largest value-added converters of paperboard packaging in South Asia. It converts over 100,000 tonnes of paper, paperboard, and laminates per annum into a variety of value-added packaging solutions for the food and beverage, personal & home care products, quick service restaurants, and consumer goods part of the ITC Next Strategy, new vectors of growth are being nurtured at the convergence of mega trends in digital and sustainability , harnessing ITC's enterprise strengths. This includes developing alternative solutions to single-use plastic and addressing the growing demand for eco-friendly packaging. Between FY22 and FY25, ITC's sustainable products portfolio for plastic substitution grew 2.4 times, underscoring a decisive market shift toward responsible paperboards and packaging businesses are at the forefront of sustainable plastic substitution innovation, offering a robust portfolio of solutions that are replacing single-use plastics at scale. Among ITC's flagship offerings is the Filo Series—a versatile range of recyclable, industrially compostable, soil biodegradable, barrier-coated paperboards including FiloPack, FiloServe, FiloTub , FiloBev, and FiloBowl — designed for food service, delivery, and on-the-go consumption applications. The Filo Series products are also PFAS-free (forever chemicals).The company's innovation pipeline also encompasses FiloBev Mini—designed for on-the-go quick consumption of hot beverages; WrapWell—a recyclable food-grade paper replacing aluminium foil; BioSeal—a compostable, oil- and grease-resistant coating to replace plastics; and 'Germ-free coating'—a solution for microbial-free packaging surfaces addressing the consumer consciousness towards hygiene and safety. Similarly, there are many other innovative adopts a differentiated, insight-led approach to sustainable packaging, grounded in design thinking, scientific rigour, and deep supply chain understanding. Recognising that each distribution channel, whether e-commerce, quick-commerce, or modern trade, demands distinct packaging attributes, ITC develops bespoke solutions that balance performance, aesthetics, and environmental with QSRs and DTH providers have resulted in the introduction of compostable solutions and recycled fibre moulds that replace disposable plastic. This tailored, channel-specific strategy enables ITC to deliver packaging that meets diverse operational and consumer needs while advancing the broader sustainability integrated strategy focuses on large-scale and impactful community-based waste management programmes as well as investments in cutting-edge sustainable innovations, anchored on a robust three-pronged framework of 'No plastic, Better Plastic and Less Plastic.' This innovative approach not only encourages ITC to continuously improve recyclability and optimise packaging across its own world-class FMCG brands but also enables it to offer a bouquet of sustainable packaging solutions for a range of consumer industries, replacing plastic with biodegradable materials designed for recycling.'No Plastic' packaging innovations in ITC's own FMCG business include the Aashirvaad Khapli Atta pack, which features an eco-friendly dual-layer 'bag in bag' design. In another example, the Sunfeast Farmlite Core Digestive large pack was launched in a 100% paper outer some of the recent 'Less Plastic' initiatives among ITC FMCG brands include design optimisation undertaken for the packaging of Engage deodorant spray cans, which resulted in a reduction of 31% in packaging total capacity of ITC's Paperboards & Specialty Paper Business is over 9.8 lakh MT/year at present, of which, the capacity of its value-added paperboard portfolio is 6.6 lakh MT/ ensures cost-effectiveness in sustainable packaging through a holistic, integrated value chain approach that spans innovation, manufacturing efficiency, and value chain security. The company follows design-to-cost principles to develop scalable, high-performing solutions that are both sustainable and efficiencies are achieved with Industry 4.0 technologies, automation, and data-driven manufacturing processes, supported by lean manufacturing and TPM methodologies. At the supply end, ITC is strengthening domestic fibre value chains by expanding plantations and fibre catchments to secure competitive raw material is central to ITC's sustainable solutions strategy. ITC provides a diverse range of sustainable packaging solutions and environmentally friendly alternatives to single-use plastics for a range of industries by leveraging the synergies between its Paperboards & packaging businesses and the research expertise in material sciences at ITC Life Sciences and Technology Centre. These collaborative efforts ensure that each solution delivers both sustainability and high performance, enabling ITC to stay ahead of the evolving is actively scaling up its capabilities in sustainable materials and packaging, driven by a strong commitment to organic growth and long-term innovation. The company is expanding its manufacturing footprint, strengthening supply chain resilience, and investing heavily in advanced R&D and Digitech to meet rising demand for environmentally friendly solutions.
India Today
13-05-2025
- India Today
Chandigarh acid attack survivor among CBSE class 12 exam toppers, scores 95.6%
In an inspiring tale of resilience and determination, 17-year-old Kafi, a student at the Blind School in Sector 26, Chandigarh, has topped her school in the Class 12 board exams with an impressive score of 95.6 per cent. An acid attack survivor, Kafi aspires to pursue a Political Science Honours degree from Delhi University and dreams of becoming an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) was subjected to an acid attack when she was just three years old by three neighbours living in the village of Budhana in Haryana's Hisar district out of jealousy. The attack left Kafi with severe burns on her face and arms, and she lost her eyesight. Despite this, Kafi did not give up and kept fighting to achieve her using audiobooks as her primary tool of study, Kafi diligently pursued her education and had earlier scored 95.2% in her Class 10 exams. Kafi was attacked with acid during the festival of Holi in 2011 in her native village of Budhana. In an exclusive conversation, Kafi told India Today that three of her neighbours threw acid on her. Despite initial treatment at AIIMS Delhi, doctors informed the family that her vision could not be restored. "The doctors saved my life, but not my eyesight," she journey in education began in her village, where it took a decisive turn when she was admitted to the Blind School in Chandigarh in the sixth grade. Since then, Kafi has remained focused on her academic goals, consistently topping her father, a peon working on a contractual basis at the Mini Secretariat in Chandigarh, expressed immense pride in her achievements. Kafi has already appeared for the Delhi University entrance exam and is hopeful of securing despite the severity of the crime, the perpetrators of the acid attack are yet to be brought to justice. "Those who did this to me are still roaming free," Kafi Sumant and Gursharan Singh, also students of the Blind School, secured the second and third positions with 94 per cent and 93.6 per cent marks, respectively. IN THIS STORY#Chandigarh#Punjab
