Learning from Nature where Nothing is Waste
Wilma Rodrigues
Founder and CEO, Saahas Zero Waste
Without any doubt, we have to acknowledge that we are in the age of the Anthroprocene where humans through their destructive activities have impacted the ecology of the planet.
In the 21 st century, business leaders are called upon to transition delivery models so that they now integrate with a circular economy. At ground level this translates into companies being accountable more to people and the planet rather than Return of Investment to their shareholders. It is good to see that a push is being initiated by investors themselves who now value companies with a good track record on ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) parameters.
Likewise, with the recyclable waste such as paper, plastic, metal and glass, we always look for end destinations which close the loop in the best way possible. Waste paper comes back as recycled stationery products. There are about 10 different grades of plastic which we work with. Rigid plastic bottles made from HDPE and PP go through closed loop recycling where they come back as bottles. PET is recycled into T-shirts and other products. There are however plastic waste including flexible plastic grades like LDPE and MLP (multi layered plastics) where recycling is extremely challenging or is absent altogether so co-processing is the only alternative. It’s the same with glass which is an excellent material that can be reused and also have a good closed loop1 recycling. However the infrastructure on the ground continues to be inadequate and we face enormous difficulties in getting glass recycled formally.
Saahas Zero Waste | Circular Economy | Saahas HBP IIMB case study | Saahas Zero Waste Circular Impact 2020!
In all these years, industry has just not invested in designing for closed loop systems. We hope that this will quickly change as industry adopts the norms of circular economy.
On a positive note we would like to acknowledge with deep gratitude our customers and partners who have supported us in being the first movers to bring environmental and social change to this sector.
Defining True Triple Bottom Line for Social Enterprises
Nagaraja Praksam
Angel Investor, Board Member of SZ
I’m very happy to see that Saahas Zero Waste has taken a bold step towards defining a true triple bottom for social business in the country and leading the way. I congratulate the entire team towards achieving this goal. Even during the trying times of the pandemic,they were able to demonstrate that it’s possible to have all PPPs without focusing on Profit alone. Wish Saahas Zero Waste the best as they embark on diverting 500 MT/day of waste from landfill. If every social business in India brings this kind of DNA in early days,the need for ESG and other watch dogs when they become tomorrows corporate, would not be required.
Full report is here