New Delhi, June 2022: Godrej Appliances, a business unit of Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, has reaffirmed its commitment towards safeguarding the planet by replacing Expanded Polystyrene Foam (EPS)- popularly known as Thermocole with paper-based honeycomb (HC) packaging solutions.
EPS is made from polystyrene–a petroleum-based plastic compound which is non- biodegradable and takes decades to completely break down in the environment. While paper as a material is seen as very fragile, but when treated right, it offers the best alternative to EPS based packaging in terms of load bearing strength and cushioning. Also, HC is recyclable and eco-friendly as it generates less than 1 kg CO2 per product, as compared to EPS that has the tendency to generate 4.2 kg CO2 per product. By switching to paper-based packaging, the concerns about the impact of EPS recycling and reuse on the environment, gets addressed without impacting quality of packaging.
To showcase the difference in environmental impact of the two packaging materials, Godrej Appliances conducted an experiment with paper packaging of 100 refrigerators. The study revealed HC paper packaging as opposed to EPS has the potential to reduce Global Warming by 81 percent.
Commenting on this, Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice President – Godrej Appliances, part of Godrej & Boyce said, “We took a lead in implementing paper-based packaging in 2019, much before the government’s regulation to curtain Thermocole usage. We have also recently applied for a patent for the use of ingenious environment friendly packaging solution. With its usage, we have been able to achieve upto 50% reduction in packaging led carbon footprint in 2021-22 in refrigerators from 1000+ to 500+ tons and by 2023-24, we are targeting close to 100% green packaging implementation across the refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners being manufactured in our factories.”
Further, Burzin Wadia, Executive Vice President and Head Engineering and Technology, Godrej Appliances said, “Godrej Appliances was the first brand in the white goods industry to start the use of honeycomb structured paper packaging since 2019. We started the journey with refrigerators given the larger size of the appliance which led to the highest EPS consumption per unit. The new solution has been found to be both sturdy and eco-friendly. On an average, 20 trees are required to offset the CO2 generated by EPS (thermocole) packaging, whereas only four trees can offset CO2 generation by paper packaging which establishes its environment friendliness.”
Additionally, driven by the brand’s long-term commitment towards the environment, Godrej Appliances became the first and only company in India to manufacture 100% CFC, HCFC and HFC- free refrigerators way back in 2001 (R600A). The brand went on to be the first brand in India to manufacture ACs with green gases which have Zero Ozone Depletion Potential and lowest Global Warming Potential in the industry (R290, year 2012). Extending the commitment beyond products, both of its manufacturing units (Mohali & Shirwal) were among the 1st in India to be Platinum Plus Green Co rating by the prestigious CII. Moreover, the brand has been working tirelessly to achieve its Greener India targets, which include 60 percent decrease in specific energy use, professing the use of R290 refrigerants to combat Global Warming, achieving zero waste to landfill, 30 percent increase in renewable energy usage and positive water balance in its manufacturing.
