Mumbai: With India being the global host of this year’s World Environment Day and ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ as the theme, corporates, especially new age companies, have banned the use of plastics on office premises. From plastic plates and cups to cellophane wrap, everything has been replaced with eco-friendly materials.
In support of World Environment Day, Media.net, a global advertising technology company, has pledged to reduce the use of plastic in its office premises. “We, at Media.net, conducted a quick study on the plastic usage in the organization and realised that a big chunk of the plastic menace come from cafeteria and during meal times. We then devised the 5 R Model: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Raise awareness, which has helped us drastically reduce the use of plastic in our office premises. As part of this model, we have formulated simple, easy-to-use or follow techniques such as replacing all plastic plates and cutlery with stainless steel/ reusable ones, segregation of food waste into wet and dry waste,” said Priya Pillai, Associate Manager, Human Resources, at Media.net.
“One month after launching this initiative, we saw a drop in dry waste accumulation, from 190 kgs to 100 kgs. We have received a lot of positive reinforcement from employees on these measures and believe that employees will take forward these initiatives in their lives outside work as well,” added Pillai.
Opining on the plastic menace, Ajeenkya DY Patil, President, Ajeenkya DY Patil University said, “Garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean – in its current state, it already measures 1.6 million square kilometres in dimension, which is approximately the area of the five states (J&K, MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and UP) put together. We need to raise our voices against the use of plastic.”
Companies are also taking a number of green initiatives to contribute towards environment preservation and sustainable development. Recently, in an industry first initiative, Krishnapatnam Port announced its plan to launch an emission-reducing crane replacement project by transitioning to an all-electric mode. Ushering in five Electrical Rubber Tyre Gantry cranes (E-RTGC), the port is aiming at improved efficiencies while building on its pioneering clean air initiatives by advancing promising zero emission technologies.
