Sustainability isn’t a trendy corporate buzzword; it is the fundamental principle of development. Long before boardrooms coined terms like ESG, circular economy, or climate risk, India’s societal practices embodied sustainability in action.
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In today’s era of rapid technological industrialisation, sustainability has ascended from background rhetoric to the centre of strategic economic planning, climate policy, and business competitiveness. Yet despite advanced frameworks and global commitments, the essence of sustainability remains rooted in the basics: resource stewardship, recycling, and collective accountability.
Rediscovering India’s Original Circular Economy
Long before structured waste policies existed, Indian households inherently practised recycling, driven by necessity and resource efficiency. Old newspapers, empty bottles, metal scraps, and every imaginable discard were collected and repurposed by kabadiwalas and bhangarwalas, India’s first sustainability entrepreneurs.
Today, this informal network remains essential. It supports an estimated 1.5 to 4 million informal waste workers who process a large share of urban recyclables and significantly reduce landfill growth and pollution. In many cities, informal waste pickers recover up to 20% of urban waste, diverting hundreds of thousands of tonnes from landfill disposal.
India’s Waste Reality & Recycling Challenges
Despite strong cultural roots in recycling, India faces serious sustainability gaps:
- India generates approximately 62 million tonnes of municipal waste annually, yet only 22–28% is processed formally, with the rest dumped unsanitarily or burned.
- Plastics now contribute significantly to India’s waste profile. From roughly 14 million tonnes in 2016–17, plastic consumption rose to 20 million tonnes by 2019–20.
- India recycles an estimated 60% of post-consumer plastic waste, largely through informal channels — a rate more than four times the global average.
- India is the third-largest generator of e-waste globally, producing over 1.6 million tonnes annually, with volumes growing at ~23% per year. Yet more than 95% of e-waste is managed informally, often unsafely.
Despite bans on certain single-use plastics introduced in 2022, systemic gaps remain, including limited public awareness of plastic impacts and low levels of household waste segregation only ~17% of households fully segregate waste.
Policy Reforms Driving Sustainability
India has not stayed idle. Its public policy ecosystem now reflects a robust sustainability agenda:
Climate & Renewable Commitments
- India has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 and reduce emissions intensity by 45% relative to 2005 levels by 2030.
- It targets 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, with non-fossil sources already surpassing 46% of installed capacity in 2024-25.
Waste Management Regulations
- The Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2022 implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), requiring brands and producers to take accountability for post-consumer waste.
- The E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 mandate formal registration and recycling targets for producers, expanding e-waste coverage to over 100 types of electrical & electronic equipment.
- Single-Use Plastic bans (from 2022 onwards) have prohibited items like plastic cutlery and earbuds, complementing broader initiatives such as Swachh Bharat and Mission LiFE.
These policies reflect a shift from voluntary environmental action toward regulated, accountable, and impact-driven sustainability performance
Industry Engagement: Sustainability as Strategy
Indian industry no longer views sustainability as a cost centre — it is a strategic growth driver:
- In FY2023-24, corporate spending on environment-related CSR initiatives in states like Gujarat surged by ~90%, signalling deeper industry commitment to climate action and community impact.
- Renewable energy capacity in India has grown dramatically from ~75 GW in 2014 to over 230 GW by 2025 and is on track to contribute significantly to climate mitigation and energy security.
The India recycling market itself is projected to expand from USD 0.89 billion in 2025 to USD 1.34 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of over 8%, driven by urbanisation and demand for efficient waste management services.
Decentralised Plastic to Product Initiatives
Energy and utility companies in India have piloted scalable waste circularity programmes. For example, in Mumbai, two major utilities recycled nearly 8,800 kg of plastic waste, converting it into commercial products while boosting community livelihoods.
Renewables & Waste-to-Energy Integration
Clean energy firms are tackling agricultural waste challenges at scale. One firm plans to procure 2 million tonnes of paddy stubble for conversion into electricity, preventing an estimated ~300,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions while creating alternative energy streams.
State-Level Innovations
Cities such as Indore and Ambikapur have become models for decentralised waste management, implementing systems that dramatically improve waste recovery rates and community participation.
Sustainability as Duty & Destiny
Sustainability in India has evolved from instinctive everyday practices to macro-level climate commitments and micro-level business strategies. The strength of India’s sustainability agenda lies in its multi-layered integration, combining government policy, industry transformation, civil society action, and individual responsibility.
What was once the domain of bhangarwalas is now a shared duty across stakeholders. Realising net-zero goals, mainstream circular economies, and inclusive climate action will require collaboration between formal infrastructure, informal networks, private innovation, and public accountability.
Sustainability today is not just a policy framework or corporate strategy, it is a moral imperative and a core driver of business resilience, economic growth, and societal wellbeing.
