Colgate India Nation’s First to Earn TRUE Zero Waste Certification

Colgate’s manufacturing plants receive highest-level recognition for achieving zero waste goals

Colgate India recently received TRUE Zero Waste Platinum certification for all its four manufacturing sites in India, from Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). GBCI which is the premier organization in recognizing excellence in green business industry performance, administers TRUE Zero Waste certification, a program for businesses to assess performance in reducing waste and maximizing resource efficiency.

The TRUE Zero Waste Certification Facilities are earned by achieving minimum program requirements and attaining points. Furthermore, the program operates on a ranking system, with ‘Platinum’ being the highest certification level – making it more comprehensive than most environment mandates and protocols.

The program is meant to enable facilities to define, pursue and achieve their zero waste goals, footprint and supporting public health – through which it introduces a concept of accountability for corporations. The facilities that are TRUE-certified are marked by GBCI to support sustainability. Moreover, TRUE-certified facilities are acknowledged for minimizing their waste to landfill, incineration (waste-to-energy) or to the environment. All the four manufacturing plants of Colgate India – Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Goa, Sanand (Gujarat), and Sri City (Andhra Pradesh) – have achieved Platinum, the highest level of certification – making Colgate India the first Indian company to receive this accreditation.

Mr. Issam Bachaalani, Managing Director, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, stated, “At Colgate India, we have been constantly practicing the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle principle across all our plants and offices. We have built dedicated teams to encourage and educate employees on minimizing waste, and to implement measures that could bring about that change. To cite one example, in 2018 alone, over 1.2 million kgs of residual wastewater solids was diverted to cement factories, to be co-processed into cement, instead of being sent to a landfill.”

“Zero waste is an important part of any company’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility strategy,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, U.S. Green Building Council and GBCI. “As markets continue to urbanize and industrialize, cities and businesses are faced with an increasing amount of waste that puts strains on resources and communities.”

He further added, “Colgate-Palmolive’s dedication to pursuing TRUE certification at their four manufacturing plants in India brings us closer to becoming a zero waste community that’s healthier for all.

The plants follow a rigorous plan and an implementation of the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle principle as well as diverting waste, which would have otherwise gone to a landfill. The waste is further managed through processes like Composting, Zero Waste Purchasing, Hazardous Waste Prevention, Redesigning, Innovation, Employee Trainings to bring about an attitudinal change, etc. – all of which is handled by an in-house Green Team deployed at all four Colgate plants.

The waste is further utilized to some extent – reducing the impact on the environment. At Colgate, that includes sending residual wastewater solids to cement factories; making furniture out of plastic tubes; reusing packaging materials; reusing the drums used for raw materials as dust bins; using reusable stainless steel utensils in the cafeteria. The reduce-reuse cycle is extended to organic material as well, where food wastage is reduced by associating with an NGO to take the extra food to underprivileged people, and the leftovers to piggeries; and composting organic waste to use it as soil-conditioner for the plants/vegetables grown on site.