Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi wins first edition of Ball Beverage Packaging India’s Sustainable Circular Challenge

By OEM Update Editorial June 11, 2021 12:31 pm IST

Ball Beverage Packaging, one of the world’s leading producers of aluminium beverage cans, bottles, and cups, recently announced the winner of the first edition of its Sustainable Circular Challenge.

Ball Beverage Packaging launched this unique challenge in collaboration with Green Dream Foundation with an aim to encourage the youth to innovate out-of-the-box solutions to ensure that used aluminium beverage packaging material is collected and recycled infinitely.  This is in line with Ball’s Sustainability goals of increasing the recycling rate and the recycling content of beverage cans. These innovative solutions, in turn, will reduce the overall carbon footprint when producing beverage cans. Selected by an esteemed jury comprising of industry, sustainability, and academic stalwarts from TERI, Futurescape, AB InBev & International Council for Circular Economy – Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi and Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB) were declared as the winner and runner-up respectively of this year’s contest.

In line with this year’s World Environment Day theme of Reimagine, Recreate, restore; the first edition of the Sustainable Circular Challenge welcomed innovative solutions by pioneering organisations, enterprising student groups and social entrepreneurs from across India that will help in ensuring efficient disposal, collection, and recycling of aluminium beverage packaging cans.

Commenting on the initiative, Amit Lahoti, Vice-President and General Manager, Ball Beverage Packaging, India and South-East Asia Region, said “Aluminium beverage packaging is a true sustainability champion. If collected and recycled appropriately, Aluminium beverage cans can promote a truly circular economy. We hope that through the Sustainable Circular challenge many more young students and changemakers will come forward to create solutions in collecting used aluminium beverage cans effectively and efficiently. We would like to congratulate all the participants and winners for their ideas in furthering the cause of sustainability and promoting a circular economy.”

While other beverage containers may degrade and end up polluting the environment, aluminium packaging can be recycled and back on store shelves in as little as 60 days. In fact, 75 per cent of the aluminium ever produced is still in use today. Innovative, infinitely recyclable, and economically valuable, aluminium packaging can help build brands, inspire consumers and convey an investment in the future of our planet.

The Sustainable Circular Challenge witnessed participation from a total of 70 teams across India out of which eight teams were shortlisted for the finale which was organised on World Environment Day.  The winning team “Firefly” from Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi focused their proposition on the social core, the digital channel, and the data outcome – leveraging smartphones to transform the social experience of drinking and transforming the engagement between packaged beverages and the customer to digital.

For more info, visit:
www.ball.com