Godrej Appliances adopts eco friendly packaging solution as paper based Honeycomb packaging solution, files for the patent

New Delhi: Godrej Appliances replaces Expanded Polystyrene Foam (EPS)- popularly known as Thermocol with paper-based honeycomb (HC) packaging solutions.

The move aims to adopt an eco-friendly packaging solution.

EPS is made from polystyrene–a petroleum-based plastic compound that is non-biodegradable and takes decades to completely break down in the environment.

The company has filed for the patent of the eco-friendly packaging solution. Curtails carbon footprint from refrigerator packaging by 50 percent with the use of sustainable packaging.

While paper as a material is seen as very fragile, when treated right, it offers the best alternative to EPS-based packaging in terms of load-bearing strength and cushioning.

Honeycomb is recyclable and eco-friendly as it generates less than 1 kg CO2 per product, as compared to EPS which has the tendency to generate 4.2 kg CO2 per product.

As per the official statement from the company, "to showcase the difference in the 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." Further, the statement mentions that, by switching to paper-based packaging, the concerns about the impact of EPS recycling and reuse on the environment, gets addressed without impacting the quality of packaging.

Commenting on this, Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice President – Godrej Appliances, part of Godrej & Boyce said, “ 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 up to 50 percent 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 percent green packaging implementation across the refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners being manufactured in our factories.”

Burzin Wadia, Executive Vice President, and Head of Engineering and Technology, Godrej Appliances said, “The new solution has been found to be both sturdy and eco-friendly. On average, 20 trees are required to offset the CO2 generated by EPS (thermocol) packaging, whereas only four trees can offset CO2 generation by paper packaging which establishes its environment friendliness.”