IIP highlights foundation day with green theme
The Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) celebrated its 57th Foundation Day on 14 May 2023 at Hotel The Lalit, Andheri, Mumbai. The event was attended by Mahesh Verma, vice chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi as the chief guest along with the guest of honour, Rajendra Tapadia, CEO and MD, Safepack and AVPS Chakravarthi, global ambassador, World Packaging Organisation (WPO).
15 May 2023 | By Aditya Ghosalkar
200 members from the industry and allied sector, stakeholders, faculty, alumni and guests attended the event.
The show was inaugurated with the opening remarks by Shekhar Amberkar, assistant director, IIP and the keynote address was delivered by Rajesh Mishra, director, IIP addressed the delegates.
“This is a great year for the Indian packaging industry, which got represented at WPO, Interpack 2023,” said Mishra. “Our 57th anniversary is when we reflect upon the past, evaluate the current and discuss the future.”
Chakravarthi AVPS said, “Packaging is my family. WPO aims to provide quality products through packaging. And to us, IIP is not just an institution, but an emotion.”
“The WorldStar Awards by WPO is coming to India next year. IIP is proud to announce India stands in the top three positions at Worldstar Awards 2023,” added Amberkar.
“During the Covid times, India had become the world hub for masks and medical equipment such as ventilators. This is when it was understood that packaging is an integral part of the supply chain,” said Chakravarthi.
Guest of Honour, Rajendra Tapadia of Safepack said, “Only 14% of plastics can be recycled, however around 68% of steel can be recycled. So sustainability shouldn't just be a catch-phrase but it should be inculcated into the fundamentals of each and every company.”
The chief guest for the session, Mahesh Verma said, ‘‘Sustainable packaging is part of the sustainable consumption chain. It is key to explore a systematic approach from cradle to lower environmental impacts.’’
According to the mandate by Piyush Goel, minister of commerce and industry, consumer affairs, food and public distribution, and textiles, Govt. of India. The institute signed five MOUs on its D-day. The collaborations included Bihar Agriculture University, Bhagalpur, Bihar; National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), Sonipat, Haryana; National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), Thanjavur; Tamil Nadu Veterinary & Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS); and North East Handloom & Handicraft Development Corporation (NHDC), Guwahati.
On occasion, IIP released a coffee table book on the packaging designs developed by the Institute for One District One Product (ODOP) project, Government of India.
The show concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Tanveer Alam of IIP. The session focussed on the challenges and opportunities of sustainable packaging. The panel consisted of Chakravarthi AVPS, global ambassador of WPO; Rajendra Tapadia, CEO and MD of Safepack; SY Prabhu, IIP alumni and consultant; Asis Ghosh, procurement head at Nivea; and Mrinalini Chavan, founder partner at GreenLeaf Packaging.
The panellists discussed a holistic approach to sustainable packaging in terms of material and logistic efficiency, product preservation, post-consumer waste infrastructure, and recycling streams to recover the material. The points were put forth about policies for waste management, consumer education to avoid littering and better-use solutions.