Bisleri’s sustainable initiatives- Taking a closer look

Bisleri is one of the most recognizable brands in the country, a name that has become almost synonymous with the mineral water category itself. Bisleri has come out with several innovations over the years for catering to unique needs of customers. The 20 litre mineral water bottle is a case in point. While you can expect really competitive Bisleri water bottle 20 litre prices as its other products, did you know that the company prides itself on sustainability above all else?

While it offers competitive Bisleri water bottle 20 litre prices to customers, the brand has come up with its Bottles for Change campaign that has been a pioneering exercise in sustainability and ethical practices. Irresponsible behavior of human beings in disposing plastic waste on the planet has become counterproductive to the environment. If suitably recycled, plastic can be used for coming up with several recycled polyesters that enable the development of several items including T-shirts, shoes, bags and more. This causes lower strain on natural resources while helping in sustainably recycling plastic at the same time. Being a market leader in the mineral water segment, Bisleri has made a conscious and concerted effort towards properly disposing and recycling plastic bottles in the country.

In fact, the company accepts not just its own branded bottles but bottles from other brands available in the market as well. The Bottles for Change initiative by Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd emphasizes on building more awareness amongst citizens regarding aspects like segregation of waste, plastic bottle recycling and best practices for ensuring a cleaner environment. As a part of this unique program, the company undertakes several collection and recycling drives for plastic bottles throughout educational institutions like colleges and schools along with malls, corporate offices, social and festive events and so on. Bisleri has entered into tie-ups with several NGOs in Mumbai, namely Sampurna Earth, Parisar Bhagini Vikas Sangh and Garbage Concern Welfare Society. The plastic that is collected is suitably crushed prior to being sold to recyclers and converted into flakes thereafter.

These flakes are then deployed for creating products which are non-edible including hand bags, cloth fabric, blinds and many other vital items. Opportunities are also provided for waste pickers to suitably collect clean but used plastics across multiple channels. The program enables waste pickers to collect a major amount of clean plastics which also garners handsome income for them. All collected plastics are sorted out at the center for segregation and dispatched for recycling likewise. Hygienic working conditions are ensured for waste pickers along with respectable living conditions and support for education of their children via their NGO partners.

The impact of the Bottles for Change campaign has been immense; the brand has managed to collect and recycle a whopping 3,035 tonnes of plastic over the last three years. They are also working to ensure the welfare of more than 1,500 underprivileged women and also their families. Ever since inception of the campaign, the brand has successfully reached out to a whopping 3,00,000 students along with their families. It has also reached out to 500,000 people including various housing societies, students, hotels and leading corporates. Bisleri is a world record holder and is backing the Swachh Bharat Mission. On 4th October, 2015, Bisleri came into the Limca Book of Records and Guinness World Records, collecting the highest number of PET bottles for recycling purposes via the school contact program that covered more than 2 lakh students. Bisleri has collected a huge 23,538.9 kilograms of PET bottles which equates to around 1.1 million bottles.