Garware Polyester becomes a ‘carbon-negative’ company

Mumbai headquartered
Garware Polyester Ltd (GPL), India’s largest manufacturer of sun control films
and the only company to make paint protection films (PPF) for vehicles, has
become a carbon negative company in its high-tech integrated polyester film
plants at Waluj and Chikalthana in Aurangabad. Fully aligned to UN’s
Sustainable Development Goals 2030 of Climate Action (SDG #13). GPL has created
many sophisticated and well-designed programmes that enable technology to blend
in with various innovations to achieve zero waste. GPL is among the few
companies in the world which is a vertically integrated facility starting with
an R&D and manufacturing facility from PET resin to finished Laminate
giving it a high control over its product range. GPL is fully compliant with
product testing and certification requirements for supporting sustainable and
green movements for various global applications. GPL exports 67 per cent of its
output to 80+ countries across the world.

SB Garware, Chairman, Garware Polyester
Limited (GPL) observed,
“Sustainability is core to our vision of making our planet healthier. As a
responsible hi-tech performance film manufacturing company, we seek to deliver
long-term economic value to our stakeholders, while continuing to contribute to
the environmental and social well-being of our communities. A circular economy approach
is not only beneficial to the environment but also helps increase our
profitability.” The company has also introduced new product variants that use
post-consumer recycled PET (PCR) and that are certified by approved agencies.
This will help to reduce carbon footprints and a step towards a circular
economy. The company is also a member of APR (Association of Plastic
Recyclers), USA.”

GPL plants have a
continual thrust to recycle, reuse and reduce, enabling the use of waste as raw
material. Other than recycling polymer waste generated in its process, GPL also
buys post-consumer waste (PCR) to reprocess and make effective use in the
manufacturing of some of the products ensuring product performance, quality, application,
and regulatory requirements. The use of PCR helps in diverting plastic from
landfills which are a threat to the environment. The company also focuses on
solid wastes management, waste-water recycling, and rain-water harvesting.

CJ Pathak, CEO, Garware Polyester Ltd (GPL) added, “By sustainably lowering
energy consumption, using renewable resources, maximising post-consumer
recycled usage, reducing production waste, using 100 per cent recyclable
production waste, and reducing all non-recyclable waste generation, we have
been able to improve our profitability. The company is constantly looking for
avenues to improve on its process and capabilities to develop more sustainable
solutions.”

Additionally, the GPL
has been innovating on ‘Green Fuel’ Biomass briquettes used for steam
generation to further reduce environmental impact. The company has enhanced its
reproducibility, safety, and sustainability through installations of advanced
technologies. GPL’s screw press technology is one such example that eliminates
the use of sludge drying beds in the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) reducing
groundwater contamination and air pollution due to its vaporization. GPL uses
processes like blowdowns to convert liquid to solid wastes with reduced efforts
in handling and disposal of wastes. Using environment-friendly films used in
consumer product packing has also made post-consumer recycling much easier.

The chemical
processes at GPL factories are highly optimised to eliminate any atmospheric
discharges. Installation of gas drying systems, scrubbers, solid separation
filters ensures a green atmosphere. The closed-loop processes from PET resin as
raw material to laminated films as final products ensure unpolluted products
with zero environmental impact. To add, the company also manages a large
plantation of more than 17,000 trees in and around the manufacturing location.
In 2020-21 GPL was awarded Gold Medal by IRIM for the Indian Green
Manufacturing Challenge and Sustainability.

GPL also helps its
consumers become more environmentally friendly, for instance, in the packaging
industry, GPL films protects products from harmful UV rays of light. GPL’s
low-oligomer content films used in the hermetically sealed compressors increase
the efficiency and reliability of the compressor which has significant enhanced
the overall performance of the compressor, safeguard against premature product
failures, lowering energy consumption, and allowing safe usage by consumers.
The Sun Control window films manufactured by GPL for auto and architectural
applications result in a reduction of 3 to 5 per cent fuel and an equal amount
of carbon emission reduction, collectively making a significant impact on the
environment.

GPL is also the first
company in India to introduce an alternate product that is PETG to replace
hazardous PVC shrink label films by developing new technology and achieved
international quality standards.