MAM
P&G India treads the green path, becomes ‘plastic waste neutral’
Mumbai: Consumer goods major Procter & Gamble (P&G) India said it has become ‘plastic waste neutral’ in the past FY, April 2021–March 2022. The company made this announcement during its ‘It’s Our Home Sustainability Summit’ held here on Thursday. With this, P&G becomes the first few FMCG companies in India to achieve plastic waste neutrality.
“The company has collected, processed, and recycled over 19,000 MT of post-consumer plastic packaging waste from across the country which is more than the amount of plastic packaging in its products sold in a year,” said the conglomerate in a statement.
P&G India also announced that it will set up two more in-house solar plants at its manufacturing sites in Goa and Mandideep in India. This is in addition to the existing in-house solar plant that the company set up at its Hyderabad manufacturing site in 2021. P&G will be among the first few FMCG companies in India to have three in-house solar plants across its manufacturing sites, according to the consumer goods major.
P&G is working with recycling partners across 75 cities in India to collect plastic which is then sent to different recyclers, waste to energy plants, and cement kilns. In addition to recycling, the company has also made a deliberate effort to reduce the packaging material and in the last five years has reduced usage of packaging material by more than 5,000 MT, according to the statement.
“We are proud of the significant progress we have made on environmental sustainability, and achieving ‘plastic waste neutrality’ is a key milestone in this journey,” said Procter & Gamble – Indian sub-continent CEO Madhusudan Gopalan. “Plastic waste does not belong in the environment, and we will continue to partner with multiple stakeholders in our efforts to reduce and recycle packaging waste.”
“We are also taking a deliberate approach to reducing the impact of our operations, and setting up in-house solar plants is a step in this direction. We have made strong progress across our brands, our supply chain, our operations with support from our partners and employees. We are fully committed to making a positive impact in the world and creating a sustainable future for generations to come,” he further said.
In recent years, the company has made significant progress on environmental sustainability which can be seen across its operations and brands. According to the company, these include:
· All P&G manufacturing sites in India are ‘zero manufacturing waste to landfill’
· Five P&G India sites have already achieved the 2030 P&G global target of 35 per cent water efficiency
· P&G India purchases 100 per cent renewable electricity for all its manufacturing sites in India
· P&G’s fabric care brands in India Ariel and Tide continue to be phosphate-free since 2015, thus helping preserve the quality of water resources
· The liquid detergent bottles of fabric care brand Ariel are recyclable
· Using recycled material in the packaging of its baby care and feminine care products which will reduce the usage of 500 MT of virgin plastic annually
The conglomerate further said it aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its operations and supply chain, from raw material to retailer by 2040.
MAM
Why storytelling is the most powerful marketing tool we underuse
Insights by Glad U Came founder & CEO Maddie Amrutkar.
MUMBAI: The marketing ecosystem has never been more advanced. Real-time dashboards decode consumer behaviour instantly. Platforms promise reach, scale, and optimisation at the tap of a screen. Yet, despite all this progress, what truly separates brands that are remembered from those that are merely noticed is not technology, it is storytelling.
Not the performative kind. Not glossy brand films that look beautiful but say very little. But real storytelling, the kind that creates context, builds meaning, and allows people to see themselves within a brand’s journey.
In the race for scale, storytelling is often sidelined. Speed replaces depth. Virality becomes the goal. Campaigns are optimised to perform, not to endure. Somewhere along the way, brands forget that consumers are not just impressions on a dashboard but emotional beings shaped by narratives, memory, and belief.
Stories create meaning, not just visibility
Modern marketing is engineered to be seen. Visibility today is easy to buy. Meaning, however, remains priceless.
Storytelling moves communication beyond product features and price points. It frames a brand as something that has observed real consumer pain points and chosen to respond with intent. It connects what a brand does to why it exists and how it fits into a larger cultural or emotional context. Without this framing, even the most innovative products risk feeling transactional.
People don’t engage with brands because of features alone. They engage because the brand stands for something they recognise or aspire to. Stories are what give that recognition shape.
We mistake storytelling for format
One reason storytelling remains underused is that brands often reduce it to a format, a brand walkthrough video, a founder interview, or a feature-heavy launch film. But storytelling is not an asset; it is a discipline.
It doesn’t belong to one medium or moment. It is about structure, continuity, and intent across every consumer touchpoint. A social media post can tell a story if it carries context. A press release can tell a story if it links action to purpose. Even a product launch can become narrative-led if it reflects evolution rather than announcement.
At Glad U Came, we’ve seen storytelling emerge most powerfully in spaces brands often treat as purely tactical like celebrity gifting. Across fashion, beauty, and food, a well-crafted narrative can transform a product handover into a cultural moment. When a denim label aligns with youthful stardom, or a clean beauty brand frames science through personal routines and real personalities, the result isn’t just visibility, it’s continuity. Communication begins to feel less like promotion and more like participation in a story audiences already want to follow.
Performance pressure has replaced connection
Brands aren’t entirely at fault. Today’s markets are crowded, fast-moving, and relentlessly competitive. With clicks, conversions, reach, and engagement dominating boardroom conversations, connection often becomes collateral damage.
Stories don’t always deliver instant gratification. Their impact is cumulative. They work linearly, embedding themselves over time, which makes them harder to justify in performance-driven environments.
But storytelling builds emotional equity. It helps audiences understand not just what a brand sells, but who it is. And that understanding is what sustains relevance when trends fade and platforms evolve.
Consistency is where storytelling earns its power
A story told once is content. A story told consistently becomes identity.
Strong brands don’t reinvent themselves with every campaign. They evolve. They revisit the same values and themes from new angles, allowing audiences to grow alongside them. This consistency builds familiarity, and familiarity builds trust.
Audiences remember more than brands assume. They notice tonal shifts. They recognise inconsistency. Storytelling provides the discipline that keeps communication aligned over time.
Looking ahead
As marketing continues to evolve, tools will change and metrics will multiply. But the human need to find meaning before making a decision will remain constant.
Storytelling bridges the gap between message and memory. Brands that prioritise purpose over noise, and clarity over spectacle, will be the ones that endure.
Storytelling is not an optional layer in marketing. It is the foundation we often overlook—and the advantage we gain when we use it well.
