World Environment Day: Meet 6 startups carving sustainable and green future for India

Entrepreneurs are increasingly driving sustainability innovations to meet the planet’s needs. Start-ups across the world are exploring ways and making significant contributions towards solving environmental problems. The only thing with climate change is that we need to act right now, we know if we don’t what the costs will be. 

On world environment day we look at 6 startups/entrepreneurs across the country who worked selflessly and relentlessly to provide us with a healthy environment. 

RevFin: Striving to work towards improving financial inclusion and healthy environment in India, RevFin (RevFin Services Private Limited) was incepted by Mr. Sameer Aggarwal to support and accelerate the adoption of Evs that leads to lively sorroundings . The biggest reason for EVs to be popular is that it had a positive impact on the environment and contributes to a healthier planet.RevFin was established to enable financing of electric three-wheeler loans in Tier 3 and Tier 4 towns, considering that EVs were in huge demand yet highly-priced. It is an advanced digital consumer lending platform that makes getting a loan convenient and accessible to all individuals. Government and regulatory bodies have entered the scene and began offering subsidies as well standardization to suit the environment and quality requirements. The company targets primarily underserved individuals irrespective of any credit history, geography, education, or language. It is obvious that the world is moving towards sustainable electric transportation as well as greener solutions for facilitating transportation. The focus is to make EVs and their adoption accessible, convenient and eco-friendly. 

PureCult: India’s first Eco-friendly home cleaning products maker, inspiring people to lead cleaner lives. Bengaluru’s Bellandur lake is infamously known for being highly polluted as most of the city’s treated and untreated sewage makes its way here. For Roopa Hariharan, a resident of Yemalur, living merely 3.5km away from the lake was not a beautiful sight. That got her thinking why we couldn’t change the things we use at home and thus affluents released into water bodies. However, her hunt for eco-friendly products seemed futile as most existing options were not very efficient. That is when she took the matter into her hands and founded PureCult, an eco-friendly home cleaning products maker. To incorporate sustainable cleaning products in her life, Roopa took the long road by researching ingredients, chemical compositions, and sourcing. She also went through various safety data sheets, and put all her engineering knowledge into practice for a year and a half. Roopa also got a chemistry expert onboard as consultant to help with developing the products, run product testing, and incorporate relevant changes. Pure Cult is a one stop shop for all home care needs. The wide range of products and well thought out kits make shopping a pleasure. 

Origo Commodities: Co-founded in 2010 by two IIT Delhi Alumni’s Sunoor Kaul and Mayank Dhanuka, Origo aims to redefine traditional modes of procurement, handling, preserving, storing and financing farm produce, which had been largely ignored by the agri markets. Over a decade, Origo has expanded pan-India, with 500 warehouses operating across 12 states in the country. The company’s Assets under management  are $1.4 billion. The primary focus of the business has been on creating sustainable ecosystem. Origo has become the largest service provider to the government with its warehousing capability and network, and is also spearheading a technological transformation in agri supply chain. The Company is working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The results show that Origo’s efficient warehousing and scientific storage practices have been instrumental in reducing the wastage of grain and agricultural stocks, thereby reducing the carbon footprint and the overall impact on the environment. The achievements are in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as Origo’s handling of 4 million MT of commodities were done sustainably, avoiding 0.3 million MT of wastage, worth approximately $20 million.

CHUK: Launched in 2017, CHUK is a 100% compostable & biodegradable tableware brand that uses agri-residue(bagasse) to produce toxin-free products as a perfect alternative for single-use plastic tableware. Through its unbleached, eco-friendly, carcinogen-free, and hygienic range of products, the brand aims to positively transform the catering and food ecosystem by setting it down the greenway. Apart from being microwaveable, ovenable, and freezable, each of the brand’s FDA-approved offerings boasts a sturdy and elegant design. It is this dynamic modularity that makes CHUK and its product globally recognizable. The brand builds on the rich legacy of its parent company, Yash Pakka Limited (YPL), which has more than 40 years of experience in pulp manufacturing. The Ayodhya-based company took a big shift in 2019 under the leadership of Ved Krishna, Vice Chairman, and transformed from a pulp and paper company to being a sustainable packaging company.
Committed to creating and promoting sustainable packaging solutions for a greener future for the planet, YPL aims to be the one-stop-solution for compostable packaging. In sync with its mission, the brand produces paper for paper bags, flexible packaging, and molded products – CHUK being the face of this latter aspect of its operations. The company envisions being a leading producer of flexible and molded compostable food packaging in the world by 2025.

Wenaturalists: Amit Banka founded We Naturalists in 2019 with a simple motive – to give a purpose to people’s passion for nature by empowering them with specialized tools. This ecosystem enables people and organizations to showcase their work, explore new opportunities globally, network with peers, collaborate on work and research, contribute to environmental causes, participate in global events, share knowledge, learn new skills, contribute to building a sustainable future, inspire and be inspired. With an easy-to-use interface and custom-made tools, the mobile and web applications have been welcomed by the people-of-nature from over 100 countries since its launch.  WeNaturalists is empowering the voices of individuals and organizations by enabling them to come together on a global platform to connect and make a larger impact.

Cleanlabel: Cleanlabel  is a Bengaluru-based company, delivers organic essentials in reusable packaging that is collected, sterilized and reused, making healthy eating and zero-waste the new, clean standard. Founded by Shyam Sunder and Deepa Channabasappa, Cleanlabel allows groceries to reach consumers without any plastic, making it easy to go waste-free. Spearheading the Reuse Revolution, Cleanlabel’s shop-drop-swap system allows customers to shop from its range of wholesome essentials, in durable and sustainable packaging like glass, steel and organic cotton. Once they have used the items, they simply have to drop the empty containers in the tote bag provided by the brand, and swap it with the delivery guy on their next order. It is then Cleanlabel’s responsibility to sterilize the used containers and put them back on the shelf.