Creating a model eco-village

Context

The state of India's water and waste management is alarming. In a report published by NITI Aayog, the two Indian states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh rank particularly poorly concerning the overuse of groundwater resources. Moreover, waste management is a major problem in both urban and rural areas. Rural communities with limited resources for household waste collection and disposal are particularly affected. As a result, uncollected wet waste poses severe health risks to the local population, and plastic waste is a major environmental problem due to improper disposal in landfills. At the same time, both Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, which are predominantly agricultural states, tend to have uncontrolled consumption of water and energy resources, which increases their carbon footprint. These challenges have a particularly negative impact on the poor and marginalised groups in society.

Objective

The local population in the districts Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh and Patiala, Punjab has profited from improved socio-ecological conditions.

Approach

The project is a public-private partnership with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL). Together they work to achieve a positive water balance, zero waste to landfill and reduce the carbon footprint of the local communities around the HUL factories.

These objectives are to be achieved by:

• building a sustainable and inclusive community/village development around key HUL sites in India,
• creating model eco-villages to make the living conditions of communities around the factories more climate-sensitive,
• designing an overarching development framework along the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through local actions.

Last update: October 2023