Canvironment Week, a global initiative ends this year with glamorous appeal

The much awaited Canvironment Week Grand Finale 2011 has come to an end marking a grand celebration of the global sustainability campaign for the year 2011, Hindustan Tin Works Ltd, a leading Indian can maker and the initiator of the campaign has created a platform across 11 countries in 5 continents. This year Canvironment Campaign was kicked off in May 2011 at Metpack and Interpack International trade shows in Germany by ringing the “Sustainability Bell” by leading can makers, industry leaders, and government bodies representing different countries. 

In India, during Canvironment Week, health camps were conducted on 1000 rag-pickers, painting competition for rag pickers children and vocational training in music was provided to their children to encourage them to lead an alternate life other than rag picking in association with NGO Chintan. Food-canter activities were also organized at famous locations in and around Delhi where many people came on the canter to experience the food recipes made out of canned food. Metal can keeps the food safe, nutritious, helps in the reduction of food wastage, promotion of processed food and acts as a portable warehouse owing to its unique characteristics of preserving food without any requirement of a cold chain infrastructure. 

The chief guest of the event Mr Harsh Mariwala, President FICCI and CMD Marico Ltd highlighted the importance of the packaging industry and mentioned that the need of the hour is to use green technologies in order to reduce environment foot print of the products, he appreciated the efforts of Hindustan Tin Works in initiating this global sustainability movement. 

CanCussion 2011, an attempt to showcase the young talent of India happened this month at Shri Ram College of Commerce at North Campus, Delhi University. The high energy event had percussionists from leading bands from Indiain addition to a rag-picker segment. Leading drummers from different bands performed with materials made from tin and other scrap items. Mahinder Bhatt was crowned as the Canvironment Week Talent of the Year 2011 and ‘Krish’ band, winner of the rag picker segment performed at grand finale. Later Mahinder, Ankur and Nirvan, the top 3 winners of CanCussion fused a melody with tin drums and floored the grand finale audience to an act which was to watch out for. 

Mr. Atit Bhatia, Sr. Vice President, Hindustan Tin Works and President, Canvironment Week, had ideated the campaign and promoted extensively on global platform since 2010. Atit Bhatia shares his experience and tells, “I feel very pleased today, at the end of the second in the series of this global sustainability campaign focusing on the eco friendly nature of metal cans. We have had a very successful year and have received world acclaim for Canvironment Week in 2011; while delivering a fantastic and a promising story for the global metal packaging industry.  Each Canvironment member has come up with very innovative and out of the box ideas to promote the industry and has raised the global benchmark to promote a packaging material. We wish to drive this campaign forward with full enthusiasm and spirit to promote our industry and position metal cans as the sustainable package of the future. We promise to be back next year in 2012 with a much more exciting and fun filled Canvironment Week”.

 Mr. Sanjay Bhatia, Managing Director, Hindustan Tin Works Ltd says “Promoting the sustainability and environmentally-friendly performance of metal packaging is becoming increasingly important to the industry. Through the Canvironment Campaign, we are aiming to achieve this goal while simultaneously helping some of India’s rag pickers who are the main link in the recycling chain”

Anuj Sharma, ace fashion designer and also a National Institute of Design (NID) alumni was appointed to conduct a  ‘Sustainable Design Workshop’ with the lifestyle and accessory department at the National Institute of Design to innovate and devise outfits with tins and scrap materials along with students which was worn by models at fashion show. This years show stopper dress, was made only out of KINGFISHER CANS and was designed by Anuj which was worn by Drashti Dhami, brand ambassador of Canvironment Week. Anuj Sharma comments on the successful outcome of Canvironment Week 2011, “I always appreciated Hindustan Tin Works for their initiative of Canvironment Campaign and my sentiments are as similar as anyone who knows the importance of our moral duties towards our environment.” 

Dhrashti Dhami an actor of STAR One- ‘ Geet – Hui Sabse Parayi ’ also the brand ambassador of Canvironment Week this year exuberantly tells, “When I was told that I am going to wear the show stopper dress and Kingfisher is the fashion partner for the event, my heart started palpitating but when I wore it and walked on ramp, I could easily make out that  ‘I did it’.” 

This year Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Food Processing Industries are supporting the whole campaign, companies and institutions like Hindustan Tin Works Ltd, United Breweries Ltd, Micro Inks, Tinplate Company of India Ltd, European Metal Packaging (EMPAC), International Packaging Association (IPA), Indian Institute of Packaging, World Packaging Organization, Tinplate Promotion Council, Metal Containers Manufacturers Association, NGO – Chintan and Exnora are coming up together to urge consumers for using eco-friendly cans.