Neel AcharyBengaluru/ New Delhi Nov 19: Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, has successfully diverted over 21,000 tonnes of waste from landfills and incineration annually, achieving a waste diversion rate of over 96 percent across the certified 12 sites. This milestone marks a significant expansion of the company’s Zero Waste efforts since 2023, with eight additional facilities achieving TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Gold Certification from Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). With this, Flipkart now operates 12 TRUE Gold–certified sites across India, reflecting a scaled and systematic approach to responsible waste management.
TRUE Certification is awarded to facilities that demonstrate best-in-class resource management and divert at least 90% of their waste through reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery; Flipkart’s newly certified sites, such as RDC Calcutta, Sanpka, Farrukhnagar FCSC, Saidham Grocery and FC, Anjaneya, Medchal and Yakubpur, generated 15,846 tons of waste and diverted 15,221 tons, achieving a 96% diversion rate. Further, facilities certified earlier, including Malur BTS FC, Renaissance FCSC, Uluberia FCSC and Farrukhnagar FC, continued to deliver strong performance, diverting 6,481 tons out of 6,537 tons generated, reaching a 99% diversion rate.
Central to Flipkart’s progress is a comprehensive waste-as-resource approach that prioritises reduction, reuse, redesign, recycling and recovery; Key initiatives include the extensive reuse of returned-shipment cartons within the supply chain, the application of reusable warehouse logistics assets and the deployment of employee-driven solutions through the Moonshine Shop, an internal innovation programme responsible for creating durable and refurbishable transport components that improve efficiency while reducing waste. Flipkart also continues to maintain duplex printing practices across operations and rely on 100% recycled carton materials to strengthen sustainable sourcing.
Commenting on this achievement, Nishant Gupta, Head of Sustainability at Flipkart Group, said; “Our progress reflects a firm belief that waste must be viewed as a resource. The expansion of our TRUE Gold–certified network shows the impact of consistent systems, responsible operations and teams that take ownership of sustainable practices every day. We have built on the foundation set in 2023 and scaled our efforts with stronger data, deeper circularity and a sharper focus on resource efficiency. As we continue to grow, we remain committed to responsible waste management that delivers environmental value and operational gains.”
Flipkart’s structured approach ensures that waste is not merely diverted but processed responsibly and productively; Through its expanded circularity partnerships, paper, plastic and wood scrap are collected at source, sorted precisely, and returned to raw-material suppliers who reprocess them into new finished goods. This circular system reduces pressure on virgin resources and lowers associated environmental impacts. At the same time, it creates operational cost savings through reduced procurement of new materials, lower disposal fees and value realisation from certified recycling streams, reinforcing the economic case for managing waste as a resource.
Alongside its Zero Waste efforts, Flipkart has strengthened employee training on sustainability practices, implemented stricter controls for hazardous and e-waste handling, and introduced improvements across its facilities. These initiatives align with Flipkart’s wider sustainability roadmap, which includes 100 percent paper-based packaging, ~30 MW of rooftop solar capacity, electrification of last-mile delivery through its EV100 commitment, and adherence to green building standards.
Flipkart has also pioneered a large-scale circular economy initiative that has recycled over 26,000 tonnes of paper and improved scrap collection by over 50 percent, further reinforcing its long-term ambition to eliminate waste to landfill across all operations in the years ahead.
