Global Business Innovation Programme in India - Sustainable Plastic

A GBIP has three stages:

Prepare for the market

Preparing for the market includes the cohort being briefed by sector and market experts on, for example, cultural aspects of conducting business in that country. Delegates receive help to find business partners and arrange meetings and are advised on best practice including the management and protection of their intellectual property.

Visiting the market

Visiting the market provides opportunities to attend pre-arranged meetings and activities in order to better understand and maximise the opportunities that the visit presents.

Exploiting the opportunity

Exploiting the opportunity is arguably the most important aspect of the programme. To maximise the opportunity, participating companies are given bespoke one-to-one support from an Innovate UK EDGE innovation and growth specialist to help develop and implement an action plan.

The Global Business Innovation Programme operates on a competitive basis and businesses selected are required to participate in all three stages (some or all of which may be online).

To apply for this initiative, you must:

• Be a UK based innovation led company with ambitions to grow and internationalise
• Be a business with fewer than 250 employees
• Be a CEO, founder, or senior decision maker and able to attend and complete all activities

India has a vibrant innovation ecosystem, an ambitious vision, and a need to meet the rapidly growing demands of the population. In 2019 India’s plastic recycling rate stood at just 8%. The country generates nearly 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day. To tackle this growing problem India has ambitious targets to reach by 2030, which include: 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable; 50% of plastic packaging to be effectively recycled; 25% average recycled content across all plastic packaging.

To ensure that the target is reached the Government of India is spearheading policies on plastic waste management via the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Guidelines. Businesses are required to comply with EPR regulations which will open new opportunities for UK businesses to engage with the Indian market on technology transfer and R&D including software development. EPR guidelines are also supported by voluntary business agreements such as the India Plastics Pact.

The GBIP programme with India provides businesses an opportunity to showcase many of the innovative technologies that theUK is leading, including through Innovate UK and its Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge (SSPP) in the field of circular plastics.

This initiative is focused on the sustainable plastic sector, and we invite applications from a wide range of innovative companies, that are focused on solutions in the following areas:

• Chemical and dissolution recycling technologies (particularly where films, flexibles and Multi Layered Plastic (MLP) are concerned)
• Transitioning from problematic plastic (particularly MLP) to more easily recycled plastic substances.
• Reuse and refill
• Data capture and management, to aid decision making and EPR regulation compliance.
• Mechanical sorting and recycling innovative technologies
• Creating additional value within the plastic recycling sector and considering end markets, such as recycled plastic back into food grade packaging.

Watch the recording of the applicant briefing event here.

Application deadline: 7th July 2024

Get ready workshop: 23rd July and 3rd September 2024

Visit the market: 23rd – 27th September 2024

Exploitation the opportunity workshop: 21st January 2025