ITC WOW Green Awards honour waste management champions in Bengaluru
Bengaluru, February 5, 2026 — Reinforcing its long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship and inclusive sustainability, ITC Limited on Wednesday organised the Samaagam – ITC WOW Green Awards at the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Auditorium, Bengaluru. The annual ceremony recognised exemplary contributions by students, educational institutions, dry waste collectors, resident welfare associations (RWAs) and corporates for strengthening responsible waste management practices under the Clean India Mission.
The awards form a key milestone of ITC’s flagship Wellbeing Out of Waste (WOW) initiative, which seeks to drive large-scale behavioural change through source segregation, recycling and community participation. Winners of the Interschool Recycling Championship 2025–26 were also felicitated at the event.
Shri Karee Gowda, IAS, Chief Executive Officer of the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), graced the ceremony as Chief Guest. Other dignitaries present included Shri Shaik Tajuddin, Deputy Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Karnataka; Shri Atheeq Anwar, Chief Administrative Officer, DPS Bangalore, Mysore and School of India; and Shri S.N. Umakanth, DGM, PSPD, ITC Ltd.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Rajesh Ponnuru, Divisional Chief Executive, Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division, ITC Ltd., said community-led waste management was central to building a sustainable circular economy. He noted that the WOW initiative had consistently enabled multi-stakeholder collaboration, strengthened recycling value chains and supported livelihoods of waste collectors.
The 2025–26 championship witnessed participation from over one lakh students, who collectively contributed nearly 1,000 metric tonnes of dry waste for recycling. About 585 schools from Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumakuru and Malur took part, while nearly four lakh students were reached through awareness programmes.
Across six States, ITC WOW has engaged 74 lakh households and 77 lakh students, benefiting over 17,900 waste collectors and enabling recovery of about 65,000 metric tonnes of recyclable waste annually. In Bengaluru alone, the initiative now covers over 21 lakh households across 175 wards.
Aligned with ITC’s Sustainability 2.0 agenda, the programme supports the company’s goal of ensuring 100% recyclable or compostable packaging by 2028.
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