New Delhi, January 16, 2026: Pernod Ricard India Foundation (PRIF), the CSR arm of Pernod Ricard India, is strengthening India’s climate innovation and circular economy ecosystem through strategic partnerships with some of the country’s leading academic institutions.
Under its Social Innovation and Transformation vertical, PRIF is implementing three flagship incubation programmes in collaboration with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, NSRCEL – IIM Bangalore, and SIIC – IIT Kanpur. Collectively, these initiatives have so far supported more than 75 startups, diverted over 5.5 lakh kilograms of waste from landfills, and enabled the creation of over 400 sustainable livelihoods across India.
The programmes are designed to address gaps in India’s green innovation landscape, particularly the limited representation of startups focused on climate solutions, circular economy models, and enterprises emerging from underserved regions such as the North-East and rural India. Through structured incubation, technical mentorship, access to funding, and scale-up support, PRIF aims to accelerate climate-smart entrepreneurship aligned with India’s net-zero and circular economy goals.
Gagandeep Sethi, Senior Vice President – Integrated Operations and Sustainability & Responsibility, Pernod Ricard India, said, “At Pernod Ricard India Foundation, our vision is to make sustainability and innovation work hand in hand. By collaborating with India’s leading academic institutions, we’re enabling entrepreneurs to turn challenges like waste and resource scarcity into opportunities for innovation, employment, and impact. These incubation platforms are not only nurturing green startups but also helping build a national pipeline of scalable, climate-smart solutions that can deliver true triple-bottom-line impact. Our efforts are aimed at strengthening India’s position as a leader in circular entrepreneurship and inclusive, sustainable growth.”
The Prakriti Incubation Launchpad, run with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, focuses on nurturing green enterprises in North-East India, supporting startups working on sustainable packaging, waste processing, plastic alternatives, and indigenous products. Its first cohort onboarded 12 early-stage ventures through a 10-month incubation programme with mentorship and grant support of up to ₹20 lakh per startup.
The Circular Economy Incubator, in partnership with NSRCEL–IIM Bangalore, supports startups in plastic and glass circularity, climate-smart agriculture, alternative materials, and waste management. Since its launch in 2023, the programme has supported 46 ventures, enabled follow-on funding of ₹42.6 crore, reported a 65% average revenue increase, and diverted over 4.6 lakh kilograms of plastic and nearly 95,000 kilograms of agri-waste from landfills. Notably, 50% of the incubated startups are led or co-led by women entrepreneurs.
The ADVAYA Plastic Circularity Innovation Launchpad, implemented with SIIC–IIT Kanpur, focuses on deep-tech innovation in plastic circularity and alternative materials. The programme provides startups access to IIT Kanpur’s research infrastructure, labs, and expert mentorship, with a focus on advancing technologies across Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) toward market deployment.
Through these partnerships, Pernod Ricard India Foundation continues to build a structured pipeline of climate and circular economy innovations, supporting entrepreneurship that delivers measurable environmental and social impact.
x
.jpg)
