In the burgeoning field of sustainability, Elima is quickly establishing itself as a leader by driving the circular economy forward. Since its inception in 2022, the Hyderabad-based startup has been dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions for reuse, refurbishing, and recycling, thereby promoting closed-loop supply chains and aiming to make traditional mining obsolete. Elima’s mission is to become the most trusted supplier of recycled raw materials and high-quality pre-owned products to consumers and businesses globally.
Renewable India recently interacted with Abhishek Agashe, Co-founder & CEO of Elima. As a leading figure in pioneering closed-loop supply chains in India, Mr. Agashe shared valuable insights on “How Elima Revolutionizes Recycling with Circular Economy Solutions” and discussed plans to disrupt the urban mining space. This interaction provided a deeper understanding of Elima’s innovative approach and its vision for a sustainable future.
Amidst the challenges of rampant consumption and a growing global population, Elima understands the necessity of rethinking supply chain design. By prioritizing efficiency in the extraction, transportation, conversion, consumption, and disposal of raw materials, the company aims to reduce costs and create a net positive impact on the climate. Elima envisions pioneering climate-friendly supply chains, setting new benchmarks for sustainability and operational excellence.
Elima’s efforts extend beyond providing immediate solutions; the company has launched numerous social impact projects in collaboration with organizations like Bisleri, UNHCR, and Save the Children Foundation. Focused on improving the lives of over 5 million waste pickers in India, Elima provides better livelihoods, healthcare, and dignifies their essential work. The company is committed to equitable growth across the waste value chain and plans to scale its social impact projects nationwide. Additionally, Elima conducts awareness sessions, sustainability seminars, and waste collection drives for various corporates, industries, government institutions, schools, colleges, and residential societies to promote a zero-waste lifestyle.
Elima is dedicated to replacing existing linear supply chains with circular models where materials and products are reused infinitely. To achieve this, the company is building scalable and efficient infrastructure for collecting, pre-processing, recycling, refurbishing, and refining high-quality products and raw materials. Operating primarily in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, and Pune, Elima has established material recovery facilities and an e-waste recycling plant, processing over 40,000 metric tons of waste since 2022.
Elima’s vertically integrated business model features decentralized material acquisition and pre-processing centers combined with state-of-the-art centralized processing and refining factories. Leveraging digital technologies, the company predicts scrap generation, analyzes raw material value, and enhances production efficiency. Elima is also investing in R&D to develop processing technologies for extracting pure raw materials from collected scrap, collaborating with the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) to extract rare earth metals, a project supported by the Department of Science and Technology.
Elima’s commitment to creating unparalleled value for its customers is evident in its circular economy model, which integrates into primary supply chains to offer direct savings on products and raw materials. By investing in local closed-loop supply chains, customers mitigate risks associated with material scarcity, mine closures, geopolitical unrest, and other externalities, unlocking better margins.
The company’s robust technology and infrastructure allow seamless return, refurbishment, and recycling of products. Furthermore, Elima provides crucial data insights to customers, helping improve product design, marketing strategies, and recyclability or reuse indices.
Elima has been on an exponential growth trajectory since its inception, aiming for an operating revenue of close to Rs 85 crore in FY 23-24, up from Rs 64 crore in FY 22-23. The company’s focus on value creation, constant innovation, and strategic expansion plans are key to building a lasting impact in the sustainability sector.
Moving forward, Elima plans to expand its presence across Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra, focusing on key materials such as e-waste, plastics, paper, IT devices, and metals. The company also aims to enhance its e-waste processing infrastructure in Hyderabad and establish a pilot engineering plastics recycling facility.
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