The Solidaridad Regional Expertise Centre, in collaboration with the Politecnico Internazionale per lo Sviluppo Industriale ed Economico (PISIE), the Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers and Exporters Association (IFLMEA), the Council for Leather Exports, Tata International Limited, and the European Union (EU), has launched an EU-India sustainability project for Tamil Nadu's leather clusters.

According to a joint press release, the project 'Promoting circularity in Tamil Nadu leather clusters for solid waste management is a 42-month initiative funded by the European Union through its SWITCH-Asia program, which promotes sustainable consumption and production across the Asia-Pacific region.

The project was launched by Tamil Nadu's minister of environment, climate change, and forests, Siva V.Meyyanathan, and the European Union's ambassador to India, Ugo Astuto. A number of delegates from India and the EU attended the event, including the Council for Leather Exports, prominent industry executives, and representatives from development partner communities.

This project, which is in line with Tamil Nadu's efforts to transition to a resource-efficient and circular economy model, assists clusters in adopting cleaner and more sustainable industrial techniques. This effort involves piloting sustainable technology in tanneries. The EU is India's third-largest economic partner, and Europe is a major market for Indian leather products. The EU's backing for this endeavor is consistent with India's.

Tamil Nadu is India's primary leather manufacturing center, with almost 600 tanneries. The industry mostly converts semi-finished leather into finished and value-added export goods. The initiative, which is being funded by the European Union, will take four distinct methods.

Solidaridad will collaborate with partners and technical specialists to showcase a number of circular tanning and waste-to-value technologies at the cluster level.

Through a training-of-trainers program, the tanning staff will be educated on better tanning procedures, solid waste management, and occupational health and safety.

Engaging with prospective national and international off-takers would enhance sectoral collaboration and market connections for 'waste to value' goods.

A public-private partnership platform that reflects the interests of important stakeholders will be formed. These stakeholders will collaborate to develop a plan for better waste management at the cluster level.