Sanjay Gupta releases Responsible Packaging, a knowledge compendium

Available in both print and digital formats, the book has been conceptualised, curated, and authored by Gupta over a period of one and a half years, entirely through self-driven effort alongside his professional responsibilities.

Speaking about the motivation behind the book, Gupta highlighted a long-standing concern within the Indian packaging ecosystem. Despite being the fifth-largest contributor to India’s GDP and growing at a 12–15% CAGR, the sector lacks formal academic pathways, structured literature, and India-specific reference material—particularly in areas such as packaging economics, manpower development, ESG, and sustainability.

“Most packaging professionals are technically strong, but to truly succeed today, one must also understand economics, policy, sustainability, and business dynamics. Unfortunately, there was no single, consolidated Indian reference available,” Gupta said.

The book, Responsible Packaging, is not positioned as a conventional academic textbook. Instead, it is a high-content, experience-based knowledge compendium, built on decades of industry exposure. The book brings together over 200–250 curated reference links, covering topics, such as packaging fundamentals and evolution; Packaging Waste (PW) laws and compliance; ESG frameworks and sustainability practices; manpower challenges and skill gaps; industry ecosystem mapping; courses, institutions, and learning pathways; case studies from leading FMCG brands and sustainability reports and research from global consulting firms such as Deloitte, EY, BCG, and others.

Each topic is supported by verified references, allowing readers to explore original research, policy documents, and real-world case studies in one place.

The book is aimed at a wide audience — students, young professionals, policy makers, business leaders, and packaging practitioners — offering them a single access point to understand packaging beyond machines and materials.

“Today, young professionals spend hours searching for fragmented information online. This book is designed to give them a structured base — everything they need to start thinking critically about packaging, sustainability, and economics,” Gupta explained.

Responsible Packaging has already received strong appreciation from premier institutes, policy makers, IIT students, and industry professionals. Gupta, who is also a guest speaker at IIT-Delhi, has been actively involved in aligning industry expectations with academic curriculum through an industry–academia committee.

The book also supports ongoing efforts to integrate sustainability and responsible packaging concepts into higher education curricula, particularly within materials science and engineering programmes.

Sanjay Gupta is a seasoned printing and packaging professional with over 38 years of experience across sales, marketing, production, procurement, and packaging development. He holds a PGDM in advertising and a Master’s degree in sales & marketing, and is a certified carbon footprint lead auditor and SEBI-certified investment professional.

At its core, Responsible Packaging is a reflection of Gupta’s professional journey — an attempt to document learning, experience, and industry realities for the benefit of future generations. “This book is not about having all the answers. It is about asking the right questions and providing the right references,” he concluded.