'It is more difficult as an affluent consumer to consume responsibly', says Aditya Burman of Dabur

"It is more difficult, actually, as an affluent consumer to consume responsibly," said Aditya Burman, Director, Dabur India, at the BT India's Most Sustainable Companies Summit & Awards 2026. Flipping the conventional narrative, he pointed out that rural consumers have always practised responsible buying, carrying their own bags and containers to the store, long before sustainability became a buzzword.

He further added that Dabur, a 140-year-old brand was founded at a time when product quality was inconsistent and consumers had little clarity on what they were buying. Dabur's founding promise was simple: tell people exactly what is inside. That ethos, Burman said, holds even today.

On Dabur's sustainability initiatives, Burman said the company now takes out more plastic from the environment than it puts in and is likely the first FMCG company in India to have achieved this. He credited India's growing recycling ecosystem for making it possible.

Water conservation is equally central. Dabur has been practising rainwater harvesting across its facilities well before it became an industry norm, and continues to invest in water structures and ponds in partnership with communities across the country.

Burman said that authenticity of sustainability starts from sourcing.

"As the largest honey brand in India, we have done programmes to track our honey." The philosophy extends across the products.

"We believe from farm to shelf, from seed to shelf, from hive to shelf we need to know where things are coming from and how good they are." He added.

Dabur currently works with over 14,000 farming families across 16,000 acres. In the Sundarbans, the company partners with tribal honey collectors, bringing in international expertise and training. "This is not just going to create more honey," Burman said. "This is going to create economic upliftment."

On shifting consumer behaviour, Burman said the divide between urban and rural India is narrowing rapidly. "The same people have access to the same content, the same ideas, by the touch of a button." Younger consumers, he noted, are asking more questions about ingredients, sourcing, and impact and Dabur is glad to answer them.

He also pointed to a broader shift: FMCG, in many ways, is becoming healthcare. Dabur's Real Juice range is a case in point as it has expanded into seasonal fruit variants in direct response to consumers who are increasingly health-conscious and ingredient-aware.