From Mother Dairy to Nat Geo: Brands mark World Environment Day 2026

World Environment Day is observed annually on 5 June. It was first celebrated in 1972 at the initiative of the UN General Assembly, with the aim of raising awareness of urgent environmental issues and advocating for global action. In India, more and more brands use the occasion to launch campaigns and green initiatives, and 2026 is no different. From a milk-pouch film to a wildlife documentary premiere to a factory-floor recycling push, here’s how brands are marking the occasion.

MOTHER DAIRY

The dairy major has rolled out a digital campaign ahead of World Environment Day 2026. The campaign centres on the slogan “Jo maa rakhe sabka khayal, Mother Dairy ko hai us maa ka khayal” and is associated with a packaging innovation – India’s first naturally degradable-in-soil milk pouch. The new pack debuts its cow milk variant in Delhi NCR, along with a refreshed design, from June 5. 

The scale is notable: nearly 2 million packs a day will go out in the new packaging across Delhi NCR households from day one. Conceptualised by Ogilvy, the film follows a milk pouch that breaks free from a garbage truck and drifts through the city before settling into the soil and degrading naturally – with a soundtrack by Swanand Kirkire.  

CNN-NEWS18

The news channel has launched #CNNNews18OneLess, a purpose-led campaign built on a simple thought: the planet isn’t worn down by one big decision but by millions of small, careless ones. The campaign asks viewers to pledge one conscious action – one fewer delivery order, one less elevator ride, one less idle engine, and one less printed bill. It is backed by on-air and digital stories such as India’s Cooling Crisis, One Less Degree focused on AC settings, and One Less Car Ride highlighting short-distance driving.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC INDIA

Nat Geo is premiering Nilgiris: A Shared Wilderness, a feature documentary by National Geographic Fellow and filmmaker Sandesh Kadur. Shot entirely in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve—India’s first recognised UNESCO biosphere reserve—the film looks at how people, animals, and the land coexist in the Blue Mountains. Its score is composed by Susheela Raman, Sam Mills, and Neel Adhikari, and it won Best Sound at the 2025 Jackson Wild Media Awards. It premieres on June 5 at 12 PM and 9 PM.

SKOODLE

The stationery brand from Stone Sapphire India (SSIPL) is using the day to spotlight its recycled-paper pencils. Made from 100% recycled newspaper, the pencils have helped save over 11,472 trees and preserve roughly 51 acres of land between 2018 and 2025, the company says. Skoodle has sold more than 103.25 million paper pencils in that period and projects another 36 million sales in 2026, which could save an additional 4,000 trees.

ASCENTA

The real estate group has released a campaign film, Rooted in Nature, that moves from mountain landscapes to the greenery around its project, making the case that real luxury means leaving things better than you found them. Ascenta points to native green cover, solar-powered solutions, and reduced water waste across projects, with its flagship Basalt Hills cited as proof of the approach.

AMUL

Amul has marked World Environment Day 2026 with a new entry in its long-running topical series. The hand-drawn creative shows the Amul girl holding up the Earth, with a small sapling growing from the top, under the line ‘Earth mein anarth na hone do!’ It signs off with the brand’s ‘A world of taste’. The format follows the daily doodle-and-pun style Amul has used for decades.

ZOMATO