How Birla Carbon Built One of the Safest Workplaces in Its Industry

Across Aditya Birla Group companies, the belief that “zero harm is possible” drives a shared safety culture. Birla Carbon exemplifies this mindset, achieving its best safety record in FY2025 and advancing innovative global programmes that protect people, partners, and the planet.

At Birla Carbon, safety is built into company policies, embraced across all levels, and guides every decision made in the organization. The company proactively identifies risks and implements preventive measures to ensure the protection of its people and partners. In a testament to years of dedicated focus and collaboration across the organisation, Birla Carbon achieved its lowest Total Recordable Incidence Rate (TRIR) value in FY2025 since 2012 of 0.31 per 200,000 exposure hours, including both employees and contractors.   
 

Highlight: Birla Carbon’s TRIR of 0.31 is eight times better than industry average compared to the 2023 Bureau of Labour Statistics TRIR average, which is 2.6 according to the manufacturing industry classification.

“Safety is non-negotiable at Birla Carbon, and over the years, we have continued to build and maintain our culture of safety, globally. All our plants maintain the highest safety standards for all employees, which is in many ways built on our purpose to ‘Share the Strength’.” -  John Loudermilk, President and CEO, Birla Carbon

The transformation started several years ago with the launch of Birla Carbon’s Tactical Business Plan, which identified key sites for targeted, high-impact safety initiatives to reinforce core responsibilities and accountability at every level. At the same time, the organisation sharpened its internal compliance audits by focusing on 10 critical areas to ensure robust safety standards: the Safe Six, plus Work Permits, Contractor Management, Above Ground Storage Tanks, and Waste Management. The Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) and HR teams partner on training and onboarding programmes that equip employees with the knowledge and confidence to prioritise safety every day. 

Zero is the only acceptable number 

Building a safety culture at Birla Carbon starts with the leadership setting clear expectations for working safely, providing the necessary resources, incentivizing the right behaviours, and holding people accountable for their actions. The vision is to realise zero safety-related incidents in the workplace and towards this end, a Zero Incidence Programme has been established as part of a multi-year strategic plan.  
 

Highlight: As of September 2025, Alexandria (Egypt) and Trecate (Italy) sites have each achieved nearly 1,500 days with zero recordable incidents, and Santander (Spain) and Patalganga (India) sites have achieved over 2,000 days.

The organization recognizes that different cultures may have different expectations or norms related to safety. Its strategy is based on internal standards that meet or exceed regulatory requirements in the most advanced safety-focused areas and incorporation of recognised best practices to set a consistent bar for safety excellence globally. Accordingly, two new Regional HSE Managers were added in 2024, adding a corporate HSE resource in the Asia region for the first time. 

“At Birla Carbon Egypt, safety and environmental stewardship are the foundation of our sustainable vision. Through strong leadership, including direct involvement from our Managing Director, we’ve fostered a culture where everyone takes ownership of safety. Over three years, employee training tripled, reporting doubled, and lost time incidents dropped to zero, thus transforming challenges into achievements. Our efforts have earned national and international recognition, including awards from Egypt’s Minister of Labour and the IACB. Protecting people and the environment go hand in hand, and we are committed to sustainable operations through rigorous monitoring, improved waste management, and continuous improvement for a better future.” - Ayman Ibrahim, Compliance Manager, Birla Carbon Egypt  
 

Highlight: This year, the Alexandria (Egypt) team proactively established a Safety Action Team that expands safety audit responsibilities across all leadership, not just the HSE team, resulting in outstanding improvements in workplace organisation, compliance, and incident prevention.

Through the Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) initiative, Birla Carbon strives to keep everyone who enters its sites safe. From regular training related to the Safe Six, to Stop Work Authority (SWA) for all workers; from protecting contractors, to incentivising employees; from the introduction of an automated High Energy Control Assessments (HECA) mobile app, to an e-permitting system - the SIF initiative is designed to identify risks and hazards and focus on minimising hazards to the greatest extent possible.  
 

Highlight: Insights gained from Birla Carbon’s role in developing a Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) standard for the broader Aditya Birla Group have contributed to the ongoing enhancement of near-miss reporting practices across all Group facilities.

Safety-firsts in ‘safety first’

At Birla Carbon, commitment to innovation extends beyond products and processes to include the well-being of its people. FY2025 saw some path-breaking solutions that reinforce the safety-first culture across its global plants and offices.

• Birla Carbon’s first-ever Global Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Video  
  A diverse, multi-region team spearheaded by an engineer at the electricity co-generation facility in Brazil, collaborated to create a Global HSE Video that speaks to the visitors, contractors, and new employees by highlighting essential topics such as the Safe Six occupational health risks, Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The video that was officially launched globally in March 2025, includes footage shot at all Birla Carbon locations, as well as captions in local languages to ensure accessibility and impact.
• Digital Incident Reporting, Trecate (Italy)  
  A web-based application was launched in early FY2026 to simplify reporting, ensure reliable data, and empower employees to act more quickly when risks were identified, transforming the way incidents are reported and managed, strengthening workplace safety and regulatory compliance. 
• Lone Worker Alert System, Santander (Spain)  
  The plant has launched an innovative Connected Helmet project that integrates a smart device into operators’ helmets, enabling real-time location tracking and automatic alerts in case of unusual activity — functioning as a Lone Worker Alert System.  
   

Safety in Action

FY2025 saw many events and activities that celebrated the safety culture at Birla Carbon:

• The International Labour Organisation’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work was celebrated between April 22–26, 2024, across 17 manufacturing locations, two corporate offices, nine sales offices, and three R&D centres.
• Birla Carbon’s Global Health, Safety, and Environment Conference 2025 was hosted in Bangkok, Thailand with the theme ‘Lead the Change for HSE Excellence’. 
   

Birla Carbon’s safety mascot – Xiang, was created during a Global Safety Week event by the child of an employee at the Weifang plant. Xiang symbolises both safety and the culture of family engagement.

• Women in Safety & Environment (WISE) is a global women-focused Employee Resource Group (ESRs) that hosted two events this year reflecting Birla Carbon’s commitment to fostering inclusion and professional growth within the organisation.  
• Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) Workshops were organised in China and Thailand in local languages as part of the SIF reduction strategy.  
   

Recognition for Safety at the Workplace

Birla Carbon is an undisputed industry leader in workplace safety. In FY2025 alone, it won several awards and accolades for safety excellence including:

• 13 Gold Certificates of Recognition awarded by the International Carbon Black Association (ICBA)
• Gold Shield Award for Birla Carbon Thailand
• Recognition by FEIQUE (Business Federation of the Spanish Chemical Industry) for achieving a zero accidents rate at Santander, Spain for the second consecutive year
• Recognition by COASHIQ (Business Association for Safety, Hygiene, and the Environment in the Chemical Industry) Safety Management Award, for achieving  zero safety accidents at Santander, Spain for the third year running.
   

Through its strategic initiatives, innovations and achievements in FY2025, Birla Carbon has demonstrated that safety is not just a standard, but a daily commitment that it upholds without compromise. An approach that aligns with its broader focus on sustainability and responsible business practices, as highlighted in its Sustainability Report 2025.