A sustainability roadmap in action

Four success stories about Aditya Birla Group companies’ proactive and responsible stewardship of air, land, biodiversity, and water at their locations

June 5 is World Environment Day – observed to raise widespread awareness about pressing environmental challenges and to spur action on urgent planetary issues.

As a conglomerate with a vision to be ‘big’ in the lives of consumers, communities, and partners, the Aditya Birla Group has rolled out several sustainability initiatives across multiple locations. 

From cleaning up air and water resources to protecting endangered forests and biodiversity, here are four exemplary stories of environmental action from across the Aditya Birla Group.

Preserving air quality

UltraTech, the Group's cement flagship, has pushed several initiatives for a circular economy. The company uses fly-ash, a byproduct of the energy production process at its captive power plants, for making blended cements such as Portland Pozzolana Cement, Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement, PPC Super, and composite cement.

Not only does using fly-ash slash UltraTech's environmental footprint by significantly reducing its reliance on virgin natural resources, it also provides a sustainable solution for managing industrial waste.

Sustained efforts by the company have led to an increase in the quantity of recycled material used over the years. Newer forms of waste like red mud, a byproduct of the aluminium manufacturing process, are being used by UltraTech as raw material. That's not all; UltraTech recycles over 50% of the raw material from unused concrete to make fresh concrete.

Conserving land resources

Birla Cellulose is the first global viscose producer to be ranked number one, three years in a row, by Canopy, a nonprofit working towards forest conservation and sustainability. The company has received this recognition for its progress and commitment to striking off endangered forests from its supply chain.

Sustainable sourcing is a critical part of Birla Cellulose's business strategy and the company has a stringent 'wood sourcing policy' that ensures forestry conservation and the protection of ancient and endangered forests. It has developed innovative technologies to recycle pre-consumer waste and also has an extremely efficient product traceability system.

Birla Cellulose also works with farmers to afforest barren and deforested land: a win-win proposition for both, since farmers get to augment their incomes while the company gains a secure supply of raw material.

Fostering biodiversity

Hindalco, the world's largest aluminium rolling company, is committed to manufacturing products that make the world greener, stronger and smarter. Biodiversity management is an important aspect of its mining operations and to conserve the ecosystem, the mining major conducts biodiversity assessments and undertakes biodiversity conservation initiatives.

The company has implemented biodiversity management plans at 15 of its 48 locations in India and aims to extend implement these plans at all its locations by 2030. Assessments for construction of green belts at all Hindalco sites with a special focus on biodiversity enhancement have also been conducted. At present, these green belts cumulatively span an area of 4672.2 acres and house nearly 3.2 million trees.

Nurturing water

Aditya Birla Chemicals, one of India's leading water treatment chemicals suppliers, is committed to increasing access to water through its products. The company's products range from coagulants used for water purification to anti-chlors for water treatment and potability, and sanitisers and disinfectants.

Some of the company's key products are effective in killing disease-causing pathogens such as bacteria, virus and protozoans. DUROX®, a surface sanitiser with hydrogen peroxide as an active ingredient, is considered effective against the spread of Covid-19.

Aditya Birla Chemicals' portfolio also includes a variety of products for the aqua-culture industry. These products help in disinfecting the water in reservoirs and growth ponds used for shrimp farming.

The above stories are merely a selection; there are many such success stories that are testimony to the Group's sustainable and planet-friendly growth philosophy. World Environment Day is a clarion call for people and businesses to adopt more responsible attitudes and habits. And the Group, which has firmly put sustainability at the centre of its growth vision, is showing the world how it's done.

Source:
Ultratech Annual Report 2020-21
Hindalco Integrated Annual Report 2020-21
Birla Cellulose- Canopy’s Hot Button Report 2021
Aditya Birla Chemicals website