Birla carbon
Sustainability report 2020
Following the roll-out of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, we first mapped them to our business strategy in FY2016.
Below, we set out the SDGs as they apply to three key areas of focus for Birla Carbon: Economy, Society and Environment.
In its use in farming, including improved irrigation, carbon black helps agriculture to become more efficient.
UV resistanceCarbon black ensures greater resource efficiency, which in turn promotes economic growth. We promote decent work and economic growth in the areas where we operate through a range of initiatives designed to provide education and training opportunities to local people.
Hamilton, CanadaOur product supports the development of quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure and the promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrialization.
We also play our part by increasing efficient resources use, enabling the adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies, encouraging innovation and enhancing research.
Our aim is to support and facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries with carbon black and support the development of local technology, research and innovation.
What is carbon black?Carbon black plays an important role in technology, giving people greater access to transport and communication. It also ensures products that contain it last longer.
We are committed to helping the communities where we work and leverage our abilities to develop programs to improve the lives and working prospects of our neighbors.
Alexandria, EgyptCarbon black is crucial in the development of safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems, particularly in terms of its role in tire safety, durability and improved rolling resistance. Our product enhances sustainable urbanization.
The social value of carbon blackWe help achieve the goals by working closely with all our stakeholders, including our customers and communities.
Angthong, ThailandThrough our community activities, we provide support to members of the public to help them improve their own lives, including healthcare initiatives and education.
Marietta, USAOur community engagement programs around the world include supporting small-scale agriculture by investing in infrastructure, financial support and training for farmers as well as providing food provisions to those most in need.
Yeosu, South KoreaWe provide health support through a variety of social initiatives, such as providing access to vaccines and doctors.
Our Commitment Based Safety approach encourages employees to make steps towards improving their own health and wellbeing, including safe driving into and out of plants.
We also seek to prevent illnesses indirectly by reducing air, water and waste pollution.
Reducing NOx emissions through investment and cooperationAs a member of the Aditya Birla Group, which is strongly committed to education, Birla Carbon provides learning support through community activities across all regions where we operate.
Our Code of Ethics training provides education for our employees on human rights and diversity.
Alexandria, EgyptWe support gender equality by offering equal opportunities within Birla Carbon, without discrimination, and by empowering women in the communities where we operate through vocational training and support.
We recognize that we have room to grow in terms of more fully addressing diversity within our company.
Supporting diversity in the workplaceWater, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a priority for us; we signed the WASH Pledge in 2015 and have been growing in our commitment year on year. We successfully fulfilled our WASH pledge in FY2018. Birla Carbon had a WASH rating of 1.94 out of 2 in 2019, compared to 1.77 in 2015 when we signed the pledge.
A total of 143 awareness campaigns and training sessions have been delivered at Birla Carbon plants and 53 action plans created. So far, 46 of these action plans have been completed.
We also work with local communities to improve access to clean, safe water for residents.
Renukoot, IndiaWe offer employment and career development opportunities across all regions.
We believe that the educational component of our community engagement work both reduces youth unemployment and leads to productive job creation.
The health and safety of our people is a priority that underpins our work. We must ensure that our people leave work each day as healthy as when they arrive.
Elsewhere, development opportunities are relatively limited geographically and in terms of seniority.
Offering employees global training opportunitiesFollowing in the path of the Aditya Birla Group, we seek to reduce inequalities by offering opportunities to the poorest and most vulnerable, empowering people, promoting inclusion and adopting equality policies, notably for women.
We are looking to open our apprenticeships to more people around the world.
With operations on all five continents, we are well situated to cultivate a more diverse workforce.
Gummidipoondi, IndiaThrough our internal governance mechanisms, we prevent corruption and bribery from taking place in our business and reinforce our own institutional accountability and transparency.
We are constantly making our supply chain more robust and transparent.
Human rightsWe help achieve the goals by working closely with our stakeholders, including community groups, universities, nongovernmental organizations and the Aditya Birla Group.
Santander, SpainWe monitor our water use and recycle and reuse as much as possible. We have implemented a more detailed water risk assessment approach, designed to produce site-specific performance appraisals.
While we are constantly developing our understanding of our impacts to devise the most effective mitigation plans possible, we have made steps to reduce our impact on water sources, with water risk management plans in place at many of our sites.
Maximizing resource reuse through creative solutionsWe continually seek opportunities to use more affordable and cleaner energy. Our facilities that contain cogeneration units convert tail gas into energy that is then either used in our plants or sold to the grid. Globally, we are energy positive.
Our feedstock is the byproduct of fossil fuel use, and utilizing this byproduct reduces the impact of these fossil fuels.
Saving natural resources at Birla Carbon ThailandWe support responsible consumption and production by ensuring that our feedstock comes from suppliers close to our facilities, who we screen for risk management.
We strive to reduce our carbon footprint, an effort which includes being more efficient about the energy we consume; we have been net energy positive since at least FY2016. We aim to avoid emissions and leaks as much as possible and annually report on our sustainability efforts.
Our feedstock is a limited and non-renewable resource, which, in the long term, may have an impact on our consumption.
We continue to develop more responsible procurement practices.
Developing a sustainable supply chainWe focus on carbon stewardship, being net energy positive and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
Our operations continue to generate emissions, which we are always working to reduce.
Taking steps to reduce our CO2 footprint at PatalgangaWe help achieve the SDGs by working closely with our stakeholders, including our suppliers, regulators and governments. We also collaborate to develop innovative sustainability solutions with external parties.
Assessing our water vulnerability