Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 2 – Zero hunger

In its use in farming, including improved irrigation, carbon black helps agriculture to become more efficient.

UV resistance

SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth

Carbon 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, Canada

SDG 9 – Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Our 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?

SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities

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, Egypt

SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities

Carbon 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 black

SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals

We help achieve the goals by working closely with all our stakeholders, including our customers and communities.

Angthong, Thailand

SDG 1 – No poverty

Through our community activities, we provide support to members of the public to help them improve their own lives, including healthcare initiatives and education.

Marietta, USA

SDG 2 – Zero hunger

Our 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 Korea

SDG 3 – Good health and well-being

We 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 cooperation

SDG 4 – Quality education

As 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, Egypt

SDG 5 – Gender equality

We 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 workplace

SDG 6 – Clean water and sanitation

Water, 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, India

SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth

We 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 opportunities

SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities

Following 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, India

SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions

Through 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 rights

SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals

We help achieve the goals by working closely with our stakeholders, including community groups, universities, nongovernmental organizations and the Aditya Birla Group.

Santander, Spain

SDG 6 – Clean water and sanitation

We 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 solutions

SDG 7 – Affordable and clean energy

We 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 Thailand

SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production

We 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 chain

SDG 13 – Climate action

We 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 Patalganga

SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals

We 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