Sustainability really means changing the way we think about how we use our resources and make small changes that have a big impact on the nature and community. To this cause, and with a mission ‘to assist the adoption of Green Manufacturing Practices across Indian Manufacturing Companies’, Frost & Sullivan held its 2015 edition of ‘India Sustainability Summit’ in Mumbai on May 22.
The summit started with a full-day of presentations from eminent speakers from across different businesses on their companies’ initiatives on sustainability. This was followed by an exciting awards presentation function where Birla Cellulose was presented the ‘Challengers Award – Large Business’ in the 2015 Green Manufacturing Excellence Awards category. Mr. H.K. Agarwal, COO for Pulp & Fibre business, and Mr. Vinay Bhalerao, Head of Kharach Unit, were honoured with this prestigious Award.
Mr. Gowtham S of Frost & Sullivan welcomed the guests and explained the Assessment Model and Methodology of GMEA 2015. The assessment model is realigned within four major areas and 13 parameters with each having a weightage of 100 points, totalling 1,300 points. The model also took into consideration global sustainability reporting frameworks such as the UN Global Compact. The assessment for Birla Cellulose that concluded had its basis in their GMEA Assessment Model that in turn derived its inputs from the team’s interaction with the unit’s personnel, observations in the plant and documents provided to them.
The Kharach unit had a score of 823 for the entire facility. The parameters on which the assessment was done covered business strategy, governance & ethics, waste & emission, biodiversity, energy & water, materials, human capital sustainability supply chain, society and customers.
This year’s summit had an enhanced coverage of all elements of sustainability, and it focused on bringing and promoting awareness among the manufacturing units across industry verticals, through the best practices shared by thought leaders who are establishing the ‘Green’ mindset in their business as a means to sustainable growth.
Prominent industry leaders spoke on diverse topics on sustainability. The keynote speakers from Birla Cellulose were Mr. Ajay Sardana, Vice President & Head – Sustainability, and Mr. Rohan Batra (Special Projects), who dealt with company’s initiatives related to its commitment towards sustainability.
Mr. Batra’s presentation on ‘Product Life Cycle Management’ spoke about the company’s efforts towards sustainability. He said: “By 2017, pulp and fibre business of the Aditya Birla Group endeavours to become the industry leader for sustainable business practices across its global operations balancing economic growth with environmental and societal interests. Sustainable efforts at Birla Cellulose are tested through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) which assesses the environmental aspect impact associated with product, process or service.
“Birla Spunshades is the most sustainable product in the market that uses a unique dyeing technique. In this dyeing technique, for 100 kg fabric, water savings are upto 70 lts/kg, effluent load is reduced by 70%, power is saved upto 3.5-4.0 KW and time is saved by 6-8 hrs per batch, ultimately reducing processing costs with better production quality and profits”, he added.
In his presentation on ‘Employee Sustainability Initiatives’, Mr. Ajay Sardana said: “Employees are a key driver in driving Aditya Birla’s sustainability initiatives. Our company is an exciting world of global opportunities for professional growth with human care. The way we do business is just as important as the business itself”.
He concluded saying: “For a sustainability program to be credible and successful, the alignment, engagement and enthusiasm of employees, both managers and the workforce, are essential”.