Birla Cellulose: Vision Sustainability 2020

Event & Conferences

Birla Cellulose: Vision Sustainability 2020

On May 8th, 2015, Birla Cellulose, Aditya Birla Group’s umbrella brand of their Pulp and Fibre business partnered with Control Union (CU), an international network of inspection operations and certifications with dedicated laboratories to focus on ‘Vision Sustainability 2020’.

The one-day event on sustainability was held on May 8, 2015 at Hotel Velan Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. The Vision Sustainability 2020 seminar aimed to create awareness about sustainability issues and practices across the textile value chain with focus on sustainable clothing and the challenges.

Dr. Binay Kumar Chaudhary from Control Union talked about CU’s certifications and inspection operations for a sustainable textile industry. Various companies presented their green initiatives. Rohan Batra, Special Projects presented ‘Heart of sustainability and its execution’ at Birla Cellulose. Batra highlighted the company’s focus on sustainability right from the designing of the brand logo of Birla Cellulose. “The circle signifies the cycle of `nature and sustainability’ and floating leaves symbolises `comfort and lightness’. Theleaves fall and grow all over again, they are a renewable resource of nature. Birla Cellulose is much like these leaves and is made from the same trees,” stated Batra.

He explained the sustainability practices efforts of the company right from seeding to pulping, to processing and manufacturing. “The Pulp and Fibre business of the Aditya Birla Group aims to become the industry leader by 2017 for sustainable business practices across its global operations,” said Batra.

He spoke about the responsible wood sourcing policy which strictly adheres to all environment laws and regulations of the various countries from where it sources the wood. “Our key raw material, wood pulp is sourced through a responsible wood sourcing policy which takes care of forest conservation, biodiversity and more is planted than cut,” he said.

“Grasim Forest Research Institute for plantation research, Pulp Research Institute at Dominova, Sweden for pulp research, Birla Research Institute and Aditya Birla Science and Technology Centre (ABSTC) for fibre research, pilot plant for fibre innovation and the Textile Research and Development Centre (TRADC) for fibre to fashion, have been set up with an aggregate investment of over Rs 100 crore,” he informed.

“Studies on LCA of viscose from cradle to factory gate have been conducted by us through international agencies, across our various products and plants. The findings show viscose in a better light compared to most other fibres in sustainability credentials. The fibre being eco-friendly and bio-degradable has the highly acclaimed Oeko-Tex 100 Certificate. We are taking steps to support a sustainable value chain and educating the industry on sustainability and traceability programmes which are led by global brands. With this awareness creation and grassroot level collaboration we see that the good benefits of viscose are enjoyed by consumers.”

In front of a strong 200 delegates, Pallava spokesperson Alakan K. talked about Birla Spunshades that are currently being spun with sustainability at the heart of the dyeing process. “Sustainability is all about meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is heartening to know that Birla Cellulose is working towards this goal,” said Alakan.