Aditya Birla

Aditya Birla (The Aditya Birla Group owner of Grasim Industries and Birla Cellulose) Viscose staple fibre

Mumbai, India

Next
Gen
31.5
1
LR
shim
Low risk

1. Completion of CanopyStyle Third Party Verification Audits

1.1 Undertaking Annual Audits

1.2 Audits Public and Results Acted On

1.3 Audit Risk Results

2. Contribution to Conservation Legacies

2.1 Public support web/panels

2.2 International conservation

2.3 Influences Decision Makers

2.4 Legislated Protection

2.5 Extra Respon­sibilities

3. Innovation via New Alternative Fibers

3.1 Partnerships

3.2 R&D Investments

3.3 Scaling to Commercial Products

3.4 Targets & Timelines

3.5 10% of pulp is NG

3.6 Contributing to Collective Goal

3.7 Aggressively Increasing Commercial Scale

4. Adoption of Robust Forest Sourcing Policy

4.1 Policy Adoption

4.2 Policy Meets All CanopyStyle Criteria

5. Traceability, Transparency, and Sustainable Sourcing

5.1 Track & Trace System In-Place

5.2 Public Sharing of Supplier List

5.3 Conducts Due Diligence

6. Leaders in Supply Chain Shifts

6.1 Proactive outreach/ Inspires Leadership

6.2 FSC Preference

6.3 Forest Mapper Support

6.4 Using the Dissolving Pulp Mill Classification

7. Associated with High Risk of Sourcing from Ancient & Endangered Forests and other Controversial Sources

7.1 Risk is Known

Total:

Buttons 31.5

Chemical Management

The Producer Is Addressing the Pollution Originated by the Chemical Substances Used During the MMCF Production Process. It Has Joined a Credible Initiative That Advances Solutions on Chemical Management.

The producer is implementing, for all of its sites, pollution control technologies to limit their impact, developing an approach for the recovery of substances used or generated during the production of MMCF.

0

In the future, criteria will be built out by ZDHC to apply V2.0 of ZDHC MMCF Guidelines, including air emissions and responsible fibre production.

0

Total:

1 Point

Risk of sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests

The company owns a mill in the heart of some of the Ancient and Endangered Forests in Canada’s Boreal, which comes with potential risk, but also presents an opportunity for forest conservation. This mill is currently producing pulp for non-apparel uses. Birla and Canopy have actively explored conservation solutions that seek to conserve 70% of these Ancient and Endangered Forests. Space was maintained through procurement decisions to advance this work in 2021-2022, but until lasting conservation solutions are legislated and regulated with support from governments, and the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of First Nations, the future for these Ancient and Endangered Forests remains uncertain. However, Birla remains committed to pursuing solutions investing time, capacity and budget as required and is open to exploring ways to advance certainty on conservation solutions through the procurement decisions they control and stakeholder and government relations they have in the region. 

Key Improvements Required

Birla Cellulose is encouraged to continue to progress on their sustainability practices including:

  • To continue to show distinct leadership among global viscose producers by helping secure government’s finalization of scientifically-based conservation solutions and forwarding the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous communities in Ancient and Endangered Forests within the company’s direct influence.
  • Continue to use ForestMapper and complementary guidance documents such as the Dissolving Pulp Mill Classification to ensure no sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests.
  • Prioritize the integration and sourcing of Next Generation Solution technologies and feedstocks for future expansion plans and new suppliers.
  • Accelerate the use of Next Generation fibre solutions in order to meet or exceed the targets outlined in the Next Generation Vision for Viscose: 50% by 2030. 
  • Where virgin fibres are used and they are not coming from key priority Ancient and Endangered Forests, procure higher volumes of FSC 100% certified inputs from sources that have achieved FSC Forest Management certification on the ground.

Areas where the company is showing leadership

Birla Cellulose has shown continuous leadership over the last number of years, and has maintained its dark green shirt in 2022. 

Sourcing: 

  • Increased its procurement of FSC-certified fibre and expanded FSC certification to forest operations it manages and co-manages in Canada. 
  • Joined many other green shirt producers in the Textile Genesis traceability platform. 

Conservation: 

  • Continued to advance senior-level commitment to landscape-level conservation in Ancient and Endangered Forests in Canada’s Boreal, as described above. 
  • Provided a letter to support conservation solutions in key priority Ancient and Endangered Forests in 2021 and 2022.   
  • Supported the call for protecting 30% of the world’s Ancient and Endangered forests by 2030, in a letter from MMCF producers to countries that are party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).  
  • Demonstrated an awareness of the status of Ancient and Endangered Forests in the landscapes from which they source, and efforts to protect them.  

Next Generation Solutions: 

  • Increased the amount of recycled pulp used in its Liva Reviva product line. 
  • Made public commitments to source from innovative fibre suppliers that utilize post-consumer cotton waste.  
  • Continued to scale up production of Liva Reviva to 100,000 tonnes by 2024 

Number of viscose, lyocell and dissolving pulp mills + location and production volumes

Birla produces a viscose fibre with 20 – 30% pre-consumer recycled cotton called Liva Reviva.

The company owns eight viscose mills and four dissolving pulp mills. In addition, it owns a pulp mill, currently not feeding into the MMCF supply chain, in Canada’s Boreal Forest, that is influential in determining conservation options in Ancient and Endangered Forests and FSC certification in the region.    

AV Cell, Atholville, New Brunswick, Canada: dissolving pulp, 130,000 tonnes

AV Nackawic, Nackawic, New Brunswick, Canada: dissolving pulp, 190,000 tonnes

Domsjo Fabriker AB, Örnsköldsvik, Västernorrland, Sweden: dissolving pulp, 255,000 tonnes

Harihar Polyfibers, Harihar, Karnataka, India: dissolving pulp, 74,000 tonnes

Total dissolving pulp production: 649,000 tonnes  

 

Grasim Industries Ltd., Nagda, Madhya Pradesh, India: viscose staple fibre, 156,000 tonnes

Grasim Industries Ltd., Harihar, Karnataka, India: viscose staple fibre, 95,000 tonnes

Birla Cellulosic, Grasim Industries Ltd., Kharach, Gujarat, India: viscose staple fibre, 176,000 tonnes

Grasim Cellulosic Division, Grasim Industries Ltd., Vilayat Taluka Vagra, Gujarat, India: viscose staple fibre, 398,000 tonnes

Birla Jingwei Fibres Co. Ltd., Xiangfan City, Hubei, China: viscose staple fibre, 88,000 tonnes

Thai Rayon Public Co. Ltd., Amphur Muang, Angthong, Thailand: viscose staple fibre, 140,000 tonnes

PT Indo Bharat Rayon, Purwakarta, West Java, Indonesia: viscose staple fibre, 212,000 tonnes

Total viscose staple fibre production: 1,265,000 tonnes  

Indian Rayon, Veraval, Gujarat, India: viscose filament yarn,  270,000 tonnes

AV Terrace Bay, Terrace Bay, Ontario, Canada: kraft pulp, 330,000 tonnes

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