Birla Cellulose, part of Grasim Industries Limited, a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, has been named as the winner of the prestigious Golden Peacock Global Award for Sustainability 2020, in the Textile and Apparel sector, for its global leadership, achievements, and continuous improvements in sustainability in the global textile industry. 

Golden Peacock Awards, instituted by the Institute of Directors (IOD) in 1991, are recognised worldwide as the hallmark of Corporate Excellence. It celebrates the achievements and performance of well-performing organisations annually. The credibility of these awards lies in the transparency, depth, and impartiality of the assessment process and helps companies accelerate their performance levels and beat the competition.

Honorable Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India and former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission of India, and National Commission for Constitution of India Reforms, was the Chairman of the Golden Peacock Awards Jury. The award applications are assessed at three levels by independent assessors and finally by a grand jury.

On the occasion, Mr. Dilip Gaur – Managing Director, Grasim Industries and Business Director, Birla Cellulose, Aditya Birla Group said, “The Golden Peacock Global Award for sustainability is a testament to our vision of leadership in building sustainable businesses capable of consistently delivering best-in-class environmental performance, underpinned by responsible stewardship philosophy.” 

While receiving the prestigious award at the virtual awards ceremony Mr. Gaur, said “Sustainability is at the core of our business strategy. Birla Cellulose is among global leaders in manmade cellulosic fibre (MMCF) industry and has a vision to be the global leader in sustainable business practices. Our sites apply closed-loop processes and environmentally efficient technologies that recycle and conserve natural resources. Birla Cellulose is applying the most stringent EU BAT environmental norms at all its fibre sites, going beyond regulatory norms in the countries that we operate.”

Mr. Manoj K. Raut, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Institute of Directors said, “Today, Grasim Industries Limited, Birla Cellulose, Pulp & Fibre Business has a presence in several countries. Its main products are MMCF and they follow sustainable forestry initiatives such as FSC®, PEFCTM and SFI® those are unique among the industry. They have revamped the entire manufacturing process, from raw material sourcing to the distribution of the final product, and the same has been done in order to make it in consonance with the principles of sustainability. It has set a certain benchmark for the industry.”

Birla Cellulose leads the industry in sustainable sourcing practices and is ranked globally #1 by Canopy’s Hot Button Report 2020 for sustainable forestry practices and development of next-generation solutions for alternative feedstock. 

Birla Cellulose has been able to neutralise its entire Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by carbon sequestration due to the growth of its directly managed forests and has taken leadership in the climate change initiatives in the MMCF industry. Birla Cellulose also leads in the lowest water consumption in viscose fibre production, and its Nagda site is gearing up to be the first MMCF site globally to achieve zero liquid discharge (ZLD) site later this year in 2021.

Birla Cellulose’s new generation innovative products like Livaeco™, Liva Reviva, Birla Excel (lyocell), and Birla Spunshades are designed with superior sustainable credentials. Its blockchain-based traceability tool GreenTrackTM is the most used tool to establish traceability of garments from forest to fashion.