Hindalco Industries Limited, the metals flagship of Aditya Birla Group, has been ranked as the Aluminium Industry Leader for its sustainability performance in the 2020 edition of the S&P Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) rankings.
Hindalco is the only company from India to be recognized as an industry leader this year. Industry leaders are the top-performing companies in each of the 61 industries represented in the DJSI. Hindalco got a total score of 75 points as against the industry average of 51. A company note said, “The ranking is an affirmation of Hindalco’s commitment to operations under a Resilient, Responsible and Reliable business model.”
Hindalco’s scores are in the 100th percentile in most aspects of all 3 dimensions of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in the DJSI Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). The ESG assessment dimensions include aspects like climate strategy, biodiversity, environment and social reporting, water-related risks, policy influence, customer relationship management, human capital development, among others.
Hindalco had made its debut on the DJSI last year entering the emerging markets index and had scored 60 points in 2019 placing it at number 3 among in the aluminium industry globally.
Manjit Jus, Global Head, ESG Research and Data, S&P Global, said, “ With a record number of companies participating in the 2020 Corporate Sustainability Assessment and more stringent rules for inclusion this year, this sets Hindalco apart and rewards its continued commitment to people and planet.”
The aluminium industry has an important and significant role to play in the circular economy. It can contribute to lower waste and energy savings in the products it produces. Aluminium products can contribute to energy savings in the production process and use phase, as aluminium is lightweight and its recycling consumes significantly less energy than most other materials.
Red Mud Utilization
Hindalco has taken a number of innovative steps on the sustainability front. In a global-first initiative to create value out of aluminium processing by-product, Hindalco has tied-up with cement manufacturers to use red mud as a replacement for mined resources. This is a pioneering effort in reducing the environmental impact on both aluminium and cement sectors. Hindalco is the first aluminium company in the world to achieve this breakthrough on red mud utilization.
Hindalco’s efforts in product stewardship revolve around sustainable transportation and logistics. India’s first lightweight aluminium trailer and bulker, which helps transporters save up to 15,000 litres of fuel per trailer, was developed and commercialised by Hindalco. Another initiative is on sustainable packaging, a combination of aluminium and jute bags, for food items.
Hindalco is also working closely with Xynteo on sustainable mining, which is focused on good environmental practices in water and biodiversity, community livelihood and health, among others. The work on biodiversity is being undertaken across Hindalco’s multiple locations in partnership with International Union for Conservation of Nature for biodiversity management with a goal of No Net Loss. Hindalco said it is working on water positivity in its mining locations by supporting the construction of rainwater harvesting ponds, reservoirs, agri-water management through CSR activities for local communities.
The DJSI combine S&P DJSI’s transparent rules-based index methodology with robust data from SAM’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), an annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices. Each year, SAM evaluates more than 7,300 companies around the world.
Asia’s Largest Producer of Primary Aluminium
At $16.7 billion in revenue, Hindalco is the world’s largest aluminium rolling and recycling company, and a major player in copper. It is also one of Asia’s largest producers of primary aluminium.
Its wholly-owned subsidiary Novelis Inc. is the world’s largest producer of aluminium beverage can stock and the largest recycler of used beverage cans (UBCs). Hindalco’s copper facility in India comprises a world-class copper smelter, downstream facilities, a fertiliser plant and a captive jetty. The copper smelter is among the world’s largest custom smelters at a single location. Hindalco’s global footprint spans 47 manufacturing units across 10 countries.
