BUILDING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES FIT FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD 10 Xxxxxxxx XX // XXXXXXX CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT The quality of our future depends on the quality of our imagination today. I see the future of the Aditya Birla Group as one of growth, continued leadership in our industries and delivering excellence for many decades to come. In order to realise that future, we must build sustainable businesses capable of operating successfully within the tougher legal standards and tighter resource constraints of a sustainable world. This means imagining a future beyond the traditional paradigms of good financial, operational and environmental performance within the limits of today’s legal code - these are already a given. Using our business acumen, harnessing scientific data and listening to expert voices will lead us to transform both what we do and how we do it so that we’re not just fit for the future, but leading the way. Equipping our organisations with a model for sustainable business and framework is a step in the right direction. Setting an ambitious vision I have set an ambitious vision for the Aditya Birla Group to become the leading Indian conglomerate in sustainable business practices across all our operations. The scientific evidence is clear and it is very likely that the needs of a sustainable world will increasingly have to be legislated, more so if industry does not proactively self-regulate to raise its own standards. For example, we see today that reducing carbon dioxide levels can no longer be ignored and the legal frameworks and infrastructures are coming into effect worldwide to motivate and eventually mandate business reductions. We will have to be prepared to meet the challenges of adaption by 2050, to a world becoming two degrees hotter, much drier and with 25% more people with massive access to information - new consumers demanding more and more detailed information from the brands they buy and the businesses they work with. As one of India’s leading business houses, we have our part to play in the driving the progress expected of India as a signatory to the COP 21 agreement of Paris 2015. I see the vision for the Aditya Birla Group as a differentiator in a market that is largely focused on short-term gains. Businesses that embrace the higher performance standards of their products, operations and supply chains that will be required to meet the constraints needed by a sustainable planet and society will be the ones that grow and prosper over the medium and long term. The Aditya Birla Group’s foundations were laid in 1857 and we have grown to be an international leader. Our collective imagination is focused on continuing this growth to take our businesses successfully to 2030 and beyond 2050. I expect our leaders to respond by taking robust actions to implement our sustainable business model and framework, meeting the rising expectations of performance and taking future trends into account. It is they who are