BUILDING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES FIT FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD 42 // WASTE MANAGEMENT Waste is generated at all stages of our industrial processes – from manufacturing to packaging and logistics. It is a by-product of all our operations and supply chain. We expect to see more stringent legislative changes across the globe for waste management practices as market demands and resource scarcity drive the need for further efficiencies and indeed, complete waste elimination. As global regulations and stakeholder expectations become increasingly more demanding, our Group businesses will need to focus more on reducing, reusing and recycling. Waste management is part of the Group Sustainable Business Framework. To support our businesses, we have developed a Solid and Hazardous Waste Management policy and technical standard with supporting guidance notes where we have defined categories of wastes based on physicochemical characteristics and composition: • Hazardous waste; • Electronic waste (E-waste); • Bio-medical waste; • Non-hazardous waste or Municipal including plastic waste, construction and demolition waste; and • Mineral waste. ABG’s waste management approach Our approach is based on the hierarchy of waste management with resource conservation upstream and the need for managing contaminated land sites on the downstream. Our Group businesses are developing their reduction and reuse targets based on the Group Framework that speaks to the following: • Compliance with regulatory requirements for business continuity • Minimisation of the risk to human health and the prevention of pollution to the environment • Alignment with goals prescribed by international organisations: United Nations (UN), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Basel Convention and World Health Organization (WHO); • Benchmarking our achievements and targets with those set by our peers and; • Applying Principles of Waste Management Hierarchy Progress is being made across the Group on various aspects of waste management. Birla Carbon achieved 25% solid waste recycling in FY 2016. Hindalco, through its Value from Waste initiative is exploring the potential to unlock value from its waste processing by 100% utilisation of wastes. The initiative is a systematic collection of scrap and safe storage/disposal and re-use of waste generated. Wastes like fly ash, phosphor-gypsum, bauxite residue etc. are being used in cement industry to replace virgin raw materials. The aim is to avoid, reduce and reuse the waste that is created, by managing it through a lifecycle approach. Our Retail business is piloting a Zero Waste to Landfill programme across its factories and warehouses. ABCTL Chlor Alkali has achieved 90% reduction in Brine Sludge by replacing rock salt with industrial salt as a raw material. The initiative led to the reduction in generation of Brine sludge from 431 MT production /month to 21 MT. With the use of our self-assessment questionnaire assurance process and the development of associated heat maps, sites are identifying gaps in their waste management practices. They are working towards developing detailed waste inventories and management plans that include the need to construct infrastructure for appropriate segregation, storage, handling, transfer and transport of different wastes. Our Hindalco business contributes the highest volume of non-hazardous waste generation across the Group, due to the generation of red mud during bauxite refining. Overburden generated by UltraTech for 2016-17 was 2,010,784 tonnes and is 2,094,661 tonnes for 2017-18. Responsible Stewardship