Birla Cellulose wins it big for sustainability

Birla Cellulose, the leading sustainability focused man made cellulosic fibre (MMCF) producer, was recently awarded the first-ever National Innovative and Sustainable Supply Chain Awards’ instituted by the UN Global Compact Network India. The yarn manufacturer won the award for its case study – Liva Reviva by Birla Cellulose and Fully Traceable Circular Global Fashion Supply Chains.

"We are proud to be recognised for our innovative Next Generation solution for upcycling the textile waste, reducing the pressure on virgin materials and establishing transparency in complex fashion value chain," Mr. Dilip Gaur, Business Director of Birla Cellulose and Managing Director, Grasim Industries said.

As a responsible corporate, the company has been steadfast in upholding its commitment to the environment and the larger community. “These efforts are aligned to our prioritised UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and dedicated to building circular business models which are based on partnerships that add value to stakeholders, people and planet,” Mr. Gaur added.

Stepping up on sustainability

Global production of clothing and its consumption has seen an upward trend in the recent past. Concurrently, there has been an increase in textile waste which is either incinerated or landfilled due to lack of recycling technologies. Five per cent of all global landfills is being taken up by dumped textile waste.

The case study offers easy and sustainable solutions for the mounting textile waste along with effective steps to reduce the lack of transparency / traceability in the scattered, complex and long fashion supply chains.

Birla Cellulose has achieved path breaking innovation using 20% pre-consumer cotton fabric waste to manufacture Liva Reviva. Based on the principles of circular economy, the innovation meets the Recycled Claim Standards and is a testimonial to the company’s commitment to developing NextGen solutions.

The award is also a recognition for Birla Cellulose’s efforts to ensure end-to-end 'live' supply chain transparency and traceability. Leveraging GreenTrackTM, its unique blockchain-based platform, Birla Cellulose tracks material flow in the supply chain of fibre, from certified forests to the end consumers. It enables consumers to see the forests from where the wood is sourced and thus providing a complete end-to-end visibility of forest to fashion.

Charting a new course

Birla Cellulose’s close-knit partnerships across the global value chain have helped it to establish 'viable reverse logistics' and create higher value for textile waste for small scale waste recyclers. Birla Cellulose has prioritised the increased use of alternate feedstock like textile waste to increase the sustainability quotient of its products.

In recognition of the company’s leadership in sustainable wood sourcing practices in the MMCF industry, Birla Cellulose ranks no. 1 in Canopy’s Hot Button Report 2020, assessing MMCF producers on sustainable wood sourcing practices and next generation solutions.

Birla Cellulose’s sustainability strategy has helped set new benchmarks for fibre manufacturers. The efforts to recycle waste and create a circular economy have proved that profit and sustainability are not mutually exclusive but they are compatible.