Aditya Birla Group has defined a Sustainable Business as one that can continue to operate within the tightening constraints of a future world. To understand and leverage on the nuances that shall exist in the ecosystem, ABG has adopted the Sustainable Business Framework with an objective improve business management systems across value chains and deliver long-term sustainable value to the stakeholders.
Anchored by the ABG Vision and three pillars of Sustainable Business Framework – Responsible Stewardship, Stakeholder Engagement and Future-proofing, we at Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) embarked on our sustainability journey with the launch of the sustainability 1.0 programme ‘ReEarth – For Our Tomorrow’ in FY 13. The Sustainability 1.0 programme is carried forward through 10 Missions with focus on our operations, seeking to restore the balance between natural and business ecosystems, with an aim to create a business that thrives in a world with rising resource constraints.
From Process-Led to Product-Led
Post the successful achievement of milestones in 2021, ABFRL has set itself on a transition i.e., sustainability 2.0 from ‘Process-led to Product-led’, with a 2025 agenda focusing on product design and development, customer centricity and supply chain. The 2025 roadmap aims to achieve ambitious sustainability targets and business goals while balancing risks and opportunities for all relevant ESG initiatives. This transition shall strengthen integration of sustainability across the whole spectrum of design development, supply chain and consumer end of use for product life cycle.
Furthermore, in this journey we shall strive to build a circular ecosystem, leverage technology disruption and lastly, we shall work towards accelerating advocacy on sustainable fashion across the Indian as well as global apparel and textile industry.
The Product Life Cycle Approach
The Product Life Cycle Approach is the fulcrum of ABFRL’s sustainability strategy now. From product design and product development, to supply chain and customer-centricity, through use and end-use, this Lifecycle Analysis Approach shall act as pivot in integrating sustainability into the everyday norm, which ultimately, will center around achieving overall product sustainability.
ABFRL is focusing on design and development through ‘clean by design’, enhancing sustainability attributes of products i.e., by working towards alternate materials, eliminating single-use plastic, sustainable production processes and sustainable product & packaging approach.
Similarly, our approach for the Supply chain is through interventions in ‘sustainable operations’ by establishing the baseline for product intensity, sustainability index and Scope 3. Also, focus will be increased towards ‘Model Stores’ for Safety and Environment parameters in continuation with the safety target of Zero fatality.
Another key focus on customer-centricity is through ‘inclusive communities’ approach. Consumers of the fashion industry not only demand a fresh collection but also have become socially and environmentally conscious. Moving ahead, ABFRL will be focusing on defining target on sustainable product labelling based on sustainable attributes.
Along with the three pillars, empowering communities ABFRL operates-in and establishing conducive environment through robust health & safety (OHS) framework are equally critical to us. The communities ABFRL operates in a very integral part of our ecosystem and over the years we have progressed multifold in terms of outreach and impact. Going forward, ABFRL is committed to creating a more equitable and inclusive society by nurturing pathways leading to sustainable transformation and social integration.
The strong business recovery, growth and expansion is magnifying the need of strengthened management practices and ABFRL’s health and safety framework plays a vital role here, kick-starting with the due-diligence assessment to daily on-site assessments ensuring the common goal ‘zero severity at our premises’ is achieved.
Going forward, ABFRL envisages to strengthen its management systems at the workplace, far beyond compliance, international and national standards and ABG technical standard requirements.
At short-term i.e., our key focus areas shall be laid upon
- Occupational health index monitoring
- Capacity building at leadership level
- Digitization and automation of safety data (including collection, reporting and analysis).
By 2025, we aspire to enable ABFRL to be a ‘Safe and Healthy Workplaces’ and achieving ‘Zero Lost Time Injuries’.
Awards & Accolades
ABFRL’s commitment towards ESG journey has been well appreciated and inspired while accomplishing global acknowledgement and accolades. This year we continued to win accolades from prominent forums and organizations.
- ABFRL has retained Asia’s most sustainable company (globally ranked 8th) at the S&P Global DJSI – Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) in the textiles, apparel and luxury goods sector
- ABFRL achieved a global rank of 12th under Textiles & Apparel with a score of Low Risk Category, being assessed for the 1st time by Sustainalytics, a global ESG Rating Standard of repute
- ABFRL conferred with ESG India Leadership Awards 2022 for Best Green Supply Chain category by ESGRisk, Acuity Knowledge Partners
- ABFRL committed towards being a signatory of United Nations Global Compact through adhering to its 10 principles
- Validated our carbon emission and net zero targets through Science Based Target Initiatives (SBTi) commitment.
- Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail has been awarded ESG Trailblazers at the ESG World Summit, Singapore and GRIT Awards 2022
- Green Building certification at Van Huesen warehouse – Achieved “Platinum” certification under CII – IGBC Green Logistics Parks and Warehouses which is our second warehouse to pursue in the region under the aforementioned rating system
- Recognized with Excellence Award in IGBC Performance Challenge 2021 for the LBRD Warehouse, Bengaluru
- Aditya Birla Fashion Retail Limited has received TRUE Zero Waste Gold certification, for its manufacturing site, from Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)
- Awarded ‘Gold Shield’ for Reporting on Sustainable Development Goals by ICAI Sustainability Reporting Awards 2021
- Sollepura Village, Tamil Nadu awarded ‘PLATINUM’ certification from Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) – a testament of our social responsibility programmes
- ABFRL’s Madura Clothing received the CII-ITC Scale Award 2021 for “Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence in the Garments and Textiles” category.
- ABFRL Won the Golden Peacock Award for Sustainability 2020 in the Textile and Apparel Sector
These achievements are a testimony of ABFRL’s commitment towards ‘ABFRL: Re-Earth’ vision, mission and continuous strive for excellence.
Strategic Solutions for 2030 & 2050
While focusing on achieving the Sustainability – 2025 goals, we are also working on strategic areas for 2030 & 2050 which include ‘Net-zero transition, building circular ecosystems and leveraging on digital disruption’ which shall ignite the paradigm shift and act as enablers in attaining global sustainable leadership in delivering sustainable fashion.
“At ABFRL, sustainability and fashion are not a paradox and over the years, sustainability has been integrated into our brand and tied to our core business” ~ Dr. Naresh Tyagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, ABFRL
Advancing towards net zero emissions is a journey and an integral part of our 2030 and 2050 agenda. To transit towards net-zero emissions by mid-century, it requires local actions with a focus on creating adaptable and flexible solutions to establish business models that build and operate high performance buildings, promote life cycle thinking, source regional and recycled materials and ultimately a shift away from fossil fuels mitigating or eliminating negative impacts of business.
Green Building Rating System
- Over the years at ABFRL, we have certified ~12 lakh sq. ft built up area under green building rating system, creating a positive environment for people, plant and business.
- Going forward, keeping in view the net-zero pathway we are working towards certifying our built area as per Net-Zero energy rating system.
- By aligning our built environment with green rating systems, we are embedding the core philosophies – responsibly sourcing (i.e., regional and recycled material), promoting circularity, adopting lifecycle approach and ultimately building high performance operations.
Along with focus on green buildings, we are adopting a pragmatic approach across the supply chain by focusing towards enhancing energy and material efficiency, maximizing renewable energy coefficient, and scaling sustainable materials and practices. This comprehensive approach not only assists in preventing emission but also enables mitigating embodied emissions across the value chain.
Responsibly Sourcing Raw Material
Businesses with a vision to become sustainable must transform their core and for a business like us, core of the business lies in raw material security and sustainability. In our sustainability journey, focus towards raw material has always been incremental each year since 2013 and with sustainability 2.0 transition the ‘product-led’ strategy, raw material has become the pivot of our roadmap and journey ahead.
At ABFRL, we use varied raw materials including BCI Cotton, LIVA Eco, REVIVA, Recycled polyester / cotton and new age fibres like linen, viscose. To identify the most sustainable material, we refer to the Higg Material Sustainability Index (Higg MSI) and various other international standards. We are also shifting towards the usage of bio-degradable plastics across our product portfolio.
Keeping in view ever-expanding product portfolio, we strive to further enhance sustainable raw material portfolio by sourcing from farms and factories that ensure environmental, social responsibility while not compromising on economic stability.
Building a Circular Ecosystem
Along with focus on sourcing sustainable raw material, ABFRL also lays strong emphasis on building a ‘Circular Ecosystem’ which shall play a vital role in the delivering sustainable fashion and also contributes for a holistic sustainable value offering to the consumer and the value chain.
With over a decade of sustainability journey, we believe collaboration and co-creation helped ABFRL in achieving newer avenues and striving ahead for sustainable growth and industry partnership.
With 2030 in timeframe, ABFRL is working towards accelerating advocacy and exploring innovative solutions with prime focus on circularity, sustainability sourcing and low carbon pathway. This journey requires deep collaboration across the entire value chain envisaging radical transformation benefiting the entire ecosystem.
Along with our existing collaboration with the Ellen McArthur Foundation and Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF), ABFRL has made a large stride in its circularity journey through collaboration with the ‘GIZ’ a German Government agency in a ‘private-public development partnership project’ with an aim to strengthen circular business practices for the Indian market.
It is imperative for an organization to develop a specific viewpoint showcasing strategy adopted, the progress and value generated from sustainability initiatives. In this decade old journey, we have established continuous dialogue with all our stakeholders through thoughtful communication mechanisms and timely engagement. In cognizance with dynamic regulations and business trends ABFRL’s ESG disclosures have matured with time and in pace. This evolution of disclosures enabled us to leave a mark of the ‘ReEarth’ movement and also assisted in attaining leadership position in sector not just at a national level but at an Asia level.
Sustainability Development Report
ABFRL’s Sustainability Development Report, which is published every financial year has been our communication mechanism in the past 6 years taking our Re-Earth story, strategy and success to stakeholders in a comprehensive manner. To provide credibility and comparability over the years, our Sustainability Reports are developed in accordance with global frameworks such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standard alongside the requirements global assurance standard of AA1000AS. Further, ABFRL has aligned the organization’s risk and governance to the globally accepted climate risk framework Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) & COSO, where we map and report in line with disclosure components like governance, strategy, risk mechanism and targets and metrics.
Going a step further this year, ABFRL is planning to validate climate and emission related energy and emission targets through Science Based Target Initiatives (SBTi) to align our goals with global target of keeping the global temperature down well below 2°C. Over the years, we have adopted various initiatives across Scope 1 & 2 emissions and initiated dialogue with stakeholders for mitigating Scope 3 emissions across the ecosystem.
Conclusion
“At ABFRL, sustainability and fashion are not a paradox and over the years, sustainability has been integrated into our brand and tied to our core business” – this summarizes our approach which is aligned with our sustainability vision ‘to give back more than we take’ i.e., to build circular and regenerative ecosystems. To match the unwavering focus on sustainable fashion, we are working towards enabling innovation and technology to also act as a catalyst in the journey ahead.
Finally, India’s ambitious 45% emission reduction (of GDP) target by 2030 and a long-term goal of Net Zero by 2070 makes it imperative to decouple the economic growth from GHG emissions and ABFRL is in incessant pursuit to contribute towards aspiring big with strategic areas – ‘Net-zero transition, building circular ecosystems and leveraging on digital disruption’ in their governance and operation, which will inspire the paradigm shift and focus in delivering sustainable fashion.
