Hindalco Industries Limited, the metal flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, has been named the world’s most sustainable aluminum company for the fifth year in a row.
In the 2024 edition of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) rankings, Hindalco was the only aluminum company to secure the top position. It achieved an overall score of 87 points (as of October 30, 2024), improving its score by 9 points compared to 2023. It was 22 points ahead of its closest peer, a company statement said.
The DJSI World Index includes the top 10 percent of the 2,500 largest companies by market capitalization in the S&P Global Broad Market Index, based on long-term economic and ESG factors.
Increasing ESG standards
Satish Pai, Managing Director of Hindalco Industries Ltd, said: “We have been able to significantly improve our score thanks to our consistent efforts to raise our environmental, social and governance standards. This includes committed efforts to maintain biodiversity, water positivity, zero waste to landfill and ultimately achieving net-zero emissions.”
According to the statement, Hindalco achieved the 100th percentile in most aspects of the three dimensions of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).
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This included climate strategy, environmental and social reporting, and water-related risks, as well as eco-efficiency operational parameters such as waste management and resource consumption, cybersecurity, community engagement and workforce development.
The company’s sustainability rankings showed continuous improvement across all parameters, the company said, adding that it is leading in climate action and emissions reduction programs. It has taken initiatives such as setting up a 24-hour 100 MW carbon-free energy project for its Odisha smelter, which also earned the prestigious ‘Energy Transition Changemaker’ award at COP28.
85% of company waste recycled
It achieved a remarkable 19.54 percent reduction in specific greenhouse gas emissions compared to the baseline for the 2011-2012 financial year. The company is making further investments to support environmentally friendly smelter expansions as part of its vision to source 30 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030, the press release said.
Hindalco recycled 85 percent of its operational waste in fiscal 2024, and three of its units received zero-waste-to-landfill certification, in line with the company’s goal of achieving zero-waste-to-landfill by 2030 to achieve.
In the social category, the company retained its top position with a score of 89 percent, which is 26 percentage points higher than its nearest competitor. As part of its social commitment, the company invested ₹154 crore in community programs in 2023-24, impacting over 2.5 million lives.
In terms of governance, the company scored an impressive 84 percent, which is 12 percentage points higher than its nearest competitor. S&P Global’s Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) is the world’s leading provider of ratings that assess publicly traded companies based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
