ESG
What do you imagine when you think of mines? Pitted, desolate land, devastated by mining operations, sparse vegetation, and dust all around? Think again. Hindalco owns and operates 17 manufacturing units and 21 operational mines across India, encompassing various terrains and habitats. Now, these sites showcase fruit orchards, biodiversity parks, a fledgling tea garden, and millions of trees. Conservation of natural ecology, flora and fauna, rainwater harvesting, etc., are other green initiatives that are changing the landscape of regions in which the company operates.
A roadmap for responsible mining
Sustainability has been consciously ingrained in Hindalco’s operations. Over the years, the company has initiated several green initiatives in mining areas to mitigate the impact on the environment and the local communities. Recognising that mining is, by its very nature, an extractive business, the company has actively worked not only to avoid deforestation and soil degradation but also to initiate transplantation projects where commercially feasible.
Sustainable Mining Charter
Hindalco has pioneered India’s first Sustainable Mining Charter to serve as a road map that will help integrate green initiatives into its mining operations. The Charter was developed in 2021, in collaboration with Xynteo, to demonstrate how a company can live more harmoniously with nature and nullify the impact of operations on the health and richness of the surrounding ecosystems.
The Charter offers a specific, structured approach and guidelines to arrive at practical, long-term solutions and to develop sustainability goals for focus areas. It also provides an implementation road map to achieve set goals.
Walking the talk
With the Sustainable Mining charter in place, Hindalco set about channelling resources and putting policies into action in a systematic way. The company followed the Aditya Birla Group’s Corporate Biodiversity Policy and Technical Standard to guide efforts to protect biodiversity and promote ecosystem conservation. Comprehensive biodiversity assessments and proximity analyses were undertaken across various mines for effective implementation of the biodiversity policy.
As part of its commitment to no net deforestation wherever possible, the company has developed a green belt of 3.1 million trees, over 4,672 acres, across 10 operational sites.
A friend to flora and fauna
Hindalco also partnered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature to prepare bio-diversity management plans for its sites. The transformation includes bird and reptile conservation at Sambalpur, Odisha, which is home to the fan-throated lizard and the oriental garden lizard; the many species of birds, mammals, butterflies, and flora at Kathuatia, where over 100,000 trees have been planted; the green cover at Muri, which acts as a sink to capture pollutants; the biodiversity park at Bagru that cover 5.5 hectares of reclaimed mined land and comprises orchards, a spice garden, butterfly garden, a duck farm, and pools for commercial fishing.
These initiatives have helped the company reduce its impact on the environment and become a role model for industry peers.
Water positive
Apart from this, the company has set a goal of achieving water positivity across all its sites by 2025, and across all its operations by 2050. This includes reducing specific freshwater consumption by at least 20% and achieving Zero Liquid Discharge status by 2025.
To achieve this goal, Hindalco has focused on integrated watershed management as a key aspect of water conservation. Today, Hindalco’s mines use harvested rainwater instead of groundwater for their mining operations. The company has also undertaken several initiatives such as the construction of bunds, gully plugs, rainwater harvesting ponds, contours and terraces.
These initiatives and projects testify to Hindalco’s efforts to explore the vast potential of mined land across their operations so as to deliver long-term benefits for the communities they work in. At Hindalco, sustainable mining is a community-centric, eco-friendly approach that integrates with the company’s overarching ESG goals.
