To actively contribute to the social and economic development of the communities in which we operate. In doing so, build a better, sustainable way of life for the weaker sections of society and raise the country's human development index.
-Mrs. Rajashree Birla, ChairpersonAditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development
In line with the Chairman's vision, ABG is committed to operate in a manner that is long term and sustainable not only from an economic standpoint but also from an environmental and social perspective. Balancing the country's rapid growth needs with sustainable development is a unique challenge and we aim to address these issues in a manner tailored to the Indian context.
Sustainability at Aditya Birla Capital is part of the group risk function on the premise that Environmental & Social factors are material to the financial sector from a Risk perspective. Having embarked on this journey in 2015, we are still learning the ropes in terms of incorporating sustainability factors in our lending and investment decisions. The challenges are enormous since Sustainable Finance as a subject is still a relatively untrodden path in India and benefits are slow to materialize. Having said that, we have undertaken various internal and external sustainability efforts (as mentioned in the following sections) and aim to steadily fulfill our Chairman’s vision to be a sustainability leader in our sector.
The second step defined by the model is to understand the external changes that will inevitably impact our companies in the future and this step of the model is called “Stakeholder Engagement". Our goal is to build strong relationships with our stakeholders and key technical experts on climate change, water and waste management, developments in human rights legislation, safety standards, health impacts and the like. By doing so we expect to learn what are the trends that will most likely affect our businesses in the future and how they are likely to change.
The third step we will take is, "Future Proofing”, here we will embed sustainability trends into our strategic business plans to minimise the risks and find new opportunities that will be presented by the requirements of a sustainable planet and society by 2030 and 2050 and make our businesses sustainable.
