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Environment

BILT believes in synergising business interests with environmental accountability. All manufacturing units follow stringent environment management systems, with four of the six units in India being ISO certified. To further ourdrive towards protecting the environment and reducing pollution, the company has in place a sound Environment Policy.

Environment Policy of BILT

We reaffirm our commitment to the prevention of pollution by minimizing the adverse impact of our activities and operations in pulp and paper manufacture on the environment.

Pursuant to this goal, we shall:

• Continuously improve our environmental performance by setting sound environmental objectives and targets in each manufacturing unit, and reviewing their implementation at the top management level, as an essential element of corporate management.
• Install, maintain and operate control facilities to comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations.
• Conserve natural resources and energy by reducing consumption and wastage.
• Sustainable manage forests and plantations and promote community and farm forestry for sustainable supply of fibrous raw material.
• Introduce cleaner and more energy efficient processes in a phased manner to replace  older processes.
• Create awareness amongst all employees, and encourage them to work in a manner that ensures protection of the environment.
• Make available on demand the Environment Policy to concerned parties and agencies.

Sustainability Initiatives

All units are committed to the Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection (CREP) programme, and adhere to the most stringent environmental norms. Manufacturing processes are geared toward conserving water and energy, significantly reducing emissions and effluents, and effectively managing solid waste, while working towards creating a positive carbon footprint.

Resource conservation remains a key focus area for all units, and numerous water and energy saving innovations have been introduced across the various manufacturing processes. For example, steam consumption is optimised through improvements in the cooking process and upgradation of the blow heat recovery system. BILT’s energy and water-saving interventions have received wide acclaim from both government and non-government agencies.
A multi-pronged approach to reducing effluent discharge at the source has significantly brought down effluent load to ETP. In addition, parameters like BOD, COD, suspended solids and colour of the treated effluent have been better than prescribed norms.

All expansion and modernisation projects are in line with state-of-the-art environmental norms.

Forestry

Experts in silviculture, BILT has nearly two decades of experience in managing clonal plantations. Operations are managed by BILT’s subsidiaries, Sabah Forest Industries (Malaysia) and BILT TreeTech (India). These forestry operations provide our factories with a sustainable supply of fibre.

Malaysia
In Sabah, BILT manages nearly 300,000 hectares of forests, which includes a large tract of industrial plantation. A team of international plant geneticists, entomologists, plant pathologists and soil scientists is in a constant quest to improve yields through development of better breeds and research into silviculture and tree nutrition.
Reduced impact logging techniques used in the sustainable management of natural forests protect the soil and saplings, thus ensuring natural regeneration. Biodiversity-rich areas are demarcated as protected forests and left untouched. Critical water catchment areas are set aside for clean freshwater supply.

Nothing is wasted. Trimmings and waste are used for pulping. Fine saw dust, barks and wood fragments are used to produce steam for generating power. The company has achieved a recovery rate of 96% for each cubic metre of log delivered to the mills. This translates into near zero wastage of resources.

Micromanagement of the entire process ensures continuous production of wood-based products, with concomitant social and ecological benefits.

India
As industrial plantations are not allowed in India, BILT has initiated farm forestry operations in several states. This programme is manned by experienced forestry professionals, and specifically focuses on marginal farmers with unproductive lands. These farmers are provided with high-yielding clones of pulpwood species, and are offered extension services and expert advice. In addition, the company facilitates long-term, tailor-made bank loans to needy farmers.  The company also assures purchase of their pulpwood produce at a declared support price or market price, whichever is higher.

Besides securing a sustainable supply of raw material for BILT’s paper plants, the farm forestry programme has several social, economical and ecological benefits. It generates employment for the rural communities, converts non-performing assets into performing assets, and reduces the pressure on natural forests.

Apart from bringing about a sea change in the socio-economic fabric of these rural areas through productive use of marginal lands, the farm forestry programme has resulted in:

• soil and water conservation,
• increased soil fertility due to addition of organic matter,
• cleaner air, and
• protection against natural calamities like storms and floods

To date, the company has brought over 30,000 hectares of fallow and wasteland under tree plantations, benefitting around 32,000-35,000 farmers.