Inching Towards Sustainable Goals ABFRL Wins Gold Standard Recognition

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd.’s (ABFRL) manufacturing factory “Fashion Craft Ltd.”, has been awarded TRUE Zero Waste Gold certification by Green Business Certification Inc. (‘GBCI’). It is the first industrial manufacturing unit in India and the second worldwide to receive this certification.

This unit uses novel waste management strategy that promotes sustainable resource management and waste reduction practices. These measures, taken together, contribute to positive environmental, health, and economic outcomes.

The factory has implemented variety of sustainability measures including Reduce-Reuse-Recycle approach; diversion of waste from landfills, sustainable packaging, and processes such as in-house composting, zero-waste purchasing, and hazardous waste prevention. There is a strong emphasis on redesigning, innovation, and employee training in these aspects.

ABFRL embarked on its sustainability journey ‘ReEarth - For Our Tomorrow’ with a focus on operations, to restore the balance between natural resources and business ecosystems. The company aims to meet ambitious sustainability targets and business objective while balancing risks and opportunities for all relevant ESG initiatives. This transition will embed sustainability throughout the spectrum of design development, supply chain and end of use for product life cycle thinking and circular approach.

On receiving this prestigious certification, Dr. Naresh Tyagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Aditya Birla Fashion (ABFRL) said, “ESG considerations are important for our operational efficiencies to develop new products and source materials. ABFRL’s Sustainability vision, ‘Re-Earth’ is to give back more than what we take from our ecosystem, and constantly work to ‘Regenerate, Restore and Revitalize’ ecosystems and communities that we operate in.” He added, “At ABFRL, we believe that such initiatives allow us to establish ourselves as leaders in the sustainable fashion industry while also creating long-term value for our stakeholders.”

“Fashion Craft Ltd. has set a worthy example of how a manufacturing plant can adopt sustainable solutions,” said Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, Managing Director, Southeast Asia & Middle East of Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) India. “We are pleased to congratulate the Company on achieving TRUE Zero Waste Gold certification for its manufacturing unit. It is a rare distinction, and we hope that many others across India will follow its footsteps. GBCI India is dedicated to working with organization to ensure the long-term viability of projects throughout the country.”

TRUE Zero Waste certification is awarded to facilities that define, pursue, and achieve zero waste goals, as well as reduce their carbon footprint and support recycling and extended use of materials. It rewards spaces and facilities that achieve highest ratings for minimizing their waste to landfill, incineration (waste-to-energy) or the environment.

About ABFRL

ABFRL is part of a leading Indian conglomerate, The Aditya Birla Group. With revenue of Rs. 8,136 cr. spanning a retail space of 9.2 million sq. ft. (as on March 31, 2022), it is India’s first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse with an elegant bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats.

The Company has a network of 3,468 stores, approximately 28,585 multi-brand outlets with 6,515 points of sales in department stores across India (as on 31st March 2022).

It has a repertoire of India’s largest brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England, established for over 25 years. Pantaloons is one of India’s leading fashion retailers.

ABFRL’s international Brands portfolio includes - The Collective, India's largest multi-brand retailer of international brands and has long-term exclusive partnerships with select brands such as Ralph Lauren, Hackett London, Simon Carter, Ted Baker, Fred Perry, forever 21, American Eagle and Reebok.

Van Heusen Innerwear, Athleisure and Active wear is establishing itself as India's most innovative and fashionable brand. The Company’s foray into branded ethnic wear business includes brands such as Jaypore, Tasva and Marigold Lane. The Company has strategic partnerships with Designers ‘Shantanu & Nikhil,’ ‘Tarun Tahiliani,’ ‘Sabyasachi’ and ‘House of Masaba’. ABFRL is also embarking on a significant Direct-to-Consumer play to build a portfolio of new-age brands across fashion, beauty, and other lifestyle segments.

The Company is bolstering its digital capabilities by scaling up its brands.com to build an integrated portfolio of digital assets to provide an immersive customer experience, deepen consumer connect of its brands and expand its portfolio into emerging consumer segments.

About USGBC

The U.S. Green Building Council (‘USGBC’) is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC works toward its mission of market transformation through its LEED green building program, robust educational offerings, an international network of local community leaders, the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the Center for Green Schools and advocacy in support of public policy that encourages and enables green buildings and communities. For more information, visit usgbc.org and connect on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About GBCI

The Green Business Certification Inc. (‘GBCI’) is a premier organization independently recognizing excellence in green business industry performance and practice globally. Established in 2008, GBCI exclusively administers project certifications and professional credentials and certificates within the framework of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating systems, as well as the PEER standard for power systems, the WELL Building Standard, the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES), EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies), TRUE certification for zero waste, Investor Confidence Project (ICP) for energy efficiency retrofits.

About GBCI India

GBCI India was incorporated in 2016 to facilitate the global growth of GBCI and its sustainability programs and to provide on-the-ground support to the project teams and professionals advancing LEED in the region. The 50+ technical experts and professionals who make up GBCI India’s core team bring years of subject matter expertise and come from diverse backgrounds, but all share a passion and underlying commitment to being part of the sustainable transformation of real estate and construction sectors in India. For more information, please visit www.gbci.org/india and follow @GBCI_India on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About LEED

The Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (‘LEED’) green building certification system is the foremost program for the design, construction, maintenance, and operations of green buildings. Every day, more than 2.6 million square feet of space are certified using LEED. More than 107,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial LEED rating systems, comprising more than 24 billion square feet of construction space in 182 countries and territories. In addition, there are nearly 2 million registered and certified residential units. India is currently the fourth-largest market in the world for LEED. Learn more at usgbc.org/LEED and review the Foundations of the LEED development process. LEED v4.1, the latest version of LEED, raises the bar on building standards to address energy efficiency, water conservation, site selection, material selection, day lighting and waste reduction.