Management and Proposed Mitigation for Environmental and Social Issues:
Raw material procurement and the pulp and paper production process were assessed for each of BILT’s principal units:
- Shree Gopal Unit, Yamunanagar, Haryana (SGU);
- Andra Pradesh Rayons Plant, Kamalapuram, Andra Pradesh (APR);
- SEWA Plant, Jeypore, Orissa;
- Ballarpur Paper Unit, Chandrapur, Maharashtra (BPU);
- BILT Graphics Paper Limited, Bhigwan, Pune, Maharashtra (BGPL).
IFC found each of the plants in material compliance with the air and water quality performance standards maintained by the Pollution Control Boards of the respective states in which the plants are located, with some improvements needed in air emission controls and health and safety performance to meet IFC guidelines. The company is committed to improving its performance and is currently working on ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification for each of its plants. These commitments are detailed in the attached Consolidated Environmental Action Plan. BILT will also improve its corporate level environmental management to ensure consistency of approach across all of its operational units.
The details about these issues and how the company will address them are summarized in the paragraphs that follow.
- Air Emissions
Air emissions at all plants are generally in compliance with IFC guidelines, although there are some instances of exceedance of particulate emissions from the power boilers, recovery boilers and lime kilns when compared with IFC standards. BILT is addressing this issue through upgrading and/or installation of new electrostatic precipitators in all cases. Odors are low at all plants, due to the process used, and the company is installing scrubbers and incinerators for non-condensable gases, as well as for bleach plant vapors, at all plants to further reduce these levels.
- Wastewater Quality
Wastewater is handled appropriately in all cases, and effluent meets both Indian standards and IFC guidelines. BILT is upgrading its treatment plants to further improve effluent quality. At SEWA, the chlorine dioxide plant is also being expanded which will further reduce AOX levels in that effluent. Additional fiber recovery is planned for the BPU, SGU and SEWA plants, which will improve fiber recovery and treatment plant operation and will conserve water at these locations. The APR plant has two wastewater treatment systems, for high and low-BOD wastes, and also generates biogas used for internal processes at the plant. In all plants, the treated wastewater is reused on site for landscaping and other process needs, to the extent possible. The Company has committed to completing the conversion of its Ballarpur, SEWA, and Shree Gopal plants to elemental chlorine free (ECF) bleaching processes by expanding its production and use of chlorine dioxide.
- Hazardous Materials Handling and Solid Waste Management
Adequate systems for hazardous materials handling are in place and these materials are properly handled with due regard to safety at all plants. All plants are now using chlorine dioxide for bleaching and will be installing oxygen delignification in a phased manner over the next three years. Lime kilns are being installed at BPU, SGU and SEWA, which will end the disposal of the lime sludges as currently practiced. The existing lime sludge deposits are currently being reclaimed and revegetated.
- Procurement of Raw Materials
Land use regulations in India prevent the private establishment of large forest plantations. The pulp and paper industry in India has traditionally relied on government-controlled sources for raw material. However, evolving forest management regulations have reduced the availability and reliability of these sources. As a result, over the last six to seven years, BILT has established an extensive system of farm forestry support services within the catchment area of each plant to ensure a reliable supply of raw material for pulp production from individual farmers.
Through its subsidiary, BILT Tree Tech Ltd., BILT has established a network of nurseries to develop high yielding root stock for a variety of fast-growing tree species suitable for pulp production. Nursery extension workers provide tree seedlings to local farmers at subsidized rates and provide technical support for plantation and management of tree crops at no cost. BILT assures a direct buy-back by its plants of all raw material from each participating farmer at competitive rates, thus eliminating intermediate contractors and providing greater return to the farmer. In some cases, the company facilitates the extension of credit to farmers through local banks, especially for the development of wasteland for forest plantation.
As a result of this extension program, BILT now procures 82 percent of its raw material from private farmers. To date, 15,000 farmers with a combined plantation area of 10,000 hectares have participated in the program. The company estimates that by the year 2007, 60,000 farmers with a combined plantation area of 45,000 hectares will be participating in the program.
- Occupational Health and Safety/Life and Fire Safety
Occupational health and safety issues are addressed at all plants, but implementation is inconsistent in some respects across the group. APR has developed excellent safety manuals for both employees and contractors, and these need to be replicated across all plants. The SEWA plant needs particular attention to improvement of general housekeeping and fire safety.
- Relations with Surrounding Communities
The company’s farm forestry extension program is a significant stimulus to the rural economy within the catchment of each of its plants. In the 2002-2003 planting season, BILT nurseries provided approximately 17,000 mandays of employment and paid out approximately Rs 1.3 million in wages to day laborers from surrounding communities to produce approximately 35 million tree seedlings. In addition, the assurance of the company to buy-back raw material produced from plantations to which it provides technical support provides entrepreneurial farmers with a hedge against price fluctuations in other cash crops. As the company expands its efforts to promote the conversion of wasteland to forest plantation, it is providing subsistence farmers in the poorer areas of its catchments with income earning opportunities. Finally, by acting as a facilitator between banks and small farmers, the company seeks to ensure the extension of credit to encourage farm forestry and thereby promote the availability of financial services in rural areas.
Through its wasteland conversion efforts, the company provides a linkage between remote rural communities and government development programs. For example, a number of state governments allot wasteland for eligible landless farming families. BILT has facilitated the award of 28,000 hectares of wasteland to 55,000 families within the catchment of its Andhra Pradesh plant and, through its farm forest extension program, will provide support for these families to earn cash incomes. In addition, the Company has recently undertaken a socio-economic survey of communities within the catchment of its Ballarpur plant with the intention of initiating a program of health, education and income generation to complement its farm forestry extension program.
BILT also has a wide variety of other programs in the areas of sports, culture, education and medical services for its employees and the surrounding communities.
