At Birla Carbon, the conviction that “zero harm is possible” isn’t just a slogan—it’s a lived reality. Across Aditya Birla Group companies, this shared safety culture drives transformative results. Birla Carbon has demonstrated exceptional commitment to workplace protection, achieving its best safety record in FY2025 while advancing innovative global programmes that safeguard people, partners, and the environment.
Record-Breaking Safety Performance
Birla Carbon’s dedication to safety excellence has yielded remarkable results. The company achieved its lowest Total Recordable Incidence Rate (TRIR) value in FY2025 since 2012, registering an impressive 0.31 per 200,000 exposure hours for both employees and contractors. This achievement represents a significant milestone in the organization’s ongoing commitment to workplace safety.
The numbers tell a compelling story: Birla Carbon’s TRIR of 0.31 is eight times better than the industry average. When compared to the 2023 Bureau of Labour Statistics TRIR average of 2.6 for the manufacturing industry classification, the company’s performance stands out as truly exceptional.
“Safety is non-negotiable at Birla Carbon, and over the years, we have continued to build and maintain our culture of safety, globally,” says John Loudermilk, President and CEO of Birla Carbon. “All our plants maintain the highest safety standards for all employees, which is in many ways built on our purpose to ‘Share the Strength’.”
Building a Proactive Safety Culture
Safety at Birla Carbon is deeply embedded in company policies and embraced across all organizational levels. The company proactively identifies risks and implements preventive measures to ensure comprehensive protection for its people and partners. This approach guides every decision made throughout the organization.
Strategic Safety Initiatives
The transformation began several years ago with the launch of Birla Carbon’s Tactical Business Plan. This strategic framework identified key sites for targeted, high-impact safety initiatives, reinforcing core responsibilities and accountability at every level. The organization simultaneously strengthened its internal compliance audits by focusing on ten critical areas to ensure robust safety standards.
These critical areas include the Safe Six protocols, Work Permits, Contractor Management, Above Ground Storage Tanks, and Waste Management. The Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) and HR teams collaborate on comprehensive training and onboarding programmes, equipping employees with the knowledge and confidence to prioritize safety daily.
Zero Incidence Programme Excellence
Setting the Standard
Building a safety culture at Birla Carbon starts with leadership setting clear expectations for working safely. Leaders provide necessary resources, incentivize appropriate behaviors, and hold people accountable for their actions. The vision is ambitious yet achievable: realize zero safety-related incidents in the workplace.
To achieve this goal, the Zero Incidence Programme has been established as part of a multi-year strategic plan. The results have been outstanding. As of September 2025, the Alexandria (Egypt) and Trecate (Italy) sites have each achieved nearly 1,500 days with zero recordable incidents. Even more impressively, the Santander (Spain) and Patalganga (India) sites have achieved over 2,000 days without recordable incidents.
Global Standards Implementation
Birla Carbon recognizes that different cultures may have varying expectations or norms related to safety. The company’s strategy is based on internal standards that meet or exceed regulatory requirements in the most advanced safety-focused areas. The organization incorporates recognized best practices to set a consistent bar for safety excellence globally.
In 2024, two new Regional HSE Managers were added, including a corporate HSE resource in the Asia region for the first time, strengthening the company’s global safety infrastructure.
Regional Success Stories
Egypt’s Safety Transformation
“At Birla Carbon Egypt, safety and environmental stewardship are the foundation of our sustainable vision,” says Ayman Ibrahim, Compliance Manager at Birla Carbon Egypt. “Through strong leadership, including direct involvement from our Managing Director, we’ve fostered a culture where everyone takes ownership of safety.”
Over three years, employee training tripled, reporting doubled, and lost time incidents dropped to zero, transforming challenges into achievements. The Alexandria (Egypt) team proactively established a Safety Action Team that expands safety audit responsibilities across all leadership levels, not just the HSE team. This initiative has resulted in outstanding improvements in workplace organization, compliance, and incident prevention.
Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention
Through the Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) initiative, Birla Carbon strives to keep everyone who enters its sites safe. The comprehensive programme includes regular training related to the Safe Six, Stop Work Authority (SWA) for all workers, contractor protection measures, employee incentive programs, an automated High Energy Control Assessments (HECA) mobile app, and an e-permitting system.
The SIF initiative is designed to identify risks and hazards while focusing on minimizing hazards to the greatest extent possible, ensuring continuous improvement in workplace safety standards.
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