MUMBAI, India/MARIETTA, GA – The International Carbon Black Association (ICBA) recently awarded certificates of recognition to 14 plants and two R&D centers of Birla Carbon for achieving a level of safety performance above the industry average. Twelve gold awards and four bronze certificates were awarded, respectively. This includes Birla Carbon plants across North and South America, Europe, and Asia. A total of 32 global carbon black manufacturing facilities received this recognition as part of the Safety Recognition Program from the ICBA.

Speaking about the recognition, Joe Gaynor, Chief Legal, Risk, and Sustainability Officer, Birla Carbon, said, "Building a culture of safety is one of the important pillars for any organization's success. For Birla Carbon, recognition for the second time by the ICBA is an example of the value safety has as part of our operational effectiveness. As a business, all our policies are written and implemented, keeping in mind the safety of our people, safe handling of carbon black, and safe management of the manufacturing facilities." He further added, "I congratulate the plants and the R&D facilities of Birla Carbon for this recognition and extend my appreciation to the ICBA for recognizing the effort of all carbon black manufacturers in making their facilities safe places to work."

The Safety Recognition Program identifies facilities that go the distance to protect its workforce, the most important resource in any industry. The aim is to have every person going home safely from his or her worksites.

The recognition was started by the ICBA to acknowledge outstanding safety records and educate policymakers and the public about the carbon black industry's genuine regard for making employee safety a pre-condition for successful operations. It is a voluntary program where the participating companies submit the previous year's safety performance data, which is certified by the company's members on the ICBA Board of Directors.

Awards are given in three categories, and the sites that meet more than one award criteria receive the highest recognition.

Bronze Awards are given to sites that achieved zero Lost Work Day (LWD) cases for their employees during the calendar year of 2019. An LWD case is a work-related injury or illness resulting in one or more lost workdays for the employee following the day of the injury. Birla Carbon facilities that won this award include - Brazil (Cubatao), India (Patalganga) and the United States (North Bend and Hickok).

Silver Awards recognize sites that met the requirements of the Bronze Awards or demonstrate greater than 50% improvement from the previous year; and achieve - zero medical aid or OSHA recordable incidents or greater than 50% improvement from the previous year; zero fires or property damage incidents with an impact greater than $100K; and zero regulatory citations for safety-related events, audits or activities.

Gold Awards are presented to sites that meet the criteria for Silver Awards and received an external Safety or Environmental Management System Certification recognition, such as ISO 45001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, OSHA VPP, or equivalent third-party MGMT System certification recognition; or Implemented a company-specific Safety Management System and achieved more than three years with zero LWD case at the facility. Birla Carbon facilities that won this award include Brazil (Camacari), Hungary, Italy, Egypt, China (Weifang and Jining), Korea, Thailand, India (Renukoot, Gummidipoondi, and Taloja) and the United States (Marietta).

The Safety Recognition Program is designed to stimulate interest in safety activities, enhance awareness, and to promote safety 24 hours a day at the plant level.