Bottom of the pile
• Lack of environment policy/policy statement: Let alone having a comprehensive environmental policy statement, most of these companies do not even have a general environment policy statement. They have not made any effort to set up an environment department
l Poor at fibre sourcing: Most of the companies source their raw materials from natural forests and there is no effort to move towards farm/social forestry
l Lack of efficiency in use of resources: Most of these companies are quite poor at utilising their raw materials efficiently. In general, their consumption of fibre, energy, water and chemicals is extraordinarily high
l Poor relations with local communities: These companies have bad relations with local communities, reflecting mist rust about the operations of the factories
l Non-compliance with pollution norms: Some time or the other, almost all the companies at the bottom of the rating have exceeded pollution norms set by the respective state pollution control boards in terms of effluents, emissions and solid wastes
l Poor pollution control equipment: There is a marked lack of effort to install good-quality pollution control equipment. Most of the pollution control equipment is either outdated or poorly maintained
l Failure to recycle and reuse raw materials: No effort at recycling wastes generated during the production process and poor disposal practices. Most companies do not have kilns to recover lime from sludge
l Poor technology: Most companies that have received poor rating have outdated technology, especially with regard to use of chlorine in bleaching processes. There is hardly any move to adopt chlorine-free bleaching process