Coal news and updates

HUL ends coal use across its plants in sustainability push

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), India’s biggest household goods maker, has eliminated the use of coal across its operations in India, replacing it with cleaner biomass and biodiesel, as part of a plan to cut carbon emissions.

Although the journey towards zero coal use started five years ago, with parent Unilever committing to do away with the fuel by 2020, HUL managed the feat a year ahead of schedule and has recently transitioned its three factories acquired from GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare in April 2020 to biofuels.

“The impact of this transition not only increases HUL’s green footprint but also improves the quality of air around its factories and enhances the income of farmers through the buying of biomass," Willem Uijen, executive director of supply chain at HUL, said in an interview. The factories that manufacture Horlicks and Boost had boilers run on coal. They were converted to biomass/biodiesel boilers. HUL bought the Horlicks, Boost, Maltova and Viva brands from GSK last year.