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10
November 2006
The Aditya Birla Group is a member of Global
Compact, an international forum that operates
under the aegis of the United Nations. The
forum's vision is to usher in a "more
sustainable and global economy."
There
are ten basic principles outlined in its
charter and the following highlight the
thinking and initiatives of the Group in
those areas.
Human
Rights
1. Businesses should support and respect
the protection of internationally proclaimed
human rights
The Aditya Birla Group adheres to the human
rights policy of the United Nations and Global
Compact. It has a comprehensive policy and
a code of conduct which is binding on all
employees who must sign it on their induction
into the Group. It protects the interests
of the employee and other stakeholders. "Integrity,
trust, fairness and honesty are the basics
that guide our strategies, our behaviour and
the relationships we build with people, both
internally and externally. Each of us will
exercise the highest level of ethical and
professional behaviour," states the policy.
2. Businesses should make sure that they are
not complicit in human right abuses
The Aditya Birla Group endeavours to uphold
the human rights outlined in the Global Compact.
Not only in terms of its employees, as detailed
above, but also for others such as customers
and business associates. This is what the
policy states: "We are committed to our
customers, to fulfilling their present needs
and anticipating their unmet needs. We are
dedicated to continually improving quality,
usefulness and value of our products and services
that help our customers enhance their performance.
We provide value for customers through creativity,
innovation, productive relationships, quick
response and simplicity in all that we engage
in."
The
footprint of our social work today straddles
over 3,700 villages, reaching out to more
than two million people annually. Our community
work is a way of telling the people among
whom we operate that we care.
Our
focus is on the all-round development of
the communities around our plants located
mostly in distant rural areas and tribal
belts. All our Group companies have Rural
Development Cells which are the implementation
bodies. Projects are planned after a participatory
need assessment of the communities around
the plants. Each project has a one-year
and a three-year rolling plan, with milestones
and measurable targets. The objective is
to phase out our presence over a period
of time and hand over the reins of further
development to the people. This also enables
us to widen our reach. Along with internal
performance assessment mechanisms, our projects
are audited by reputed external agencies,
who measure it on qualitative and quantitative
parameters, helping us gauge the effectiveness
and providing excellent inputs.
Our
partners in development are government bodies,
district authorities, village panchayats
and the end beneficiaries -- the villagers.
The Government has, in their five-year plans,
special funds earmarked for human development
and we recourse to many of these. At the
same time, we network and collaborate with
like-minded bilateral and unilateral agencies
to share ideas, draw from each other's experiences,
and ensure that efforts are not duplicated.
At another level, this provides a platform
for advocacy. Some of the agencies we have
collaborated with are UNFPA, SIFSA, CARE
India, Habitat for Humanity International,
Unicef and the World Bank.
Our
focus areas include education, health and
family welfare, infrastructure development,
social causes, sustainable development and
livelihood, agriculture and watershed development.
Recognising the work, the Asian Institute
of Management, Centre for Corporate Social
Responsibility conferred the prestigious
Asian CSR award on Hindalco, a flagship
company of the Aditya Birla Group. 80 organisations
from across 11 countries had submitted 142
entries for the award.
In
our own small way, we are endeavouring to
build a better, sustainable way of life
for the weaker sections of society. In doing
so, our endeavour is also to raise our country's
Human Development Index.
Labour
Standards
3. Businesses should uphold the freedom of
association and the effective recognition
of the right to collective bargaining
Our manufacturing locations have workers in
the unionised cadre. Long term settlements
are signed with the workers at regular frequencies
wherein the management and union leaders sit
across the table and negotiate the terms of
the settlement. The process is peaceful and
productive across all locations.
Being
essentially a meritocracy and a peoples'
organisation, our attention in the people
area remains unwavering. We are enhancing
the quality and the pace of institutionalisation
of our systems and processes. These now
embrace the entire life cycle of the employee's
engagement with the organisation. Several
new initiatives have been taken towards
the well-being of our employees, particularly
in the area of healthcare, education of
their children and other critical aspects.
We have cordial relations with our shop
floor colleagues, creating a workplace environment
that nurtures innovation and encourages
people to constantly learn and grow.
4.
The elimination of all forms of forced and
compulsory labour
People are keen to associate with our Group
out of their own volition. The terms and conditions
are explained in detail openly before the
appointment is formalised.
5.
The effective abolition of child labour
The Aditya Birla Group does not employ child
labourers.
6. Eliminate discrimination in respect of
employment and occupation
We are an equal opportunities employer. Our
policy states: "We respect the individual
rights and dignity of all people. We believe
in the inherent potential of employees and
are fully committed to people development
processes in our Group in a fair, equitable
and transparent manner. We encourage employees
to grow professionally and personally to their
highest capabilities regardless of nationality,
caste, religion, colour or sex."
Environment
7.
Businesses should support a precautionary
approach to environmental challenges
Our environment policy clearly states: "We
are committed to sustainable development and
to the health and safety of our employees
and the environment surrounding our plants
and to building co-efficiency in all of our
operations and to guarding natural resources.
We are committed to going beyond stipulated
requirements and ensure energy conservation
and productive recycling of waste."
The
group believes in sustainable development.
For us this translates into meeting today's
needs without jeopardising the needs of
future generations.
As
signatories to the Global Compact, we subscribe
to the triple-bottom line accountability.
We regard social, economic and environmental
responsibility as integral elements that
drive our business. The group's brownfield
expansion projects at the Hirakund Smelter-Power
Complex, at the Muri Alumina Plant and the
Dahej Copper Smelter, have all obtained
environmental clearance from the Ministry
of Environment and Forests and Pollution
Control Boards.
8.
Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental
responsibility
We
relentlessly pursue the development of cleaner
production processes that inherently reduce
pollution levels and require fewer resources.
To help us gauge and benchmark our environment
management systems, we engage Professional
Environmental Auditors such as KPMG, Bureau
Veritas Quality International, Det Norske
Veritas, the Central Salt and Marine Chemicals
Research Institute and State Control Boards
to conduct an in-depth environmental audit
at our plants. These reports and certifications
validate our commitment to environmental protection.
9. Encourage the development and diffusion
of environmentally friendly technologies
Innovative waste disposal mechanisms combined
with state-of-the-art industrial Effluent
Treatment Plants (ETP) operate across all
the Group's manufacturing units. The quality
of effluents, water and air emissions are
tested and monitored on an ongoing basis.
Treated
effluents are re-cycled and used in factory
processes or towards horticulture. In view
of the acute drought and severe water shortage
in the country, at many of the places where
our plants are located, we have begun unique
rainwater harvesting projects. Our commitment
to environmentally friendly technologies
have won our group companies several awards
such as Greentech, TERI, Golden Peacock,
central and state government awards as well
as those from industry bodies such as CII
and FICCI.
In the recent past, our companies have won
the following major awards:
- Hindalco's
Renukoot Plant was named the winner of
the National Safety Award 2005 for the
second consecutive year.
- Hindalco's
Belur Sheet Plant was named the winner
of the National Awards for Excellence
in Water Management.
- CII
National Award for Excellence in Energy
Management-2004, to Hindalco.
- National
Energy Conservation Award 2004 in the
aluminium sector, by the Government of
India, Ministry of Power, to Hindalco.
- Greentech
Safety Gold Award in the metallurgy sector
for Hindalco.
- The
Stockholm Industry Water Award for Grasim,
Nagda.
- Grasim
Harihar was named one of the top performers
with a three-leaf rating in the Green
Rating Award by the Centre for Science
and Environment.
- Greentech
Environment Excellence Gold Award for
Outstanding Achievement in Environment
Management for Grasim Pulp and Grasim
Cement Division, as also Carbon Black
division of Indian Rayon.
- Golden
Peacock Environment Management Award to
Grasim Harihar.
- The
CII Energy Efficient Award and Greentech
Silver Award for Safety and Environmental
Excellence for the Indian Rayon Caustic
Soda Plant at Veraval.
10.
Businesses should work against all forms
of corruption, including extortion and bribery
The Aditya Birla policy clearly states:
"I will not seek or encourage bribes
or kickbacks in any form. I will not deal
with a supplier who offers me a bribe to
get a contract awarded." Adherence
to the policy is total and no leniency is
shown to a defaulter.
The
Aditya Birla Group has re-articulated
the values that spawn across its diverse
businesses and locations and act as
an organisational glue to bind people
together. These values are: Integrity,
Commitment, Passion, Speed and Seamlessness.
The values drive the organisational
thinking and processes-whether related
to people, manufacturing, environment
or community responsibility, the bedrock
of the principles outlined by the UN
Global Compact.
Here is what our Chairman Mr. Kumar
Mangalam Birla has to say: "Great
businesses are never built on the quick
sands of opportunism. If living by our
values means, perhaps growing at a pace
slower than we would otherwise liked,
so be it. For us, leadership lies at
the heart of knowing what we stand for."
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