Principle 1: Businesses should conduct and govern themselves with ethics, transparency and accountability
The Board of Directors and senior management of GCPL comply with the following code of conduct:
- Uphold ethical standards of integrity and probity.
- Act objectively and constructively while exercising their duties.
- Exercise their responsibilities in a bona de manner in the interest of the company.
- Devote sufficient time and attention to their professional obligations for informed and balanced decision making.
- Not allow any extraneous considerations that will vitiate their exercise of objective independent judgment in the paramount interest of the company as a whole, while concurring in or dissenting from the collective judgment of the Board in its decision making.
- Not abuse their position to the detriment of the company or its shareholders or for the purpose of gaining direct or indirect personal advantage or the advantage of any associated person.
- Assist the company in implementing the best corporate governance practices.
- Strictly follow the guidelines and rules relating to insider trading as stipulated by SEBI.
The Board of Directors of GCPL shall:
- Act in accordance with the articles of the company and provisions of the Listing Agreement.
- Act in good faith in order to promote the objects of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole, and in the best interests of the company, its employees, the shareholders, the community and for the protection of environment.
- Exercise their duties with due and reasonable care, skill and diligence and shall exercise independent judgment.
- Not get involved in a situation in which they may have a direct or indirect interest that conflicts, or possibly may conflict, with the interest of the company.
- Not achieve or attempt to achieve any undue gain or advantage either for themselves or their relatives, partners, or associates. If a director is found guilty of making any undue gain, he/she shall be liable to pay an amount equal to that gain to the company.
- Not assign their office and any assignment so made shall be void.
Applicability of the Code of Conduct:
This Code of Conduct (Code) applies to the Directors of GCPL. It also applies to the senior management of the Company, that is one level below the executive directors, including all functional heads. An annual confirmation affirming compliance with the Code of Conduct is obtained from the Board members and senior management every year and the same has been obtained for the year ended March 31, 2016.
GCPL's new Sustainable Procurement Policy also states that the suppliers must ensure there is no discrimination in their hiring and employment practices on the basis of race, colour, gender, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, medical condition, etc. The Policy further specifies that we expect our suppliers to prepare and maintain accounts of business dealings fairly, accurately and in accordance with accounting and financial reporting.
Does the policy relating to ethics, bribery and corruption cover only the Company? Yes/No. Does it extend to the Group/joint ventures/suppliers/contractors/NGOs/others?
The Company has a Code of Conduct, which is applicable to all individuals working in the Company. For the subsidiaries and joint ventures, the Code is applicable in line with the local requirements prevailing in the country of operation. The Company encourages its business partners to follow the code. Furthermore, the Sustainable Procurement Policy of the Company explicitly states that our suppliers must not violate any anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws.
How many stakeholder complaints were received in the past financial year and what percentage was satisfactorily resolved by the Management?
There were no complaints outstanding at the beginning of the year.118 complaints were received during the year. All complaints were resolved during the year.
Principle 2: Businesses should provide goods and services that are safe and contribute to sustainability throughout their life cycle
The Group's Good & Green vision supports the development of products that are environmentally sustainable. As part of the vision, the Company aspires to develop products that consume fewer resources (energy and water), emit fewer greenhouse gases, and include 100 per cent recyclable, renewable, and/or natural materials.
GCPL's Sustainable Procurement Policy encourages its suppliers to use greener products and processes, and to reuse and recycle. We recommend that our suppliers identify sources of carbon emission and make progressive efforts towards reducing them. Suppliers should strive towards enhancing the efficiency and performance of the equipment. We expect our suppliers to assess their use of hazardous and toxic material and take necessary steps to reduce it, as much as possible. Toxic waste should be handled under professional guidance and mechanism should be adopted to dispose the waste to authorised waste processers by the suppliers. We also recommend our suppliers to use renewable sources of energy, wherever possible, in order to become energy independent. Suppliers should try and take steps to reduce their packaging material. We encourage our suppliers to undertake steps to collaborate and associate with the local community for economic and social development by providing employment, helping in poverty eradication, and skill development within the local community, wherever relevant.
List up to 3 of your products or services whose design has incorporated social or environmental concerns, risks and/or opportunities.
- We reduced our Good knight Fast Card laminate from 60 GSM to 50 GSM. As a result, we reduced our plastic utilisation by over 19 tonnes.
- We redesigned our Good knight Active+ Combi pack carton to lock bottom from reverse tuckin flap. We now save over 12 tonnes of paper every year.
- In Good knight Activ+ refill carton, we have removed metpet from the carton. This has helped us reduce our plastic usage by over 77 tonnes.
We continue to maintain a strong focus on sustainable development by meeting environmental parameters in site selection and planning, water efficiency, energy efficiency, material and indoor environmental quality.
Does the Company have procedures in place for sustainable sourcing (including transportation) and percentage of inputs sourced sustainably?
Yes. To extend our Good & Green commitment to our vendors and encourage them to contribute towards supply chain sustainability, we have initiated supply chain sustainability. The Company has adopted a Sustainable Procurement Policy during the year. This Policy is an extension of our values and is applicable to all GCPL suppliers. The Policy outlines our expectations with regard to ethics, business integrity, human rights, health and safety, environment, the local community and quality of products and operations. We will periodically review the policy to ensure that it continues to help us move towards our vision. The suppliers will be encouraged to monitor their performance against the four pillars of the policy - ethically driven, socially focused, green inspired and quality centred supply chain.
You can view the detailed policy at
Sustainable Procurement Policy
www.godrejcp.com/codes-and-policies.aspx
We have communicated the Policy to over 700 local suppliers in India. 80 of our major suppliers have come on board and have committed to adhere to the Policy.
In India, our demand-driven supply chain has led to mutually beneficial relationships with our suppliers and dealers. We have extended this to include partnerships with key Modern Trade players.
We have established an automated sourcing system that covers all consumer products globally and utilises practices such as the Theory of Constraints, Demand Driven Supply Chain, Total Productive Maintenance and Six Sigma. This initiative is designed to lower costs by reducing purchase and freight costs and wastage as well as to improve manufacturing yields.
We have always emphasised on procuring raw materials in a responsible manner. The amount of sustainably sourced palm oil that is used in place of crude oil derived products is showing an increasing trend. As a best practice, our procurement team looks at not only the initial cost but also the life-cycle cost. Among the available alternatives, we prefer the one with the lowest life-cycle cost for procurement.
We work closely with the suppliers and manufacturing team to explore and implement recycle and reuse programmes that are beneficial to the environment and create value addition to stakeholders.
Has the Company taken steps to procure goods and services from local and small producers, including communities surrounding their place of work?
If yes, what steps have been taken to improve the capacity and capability of local and small vendors?
Yes. All agri-based bulk materials, shippers, and plastic components are produced locally, closer to the plants. These vendors are given priority payments and technology and quality systems upgradation support.
As part of our community development initiative, we regularly source gift products in bulk from non-profits and self-help groups for our events. Some of our team members have also volunteered their time and skills to help build capability of these non-profits, as part of Brighter Giving, our structured volunteering programme.
Does the Company have a mechanism to recycle products and waste? If yes, what is the percentage of recycling of products and waste? (Separately as < 5%, 5%-10%, or >10%)
Most of the waste like wrappers, stiffeners and packaging materials like bottles and corrugated boxes are sent to the vendors who recycle it. Spent lubricating oil is also sent to recyclers, majority of waste soap is recycled by the Company, and the rest is sent to small scale manufacturers. All our major units are certified by environment management system as per ISO 14001.
Principle 3: Businesses should promote the wellbeing of all employees
Code of Conduct:
GCPL focuses on ensuring the well-being of all team members. The safety and health of our team members is extremely important to us and we are committed to building and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace. Ensuring diversity, zero discrimination, safety, health and other attributes essential to a healthy and good working environment, are part of our Code of Conduct. All employees who join GCPL demonstrate their commitment to follow the Code of Ethics by signing in their acceptance to adhere to the same. The Code of Conduct is also available on the internal employee portal. Examples of a few of the principles of this code of conduct are listed below.
A. Diversity, anti-discrimination and Equal Opportunities Policy:
We recognise merit and perseverance and encourage diversity in our company. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, colour, religion, caste, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, or marital status and allow for equal opportunities for all our team members.
We value diversity within the Group and are committed to offering equal opportunities in employment. We will not discriminate against any team member or applicant for employment. Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies also subscribes to the CIIASSOCHAM Code of Conduct for Affirmative Action.
Ms. Nisaba Godrej, Executive Director, GCPL serves as the Diversity Ombudsman for our team members and seeks to resolve any complaints or queries, which are raised in relation to this.
At the sourcing stage we ensure that diversity profiles are forming part of talent pool being assessed for any role, merit being the sole criterion for selection. We are driving our efforts to make all our workplaces and functions (sales and manufacturing) conducive for women.
Furthermore, the new Sustainable Procurement Policy of the Company extends the nondiscrimination policy to suppliers. All our suppliers must ensure there is no discrimination in their hiring and employment practices on the basis of race, colour, gender, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, medical condition, etc.
B. Prevention of sexual harassment:
We are committed to creating and maintaining an atmosphere in which our team members can work together, without fear of sexual harassment, exploitation or intimidation. We have ensured compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. We have constituted an Internal Complaints Committee in accordance with the act and updated the group's policy to ensure that women are protected against sexual harassment at the workplace. Every team member is made aware that the Group is strongly opposed to sexual harassment and that such behaviour is prohibited both by law and the Group policy. We take all necessary action(s) required to prevent and correct behaviour that violates this policy.
C. Safety and Health:
We remain committed to protecting and building a safe and healthy workplace.
GCPL is committed to building and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace and provides a safe and healthy working environment, equipment and systems of work for all team members. You are expected to ensure that you adhere to all norms and comply with all relevant statutory provisions pertaining to this. The company also provides the information, training and supervision needed for this purpose.
Furthermore, we are committed to the health and well-being of our team members and have an onsite medical centre, hospital and children's day care facility within the Godrej Vikhroli campus.
On-campus facilities (Vikhroli, Head Office):
We have a canteen facility in the campus where refreshments are provided. Transport facility is provided from the office to the nearest railway station and the Godrej Housing Colony. The Head Office premise has a Bank ATM and a travel help desk. Health and fitness initiatives include morning yoga sessions, a full-time fitness instructor, and a nutritionist. All GCPL sites are non-smoking zones. Smoking is strictly prohibited in the campus.
Women's Area
A women's area has been designed for our female employees as a resting and nursing space, specifically for expecting mothers, new mothers and women with special needs. However, other women may also use this space if needed.
Some of the facilities provided are:
- Three resting rooms with a mini fridge
- Lounge seating with magazines and newspapers
- Tea/coffee station available throughout the day during operational hours
- First aid and essential medicines
Progressive HR policies:
GCPL prides itself on being a great place to work, a fact recognised and acknowledged externally as well. This is evident in GCPL's consistent ranking as the best FMCG Company to work for in India, in the Great Place to Work Study 2015. GCPL has featured on the list of best companies to work for 12 years in a row.
We have also featured among the top 25 best employers in Asia, in the Aon Hewitt Best Employers in India 2016.. HR policies like flexible work hours, work from home arrangements and part-time work, to name a few, go a long way in ensuring that our team members successfully strike a work-life balance.
A. Maternity and Paternity Leave and Benefits Policy:
We provide a fully paid 6 months' maternity leave and benefits and a flexi work arrangement for 6 months, from the date one resumes work. We also provide 3 months' adoption leave and benefits, besides a paternity leave and benefits options.
B. Late Night Cab Facility and Uber for Business:
We care deeply about the safety and well-being of all Godrejites. We recently launched a late night cab facility for our Mumbai based team members for their safe travel from work to home when working late in the office. Our team members can avail this facility by logging on to the GCPL internal portal.
The Company also provides Uber for Business service, which can be availed by employees travelling for Company related work.
C. Careers 2.0 programme:
A recent initiative from the Group is the Careers 2.0 programme, which provides a transition platform for women professionals who have taken a career break, and wish to return to work. Women with previous professional experience of at least 2 years, who have taken a continuous career break of 6 months or more, can apply. The objective of this initiative is to tap the leaking talent pipeline of high potential performers and facilitate their re-entry into the corporate world. The participants are offered attractive project stipends to work on live business projects on a flexi/part time basis. GCPL has rolled out four projects under this initiative. Each intern is assigned a project guide/manager for the duration of the project, in addition to access to various employee resource groups such as the Godrej Women's Leadership Network (GWLN) and Godrej Alliance for Parents (GAP), for networking and training opportunities.
D. Sustenance Allowance Policy:
We also offer sustenance allowance to our specially abled team members. This financial support is provided to our team members who require additional infrastructure and safe travel from home to work. This policy is applicable to all employees at GCPL. The objective is to improve the living conditions and provide better opportunities and sustenance to specially abled employees.
Engagement forums:
There are multiple touch points for the leadership team to interact with our team members through forums like the long range plan, annual operating plan cascades and updates, open houses, town halls, focus groups around engagement surveys, HR connect sessions, and skip level meetings by senior leadership. Every quarter, our Managing Director and the senior leadership team provides updates via V Cast, an interactive, evolving platform to provide an overview of our business performance to our team members. More recently, we moved our updates to Facebook at Work. This will help us gain transparency in information sharing and improve interaction among our team members.
We also engage our team members with employee opinion surveys such as, the In-tune survey organised by Aon Hewitt, feedback survey on reviews and the Great Place to Work survey organised by the Great Place to Work Institute, India. We practice Bedhadak Bolo as a philosophy that salutes the spirit of expression and innovation at Godrej. This encourages people to Bedhadak Bolo to speak and express openly and fearlessly. Bedhadak Bolo has resulted in team members coming forward and speaking, which has translated into numerous changes and innovations within the organisation. It has also resulted in better team dynamics and an incredibly more open work environment.
We provide continuous skill upgradation and learning opportunities through structured career discussions and individual development plans. We invest in functional training for all our team members, on payroll and contract, in line with their current and future career aspirations. The learning suite encompasses functional training, leadership development programmes, and behavioural training geared towards leading self, leading others, and leading business.
GCPL's Sustainable Procurement Policy also recommends suppliers take the initiative to recruit a diverse and inclusive workforce in terms of gender, experience, ethnicity, etc. Our suppliers are expected to adopt robust and relevant management practices to comply with applicable health and safety laws, rules, regulations and industry standards.
Does the Company have an employee association that is recognised by the management?
Yes
What percentage of permanent employees are members of the recognised employee association?
Approximately 40 per cent.
Please indicate the number of complaints relating to child labour, forced labour, involuntary labour, and sexual harassment in the last financial year and pending, as on the end of the financial year.
Nil. The Sustainable Procurement Policy of the Company states that suppliers must prohibit use of child labour at any stage of their business process.
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Sl. No.
|
Total permanent employees
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2,372
|
|
1.
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Male
|
2,180
|
|
2.
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Female
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192
|
|
3.
|
Total contract employees
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192
|
|
4.
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Employees with disabilities
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14
|
|
Sl. No.
|
Category
|
Safety
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Skill upgradation
|
|
1.
|
Permanent male employees
|
78%
|
96%
|
|
2.
|
Permanent female employees
|
96%
|
86%
|
|
3.
|
Employees with disabilities
|
100%
|
71%
|
|
4.
|
Casual/Temporary/Contractual employees
|
100%
|
100%
|
We carried out a Community Needs Assessment across our priority factory locations to streamline our community development programmes
Principle 4: Businesses should respect the interests of, and be responsive towards all stakeholders, especially those who are disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised
The stakeholder engagement process consists of a variety of activities from stakeholder identification, consultation, prioritisation, collaboration and reporting. The identification of all relevant stakeholders and understanding their expectations is of high concern for GCPL in our quest to remain sustainable. We identify key stakeholders on the basis of their influence on our operations and our effect on them.
We have already identified and prioritised key stakeholders and we continue our engagement with them through various mechanisms, such as consultations with local communities, supplier/vendor meets, customer/employee satisfaction surveys, and investor forums. To align our community development programmes to the UN's sustainable development goals, we carried out a detailed community needs assessment in 5 of our priority plant locations. We invited an external agency, Ethica Strategy, to carry out the assessment. The team followed a three-step approach, where they connected with our plant and corporate office and conducted extensive field-based assessments, backed by thorough secondary research to validate key facts and obtain additional information available from official sources. The result is a comprehensive report of the community, their needs, gaps in the system, and our way forward. We are now in the process of designing a framework to streamline our activities and plan and implement high impact community development programmes.
The recruitment of candidates from the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe and Physically Challenged (SC/ST/PC) categories has been taken up as one of the major performance measures of the central recruitment process owner. GCPL participates in government fairs for recruiting candidates from the SC/ST/PC categories. GCPL has also partnered with NGOs to provide employment opportunities and counselling to people that fall in one of those categories.
Key highlights:
- To sustain Affirmative Action in GCPL, every SC/ST/PC candidate applying for a job is interviewed by the Unit Head before the final decision is taken. This is done to remove individual biases of managers against these categories of candidates, if any. The recruitment of SC/ST/PC candidates has been taken up as one of the performance measures of central recruitment process owner.
- Our employee referral policy promotes referrals of SC/ST/PC candidates by offering higher referral amounts.
- The HR function keeps a regular track of the progress of Affirmative Action in the organisation and takes necessary corrective actions, if needed. Adherence to and proactive involvement in Affirmative Action has been added to the performance targets of many of our team members.
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Our Malanpur factory organises a water sanitation awareness session for the students of the local school
- For PC candidates, we identify appropriate jobs and also install the necessary infrastructural facilities for them, depending on the nature of their disability.
- GCPL has set aside a dedicated budget towards Affirmative Action.
- To improve employability for the employees of these cadres, they are given equal opportunity in training and development.
Partnership and initiatives for Community development and Affirmative Action:
Malanpur factory:
In line with our commitment to uplift the standard of living of the people around our factories we continue to work closely with the Singwari village near our Malanpur factory
- Singwari has a population of approximately 5,000 people; however the village is deprived of basic medical facilities. In order to fill this gap, we provide free medical aid to the villagers along with a consulting doctor who visits thrice a week.
- The unit provides assistance to primary and middle schools in Singwari village. To motivate the children to stay in school, the unit distributed soap cakes to children with an average attendance of 80 per cent and above. Other initiatives included organising a cultural/sports programme, encouraging children to participate in solo/group activities, and a picnic for the students of primary and middle school. We ended these day-long activities by distributing prizes to the winners and meritorious students.
- For girls and women of Singwari village several activities were organised to create health and safety awareness. To showcase the benefits of LPG and promote clean and efficient cooking system we organised a demonstration by experts. We also held a home safety awareness session during the National Safety Week (March 4-15). Over 80 girls and women attended these sessions and gained useful insights. Furthermore, with the Family Planning Association of India, Gwalior, we organised general health and support programme for women. Nearly 80 women in the village are now connected to the health support system.
- We organised several health programmes with Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT) for the community. To create awareness on AIDS we organised a learning session on World AIDS Day (December 1). Over 120 people participated in the session and gained insights on living with HIV and fighting prejudice. At the Singwari primary and middle school, we organised an awareness session on water sanitation and personal hygiene.
- In collaboration with the Central Board for Workers Education, Government of India, we organised a workshop on women empowerment. Over 55 women participated and learnt about various government schemes for women and how to avail of them.
- As part of the Godrej Global Volunteering Day on December 5, our team members volunteered at the Singwari School to spread the message
At the Singwari school in Malanpur, we organised a sports programme to encourage children to stay in school
of health, hygiene, and sanitation. Over 40 Godrejites organised various interactive activities for the school children.
- At the Vigyan Mela, organised in Bhopal by MPPCB in collaboration with Vigyan Bharti, we showcased a live model of ETP/soap process and products and shared our commitment of building a more employable and greener India.
- The Malanpur unit was one of the manufacturing plants where a detailed community needs assessment was carried out. As a result, we have a comprehensive report of the community, their needs, gaps in the system and our way forward. We are now in the process of designing a framework to streamline our community development activities and plan and implement high impact programmes.
- The unit has been making continuous efforts to promote and uplift the education level and employment opportunities for the SC/ST/PC students. These efforts include providing scholarships to meritorious students of Singwari village who aspire to excel in their studies. Nine SC/ST students were given scholarships in fiscal year 2015-16.
- We are working to include the SC/ST and PC people in our recruitment process. We provide sustenance allowance to our PC team members and 13.36 per cent and 1.29 per cent of our workforce are from the SC/ST category, respectively. In addition, 42 per cent of our contract team members are from the SC/ST category. Every year, we visit the Dr. Ambedkar Institute for Handicapped, Kanpur to employ candidates based on our requirements.
- To explore new avenues to help underprivileged people, we have identified 2 NGOs that are working for the SC/ST and differently-abled children in and around Gwalior. We buy responsibly produced products from these NGOs and support their cause.
- To improve the employability of the people, we partnered with schools, colleges, and industries to create awareness on quality concepts, entrepreneurship, environment, and safety on the basis of our Godrej experience.
- In addition, we organised an awareness rally on the occasion of Road Safety Week and a sensitisation programme on 'World No Tobacco Day' on May 31. Over 200 Godrejites attended it and pledged to adopt a tobacco-free lifestyle.
- We have a strong focus on Diversity & Inclusion and we allow equal opportunities for all our team members. We are grooming women leaders at our manufacturing plant and we have 10 women team members working and handling shift operations.
- We also won several awards this year. We were awarded for Efficiency in Energy Usage in Chemicals Sector at the FICCI Chemicals and Petrochemicals Awards 2015. We bagged 16 awards in various categories at the National Convention on Quality Concepts held in Chennai. We also won 9 awards at the National Creativity Summit, New Delhi. In addition, our well maintained lawns were recognised as the best industrial lawns by 'Nai Duniya', a leading Hindi newspaper in Gwalior.
As part of the Godrej Global Volunteering Day, our North-East team volunteered to spread the message of health, hygiene and sanitation to over 300 school children
Baddi factory:
- In line with our commitment to building a greener India, we celebrated World Environment Day at Baddi on June 5. To encourage students to contribute towards improving the environment, we organised a poster and slogan competition. We ended this day-long activity by distributing prizes to the winners and meritorious students.
- To encourage academic performance, every year we recognise and reward meritorious students at local schools nearby. The meritorious students from each class are invited to the factory unit with their parents and teacher and awarded for their performance.
- As part of road safety initiative, we organised an awareness campaign in Baddi to sensitise bikers, car and truck drivers. We distributed pocket guides with tips on safe driving at busy traffic points. We also organised a play and awareness training for the Truckers' Union in Baddi. We reached out to over 120 riders and drivers.
- As part of the Godrej Global Volunteering Day on December 5, our team members volunteered at local schools to spread the message of health, hygiene, and sanitation. Our team members conducted interactive games and role plays to engage with children from low-income communities.
North-East factory cluster:
- We organised several health camps for school children. In collaboration with the primary health centre, we organised a general health check-up camp at the local girls' high school. We also conducted an eye check-up camp at the Betkuchi School, Guwahati in association with Sankaradeva Nethralaya.
- To sensitise people regarding health, hygiene and sanitation, we organised a hand wash awareness session at the government school in Marming, Sikkim. We also initiated an anti-malaria drive with the local community around our manufacturing plant in Sikkim. In addition, we helped in organising a safety skit at the local school in North Guwahati to build awareness on general safety among students.
- Our Lokhra and Meghalaya team members visited the elderly at a local old age home in Guwahati. They also provided some daily supplies for the home.
- In line with our commitment to building a greener India, we celebrated World Environment Day. A tree plantation drive was organised with the local school children at Kalaphar, North Guwahati and Meghalaya.
- As part of road safety initiative, we organised an awareness campaign in Guwahati to sensitise bikers and car/truck drivers. We distributed over 500 pamphlets on safety driving tips at busy traffic points.
- As part of the Godrej Global Volunteering Day on December 5, our team members volunteered at 2 local schools in Guwahati. Our team members engaged with over 300 students to spread the message of health, hygiene, and sanitation.
South factory cluster:
- We work closely with our local government schools and engage children through sports, storytelling, and awareness sessions. We have organised events to promote teamwork among students, build positive behavioural attitude, and practice discipline. We also organised health and hygiene awareness programmes and distributed weather appropriate footwear to the children.
- We organised a women safety and prevention of sexual harassment session for adolescent girl students at the local government school.
- We organised several health programmes for the community. We ran a free medical health camp for our team members and their families in collaboration with Isha Yoga and Aarupadai Veedu Medical Hospital. We also organised an interactive awareness session regarding traditional medicine for the villagers at Kattukuppam. The villagers gained insights on the role of traditional medicine and critical practices.
- To increase awareness on selfemployment, we organised a session for low-income group women on entrepreneurship in collaboration with the Foundation for Low Income Group and Social Health. The women gained insights regarding selfemployment opportunities.
- As part of our disaster support, we provided food supplies to villages that were affected by the Chennai floods.
- To encourage academic performance, we recognised and awarded meritorious children of our contract team members. We also conducted Children's Day activities for the children and rewarded the winners.
- We celebrated Women's Day for our contract women team members. We organised various competitions, awarded winners and provided a platform for the women to share their success stories with others.
Has the Company mapped its internal and external stakeholders?
Yes. We have identified and prioritised key stakeholders and we continue our engagement with them through various mechanisms such as consultations with local communities, supplier/vendor meets, customer/employee satisfaction surveys, and investor forums.
Out of the above, has the Company identified the disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised stakeholders?
Yes. We invited an external agency, Ethica Strategy, to carry out the needs assessment of the communities we work in. The team followed a three-step approach, where they connected with our plant and corporate office and conducted extensive field based assessments backed by thorough secondary research to validate key facts and obtain additional information available from official sources. The result is a comprehensive report of the community, various stakeholders, the vulnerable community and their needs, gaps in the system, and our way forward.
Are there any special initiatives taken by the Company to engage with the disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised stakeholders?
Our Good & Green vision inspires each one of us at Godrej to continue to work towards building a brighter, greener, and more inclusive India. As part of our Employability programmes, we have trained over 130,000 young people from low-income groups in skills that will enhance their earning potential Employee volunteering at our corporate offices and factories forms a crucial element of our Good & Green strategy. In one of our many initiatives, 24 of our team members ran the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon in January 2016 in support of Teach For India and raised ₹ 5,20,000 to bring quality education to children from low-income group families across India. The Group was one of the top 3 corporate fundraisers at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2016.
Every year, we participate in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, raising funds in support of Teach for India, to bring quality education to children from low-income families
Principle 5: Businesses should respect and promote human rights
GCPL respects and supports human rights of all individuals. We do not discriminate against any team member or applicant for employment on the basis of nationality, race, colour, religion, caste, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, or marital status. GCPL also subscribes to the CII-ASSOCHAM Code of Conduct for Affirmative Action.
GCPL's sustainable procurement policy especially emphasises prohibiting the use of child labour at any stage of business process and also provides that suppliers should comply with applicable wage and hour laws, regulations and mandatory industry standards.
Does the policy of the Company on human rights cover only the Company or extend to the Group/joint ventures/ suppliers/ contractors/NGOs/others?
The Company has a policy that is applicable to all our team members in the Company. For its subsidiaries and joint ventures, the policy is applicable in line with the local requirements prevailing in the country of operation. The Company encourages its Business Partners to follow the policy.
How many stakeholder complaints have been received in the past financial year and what per cent was satisfactorily resolved by the management?
In our endeavour to maintain our relationship with our stakeholders, we have addressed all feedback reported in the last financial year.
Principle 6: Businesses should respect, protect, and make efforts to restore the environment
Good & Green is driven by the desire to help create a more inclusive and greener India. Launched in 2011 as one of our 4 key imperatives for 2020, Good & Green is based on shared value, a principle that aligns business competitiveness and growth with social and environmental impact. At its root, lies the idea that companies can help solve critical social issues while strengthening their competitive advantage.
Greener India - Achieving zero waste to landfill, carbon neutrality, energy efficiency, positive water balance and increasing usage of renewable energy.
Good & Green products - Having a third of our portfolio revenues from good and/or green products and services.
Our 'good' products are designed to address a critical social issue (e.g. healthcare and sanitation) for consumers at the base of the income pyramid. We define 'green' products as those that are environmentally sustainable.
We are continuously striving to achieve the goals and targets set under our 'Good and Green' initiatives. Our efforts for energy conservation in all our units have resulted in decreased specific energy consumption, specific water consumption, and Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Specific energy consumption of has decreased from 807 kWh/t in 2014-15* to 766 kWh/t in 2015-16. Specific GHG emission during the same period has decreased from 248 kg CO2e/t during 2014-15 to 230 kg CO2e/t for the year 2015-16.*
* We mentioned 820 kWh/ton in our 2014-15 annual report, as we were using default calorific value for biomass that was higher than the actual calorific value of the biomass we utilised. The calorific value was retroactively corrected to actual value as per the monthly laboratory analysis reports.
At Malanpur, we installed a 14 tph capacity biomass boiler to help us replace fossil fuel and utilise renewable energy resources
Specific waste sent to landfill has also been reduced from 1.06 kg/t in 2014-15 to 1.04 kg/t in 2015-16.
We are also using clean energy sources by shifting from fossil fuels to renewable fuels such as biomass utilisation in boilers and also procuring renewable energy. The renewable energy component has increased from 10.2 per cent during fiscal year 2014-15 to 15.4 per cent during fiscal year 2015-16. All the requirements of the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board have been complied with. Detailed checklists for compliance have been put in place. We continuously emphasise improving productivity and plant utilisation to improve specific consumption of water and energy. We have set targets for improvement in our environment performance for both short term as well as long term.
Does the policy related to Principle 6 cover only the Company or extend to the Group/joint ventures/ suppliers/ contractors/NGOs/others?
All of our major manufacturing units have policies on environment, health and safety measures. For the subsidiaries and joint ventures, the policy is applicable in line with the local requirements prevailing in the country of operation. The Company encourages its business partners to follow the policy.
To achieve our goals and ensure ethical conduct, it is essential that our suppliers share our values and vision and raise the sustainability standards in our supply chain. We acknowledge that long-term sustainable development of our suppliers is critical to our joint success and we value our relationship with suppliers who share the same approach and vision in doing business. In line with our commitment to building a greener India, we have developed a Sustainable Procurement Policy this year, which is an extension of our values and is applicable to all GCPL suppliers.
We will periodically review the policy to ensure that it continues to help us move towards our vision. The suppliers will be audited to monitor the performance against the 4 pillars of the policy: ethically driven, socially focused, green inspired, and quality centred supply chain.
Does the Company have strategies/initiatives to address global environmental issues such as climate change, global warming, etc? Yes/No. If yes, please give the hyperlink to the webpage.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are monitored by all the units and we have taken short term and long term targets for the reduction of the same. Some of the initiatives include utilisation of biomass briquettes in place of coal, procurement of renewable energy, flue gas heat recovery from boiler and utilisation in the process, installation of energy efficient equipment, and installation of energy-saving lights.
We are also in the process to initiate waste management projects at the community level. We have started mitigating non-recyclable plastic from the Panchgani municipality and are adopting technologies that will help us convert plastic to fuel. All our initiatives are covered and updated at:
www.godrejgoodandgreen.com
At our MMN factory in Chennai, we installed a 30 kL per day capacity sewage treatment plant. The treated water is recycled and re-used in the factory
Does the Company identify and assess potential environmental risks? Y/N
Yes, potential aspects related to environment are identified and evaluated for their impact on the basis of severity, scale and probability. All the significant aspects have operational control procedure in place.
Does the Company have any project related to Clean Development Mechanism? If so, provide details thereof, in about 50 words or so. Also, if yes, has any environmental compliance report been led?
No.
Has the Company undertaken any other initiatives on clean technology, energy efficiency, renewable energy, etc? Y/N. If yes, please give the hyperlink to the webpage.
We have implemented over 30 initiatives across our manufacturing facilities in India on clean technology, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Some of the major initiatives we undertook during fiscal year 2015- 16 are:
- Installation of energy-efficient water jet vacuum system: The existing steam based vacuum system was replaced with energyefficient water jet vacuum system in the fat splitting plant No. 3 at our Malanpur soap manufacturing factory. This has resulted in a steam saving of 60 kg/hour, which corresponds to 37 MT of fuel per annum.
- Installation of pneumatic-based control valve system: Four pneumatic-based control valve systems were installed in the chemical plants at Malanpur to reduce steam consumption. It has helped in saving 22 MT of fuel per annum.
- Installation of heating coil system in raw oil tankers: A heating system was designed and installed to heat oil in raw oil tankers during winter to reduce steam consumption. This has resulted in fuel saving of 17 MT per annum.
- Installation of energy-efficient chilling compressor: Energyefficient chilling compressors were installed in soap finishing lines at Baddi and Malanpur factories. It will help us save 72,000 kWh of energy per annum.
- Implementation of biomass boiler: A biomass-based boiler of 14 tph capacity was installed and commissioned at our Malanpur manufacturing plant. It will help us replace fossil fuel and instead utilise renewable energy as a resource.
- Installation of sewage treatment plant: A sewage treatment plant of 30 kL per day capacity was installed at our MMN factory in Chennai. Sewage water is treated, recycled, and reused in the factory.
- Replacement of coal with biomass briquettes: Coal was completely replaced with biomass briquettes in 2 of our coil manufacturing units in the North-East. It has resulted in significant improvement in our renewable energy portfolio and reduction in GHG emissions.
- We implemented several other energy efficient measures across various manufacturing plants, which include optimisation in steam consumption, installation of energy-efficient LED lighting, optimisation of pumps, replacing high HP motors with low HP motors, and improvements in compressed air system.
At Malanpur, we commissioned a 150 kW micro-turbine. This will help us convert pressure loss in steam lines into power, generate 100 kWh of power per annum.
- Installation of micro-turbine: A micro-turbine of 150 kW was installed towards the end of fiscal year 2015-16. It will be commissioned during 2016-17. This project eliminates pressure reduction valves in the steam lines thus converting pressure loss into power. It will help us generate 100 kWh of power per annum.
- Renewable power purchase agreement (PPA): We signed a PPA to purchase solar-based renewable energy for our Malanpur factory. We would start receiving the renewable power from May 2016. It is expected to meet nearly 50 per cent of the plant's electrical energy requirement.
Are the Emissions/Waste generated by the Company within the permissible limits given by CPCB/SPCB for the financial year being reported?
Yes. All the units are complying with the norms of CPCB and SPCB.
Number of show cause/legal notices received from CPCB/ SPCB which are pending as on end of Financial Year.
NIL.
Principle 7: Businesses, when engaged in influencing public and regulatory policy, should do so in a responsible manner
Is your Company a member of any trade and chamber or association? If yes, name only those major ones that your business deals with.
GCPL ensures that its policy is with the highest degree of responsible and ethical behaviour and works with collective platforms such as trade and industry chambers and associations to raise matters with the relevant government bodies. GCPL is a member of CII, FICCI, and other trade associations.
Have you advocated/lobbied through above associations for the advancement or improvement of public good? Y/N. If yes, specify the broad areas.
GCPL has representation through CII and other trade associations for advancement/improvement of public good.
Principle 8: Businesses should support inclusive growth and equitable development
Our Good & Green vision inspires each one of us at Godrej to continue to work towards building a brighter, greener, and more inclusive India. As part of our employability programmes, we have trained over 130,000 young people from low-income groups in skills that will enhance their earning potential. You can find more details about our programmes at
www.godrejgoodandgreen.com
Does the Company have specified programmes/initiatives/projects in pursuit of the policy related to Principle 8? If yes, please provide details thereof.
Yes. We have a dedicated sustainability department, Good & Green that focuses on these projects and initiatives. As part of Good & Green, we aspire by 2020, to create a more employable Indian workforce, build a greener India and innovate for good and green products.
Godrej Saloni, our flagship programme, trains young girls and housewives in beauty and hair care. Since 2011, we have helped over 61,975 women become financially independent.
Specifically, our Group level goals for 2020 as part of this vision, are:
- Training 1 million rural and urban youth in skilled employment
- Achieving zero waste to landfill, carbon neutrality, positive water balance along with reducing our specific energy consumption and increasing proportion of renewable energy resources.
- Having a third of our portfolio revenues comprising good and/or green products and services - defined as products that are environmentally superior or address a critical social issue (e.g. health, sanitation, disease prevention) for consumers at the bottom of the income pyramid.
Are the programmes/ projects undertaken through in-house team/own foundation/external NGO/government structure/any other organisation?
We work in collaboration with non-profit and social enterprises to design and run a number of employability training programmes. GCPL has a dedicated programme manager who manages all our programmes. An on-field team helps roll out initiatives with our NGO partners. The Godrej Industries' Corporate team also supports the programme manager to help scale the programme, monitor progress, and carry out impact assessment.
Our flagship programme, Godrej Saloni trains young girls and housewives in beauty and hair care. More than 26,000 candidates have graduated from this programme in fiscal year 2015-16. Of this, over 8,200 were part of the school programme. Since the inception of the programme in 2011, we helped 61,975 girls and women, gain employable skills and become financially independent.
We run the Saloni programme in 221 centres across India. Our inhouse programme of 3 months has been built to skill the candidates in basic beauty, skin, and hair care. The Saloni course curriculum has been recognised by industry peers and we are affiliated to the Beauty &smp; Wellness Sector Skill Council that is promoted and supported by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the National Skill Development Council, respectively. Our training module is now part of the national training curriculum.
We have developed an audiovisual demonstrative learning video of the entire curriculum. The module creates simulations of a salon, helps in learning, and improves comprehension and understanding of work-place safety guidelines and hygiene standards. We have also designed an app-based tablet version of it for easy sharing of our curriculum. Separate modules on enterprise development and employment readiness have also been developed for the beneficiaries of all employability programmes to set them up for success early in their career. We have recently introduced a life skills approach in our module, to equip our graduates with basic soft skills to enhance their employment prospects.
Through our partnerships, we have been able to help 60 per cent of our graduates find jobs in salons and recognised parlour chains. Nearly 40 per cent of our graduates work as freelancers or micro entrepreneurs using their new skills to generate income.
Godrej Vijay, our training programme for youth in channel sales aims at bridging the talent gap across FMCG and other allied industries
The school girls' programme in beauty and wellness is offered in standard 9 as an elective subject. The programme is offered from standard 9 to 12. An after-school programme was also started to enrol students of standard 10.
As FMCG and other similar industries expand in India, a ready pipeline of skilled talent for sales, particularly in rural areas, will be an essential enabler for growth. The industry currently records high attrition of entry-level sales representatives. This can be partly attributed to the lack of requisite skills, leading to an inability to meet targets and manage pressure at work. Godrej Vijay, our training programme in channel sales, was launched in 2011 to help skill unemployed youth and build a talent pipeline for the industry. The programme has trained 22,000 youths across 44 locations in channel sales. The participants undergo 40 hours of training; one-half of which is spent in the classroom and the other half in experiential learning. The programme has been specially designed for the purpose of training distributor sales resources. Graduates of the programme may be placed with any of the Godrej companies or even other Company distributors in the vicinity of the training centre. More than 75 per cent of our Vijay graduates have been placed in the FMCG sector.
Godrej Prerna is our retail management training programme. The programme helps retail shop owners and in-shop associates build skills relevant to General Trade. It aims at equipping the small retailers with skills to compete against the organised retail stores. The programme for in-shop retail associates involves training in stock and shelf management. It helps shop owners know their products and understand the growth drivers of the business. The other training programmes, for training shop owners, helps them understand the drivers of their business as well as how to efficiently manage stock and interact with customers. It also covers general trends in retail and self-service stores. This year, 3,500 people graduated from the programme.
Have you done any impact assessment of your initiative?
We regularly evaluate all our training programmes. This year, we have partnered with an. independent third-party research organisation to help us carry out a semi-longitudinal impact assessment of our programmes.
What is your Company's direct contribution to community development projects?
1.96 per cent. However, it may be noted that the Company has spent 2 per cent of average net profits of last 3 years calculated in the manner specified in Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with rules thereunder.
Principle 9: Businesses should engage with and provide value to their customers in a responsible manner
We are a customer-centric company and greatly value the trust, satisfaction, and loyalty of our customers across the world. Our primary focus is on delighting our external and internal customers. Customer centricity is part of the Group's Code of Conduct. We strive to ensure that customer needs are satisfied and that our products and services offer value to the customer.
Our customer focus not only extends to external customers but also includes internal customers. We firmly believe that external customer satisfaction can be attained only if the internal customers' needs and reasonable expectations are met; our employees are strongly encouraged to act in accordance with this principle.
What percentage of customer complaints/consumer cases are pending as on the end of financial year?
In our endeavour to maintain our relationship with our stakeholders, we have addressed all feedback reported in the last fiscal year.
Does the Company display product information on the product label, over and above what is mandated as per local laws? Yes/No/NA/Remarks (additional information).
GCPL displays adequate information to enable safe and effective usage of its products.
Is there any case led by any stakeholder against the Company regarding unfair trade practices, irresponsible advertising and/or anti-competitive behaviour during the last five years and pending as on end of financial year? If so, provide details thereof, in about 50 words or so.
None.
Did your Company carry out any consumer survey/ consumer satisfaction trends?
Yes.