Guidance Document

Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................3
Sustainable Business Excellence Framework ...................................................................4
Definition of the Seven Attributes ......................................................................................6
Sections A-E: Description of each section.......................................................................10
Section F: Sustainability Aspects ....................................................................................11
Corporate Governance ................................................................................................11
Business Ethics ...........................................................................................................18
Risk Management ........................................................................................................22
Transparency & Disclosure..........................................................................................25
Financial Performance .................................................................................................27
Employee Development...............................................................................................28
Stakeholder Engagement ............................................................................................31
Human Rights ..............................................................................................................34
Occupational Health & Safety ......................................................................................37
Corporate Social Responsibility ...................................................................................42
Supply Chain ...............................................................................................................47
Product Responsibility ................................................................................................. 54
Environment Management...........................................................................................59
Biodiversity ..................................................................................................................67
Glossary ..........................................................................................................................79
Scoring ............................................................................................................................87

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Introduction
Instituted in 2006, the CII-ITC Sustainability Awards recognize and reward excellence in businesses that are
seeking ways to be more sustainable and inclusive in their activities, to support the most significant
contributions and encourage the leaders of this revolution. Winners of this Award are those that demonstrate
Excellence in Sustainable Business – role models that inspire all business to follow suit. The Awards are a
part of continued efforts by the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CESD) to create
awareness on sustainability practices and to create the capacity to mainstream them. To us, sustainability is
serious business and that is what makes the Awards unique. Applicants must make a serious, company-wide
commitment to the process – both in terms of their time and money.

Applicants are assessed on Sustainable Business Excellence Framework which evaluates the sustainability
performance of a company on seven attributes and fifteen aspects. The assessment framework consists of
283 indicators, aligned to GRI, ILO, CDP and other national and international frameworks. The framework
helps to identify strengths and opportunities to excel, which are provided as feedback to all applicants.

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Sustainable Business Excellence Framework
Assessment of organizations is a rigorous process based on the Sustainability Excellence Model developed
on methodology adapted from the internationally acclaimed European Foundation for Quality Management
(EFQM) approach [Figure] and explained below.

Each of these attributes is shown in the Figure occupying a box each. The assessment would be based on
these seven attributes. Equal weight (i.e., 50% each) would be attributed to process “enablers” including
leadership, resources and processes, and to “results” including learning, innovation and evidence of
successful business performance.

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All answers should be assessed considering details as per the following guidelines:

1. Involvement of the organization Leadership (i.e., top management) in various initiatives, whether the
initiatives are proactive or reactive in nature, periodicity and frequency of reviews of initiatives, and
so on. This carries 10% weight.

2. Key Resources deployed or allocated for the various imperatives and initiatives, review of
effectiveness of such deployment, % utilisation of such deployment, etc. This carries 10% weight.

3. How the organisation identifies and engages with various stakeholders (internal / external, traditional
/ non-traditional), how the organisation ensures their agreement / consensus for initiatives and other
decisions, and what is the kind of involvement with the stakeholders while implementing the work.
This carries 10% weight, with 5% for external stakeholders, and 5% for internal stakeholders.

4. Major processes and practices deployed in the organisation and since when, whether they were
modified or discontinued, and reasons for the same. This carries 20% weight.

5. Mention the results obtained or derived and tracked over time on various initiatives implemented,
and in all dimensions. This carries 25% weight.

6. Give details or examples where the results of engagement (including partnerships and other
relations) with the stakeholders have helped the organization and its stakeholders. This carries 10%
weight, with 5% for internal stakeholders and 5% for external stakeholders.

7. Learning behaviour as a process, or changes made due to analysis and review of results. Encourage
those practices and processes that have yielded favourable results and stopped / modified those that
did not, with reasons for the same. Examples of innovation and innovative practices tried out, and
reasons for success or failure. This carries 15% weight.

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 Definition of the Seven Attributes
(Used to Assess the Sustainability Performance of an Organisation for both Corporate and Domain
Excellence)
Attributes Sub-Attributes
1. Leadership
Excellence in leadership that develops and a. Leaders develop the organisation’s
facilitates achievements of the organisation’s mission, vision, values and ethics. They
sustainability mission & vision, values, systems are the role models of a culture of
and partnerships. Shows concern for all excellence.
stakeholders, including the environment, for
sustainable growth, and implement them through b. Leaders are personally involved in
behaviour and action. It also means retaining ensuring the organisation’s governance
constancy of purpose during periods of change. structure and management system are
Leadership that is able to change the direction of developed, implemented and
the organization whenever required and inspires continuously improved.
others to emulate. Excellent organizations
implement their mission and vision by developing c. Leaders are involved with customers,
a stakeholder focused strategy that takes account partners and representatives of society.
of the market and sector in which it operates.
d. Leaders reinforce a culture of
Key Characteristics
excellence with the organisation’s
(i) Proactive
people.
(ii) Strategic
(iii) Result-oriented
e. Leaders identify & champion change
(iv) Engaging
within the organisation
(v) Open
(vi) Transparent
f. Give shape to policy & strategy, based
(vii) All-inclusive
on needs / expectations of stakeholders,
(viii) Motivating
information from performance
(ix) Delegating
measurement, research, learning &
(x) Institutionalising
external activities
2. Key Resources
Organisations that plan & manage partnerships a. Partnerships - internal & external - are
with relevant internal and external stakeholders. managed
Such organisations deploy necessary internal
resources to support its sustainability policy and b. Finances are managed
strategy and puts in place effective operation of
processes to realise the goals of sustainable c. Buildings, equipment & materials are
development. During developing & managing managed
partnerships and resources they balance the
current & future needs of the organisation with that d. Technology is managed
of environment & society at large. In this
management process, such organisations cover e. Information & knowledge are managed.
not only the partnerships but also how natural
resources, finances, technology and information,
knowledge and creativity of people are optimally
utilised for sustainable future.
Key Characteristics:
(i) Developing long term relationships
(ii) Optimising & outsourcing
(iii) Adequate & strategic deployment of internal
resources
(iv) Holistic approach
(v) Balancing current and future needs.
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3. Stakeholder (Internal) & Partnerships
The organisations manage, develop and release a. Internal stakeholders (employees) are
the full potential of people, working for and on their planned, managed and improved.
behalf, at an individual, team based and at an
organisational level. They promote fairness and b. Internal stakeholders’ (employees’)
equity by involving and empowering their people. knowledge and competence are
Such organisations are transparent and caring. identified, developed and sustained
They reward and recognise its people to motivate
them and create commitment amongst them to c. Internal stakeholders (employees) are
use their skills and knowledge for the benefit of the involved and empowered
organisation and all the stakeholders including
environment within and outside. d. People and the organization have a
Key Characteristics: dialogue
(i) Use of team approach
(ii) Knowledge sharing e. People are rewarded, recognized and
(iii) Empowerment cared for
(iv) Fairness
(v) Equity
(vi) Transparency
(vii) Recognising & caring
(viii) Capacity building

4. Stakeholder (External) & Partnerships

Organisations comprehensively identify, evaluate a. External partnerships are managed
and address the needs, concerns and inputs of all
the stakeholders, including the environment, while b. Finances relating to the partnership are
demonstrating and achieving measurable results. managed
Organisations that plan & manage partnerships
with relevant stakeholders including the supply c. Communication is ensured.
chain. Stakeholders in this context include
government, suppliers, customers, civil society,
media, community, environment (physical),
investors, etc.
Key Characteristics:
(i) Ensuring comprehensiveness
(ii) Demonstration of measurable results in
terms of external stakeholder satisfaction
(iii) Fairness
(iv) Equity
(v) Transparency
(vi) Pro-active awareness building
5. Processes
Sustainable organisations design, manage & a. Processes are systematically designed
improve processes in order to fully satisfy and and managed.
generate ever-increasing value for all the
stakeholders including ecology and environment. b. Processes are improved, as needed,
Processes mean, in such of those approaches that using innovation in order to fully satisfy
internalises the concern of the society, and generate increasing value for
environment and economy and the way products customers and other stakeholders.
and services are designed, delivered that
maximises stakeholder satisfaction over the entire c. Products and services are designed and
life cycle. developed based on customer needs
Policies, plans, objectives and processes of and expectations.
excellent organisations are developed and
deployed to deliver the strategy. d. Products and services are produced,
delivered and serviced.
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 Key Characteristics:
(i) Value creation & addition e. Customers relationships are managed
(ii) Institutionalisation and enhanced / CSR advocacy
(iii) Well structured & systematic
(iv) Internalising externalities f. Policy and strategy are communicated
(v) Having a feedback loop and ensuring and deployed through a framework of
preventive & corrective action key processes

6. Results
Excellent organisations comprehensively measure a. Key performance outcomes:
and achieve outstanding results with respect to These measures are key results defined
the key elements of their policy and strategy. by the organisation and agreed in their
policy and strategies. May be applicable
to key performance indicators, and vice
versa, and include financial and non-
financial outcomes.

b. Key performance results:

Used to monitor and understand the
processes, and predict and improve
organization’s likely key performance
outcomes. E.g., number and value-
added of innovative products and
services solutions generated by
partners.
6A. Results - Internal Stakeholders
Excellent organizations comprehensively a. Perception measures:
measure and achieve outstanding results with People’s perception of the economic,
respect to their people, including measures environmental and social performance
relating to the social, environmental and of the organisation compared to their
economic performance of the organization and own values, needs and expectations
the goods and services it produces. Results may (obtained, for example, from surveys,
affect their stakeholders, including customers, the focus groups, interviews, structured
people within the organization and the society appraisals), depending on the purpose
and ecology at large. Sustainable organisations of the organisation.
deliver key performance results not having
adverse environmental and societal footprints but b. Performance indicators:
on the contrary, create measurable positive Internal, used by the organization in
impacts on all the stakeholders. order to monitor, understand, predict
and improve the performance of the
Key Characteristics
people in CSR issues, and to predict
(i) Targets
their perceptions of the organisations
(ii) Trends and comparisons including the
approach to CSR.
perception of the stakeholders. Results
should be related to key performance
targets / benchmarks / trends
(iii) Positive externalities
(iv) Positive image & brand
6B. Results - External Stakeholders
Customers: a. Perception measures:
Excellent organisations comprehensively measure For the customers’ perception of the
and achieve outstanding results with respect to organization’s economic, social and
their customers. environmental performance of its goods
and services compared to their own
values, needs and expectations (e.g.,
from customer surveys, focus groups,

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 vendor ratings, compliments,
complaints, etc.).

b. Performance indicators:
These internal measures are used by
the organisation to monitor, understand,
predict and improve its CSR-related
performance, and to predict perceptions
of its external customers.
Society:
Excellent organisations comprehensively measure a. Perception measures:
and achieve outstanding results with respect to For the society’s perception of the
society social, environmental and economic
performance of the organisation and the
products and services it produces
compared to the general values, needs
and expectations of society (e.g., from
surveys, reports, press articles, public
meetings, public representatives,
governmental authorities).

b. Performance results:
These internal measures are used by
the organisation to monitor, understand,
predict and improve the performance of
the organisation and to predict
perceptions of society of the
environmental, social and economic
performance of the organizations and
the products and services it produces.
7. Learning and Innovation
Organisations that challenge status quo. That is, a. Organization accepts mistakes, but
they are always in a learning mode, and convert does not repeat them.
societal, environmental and economic concerns
into opportunities through innovation and b. People are encouraged to think beyond
creativity. Organisations that learn from their own normal scope of work; this may result in
activities, and that of others, share best practices a few failures. However, success stories
and knowledge all through the organisation as well are more in number.
as outside. It is about openness to accept and use
ideas from all the stakeholders, and stretch current c. Targets are set, measured and people
organisational capabilities to safeguard the future are recognised and rewarded for their
of all. ideas.
Key Characteristics:
(i) Continual improvement
(ii) converting risks to opportunities
(iii) creativity & innovation
(iv) open mindedness
(v) resource deployment on R&D, etc.

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 Sections A-E: Description of each section

 Section A: This section contains details pertaining to applicant’s registration (such as corporate
address, point of contact, etc.)

 Section B: It is the statement of authenticity and approval note by the highest ranking official.

 Section C: Information in this section is related to the applicant’s nature of ownership, scope of the
application, mission, vision & values as well as employee information.

 Section D: This section pertains to management description. It gives a comprehensive overview of

sustainability-business risks, impact on business, and mitigation strategies or plans from the
management point of view.

 Section E: Information in this section pertains to terminologies and abbreviations used by the
applicant throughout the questionnaire.

All the above sections must be read prior to Section F as they contain important information which
will help assessors to draw inter-linkages thereby forming the basis of the application.

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Section F: Sustainability Aspects
Corporate Governance

CG 01 According to Section 149 of the Companies Act

2013, minimum one-third of the board members
Board Structure (total of executive, non- should be independent directors. There is no such
executive and independent directors should mention about non-executive and executive
be the total board size): directors, though together they may constitute
maximum 2/3 of the board.

CG 02 The best practice is that chairman and CEO

positions are separate for the sake of integrity of the
Is the organization's board chairman organization. Separating management and
separate from its CEO? governance roles of the organization has
advantages in terms of independence as well as time
required to address the demanding jobs. Joint
position allows little transparency into the CEO’s
actions, and as such these can go unmonitored,
paving the way for conflicts of interest and
corruption.

With a single executive holding both titles, it has

been argued that the organization’s entire decision
making process lies in the hands of one person, with
little in the way of checks and balances. In essence,
the CEO has absolute authority and, if the CEO also
chairs the board, it might be difficult for that board to
objectively evaluate his decisions and performance.

By maintaining separate roles, the two executives

can focus on key aspects of running the enterprise,
with the CEO focused on the day-to-day operations
of the organization while the chairman is involved
with overseeing regulatory compliance, recruiting
board members, as well as the critical issue of
succession planning.

In cases where one person holds both positions, the

organization should consult major shareholders in
advance and set out its reasons for the appointment,
both at the time and in the next director’s report.

CG 03 The best practice is that Chairman of the board is

independent director.
Is the Chairman of the Board independent?

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 CG 04 Clause VII (1) of the schedule IV requires the
independent directors of the company to hold at least
How frequently do the independent directors one meeting in a year. One or more of the
meet separately? independent directors may also request an
extraordinary meeting of the independent directors if
he or they reasonably believe that management has
breached its fiduciary duty.

.
CG 05 The purpose of the board and committee mandates
is to provide guidance to Board members and Board
Are the board responsibilities well defined committee members as to their duties and
and documented? Please provide evidence responsibilities. The power and authority of the
for the following: Board is subject to the provisions of applicable law.

CG 06 & CG 07 The audit committee is a committee of the board of

directors responsible for oversight of the financial
Is there a Board committee for Audit? reporting process, selection of the independent
auditor, and receipt of audit results both internal and
If there is an audit committee, does it have: external.
An independent chairman
More than 50% independent board members The audit committee plays a critical role in providing
oversight and serving as a check and balance on an
organization’s financial reporting system. The
committee provides independent review and
oversight of an organization’s financial reporting
processes, internal controls and independent
auditors. It provides a forum separate from
management in which auditors and other interested
parties can candidly discuss concerns.

Section 177 of Companies Act 2013 mandates Audit

Committee. It requires the Committee to have a
minimum of 3 directors, majority being independent.
The good practice is to have an independent director
chair the Audit Committee.
CG 08 The Companies Act 2013 requires organizations to
rotate audit firms and auditors every five years. This
Does the organization have a policy on is applicable for listed organizations, unlisted
rotation of auditors/firm? organizations with a share capital of more than
Rs.10 crore, all private organizations with paid- up
capital of Rs.20 crore or more, and all organizations
with public deposits of a minimum of Rs.50 crore.

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 CG 09 & CG 10 Board level committees for nomination and
remuneration of directors are expected. As per the
Is there a Board Committee for Companies Act 2013, these committees shall have
remuneration? three or more non-executive directors out of which
not less than 50% shall be independent directors.
If there is a remuneration committee, does it The chairperson of the organization (whether
have: executive or non-executive) may be appointed as a
An independent chairman member of the Nomination and Remuneration
More than 50% independent board members Committee but shall not chair such Committee.

CG 12 & CG 13

Is there a Board committee for Nomination?

?

If there is a nomination committee, does it

have:
An independent chairman
More than 50% independent board members

CG 11 One of the tasks of the remuneration & nomination

committee is to finalise NRC policy. The policy
Does the executive remuneration policy director NRC to ensure that:
include performance-based, long-term and (a) the level and composition of remuneration is
short-term incentive components? reasonable and sufficient to attract, retain and
motivate directors of the quality required to run the
organization successfully;
(b) relationship of remuneration to performance is
clear and meets appropriate performance
benchmarks; and
(c) remuneration to directors, KMPs and senior
management involves a balance between fixed and
incentive pay reflecting short and long-term
performance objectives appropriate to the working of
the organization and its goals

CG 14 Indian regulations now mandate organizations to

have at least one woman on board. Globally there
Does the organization have women on are studies to suggest that better representation of
board? women with right capabilities on results in better
performance and improved business resilience of
the organization.

In case an organization has women on board, check if

she is independent or related to promoters.

CG 15 At least one woman director on board is a mandatory

requirement in India. While this might be adhered to,
Elaborate initiatives that have been taken by the indicator checks who the woman is, and whether
the nomination committee to improve she is executive, non-executive, independent
gender diversity on the board: director.

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 CG 16 Stakeholder Relationship Committee is meant to
protect interests of investors in the organization. The
Is there a board level committee for Committee was made mandatory via Section 179 of
Stakeholder Relationship management? the Companies Act 2013, for all those organizations
where a combined total of all its shareholders,
debenture-holders, deposit-holders and any other
security holders, is greater than one thousand.

CG 17 Not necessarily mandatory in most cases, seeking

shareholder approval on each of these is a good
Does the organization seek shareholders' practice in corporate governance.
approval on the following?

CG 18 The maximum limit of seven is both a good practice

as well as a regulatory requirement.
Do all the directors have less than seven
mandates/ other board memberships?

CG 19 Performance evaluation is intended to provide a

systematic process by which the board and its
Does the organization conduct performance committees can review their performance, make
evaluation of the board?
sure, they are discharging their obligations, and
CG 20 institute steps for further improvement.

Please describe the process for board We consider two types of board performance
performance evaluation. assessments: (1) self-assessments of the board’s
performance, meaning that the board members
themselves are allowed to systematically evaluate
their performance; and (2) independent
assessments of the board’s performance, meaning
that an independent third party evaluates the
performance of the board

At the outset, the board should decide whether an

external firm or a member of senior management will
perform the evaluation; whether questionnaires will
be used; whether individual interviews will be
conducted; and whether a group discussion will be
part of the process.

The Companies Act 2013 mandates board

evaluation. The Act does not prescribe any specific
method for evaluating the board.

This should be a part of board’s roles and

CG 21 responsibilities and code of conduct.

Does the board have a policy to ensure

conflicts of interest are avoided and
managed?

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 CG 22 Proper and professional succession planning is
critical to passing on business to new leadership.
Does the organization have a succession The good practice is to have a succession planning
planning process in place? group set up with some board members, including
the chairman, to look for a competent and suitable
successor. The process also involves making
necessary disclosures to shareholders at
appropriate time.

CG 23 Not mandatory, but certainly a voluntary good

Does the organization disclose education, practice to improve disclosures about board
experience and other board membership of members to shareholders as well as other
its board members? stakeholders of the organization.

CG 24 These are mandatory disclosures as per Companies

Act 2013. The mandatory committees are: Audit
Does the organization disclose the Committee, CSR Committee, Nomination &
following: Remuneration Committee, Stakeholder
Responsibility Committee
Number of board meetings
Attendance of each director at these
meetings
Number of times each committee has met
Attendance of each director at committee
meetings
CG 25 This is mandatory disclosure as per Companies Act
2013; particulars of contracts or arrangement with
Does the organization disclose all the related related parties in prescribed form AOC 2. [Section
party transactions in the Annual Report or 134(3)(h) of the Act and Rule 8(2) of the
Directors' Report? Organizations (Accounts) Rules, 2014]

CG 26 & CG 27 While disclosures of remuneration of executives and

directors is mandatory by Companies Act 2013, the
Does the organization publicly disclose the intent here is to ensure that remuneration
process to determine executives' and arrangements support the strategic aims of the
directors' remuneration? organization, align with the interests of stakeholders,
and enable the recruitment, motivation and retention
Does the organization communicate the of members of the board, senior executives, and
remuneration/ compensation of board of employees.
directors/ supervisory board members and
other highest paid directors / senior
executives (e.g. CEO) externally?

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 Transparency is key to restoring trust amongst
CG 28 shareholders, employees, customers and other
stakeholders, and hence to improving corporate
Does the organization communicate what reputation. Organizations that are taking a proactive
part of total compensation for senior approach towards aligning their reporting with this
executives consist of variable pay and under global trend and improving disclosure with regard to
what conditions payments are received? executive compensation will be in a better position to
fend off criticisms.
CG 29
Please state all the metrics used by the Disclosing these performance metrics and targets,
organization to determine the variable will help the public understand how much board
compensation to be paid out to the key members are being paid and under what
management personnel: circumstances.

A clawback provision is a provision in the incentive

CG 30 plan that enables the company to with-hold the
payment of any sum, or recovers sums already paid
Does the organization have a out, in the event of serious misconduct or a material
clawback/recoupment policy in place that misstatement in the company’s financial statements.
covers ethical/conduct related aspects? This helps build trust among stakeholders.

CG 31 A fee an organization pays an external auditor in

exchange for performing an audit. Non-audit fee is
Please indicate audit and non-audit fees for non-audit services. Ideally, audit firms should not
paid to auditors in the past financial year be providing non-audit services such as consulting in
(please provide absolute figures in INR). tax, management or business strategies. Since this
is not prohibited by most regulatory regimes and the
practice is prevalent, comparing audit and non-audit
fees is a good indicator to “independence” of audit
firm in auditing the organization.

CG 32 The best practice is of having a board-level

sustainability committee ensures importance of the
How does the organization focus on issue at the highest level. Board getting involved is
Sustainability issues? also a necessary condition to align sustainability to
core business. Sustainability is not something that

16
 organizations also do, but sustainability is about
doing business.

Irrespective of the response of the organization,

assessors should look into the details of the process
and if KPIs were clearly articulated to measure and
manage sustainability.

CG 33 Sustainability will be reflected in organization’s vision

and mission statements either literally or implied.
How are sustainability elements reflected in Any such vision and mission should be followed with
the organization’s vision, mission, strategies that will help the organization become a
strategies, and policies? sustainable business.

CG 34 The top management is expected to be involved in

periodic review of the sustainability performance of
Please elaborate the organization's process the company in line with company’s vision. Further,
to review key sustainability performance (in the results of the review should be analysed and
line with the stated vision) at board/top used for learning and improvement.
management level. Elaborate on how
outputs of the review are analysed and used
for learning and improvements.
CG 35 ISO 26000 is a social responsibility guidance but not
a standard. It provides guidance on how
Does the organization comply with ISO organizations can operate in a socially responsible
26000? way. This means acting in an ethical and transparent
way that contributes to the health and welfare of
society. ISO 26000 covers 7 areas: human rights,
community involvement & development, labour
practices, consumer issues, fair operating practices,
the environment.

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Business Ethics

BE 01 A code of conduct enables an organization to function

in an ethical and appropriate manner. Its core elements
Does the organization have a code of are intended to ensure that businesses do not indulge
conduct/ethics policy? in anti-trust, bribery, corruption or any unlawful activity.
It is also meant to ensure transparent disclosures of all
decisions that affect relevant stakeholders.

BE 02 Identification of environmental, social and governance

areas within the code of conduct drives improvements
Indicate the areas included in the code of in business performance. An organization can have a
conduct / Ethics policy: single code of conduct policy covering different areas
or separate policies for specific areas. Hence, a code
Environmental protection of conduct policy may apply to any one of the listed
Insider trading areas. The more the areas it covers, the more
Anti-trust comprehensive it is.
Data privacy
Bribery and corruption
Conflict of interest
Health and safety
Discrimination

BE 03 A code of conduct policy should apply to employees as

well as other external stakeholders that the
If there is a code of conduct/ethics policy organization may have identified. If unethical practices
available, who does this policy apply to? prevail with external stakeholders, it might be a risk to
business.

BE 04 It is important for an organization to communicate its

code of conduct policy to all relevant stakeholders to
Does the organization communicate its code ensure transparency in its functioning. It is
of conduct/ethics policy to all relevant predominantly the management which builds this
stakeholders? culture. Hence, a code of conduct is most effective
when it comes from the top. A code of conduct policy
should be communicated during employee orientation
and regular training should be provided to all relevant
stakeholders. It should also be a part of contractual
agreement with relevant stakeholders.

BE 05 An organization should conduct regular training on the

code of conduct policy as it creates awareness among
When are, the employees trained on the all the identified stakeholders thereby enabling them to
Code of conduct/ethics policy? take more informed decisions.

BE 06 Assessors must understand the frequency of these

trainings and whether code of ethics has been adopted
Who are the trainers? as a part the organization’s culture.

Training by ethics experts is considered better practice

as they know a lot about the ins and outs of ethical
reasoning.

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 BE 07 Participation of employees is reflective of an
organization’s growing concern for implementation of
What is the percentage of employees who code of conduct policy. The indicator looks at the
attended the ethics training during the past number of permanent employees trained in the past
financial year? financial year.

An organization should appoint a dedicated officer to

BE 08 deal with ethics and compliance issues to ensure all
grievances reach the appropriate authority and
Does the organization employ an ethics and adequate measures are taken to address the concerns
compliance officer? If yes, please provide raised. An ethics officer should be independent of or
his/her name and designation. separate from HR or any other department to ensure
impartiality. The officer should be empowered to report
all such cases directly to the board for continuously
improving its governance system.

The board should have a mechanism by which it can

BE 09 monitor or oversee ethics and compliance issues as
well as the measures adopted to resolve them given
Does the board have an oversight on the that they can pose as a major risk for the organization.
following issues: Such a mechanism involves defining roles and
responsibilities, tracking cases of non-compliance and
Ethics and compliance issues conducting regular review meetings.
Actions taken to address those issues
Assessors must deep dive and understand how the board
is monitoring and the intervals at which it monitors. It
would also be perhaps important to know what measures
the board takes in cases of non-compliance.

The senior management should regularly review the

BE 10 code of conduct policy to incorporate any changes
made in business or on the regulatory front. The review
Are the code and ethics and compliance should involve engagement with relevant stakeholders.
program reviewed at least annually by the
senior management to determine if it needs
to be updated due to business, legal, or
regulatory changes?

Such a mechanism of seeking advice strengthens the

BE 11 process. There should be mechanisms that allow for
anonymous requests so that all stakeholders are
Does the organization have mechanisms for encouraged to voice their opinion.
seeking advice on code of conduct (ethical
and lawful behaviour and matter related to Assessors must look for whether requests for advice are
integrity) for both internal and external treated confidentially, whether the mechanisms for
stakeholders? If yes, please elaborate seeking advice allow for anonymous requests for advice,
the total number of requests for advice received during
the reporting period, including the percentage of requests
that were answered during the period.

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 Organizations are expected to have proper systems in
BE 12 place to ensure effective implementation of the policies
including documentation of who is responsible for what,
What measures are in place to ensure what procedures will be followed in case of an
effective implementation of the code of investigation and what actions would be taken in case
conduct/ethics policy? of violations.

Ethical due diligence in recruitment involves assessing

BE 13 potential employees in terms of their fit with the ethical
culture and values of the organization. Ethical
Does the organization conduct ethical due performance assessments should also be used when
diligence of candidates before hiring? considering candidates for career development and
promotion within the organization.
BE 14

Is due diligence of employees part of

annual appraisal?

An organization should have a whistle-blowing

BE 15 mechanism as it facilitates reporting cases of violation
as well as enables the organization to adopt adequate
Does the organization have a confidential or measures to address the issues. The mechanism
anonymous whistle-blowing mechanism to should also be available for external stakeholders
report on code of conduct/ethics policy keeping their interest in mind given that such a
breaches? mechanism also increases accountability of the
organization to its stakeholders.

An organization should track the number of cases of

BE 16 & BE 17 breach and also report on the same to ensure a
transparent mechanism to its stakeholders. In order to
How many cases of breach of conduct were record these cases systematically and for the ease of
reported in the past financial year? disclosure, the organization should provide a
breakdown of the cases by the core areas it identifies.
Please provide the breakdown of such cases

Imposition of fines and penalties in cases of breach of

BE 18 conduct where order has been passed forms an
integral part of the implementation of a code of conduct
Please indicate fines/penalties imposed in policy. It acts as deterrence for future breaches. It also
cases of breach of conduct on which a indicates how stringent an organization is in dealing
conclusion has been reached (please with cases of non-compliance.
provide absolute figures in INR).

20
 Political contribution is ideally considered to be a risk
BE 19 area despite code of conduct and transparency of
political dealings. India has a regulation on disclosures
What was the amount of political for political contributions in the Companies Act 2013.
contribution made in the past financial year? Organizations are mandated to disclose political
contributions in the profit & loss account giving
particulars of the total amount contributed and the
decision for contribution should have followed a board
process as mandated by Section 182 of the Companies
Act 2013. While the Act only covers financial
contribution, we are also considering contribution in
kind which too perhaps can incur negative
consequences for an organization.

21
Risk Management

An organization should appoint a separate senior

RM 01 person who is responsible for the overall
implementation of the risk management system
Is there a senior person responsible for risk including identification & assessment of risks as well
management besides the CEO / CFO / audit as controlling cases of non-compliance. This would
committee head? also include prioritizing the risks and reporting the
same to the board on a regular basis. Appointing a
separate senior person ensures double screening of
risks, first at the level of compliance officer followed
by a review by the board. It also makes way for an
independent view on management of risks.

The board should review the risk management

RM 02 processes on a regular basis so as to ensure
effectiveness of the system and for the ease of
Does the board review risk management disclosure. As per the disclosure requirements in
process at least once every six months? section 134 of the Companies Act 2013, the Board’s
report must comprise of a statement from the board
regarding the implementation of a risk management
policy along with the critical risk areas identified by
the board.

An organization should have tools to identify actual

RM 03 or potential risk. The assessment of these risks
enables an organization to understand their impact
Does the organization's risk management which may differ for different risks as well as develop
involve risk identification, assessment, and strategies to manage them such as a mitigation plan.
response? Basis this assessment, the management is able to
take informed decisions of adopting an appropriate
response that reduces the impact of the identified
risks.

Assessors should not only look for the existence of

processes to identify, assess and mitigate risks but
also gather whether the approach adopted by an
organization to manage them is proactive or not. It is
also important to understand if an organization is
deploying an integrated approach for analysing
environmental, social and economic risks. For
instance, any risk in health and safety or labour is
actually a business risk as it may affect the productivity
of the organization.
There are different tools such as risk maps,
RM 04 sensitivity & stress testing which an organization can
adopt for facilitating the identification and
Does the organization assess its risks assessment of risks. An organization may use
through various tools? separate tools for identification of financial and
business risks.

22
 Sensitivity analysis is the name given to any
RM 05 procedure which tests the particular outcome of any
given set of inputs, under a given set of assumptions.
Does the organization perform sensitivity It is important for risk analysis because it is a useful
analysis and stress testing? tool for gauging the outcome of all kinds of scenarios
and events. Stress tests are used to gauge how
certain stressors (events, risks, megatrends) or
extreme circumstances will affect organization or
industry. They are usually computer-generated
simulation models that test hypothetical scenarios.

Assessors must check if internal control processes are

implemented to comply with existing regulations and
so as to be proactive in developing control
mechanisms.

Organizations are expected to identify different types

RM 06 of risks including strategic risk, operational risk,
compliance risk and financial & reporting risks. Also,
Please indicate the types of risks identified they should analyse the impact of the risk on
by the organization. business, decide risk response and formulate
mitigation strategy.

RM 07 Wherever mitigation strategy involves investments

to reduce the risk, company should record and
Please elaborate the investment made by the disclose such investments and benefits derived
organization and the benefits derived after
implementing the defined strategies to deal
with the any three of the above risks.

For each risk identified, organizations are expected

RM 08 to assign responsibilities to relevant departments.
This allows different departments some level of
Please select the relevant checkbox autonomy and supports their department level risk
indicating the function accountable for each management strategies.
of the risks identified and reported in RM 06.

It is important for organizations to understand the

RM 09 long-term risks that they face and their awareness
of the impacts of these risks on business and so as
What are the top three important long-term to devise mitigating actions in response to such
(3-5 years+) emerging risks that the risks. In disclosing these risks to investors,
organization identifies as having the most organizations are showing their ability to plan
significant impact on the business in the effectively for long-term risks. Reporting on long-
future, and indicate any mitigating actions term risks, their impacts on their business and the
that the organization has taken. mitigating actions they are taking can improve
investors’ confidence in the ability of the
management to plan effectively for long-term
challenges and therefore may make the company a
more attractive long-term investment.

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 For an organization's risk management to be
RM 10 effective, risk awareness, concern, and
management has to stem from the organization's
What strategies does the organization very top levels. While the overall responsibility of risk
pursue in order to promote and enhance an management rests with the board of directors, it is
effective risk culture throughout the the duty of senior management to transform the
organization? strategic direction set by the board into policies and
procedures and to institute an effective hierarchy to
execute and implement those policies. This can be
done through comprehensive training, financial
incentives, and so forth.

Assessors should look for risk management

measures that may be part of an individual’s
performance review, or any goal that impacts
compensation tied to reduction of risk, for example
the reduction of OHS incidents or environmental
risks.
An organization should have established processes
RM 11 to deal with non-compliance. Such processes may
include regular monitoring of the status of
Does the organization have a process to deal compliances in review meetings by the board &
with non-compliance with applicable submission of compliance reports to the senior
regulations? Elaborate on roles and compliance officer regularly in a systematic manner.
responsibilities, measures to deal with non- There should be a mechanism for tracking such
compliance, etc. cases along with a breakdown of the area in which
the risk falls so that adequate measures can be
taken to reduce them in the future.

Disclosure on the total number of non-compliances

RM 12 & RM 13 and fines and penalties imposed on the organization
by the courts or regulators or other stakeholders
Please indicate the total number of cases of (such as suppliers, customers, vendors or
non-compliance that were filed against the employees) is a means to ensure transparency to
organization in the past five years. stakeholders. Both the indicators require an
organization to provide total data on such cases in
Please indicate the fines / penalties that the past five years.
various courts / regulators / other The organization shall also indicate the nature of
stakeholders imposed on the organization in non-compliance for which fines mentioned in the
the past five years. previous questions have been paid.

RM 14

Please indicate the nature of non-

compliance for which organization has paid
fines as mentioned in RM 13.

24
Transparency & Disclosure

Sustainability reporting increases the accountability

TD 01 and responsibility of an organization to its
stakeholders. Some organizations publish a
Which of the following does the organisation separate sustainability report, while some include
publicly report / publish? sustainability related issues in the annual report.
However, deploying an integrated approach to
reporting can help organizations take more informed
decisions. A hierarchy of reporting is now visible,
with Integrated Reporting emerging as the best
practice.

Sustainability reporting begins with boundary

TD 02 setting. An organization defines the boundary or the
scope of sustainability reporting by indicating the
Please state the coverage of organization's total operations it is limiting its report to. Coverage of
sustainability reporting. sustainability reporting here means the percentage
of operations included in the report and the amount
of data and narrative explanation disclosed by the
organization about a material aspect.

An organization should report in accordance with

TD 03 recognized standards such as GRI or SEBI
guidelines or any other guidelines such as Integrated
Does the organization report sustainability Reporting. These guidelines are comprehensive and
issues in accordance with recognized cover all aspects related to sustainability.
standards?
External assurance examines the quality of the
TD 04 report, all the activities and aspects indicated in the
report. An external assurance is always preferred
Who assures the sustainability report? over internal to avoid any biasness.

Further the assurance statement should include the

standard used, independence statement, scope of
assurance and conclusion.

Materiality analysis is important as it enables an

TD 05 organization to identify the most relevant
sustainability issues that affect business. The
Does the organization conduct materiality process begins with identification followed by
analysis to identify the most relevant prioritization, validation and review. Such a process
sustainability aspects to report on? should involve senior management as well as
Please elaborate on the process, consultations with internal & external stakeholders in
identification and prioritization of issues and order to clearly define the nature, scope and priority
engagement with stakeholders. of the identified issues.

25
 Organizations must disclose the key material
TD 06 aspects identified through materiality analysis. Also,
they are expected to have strategies, KPIs and long
Please list the key material aspects identified term targets to track the actions and progress on
by the organization through materiality these aspects.
analysis.
Assessors must understand if the material issues
identified by the organization are relevant to its nature
of business. The nature of business would be available
in Section ‘C’ of the questionnaire under scope of the
application.

An organization can record feedback from its

TD 07 stakeholders by holding meetings (AGM, investor
meets), employee communication portal for internal
Please elaborate how the organization stakeholders and conducting surveys. Such
receives/records feedback from various feedback should be analysed and results should be
stakeholders about its transparency and prioritized to make improvements in its overall
how the feedback is used to improve overall transparency and disclosure.
transparency. Provide details on roles and
responsibilities, frequency, output, etc. Assessors should look for a well-defined process
where systematic roles and responsibilities are
allocated, regular feedback is gathered from
stakeholders and also analysed. They should also
look for whether the output is used to prioritize, plan
and implement improvements.

26
Financial Performance

Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)

FP 02 considerations in investment suggests company’s
financial decision making includes not just the
What drives the investment decision of the financial but also the non-financial parameters.
company? United Nations (UN) supported ‘Principles of
Responsible Investment (PRI)’ is a global network
that emphasises on integrating the ESG practices
into investment practices. While risk-free returns
and payback period are looked upon from the lens
of traditional finance, consideration of ESG
parameters help in mitigating non-financial risks
around future investments.

Finding a correlation between sustainability

FP 03 performance and financial performance suggests
integration of business strategy along with the
Does the company identify any correlation sustainability goals of the company. A company with
between sustainability performance and fairly new sustainability initiatives shall identify
financial performance? newer revenue sources thereby a positive
correlation with top lines. As the sustainability
efforts of a company mature, a positive correlation
of sustainability performance with improved bottom
lines must be observed. The degree of correlation
may be considered an indicator of the company’s
stage of efforts to desired sustainability goals.

27
Employee Development

Organizations should promote continuous skill

ED 01 development of all employees (permanent &
contractual) by providing regular training and
Does the organization have a process for the learning opportunities. To ensure growth and
identification and assessment of training development of employees, a mechanism or process
needs of its employees? Please elaborate. for identification of training needs must be
established.

Assessors should look for a process which is well-

defined, which means that it covers all employees and
includes a mapping of existing and new skills required.
Also, they should look for whether training need
assessment is integrated in the employee performance
appraisal process or not. It is important to know
whether such a process exists or there is an ad-hoc
process in place.
Organisation needs to state training programs under
ED 02 three categories: On-the-job, Leadership
development training and Life-skills training. Use
Please elaborate on the types of training examples of coaching, mentoring (internal and
programmes, including examples of such external), job rotation, and formal training courses
programmes from past 3 years (do not (internal & external), general self-management skills
include basic compliance training, training, social skills etc.
induction, health & safety training)
This relates to the options provided to the employees
ED 03 for training and development, both internal and
external. Training programs held internally or
In what ways, the organization promotes providing support to the employee for external
training & development among employees? trainings.

The organisation needs to track financial, non-

ED 04 financial and value-based metrics to evaluate the
overall growth and assess further requirements.
Please define the types of indicators used by
the organization to measure the execution of
employee training & development programs
(do not include basic compliance training,
induction, health & safety training)

This is a result based indicator to understand and

ED 05 assess if the organization is recording such
information and reflecting on it to make
Please provide the percentage of employees improvements. Data for the past financial year needs
who attended skill development trainings to be provided by the organization for top, middle,
and the amount spent in the reporting period lower as well as shop-floor and contractual
under the following categories: employees.
Top management
Middle management
Lower management
Other employees

28
 Organisation needs to track the benefits of training
ED 06 programs through various indicators like reduction in
employee attrition, customer satisfaction levels,
Do you measure the benefit of the training human capital return on investment (HCROI) etc.
programs to the organization?

Well defined here means a systematic mechanism to

ED 07 review the performance of all permanent employees
on an equal and non-discriminatory basis. Employee
Does the organization have a well-defined performance must be reviewed periodically by not
performance evaluation process in place only the reporting manager but also senior
covering all employees? management to ensure employee appraisal is
performance driven. Hence roles and responsibilities
should be clearly defined.

An organization should have a performance

ED 08 evaluation process for all permanent employees.
This indicator is about disclosure on the percentage
What is the percentage of total employees of employees who received a career review and
(by level) who received a regular development in the past financial year.
performance and career development review
during the reporting period?

This relates to equal opportunity provided to women

ED 09 to enhance their performance through training and
development programs. The organisation also
Please indicate the % of women who needs to review the performance and career
attended training & development program development over a time period.
and received a performance and career
development review in the past fiscal year.
A periodic review of employee development
ED 10 initiatives and performance by the board of all
permanent employees ensures the efficacy of the
Does the board / top management monitor / system and promotes employee welfare. It
review the effectiveness of employee reinforces the trust of employees in the top
development practices /initiatives (trainings management/ board and promotes employee
and performance evaluation)? efficiency. Such a review in the form of annual
performance appraisals or employee feedback also
allows scope for understanding employee needs
thereby allowing improvements in the system.

Employees are important stakeholders of any

ED 11 organization irrespective of their business or sector.
Hence, engagement with them is of utmost priority.
Does the organization conduct employee Commonly used methods of engagement to know
satisfaction surveys? their expectations are surveys. Surveys should be
conducted on a periodic basis. Assessors should
look at the frequency of these surveys as well as how
feedback from employees is recorded to make
improvements. Systematically conducted surveys
indicate the process is streamlined.

29
 This indicator is about disclosure on employee
ED 12 satisfaction surveys in the last five years. Assessors
should analyse the past five-year trend and if the
Please provide the results of the employee organisation has set targets for the future years.
satisfaction survey conducted in the past
five years and targets for next 5 years.
A high rate of employee turnover can indicate levels
ED 13 of uncertainty and dissatisfaction among employees.
Hence appropriate steps should be taken by an
Please indicate the percentage of employee organization to make improvements in their system
turnover. so as to reduce employee turnover.
The organisation also needs to assess voluntary
employee turnover rate which means the employee
leaves the organisation for personal reasons like
relocation, marriage, health issues etc.

We are also looking at industry benchmark of the

turnover rate.

30
Stakeholder Engagement

Companies around the world are increasingly

SE01 moving towards meaningful consultation with
stakeholders for a variety of reasons. The underlying
Is there a Stakeholder Engagement policy? driver is that collaboration between industry and
stakeholders will lead to more sustainable
development that takes into account societal and
environmental needs and issues. At the heart of
stakeholder engagement is a well-defined and
measurable stakeholder engagement policy. There
are several benefits that arise from a properly
executed engagement process. Identifying and
engaging with stakeholders is key for socially
responsible businesses and results in improved
relationships; ongoing dialogue allows companies to
anticipate any potential problems or issues and to be
part of the solution. In today’s context, these
relationships are viewed as tangible, valuable assets
critical to business success.

Stakeholder engagement process begins with

SE02 identification, selection and prioritization of
stakeholders relevant to business. The purpose of
Does the organization have a well-defined stakeholder engagement is to understand the
approach for identification and selection of interests/ expectations of the stakeholder group
stakeholders with whom to engage? including those who are unable to articulate their
views [such as future generations, fauna, and
ecosystem]. Well-defined approach means that the
engagement process is appropriate to the
stakeholder group, is systematic and with an
objective to fulfil.
This indicator is divided in five parts.
SE03 1. Person responsible for stakeholder
engagement at group level: A dedicated
Please describe the following points with person indicates the level of commitment of
respect to the organization's stakeholder the organization. It enables an organization
(both internal and external) engagement to ensure all stakeholder needs are
process. adequately addressed. Roles and
responsibilities should be clearly defined for
to ensure transparency and accountability.
2. Mechanism of engagement identified: In
order to engage with its stakeholder, an
organization can adopt various modes.
These can be: surveys, town hall meetings,
focus groups, brainstorming,
videoconference, webinars, website etc.
Mode of engagement is dependent on the
stakeholder group and the objective of
engagement.
3. Frequency of engagement: An organization
should engage with its stakeholders
regularly, however, the frequency of

31
 engagement would vary from one
stakeholder group to the other depending on
the objective of engagement. Assessors
should look at how these engagements are
recorded.
4. Outcomes of engagement disclosed:
Disclosure on outcomes of stakeholder
engagement should be done so as to ensure
transparency and accountability to its
stakeholders. It also enables an
organization to communicate whether the
objectives set for engagement were
achieved or not.
5. Benefit of engagement: This is about
disclosure on benefits derived from
engagement and how an organization is
using that to make improvements in its
Stakeholder engagement helps the organization
SE 04 understand the expectations and needs of its
stakeholders. Some of these can also be concerns
Please describe the key topics and concerns which should be addressed adequately by the
that have been raised through stakeholder organization. It is important that the organization
engagement and how the organization has helps find solutions to the concerns raised, in the
responded to them, including through minimum possible time.
reporting. Report the stakeholder groups
that raised each of the key topics and
concerns.

Mapping stakeholder perception can add significant

SE 05 value in terms of helping the organization implement
its long-term vision and creating a unique position in
Please indicate frequency, outcome and the market for itself and its branded products. To be
measures taken to achieve targets of effective, organizations need to systematically
stakeholder perception analysis identify priorities as perceived by the stakeholders
involved in the value chain.

SE06 Engagement with disadvantaged, vulnerable and

marginalized can be done with several objectives,
What initiatives have been taken by the some of these can be: skill development, livelihood
organization to engage with disadvantaged, generation, education, jobs, etc.
vulnerable and marginalized stakeholders?

Effective stakeholder engagement includes using a

SE 07 procedure to ensure that grievances are received
and responded to in a timely manner, and are
Is there a grievance mechanism for local tracked so that results can be analysed. A grievance
stakeholders to report to the headquarters or mechanism is an important pillar of the stakeholder-
at group level? engagement process because it creates
opportunities for companies and communities to
identify problems and discover solutions together.
Organizations should ensure that stakeholders know
who can raise a grievance, where grievances can be
filed, who is responsible for receiving and registering
complaints, what sort of response stakeholders can

32
 expect from the company including timing of
response, and what other rights and protections are
guaranteed.

This indicator is about the learning and innovation

SE08 attribute in stakeholder engagement process. After
the engagement is done and complete it is important
Please elaborate how the organization to evaluate the process. Evaluation helps find out
evaluates its stakeholder engagement areas which can be improved and make the process
process and how the learnings are used to efficient in future. Such learnings help the
make improvements. Please provide details organization move from their status quo.
on roles and responsibilities, frequency,
output, etc.

It is important to share experiences that arise out of

SE 09 stakeholder engagements with employees since it
is a collaborative process. It helps in overall
How are the learnings from good and bad improvement of systems and processes. This
experiences shared within the organisation? indicator looks for the approach/platforms used with
respect to internal communication.

Assessors should look for a well-defined process

where roles and responsibilities are systematically
allocated, the process is frequently reviewed,
output from review is analysed and used to
implement improvements.

33
Human Rights

United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP) states

HR 01 that issues around human rights differ from
company to company. Moreover, a company’s
Is the organization aware of its human salient human rights issues are the ones that can
rights issues? (Salient issues pertaining to put the company at high risk of encountering a
human rights). Please list the salient issues. negative impact on its business and relationships.
This concept of salience thus is the starting point in
recognizing risks related to violation of human
rights. The salient issues shall be outlined by
understanding the impact created on the following
lines: severity i.e. based on the gravity of issue and
spread of impact; potential i.e. likelihood of impacts
arising in the future; focus i.e. placing focus on risk
to people rather than risk on business.

Organizations should adopt a policy statement that

HR 02 is approved by the board to fulfil their commitment /
duty to respecting human rights.
Does the organization have a policy on
human rights? We are looking for an exclusive overarching human
rights policy in this indicator which includes issues
like non-discrimination, gender equality, freedom of
association, collective bargaining, child labour,
forced or compulsory labour, and indigenous rights.
It should be publicly available and communicated
internally and externally to all employees and other
stakeholders directly linked to its operations,
products or services.

There are different international charters and

frameworks on human rights which are universally
accepted and cover a wide range of human right
issues. Being committed or being a signatory to any
of them enables businesses to communicate its
responsibility towards protecting and respecting
human rights to its stakeholders. It increases the
accountability of the organization and builds the trust
of its stakeholders in its functioning.

34
 An organization can have a standalone human rights
HR 03 policy covering all issues concerned with human
rights or it can have a separate policy for different
Does the policy cover/Is there a separate issues as identified by the organization.
policy for following aspects:

Child labour
Equal opportunity (no discrimination based
on age, sex, race, disability, nationality,
among others)/Diversity
Right to freedom of association
Right to collective bargaining
Elimination of excessive working hours
Right to minimum wage

A human rights policy should apply to internal as well

HR 04 as external stakeholders. It also enables an
organization to communicate its human right’s
Who does the human rights policy apply to? expectations of its employees, suppliers, vendors
and other stakeholders. As such a human rights
policy, should be a publicly available document and
regular training should be provided to all relevant
stakeholders.

The board can adopt different measures to oversee

HR 05 human rights issues which may be in the form of
regular updates or compliance & review meetings so
Does the board/top management have an that appropriate actions and decisions can be taken
oversight over organizational approach to avoid or mitigate any negative impact on human
towards human rights? rights.

Human rights due-diligence is an on-going process

HR 06 to identify, assess and mitigate any infringement on
others rights. The process should involve regular
Does the organization conduct due diligence engagement with stakeholders as well as drawing on
on human rights risks in its operations? internal or external human rights expert for
conducting a transparent due-diligence.
An independent trade union or collective bargaining
HR 07 agreement is the protection of the right of workers.
This indicator aims to reveal if opportunities exist for
Please indicate the percentage of employees contractual employees to protect their right to
covered by independent trade union freedom of association.
organizations/collective bargaining
agreements.

This indicator relates to the percentage of permanent

HR 08 women employed in the organization as it relates to
gender diversity. Assessors should look at the
What is the percentage of women in the total percentage of women in relation to the total
workforce? employees. Also, this reveals how committed an
organization is to gender diversity.

35
 Organizations should ensure that all employees are
HR 09 protected from all forms of discrimination on the
basis of sex, disability, caste and so on.
What percentage of employees are
differently abled?
This indicator is about disclosure on the percentage
HR 10 of complaints resolved in the past financial year to
understand if the organization tracks such cases and
Please indicate the percentage of cases that also addresses them. For systematic disclosure,
were resolved out of the total complaints such cases have been broken-down based on the
received in the past financial year relating to different human rights issues.
the following.
Regular training needs to be provided to all staff so
HR 11 as to create awareness and avoid inconsistency in
actions. The organisation needs to identify methods
What are the systems in place to ensure to communicate & implement HR policies like
effective communication & implementation induction programs, regular emails, intranet etc.
of HR policies?

Effective remedy is a core component of the United

HR 12 Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business &
Human Rights. The remedy mechanism shall be
What is the remedy-mechanism in place to designed as a flexible structure encompassing
report violations or concerns on human applicability to a large variety of issues that may
rights issues? arise as a part of human rights violations. The
remedy mechanism shall be available for use to
both the internal and external stakeholders and
affected party should be able to resort to both
judicial and non-judicial methods to seek remedy.
Remedy provided in case of a reported violation,
shall be acceptable by both affected and affecting
party. In pursuit of learning and improving upon
reduced human rights violations, a company shall
perform trend-analysis and effectiveness analysis.
This will also help company avert any potential
violations in future.

HR 13 The process of review should involve internal and

external experts as well as stakeholder
Please elaborate how the organization consultations. Based on this adequate steps can be
evaluates its approach for human rights and taken to refine the approach adopted to address and
how the learnings are used to make mitigate negative impact on human rights.
improvements. Please provide details on
roles and responsibilities, frequency, output,
etc.
Industry benchmarks will help us analyse the
HR 14 industry trends and peer comparison.

Please provide Industry benchmarks for:

 Percentage of Women in total
workforce
 Percentage of employees covered by
independent trade union

36
Occupational Health & Safety

An occupational health & safety management system

HS 01 enables an organization to identify the key health &
safety risks relevant to the organization as well as
How does the organization demonstrate its measures to avoid or mitigate them. Having a
commitment to occupational health and management system in accordance with OHSAS
safety? 18001 or any other national or international standard
ensures all the issues or aspects of health & safety
are covered and addressed. The management
system should cover:
a. Health & safety policy and objectives of the
organization
b. The allocated key management roles and
responsibilities for the implementation of the
management system
c. The significant OSH hazards/risks arising
from the organization’s activities, and the
arrangements for their prevention and
control
The system should be periodically reviewed, revised
as necessary, communicated and readily accessible
to all appropriate or affected members of the
organization.

The health & safety policy should be specific to the

organization and appropriate to its size and the
nature of activities. It should be duly approved by the
board or the CEO and available to all employees
thereby increasing the accountability of the
organization. It should commit to continuously
improve safety performance and comply with
relevant legislation. The policy should be reviewed
periodically for continuing suitability.

The board should have the ultimate responsibility for

HS 02 protecting employees’ health and safety and
ensuring OH&S performance is showing an
Who has the ultimate responsibility for health improving trend. The board should however allocate
and safety issues in the organization? responsibilities related to OHS so as to achieve OHS
targets. The overall responsibility of the board
increases accountability to stakeholders.

Arrangements to conduct periodic health & safety

HS 03 audits should be established. An audit should cover
health & safety policy, responsibility & accountability,
Does the organization gets audited for health prevention & control measures, investigation of work
and safety? related injuries, monitoring and performance review
among others. Increase in coverage of sites for
health and safety audit indicates the commitment of
the organization towards employees’ wellbeing. Such
audits help in determining whether the health and
safety management system and its processes are

37
 adequately protecting all employees’ health & safety.
As a good practice the organisation may develop an
independent internal audit process to track the
effectiveness of safety audits. These may include the
frequency of such audits, whether expert personnel
are deployed for carrying out the audits, whether the
findings from the audits are detailed and audit points
are closed within target dates.

1. Process of identification of health and safety

HS 04 risks and strategies to deal with them: Such
a process of identification should involve the
Please elaborate on the following: board as well as consultation with
stakeholders and an external expert. The risk
Process of identification of health and safety identification process should identify
risks and strategies to deal with them Method significant risks, and should cover sufficiently
of communication of health and safety risks all risk in the organisation. Regular trainings
to employees should be provided to all employees
Instances where the risk was reduced/health (permanent & contractual) so as to prevent
and safety performance was improved accidents. Responsibilities should be
systematically allocated across all levels of
management.
2. Method of communication of health and
safety risks to employees: The occupational
health & safety (OHS) policy as well as the
management system documentation should
be made available to all employees. Regular
trainings should be provided to all employees
accompanied by demonstrations and drills.
3. Instances where the risk was reduced/health
and safety performance was improved

An organization should provide relevant workplace

HS 05 safety and health hazard awareness and training to
permanent & contractual employees prior to
What is the percentage of employees who commencing work. Regular job related trainings
attended health and safety trainings in the should be provided to them on a continuous basis as
past financial year? work progresses.

Facilities such as flexible working hours, regular

HS 06 health check-ups, counselling, and fitness and so on
help employees to maintain a work life balance. The
Does the organization offer the following to office and work stations should be Ergonomically
its employees: designed with proper ventilation and illumination. Air
quality humidity and temperature should be
 Work-related stress management monitored periodically.
advice and assistance Such facilities ensure wellbeing of employees’
 Fitness facilities (such as a thereby increasing productivity.
gymnasium and yoga classes)
 Ergonomically designed workplace,
light, noise, indoor air quality,
humidity, and temperature
 Flexible working hours for child and
elderly care
 Work-from-home facility

38
  Regular health check-ups
 Healthy lifestyles - inputs,
assistance, support

An emergency preparedness plan covering all

HS 07 potential emergency situations and response should
be established and maintained so as to avoid any
Does the organization have an emergency potential risk / accident associated with occupational
preparedness response plan for all identified health & safety. Such a plan should address first-aid
potential emergencies? and medical assistance, firefighting and evacuation
of everyone at the worksite including contractors and
visitors and provide relevant information and training
to all members of the organization, at all levels,
including regular exercises in emergency prevention,
preparedness and response procedures. Emergency
prevention, preparedness and response
arrangements should be established in cooperation
with external emergency services.
The emergency plan should be periodically reviewed
by senior most executive in the organisation.

HS 08 & 09 Disclosure on loss time injury frequency rate and

occupational illness frequency rate ensures
Please indicate the loss time injury frequency transparency to stakeholders on health and safety
rate for past five years and targets for next 5 issues. These indicators relate to disclosure on the
years and targets for next 5 years: same for employees and contractors for the last five
Employees & Workers years. Basis this information, assessors can analyse
Contractors or Suppliers the increase or decrease in trend and reasons for the
same can be understood at the time of site visit.
Please indicate the occupational illness
frequency rate (OIFR) for past five years and Assessors should also try to identify the method of
targets for next 5 years and targets for next 5 capturing the illness and injuries and if they are
years: adequately investigated and the root causes are
Employees & Workers effectively dealt with.
Contractors or
Suppliers

39
 HS 10 A Near Miss is an unplanned event that did not result
in injury, illness, or damage – but had the potential to
Please indicate the near miss for past five years do so. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events
and targets for next 5 years. prevented an injury, fatality or damage; in other
Employee or workers words, a miss that was nonetheless very near.
Contractors or suppliers
Many safety activities are reactive and not proactive,
and some organizations wait for losses to occur
before taking steps to prevent a recurrence. Near
miss incidents often precede loss producing events
but may be overlooked as there was no harm (no
injury, damage or loss). An organization may not
have a reporting culture where employees are
encouraged to report these close calls. Thus, many
opportunities to prevent the incidents are lost. History
has shown repeatedly that most loss producing
events (incidents), both serious and catastrophic,
were preceded by warnings or near miss incidents.
Recognizing and reporting near miss incidents can
significantly improve worker safety and enhance an
organization’s safety culture.

Tracking and recording the number of fatalities in a

HS 11 systematic manner enables an organization to take
adequate measures to prevent such accidents in the
Please indicate number of fatalities in the future. This indicator is about disclosure on the
reporting period: number of fatalities in the past five years covering
Employees or worker both permanent & contractual employees.
fatalities
Contractors or Assessors should analyse the trend and probe
supplier fatalities deeper to understand reasons for the same. Since
fatality is a very serious incident in an organisation, it
should ensure that an agenda is fixed in the periodic
board meetings to see that all issues and corrective
actions related to the fatality are tracked and closed.

HS 12 Setting health and safety targets can help an

organization measure its health & safety
Has the organization set health and safety performance. Such targets may vary from one
performance targets? Please indicate the organization to the other depending on the nature of
targets. business. Targets set should be focussed towards
continuously improving health & safety performance,
documented and communicated to all relevant
functions and levels of the organization.

40
 Responsibility for monitoring at different levels should
HS 13 be systematically defined. Regular review meetings
with the board should be conducted to discuss key
Please elaborate the process in place to issues and review strategies to avoid or mitigate risks
measure the effectiveness of health and associated with health and safety.
safety management systems and how the Stakeholder engagements should be conducted to
learnings are used to make improvements. understand their concerns so that the same can be
Please provide details on roles and incorporated to make improvements. Periodic
responsibilities, frequency, output, etc. internal and external audits can be of help in
evaluating the process and measuring output which
can be analysed to make improvements. There
should be multipronged approach to capture OHS
issues such as capturing of near misses, employee
behaviour observation process, different level of
auditing i.e., external audits and surveillance audits.

HS 14 Industry benchmarks will help us analyse the

industry trends and peer comparison.
Please provide Industry benchmarks for:

 Percentage of sites audited for health

and safety
 Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate
 Occupational Illness Frequency Rate
 Fatalities

41
Corporate Social Responsibility

CSR policy is mandatory for organizations that are

CC 01 eligible to comply for Section 135 of Companies Act
2013. Check for this compliance.
Does the organization have a CSR policy that Having confirmed for the policy, check if focus areas
highlights the organization's focus or priorities for CSR are clearly identified. These
areas/priorities? Please elaborate could be development areas or geographical areas.

This is a context building question and it is not to be

CC 02 scored. Check the focus areas that has been
prioritized and look for its linkage with the
What are the focus areas that the organization’s strategy.
organization has prioritized?

Prioritizing the focus are is an important task. The

CC 03 organization should strategically choose the focus
areas. The best-case scenario would be if an
Describe the process the organization organization decides based on the needs of the local
follows to decide on the focus areas. community and link it to a larger framework or
megatrends with the support from senior leadership

CSR activities to be sustainable and strategic should

CC 04 align with business strategy. Such activities are not
short-term or ad-hoc or one-time interventions.
Are the focus areas / priorities aligned to the Alignment to business strategy may be in terms of
organization's business strategy? Please getting social license to operate, or relate supply
describe. chain or products of organization, or anything
similar.
As per Section 135 of Companies Act 2013, the
CC 05 ultimate responsibility for CSR rests with the CSR
Committee. CSR Committee is a mandatory board-
Who has the ultimate responsibility for CSR level committee. Organizations required to comply
activities in the organization? with Section135 should identify CSR Committee as
appropriate reply. For others, a Board-member
including CEO is the best practice.

The CSR Committee should be meeting at least

CC 06 once a quarter or four times in a year. In the absence
of CSR Committee, top management review is still
How many times in the reporting year has the important. Leaving it to functional head or not
Board-level CSR Committee met? reviewing the progress and just ensuring that money
is spent is a weak practice.

42
 Periodic review of CSR plans and impact by board /
CC 07 top management is important. The board level CSR
Committee should meet at least once a year and it
Please elaborate how the board/top is the best practice for to Board / top management
management is involved in decision making to visit the project locations & seek stakeholder
and monitoring of CSR feedback. In the absence of CSR Committee, top
management review is still important. Leaving it to
functional head or not reviewing the progress and
just ensuring that money is spent is a weak practice.

Organizations with professional attitude and

CC 08 strategic approach to CSR will demonstrate defined
processes, methodologies to decide on
How are the CSR activities / projects CSR activities. This is done periodically, which
identified? would typically be on annual basis. Needs
assessment based on both a formal structure and
informal interactions with local communities & other
stakeholders is an important process to identify the
project/activity.
Seeking assistance from an external organization
for project plan is also a common practice.
Organizations may tend to be ad-hoc in deciding on
CSR activities. Typical responses are “as and when
need arises”, “meet immediate needs of
communities”, “fund interesting projects”, etc.

The main purpose of CSR activity is to serve the

CC 09 local community. It is therefore important for the
organization to determine its theory of change based
Describe the process to conceptualize on the needs of the beneficiary. The process of
projects. conceptualization is an important step that lays out
the long-term vison of the project. Project output,
budget, a strong monitoring and evaluations system
and risk management process should ideally be
covered in the concept.

It is important to hire an external organization with

CC 10 that has a proven track record of delivering high
quality work. Assessors should also probe into
Does the organization conduct due diligence finding if the hired organizations adhere to the
of the implementation partners? Please values of the code of conduct, financial
elaborate the process management and is free from any legal issues.

43
 This is a context building question and it is not to be
CC 11 scored. The areas of spend are mainly for assessors
to know where money has been spent. Check the
Please provide the details of spends made by total amount spent as percentage of organization’s
the organization in various CSR initiatives net profit (PBT). For organizations complying with
and targets for next 5 years. Section 135, the percentage should be at least 2%
of PBT.
The results mentioned by the organization should
CC 12 cover the output, outcome, impact and social capital
valuation of the CSR activities.
Please illustrate results achieved from three Output is usually measurable and readily
CSR activities in the reporting period. determined.
Outcome here means the change that the
intervention is bringing about in the lives of
beneficiaries. A combination of quantitative and
qualitative measurement may be treated as good
practice.
Impact refers to the difference the change caused
by the intervention is making in the lives of the
beneficiaries. Again, both quantitative and
qualitative data should be presented. While
measuring impact, the following must be kept in
mind: is the impact measurement done by third
party, if done for all projects or select projects,
methodology of impact, baseline data to understand
whether impact made is substantial or not

Social value created refers to the sum total of the

CC 13 monetized outcome that the organization creates on
its various stakeholders.
Does the organization conduct social capital Social Return on Investment (SRoI) is a tool for
valuation for its CSR projects? If yes, please calculating the environmental & social value an
describe the methodology that includes organization is creating for its stakeholders. It is an
theory of change, impacts for different estimate of social value created for every Rupee
stakeholders, financial proxies used & their spent. Stakeholders are not just limited to activity
sources, attribution to the organization, & if it beneficiaries but may include
is 3rd-party assured / audited. Please present implementing agencies, local governments or
the report during site assessment. authorities, etc. Not all value created could be
quantitatively measured. A combination of
quantitative and qualitative measurement may be
treated as good practice.

CC 14 Project/activities should get audited by a third party

as that ensures there is no bias and there is greater
Does the organization conduct non-financial scope for improvement when there is an outsider
audit of CSR projects? perspective. Check how frequently it is done, is it
done for all projects or select projects.

44
 After the audit is done and complete it is important
CC 15 to evaluate the findings. Evaluation helps find out
areas which can be improved and make the process
Please elaborate on how the organization has efficient in future. Such learnings help the
used the learnings and recommendations organization move from their status quo. The
from the audits to make further learnings should be communicated to the senior
improvements. Also, if these are management and a structured approach should be
communicated internally to the senior adopted to implement the recommendations.
management/ CSR committee.

In the description, look for evidence of real

CC 16 engagement. It shouldn’t just be monetary
transaction and project reports. It should be more in
Describe the external stakeholder terms of involving stakeholders in identifying issues,
engagement process in CSR projects designing projects, delivery, implementation,
management of assets created, etc.

There should be a process to address the needs as

CC 17 well as complaints of the community.

Describe the process for community Assessors should seek data from the organization
complaints? to understand the process in place for receiving and
resolving the complaints. Community should also
have awareness on this provision. It is also a best
practice to provide anonymity in the complaints
process

CSR projects should be attempted in a manner to

CC 18 make them self-sustainable. At times, even
successful interventions collapse after the
Using illustrations, please demonstrate organization ends support. Not all projects will have
sustainability of key projects sustainability plans, because some may not be
required to be so.

Employee participation in CSR activities is a definite

CC 19 plus point. The organization may encourage
different forms of participation. It could range from
Does the organization have systems in place monetary or volunteering contributions to a
to encourage employee participation in CSR structured approach to mandate the participation in
activities? CSR activity in the KRA of the employee’s appraisal
cycle.

Assessors should look for systems and processes

CC 20 that measure the benefits of employee participation.
Parameters that can show a co-relation to the
Does the organization measure the benefits benefits such as employee turnover rate, improved
of encouraging employee participation in efficiency, job satisfaction etc. should be checked
CSR activities? If yes, please mention the
benefits realized along with the indicators
chosen to measure them.

45
 The best practice is Integrated Report. Those having
CC 21 to comply with Section 135, reporting through
Director’s Report (Annual Report) is mandatory.
How does the organization disclose its CSR
information publicly?

Communities are an important stakeholder of any

CC 22 organization irrespective of their business or sector.
Hence, engagement with them is of utmost priority.
Does the organization conduct aggregate Commonly used methods of engagement to know
community satisfaction survey? If yes, their expectations are surveys. Surveys should be
please provide the survey results. conducted on a periodic basis. Aggregate survey in
this case should represent all the stakeholders and
target group. The best practice is to usually cove at
least 10% of the community/target group in the
sample size. Assessors should look for the
disclosure on community satisfaction surveys in the
last five years. Assessors should analyze the past
five-year trend and if the organization has set targets
for the future years.

46
Supply Chain

Spend analysis refers to a full mapping of the supply

SC 01 chain including information on each supplier. A
typical spend analysis would comprise e.g. number
Please indicate if the organization is of suppliers, category type, value spend and
undertaking a spend analysis of its supply geographic spread. Assessors should also check
chain as well as the scope of this analysis. coverage of it’s spend analysis.

Critical suppliers are high volume suppliers,

SC 02 suppliers of critical components and non-
substitutable suppliers. However, this definition
Please provide the organization’s definition could vary depending on industry and supply chain
of critical suppliers. Has the organization structure.
defined a formal process to identify critical
suppliers (e.g. high volume suppliers, This indicator refers only to tier 1 suppliers.
suppliers of critical components, non- Assessors should check if there is a process of
substitutable suppliers)? If yes, please prioritization and identification of critical suppliers as
provide a brief description of the process. well as measures taken to train them on best
practices, engage with them as well as regular
monitoring.

Supplier diversity aims at providing organizations

SC 03 owned by women, indigenous groups, and
differently-abled an equal opportunity to become
Does the organization publicly report suppliers to organizations. It ensures organizations
suppliers' diversity (e.g., gender, disability, that they are being inclusive in their supply chain
and indigenous people)? Please provide the practices to suppliers of diverse background, while
data. at the same time capitalizing on the opportunity for
competitive advantage and community engagement
that comes from working closely with minority
suppliers.
Local vendors can be involved and engaged with an
SC 04 organization by providing them skill development
trainings or by improving their capacity and
Does the organization take initiatives to capabilities and improving their livelihood
improve capacity / capability of local opportunities.
vendors? Please elaborate.
Assessors must check that the initiatives undertaken
by the applicant to improve capacity of small and local
vendors are relevant and have helped vendors in
improving their livelihood conditions.

Local sourcing helps increase local employment

SC 05 opportunities, drive inclusive growth, is economically
viable, helps reduce transportation costs and
Please indicate the percentage of emissions related to transport.
procurement budget of significant locations Local means immediate community in the close
of operations; spent on local suppliers of proximity of operations.
that operation (such as percentage of
products and services purchased locally)
and targets for next 5 years.

47
 Companies which commit to sustainable sourcing
SC 06 shall discern the information regarding how they
commit to it. Sustainable sourcing is integration of
How does the organization commit to social, ethical and environmental performance
sustainable sourcing? factors into the process of selecting supplies. The
companies may choose to procure some part of their
raw materials from sustainable sourcing or all the
raw materials sourced sustainably, latter being the
best case. For companies whose procurement
process may not be developed as sustainable
sourced, part of office supplies or ancillary material
being used with raw material may be sourced
sustainably. Sustainably sourced materials are
expected to bring resource-efficiency which
improves the overall sustainability performance of
the supply chain of companies eventually translating
into cost-savings as well.

For a sustainable supply chain an organization must

SC 07 set for itself sustainability-related goals and targets
in its supply chain and create action plan to achieve
What are the organization's sustainability these goals. These goals can be environmental or
related goals / targets and action plans to social. By progressing towards promoting
reach these goals for its supply chain? sustainability in its supply chain an organization can
improve its own performance as well as influence the
performance of its supply chain partners. An
organization can set multiple goals and their
respective action plans.

Organizations must have both environmental and

social target/goals set for its supply chain.

Supply Chain policy / code of conduct sets out

SC 08 overarching principles of conduct of organization’s
suppliers. It defines the acceptable behaviours and
Does the organization have a policy/code of standards that are common for everyone involved
conduct for suppliers? with supply chain activities. Having a Supply Chain
policy/ code of conduct ensures a level of conduct
required from its supply chain partners that adds
value to the organization. It helps the suppliers
understand the organization better, while also
improving their understanding on the commitment
required. Presence of a policy/ code also describes
monitoring of suppliers to their adherence to the
code of conduct.

Assessors should check whether such a policy is

mentioned in section C under policies section and
also if policy/ code of conduct are publicly available
as it ensures that the organization is transparent of
its engagement requirements.

48
 Supply chain policy/ code of conduct should apply to
SC 09 all types of suppliers, vendors, distributors,
franchises, retailers and any other partner in
Who does the code of conduct for suppliers upstream or downstream chain of the organization.
apply to?

An organization’s entire supply chain can make a

SC 10 significant impact in promoting human rights, fair
labour practices, environmental progress and anti-
Does the policy cover following aspects? corruption policies. Thus, the policy/ code of conduct
coverage must include key areas such as:
Environmental issues (such as pollution, environment issues, child labour, forced labour, non-
energy, GHG emissions, water, and waste) discrimination, right to freedom of association/
Child labour collective bargaining, working hours, living wages,
Forced labour health and safety, and corruption and bribery.
Non-discrimination
Right to freedom of association/collective Assessors must look at the extent of coverage of the
bargaining policy and within each of the defined area must look
Working hours for the standard or conduct which the organization
Living wages has set for its supply chain partners.
Health and safety
Corruption and bribery

Code of conduct should ideally be part of contractual

SC 11 agreement signed by the suppliers to get the
engagement started. A comprehensive document
Is the above code integrated into suppliers' like this ensures that suppliers are aware of the
contract/purchasing policy? conduct expected from them and only get into an
agreement after going through the details.

Conducting a risk assessment of existing or potential

SC 12 suppliers helps maintain an effective supply chain
and help reduce or prevent supplier environment,
Does the organization conduct a social and governance risks that may impact
comprehensive risk assessment of its stakeholders trust in an organization. Sustainability
existing / potential suppliers to identify risk assessment helps in identifying issues for e.g.
sustainability risks? Please elaborate. child labour, forced labour, long period of working
hours, discrimination and unequal pay, inefficient
use of natural and other raw material, water
consumption inefficiency, etc. Risk assessment
should be conducted based on the risk profile of
suppliers.

Assessors must look for a well-defined process

where both existing and potential suppliers are
covered, whether suppliers are categorized as per
their risk profile and continuous engagement is
based on the risk assessment outcome.

49
 SC 13 Supplier’s audits help in assessing risks and
detecting issues. Sustainability audits help to identify
and mitigate sustainability risks at the suppliers end.
Does the organization conduct audits at For the purpose of audit, scope of suppliers including
suppliers' sites? strategically important suppliers can be targeted. An
organization must plan by which year it must
complete suppliers audit for suppliers falling under
the scope. Audit must be based on environmental
and social issues.

Tier 1 Supplier are the most critical and hence

SC 14 should be audited. It helps in assessing risks and
detecting issues. An organization must plan by which
Please indicate the cumulative percentage of year it must complete tier 1 suppliers audit for
tier I suppliers (by total spent) that were suppliers falling under the scope.
audited.

An organization’s awareness of significant actual

SC 15 and potential negative impact on environment/labour
practices/human rights, in the supply chain is
Please indicate the percentage of suppliers important. Processes to identify and assess such
identified as having a significant actual or impacts in the supply chain may enable an
potential negative impact on environment / organization to address them. An organization can
labour practices / human rights. take various steps for improvements which include
the adjustment of the reporting organization’s
procurement practices, the adjustment of
performance expectations, capacity building,
training, and changes to processes.

Assessors must check whether the percentage of

suppliers with whom improvements were agreed
upon was more than those with whom relationship
was terminated, as that is the ideal case.
Supplier’s audits help in assessing risks and
SC 16 detecting issues. Sustainability audits help to identify
and mitigate sustainability risks at the suppliers end.
Please indicate the number of sites of the For the purpose of audit, scope of suppliers including
following category of suppliers that were strategically important suppliers can be targeted. An
audited. organization must plan by which year it must
Tier II complete suppliers audit for suppliers falling under
Tier III the scope. The year in which such targets are set
becomes the base year.

50
 Capacity building of suppliers helps them improve
SC 17, 18, 19 their social, health, safety and environment
performance. Coverage of capacity building program
Does the organization engage with suppliers means how many suppliers an organization targets
for capacity building on sustainability- to cover by the target year set. The year in which
related issues (such as trainings, best such a target is set is the base year.
practice sharing)? If yes, describe the key
sustainability initiatives in the following Capacity building programs should be customized to
areas. align with laws and requirements of that region and
Environmental initiatives related to industry guidelines. These can include
Social initiatives trainings on human rights, issues, implementation of
Environment Management Systems, reducing
Please provide the coverage of capacity energy and water consumption, reducing
building programs and targets for next 5 greenhouse gas emissions, increasing use of
years. renewable energies, waste reduction and
management, engagement with employees, better
Please indicate the target (year, target value, health and safety, etc.
and base year) for:
Suppliers audit
Coverage of capacity-building programs

There are different ways in which organizations can

SC 20 incentivize staff to integrate sustainability in
everyday decisions such as providing them regular
How does the organization incentivize its trainings, setting goals or targets linked to
staff to integrate sustainability factors in remuneration or performance appraisal.
procurement decisions?

Employees of an organization who are part of

SC 21, 22 procurement process or involved in supply chain in
any manner must know about various environment,
Does the organization train and sensitize its social and governance issues relevant to the
staff at various supply chain stages to business for its supply chain. All procurement staff
integrate sustainability into their practices? must be sensitized about sustainability standards for
suppliers, system to track any faults and minimize
Please indicate the percentage of employees risks, transparency in procurement process and
who received trainings on sustainable supplier monitoring and development.
supply chain and targets for next 5 years.
Trainings form a critical part of supply chain
sustainability and should therefore be extended to
both permanent and contractual employees. These
trainings should be relevant to the organization’s
business.

Assessors must be aware of relevant sustainability

issues affecting the supply chain of the applicant.
This is based on the product portfolio and the nature
of raw material required for product manufacturing.
These trainings are meant for both permanent and
contractual employees and hence assessors must
check whether trainings provided are relevant to the
applicant’s business, its supply chain sustainability,
and whether all kinds of employees are included or
not.

51
 Organizations can ensure their efforts to encourage
SC 23, 24 sustainability performance by its suppliers are
effective by establish systems for monitoring,
Does the organization require its suppliers auditing and disclosing supplier sustainability
and associated partnerships to measure and performance information. Armed with this
disclose their sustainability performance information, organizations can determine what’s
(e.g., carbon emissions, impact on local working well and what isn’t and adjust their
communities, and labour practices) to it? engagement strategies accordingly. It also allows
them to identify where the highest sustainability risks
If yes, how does this information benefit the
organization? Assessors should look for the disclosure and its
coverage of sustainability performance. Whether
such a disclosure includes environment, social or
economic performance in its entirety or some part of
it is what should be sought for in the supply chain
exist and to direct more resources to address those
risks.

To ensure credibility and trust amongst investors as

SC 25 well as other stakeholders, it is crucial that
organizations report in a transparent way on
Which aspects of the organization supply processes as well as results connected to their
chain management approach is publicly supply chains.
reported on (on a consolidated basis)?
Please provide web-link where the
information can be found in the public
domain.
Any issues related to illegal activity or criminal
SC 26 offences, corruption/ fraud or misuse of office,
environmental damage, and health and safety risks
Does the organization have a whistle- can be raised in different forms. Whistle-blowing
blowing mechanism for its suppliers? mechanism is a highly-recommended form to
complaint against such issues. Whistle-blowing
mechanism available to suppliers helps them to
report on any such activity taking place in the
business either through witnessing the behaviour or
being told about it.

Providing access to whistle-blowing mechanism to

third parties is a good practice and reflects high
standards of ethical practices and the recognition
that third parties are a vital source of information in
relation to inappropriate practices.

52
 Supply chain partners must comply with the policy/
SC 27 code of conduct. In case of non-compliance an
organization can take any action, as stated in its
What is the organization's approach to deal policy/ code of conduct which may range from
with non-compliance to the mentioned termination of existing contract, corrective action,
guidelines/policy/ code of conduct by its training of the supply chain partner to help it adhere
suppliers? to the code or any other action.

Assessors must ensure that whatever approach is

adopted by an organization in case of violation or
non-compliance must also form part of code of
conduct and is consistently followed across all
parties.

Board/top management review of supply chain

SC 28 initiatives puts a strategic focus on supply chain and
also enables the organization to know whether
How does the board/top management review initiatives are benefitting the organization or not. This
the initiatives towards sustainable supply will help the organization to improve the existing
chain? How are the learnings used to make processes and yield better results in future.
improvements? Frequency of such meetings should also be defined,
outputs should be analysed to identify, prioritize,
plan and implement improvements in the processes.

SC 29 Industry benchmarks will help us analyse the

industry trends and peer comparison.
Please provide Industry benchmarks for:
 Percentage of tier II suppliers
audited
 Percentage of tier II suppliers
audited
 Percentage of tier I suppliers audited

53
Product Responsibility

Commitment to developing Sustainable products

PR 01 means to develop products which provide
environmental, social and economic benefits while
How does the organization demonstrate its protecting public health, welfare and environment
commitment to sustainable products? over their full commercial cycle, from extraction of
raw material to final disposition. Organizations
committing for product sustainability take a cradle to
grave approach and utilize every stage to embed
sustainability.

Organizations looking at commitment to doing

business sustainability should have sustainable
products and/or have committed R&D investment
related to sustainable products.

Life Cycle Assessment can be done as per ISO

PR 02, 04 14044:2006 which specifies requirements and
provides guidelines for life cycle assessment. ISO
Does the organization conduct LCA for its 14044:2006 covers life cycle assessment studies
products / services? and life cycle inventory (LCI) studies.

Please indicate the benefits derived by LCA is conducted for different products and not the
conducting LCA. organization as a whole. Organizations must
account for expenses incurred towards conducting
this exercise and also know benefits derived in order
to improvise its processes further

Scope of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) pertains to

PR 03 the extent of the same on both upstream and
downstream of a product/service. A company is
What is the scope of LCA covered by the taking product responsibility in the most
organization? comprehensive manner if they are doing LCA over
the entire lifecycle of product including the upstream
as well as downstream activities. Doing such a
comprehensive LCA will help companies identify the
hotspots of carbon emission and strategize whether
emission reduction is in their direct control or not.

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 This indicator helps to identify the existence and
PR 05 scope of systematic efforts to address health and
safety across the life cycle of a product or service.
Please provide the percentage of significant Customers expect products and services to perform
product and service categories whose health their intended functions satisfactorily, and not pose a
and safety impacts are assessed for risk to health and safety.
improvement.
Efforts made to protect the health and safety of those
who use or deliver the product or service have direct
impacts on an organization’s reputation, the
organization’s legal and financial risk due to recall,
market differentiation in relation to quality, and
employee motivation.

Organizations are expected to understand the

PR 06 environmental impact of the use and disposal of their
product. Further, with this understanding they should
Please list three products/services that are develop/modify products/services to reduce the
designed/modified to improve the impact on environment.
environment characteristic (eco-friendly Three such products along with the benefit to the
nature) or mitigate environmental impact environment should be provided here.
during use and disposal. Please state the
design/modification done to the product and
benefits achieved.
Labelling of products or services including
PR 07 environmental and social dimensions can be seen as
an instrument promoting sustainable production and
Does the organization display product consumption as it reduces information asymmetry.
information on the label?
Regulatory requirement for product labelling is
restricted and differs from sector to sector, country
to country and may not be applicable in certain
sectors. However, going beyond regulatory
requirements, organizations have huge scope of
disseminating information about its product;
especially the relevant environment and social
aspects of a product.

Assessors must look at the product label and find out

if the applicant’s sector has a regulatory requirement
for product label and whether the applicant has gone
beyond the requirement to disclose information
about the product. Some of this information can be
on: recyclability of product packaging, safe use and
disposal of product, hazardous material used in
product, sourcing of product content, etc.
Organizations can use logo of partner firms in case
they are sourcing any part of the product sustainably:
Fair Trade logo, Rain Forest Alliance logo, SFI
certified sourcing logo, or any organic label. In case
the product packaging is recyclable or can be
reclaimed by organization the same should form part
of labelling.

55
 Accessible and adequate information on the
PR 08 sustainability impacts of products and services
(positive and negative) is necessary for customers
Report whether the following information is and end users to make informed purchasing choices,
required by the organization’s procedures and for these preferences to be reflected in the
for product and service information and market. Providing appropriate information and
labelling: labelling with respect to sustainability impacts is
directly linked to compliance with certain types of
Sourcing of components of a product or regulations and codes (such as national laws or the
service OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises) and,
Content, particularly with regards to potentially, with strategies for brand and market
substances that might have an differentiation.
environmental or social impact
Safe product or service use This Indicator measures the degree to which
Product disposal and environmental/social information and labelling addresses a product’s or a
impact service’s impact on sustainability.
Others (explain)
The display and provision of information and
PR 09 labelling for products and services are subject to
many regulations and laws. Non-compliance
Please provide the total number of incidents indicates either inadequate internal management
of non-compliance with regulations and systems and procedures or ineffective
voluntary codes related to product and implementation. In addition to direct financial
service information and labelling in the past consequences, such as penalties and fines, non-
five years. compliance poses a risk to reputation and customer
loyalty and satisfaction.

Non-compliance with legal requirements indicates

PR 10 either inadequate internal management systems and
procedures, or ineffective implementation. In
Please provide the total number of incidents addition to direct financial consequences, ongoing
of non-compliance with regulations and non-compliance poses increased financial risk due
voluntary codes related to health and safety to damage to both reputation and employee
impact of products and services in the past motivation.
five years.
This Indicator addresses the life cycle of the product
or service once it is available for use and therefore
subject to regulations and voluntary codes
concerning product information labelling and the
health and safety of products and services.

56
 The level of non-compliance within an organization
PR 11 is an indicator of the ability of management to ensure
that operations conform to certain performance
Please provide the total monetary value of parameters. From an economic perspective,
significant fines imposed on the ensuring compliance helps to reduce financial risks
organization for non-compliance with laws that occur either directly through fines or indirectly
and regulations on the provision and use of through impacts on reputation. The strength of an
products and services over the past five organization’s compliance record may also affect its
years. ability to expand operations or gain permits.

Identification of administrative or judicial sanctions

levied against the organization for failure to comply
with laws and regulations, including international
declarations, conventions and treaties, and national,
sub-national, regional, and local regulations
concerning the provision and use of the
organization’s products and services. Potential
sources of information include audit results or
regulatory tracking systems operated by the legal
department.

Customer complaints received on the product use,

PR 12 disposal, its environment or social impact the
reputation and must be resolved at the earliest.
Please indicate the percentage of cases If no customer complaints were received in the past
resolved out of the total customer financial year, mark 100% and add comment.
complaints received in the past financial
year.

Reclaimed products and their packaging material

PR 13 collection and treatment may be carried out by the
manufacturer of the product or by a contractor. This
Please indicate the percentage of reclaimed refers to products and their packaging materials that
products and their packaging materials. are:
 Collected by or on behalf of the organization
 Separated into raw materials (such as steel,
glass, paper, some kinds of plastic) or
components
 Used by the organization or other users

This Indicator provides insight into the extent to

which the organization’s products, components, or
materials are collected and successfully converted
into useful materials for new production processes.
It also provides insight into the degree to which the
organization has designed products and packages
capable of being recycled or reused. Hence, higher
the percentage, better it is.

This measure may be a particular source of

competitive differentiation in sectors facing formal
requirements to recycle products and their
packaging materials.

57
 Identify the number of products and their packaging
materials reclaimed (that is, recycled or reused) at
the end of their useful life within the reporting period.
Do not count rejects and recalls of products.
As per GRI, % of reclaimed products and their
packaging material= (products and their packaging
material reclaimed within the reporting period /
Products sold during the reporting period) *100

Customer satisfaction, not only, is the leading

PR 14 indicator to measure customer loyalty, identify
unhappy customers, reduce churn and increase
How frequently does the organization revenue; is also a key point of differentiation that
conduct customer satisfaction survey? helps you to attract new customers in competitive
business environments.
PR 15
Periodic tracking of customer satisfaction is an
Please provide results of the customer important management initiative to understand
satisfaction survey conducted in the past customer experience and expectation. An improving
five years and targets for next 5 years. trend should be aimed at by the organizations,

Organizations must regularly evaluate their product

PR 16 responsibility, brand management, and customer
satisfaction initiatives in order to learn and improve
Please elaborate how the organization which can help it become more efficient in its
evaluates its product responsibility, brand process thereby yielding better and improved
management, and customer satisfaction results.
initiatives, as well as how the learnings are There should be a well-defined process where roles
used to make improvements. Please provide and responsibilities of people involved in review are
details on roles and responsibilities, systematically and clearly defined. Frequency of
frequency, output, etc. review is defined and output is analysed to identify,
prioritize, plan and implement improvements.

Efficient resource allocation is the central contributor

PR 17 to sustainable development. Organizations are
expected to dedicate sufficient resources to allow
Please describe the resources allocated to development of sustainable products/services.
LCA. Resources could be dedicated human
resources, R&D, financial, infrastructure or These resources will majorly include manpower,
equipment. financial resources, infrastructure and R&D
capabilities. However, the allocation would vary
PR 18 depending on the product/service type.

Please describe the resources allocated to This indicator looks for the total resources allocated,
develop sustainable products, besides LCA. under each category combined for all its products.
Resources could be dedicated human Further, it has to be indicated for LCA and for all
resources, R&D, financial, infrastructure or other sustainable product development activities.
equipment.

58
Environment Management

Environment Management Policy indicates the

EM 01 commitment of organizations towards environment
issues. It can be all encompassing by including issues
Does the organization have a policy on related to water, air, waste management, ecosystem
environment management describing the management, biodiversity and natural resource
approach on following aspects? protection or limited to a few issues. Organizations
Climate change/Emissions can have a single policy including all the mentioned
Energy use aspects or different policies on aspects.
Water consumption
Resource efficiency (excluding energy and
water; including materials used and
packaging material)
Waste management

This indicator looks at the public disclosure

EM 02 approaches which the company has adopted and
whether environment management related
Does the organization disclose its information is disclosed. Disclosure via integrated
environment policies/processes/initiatives report is the most ideal.
publicly?

This is the person that would be at the top of the chain

EM 03 specifically managing environment management
(including climate change). The CEO is responsible
Where does the highest level of direct for everything in the organization and therefore will
responsibility for environment management ultimately be responsible for climate change, however
(including climate change) lie in the this question is looking to identify specific
organization? responsibility on environment management related
issues. Whilst this may be the CEO it is not
necessarily the case.

Environment policy forms the base of Environment

EM 04 Management Systems (EMS). An EMS encourages
organizations to continuously improve environment
Does the organization have an environment performance by setting processes and practices that
management system in place? enable reduction in environmental impacts and
increase in operational efficiency. An EMS helps to
address regulatory demands in a systematic and cost-
effective manner. It also reduces the risk of non-
compliance and improves health and safety practices
for employees and the public. An EMS can also help
address non-regulated issues, such as energy
conservation, and can promote stronger operational
control and employee stewardship

Certification with ISO 14001 is the ideal case for

EM 05 environment management

What is the percentage of the organization's

sites or subsidiaries certified with ISO
14001?

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 This indicator looks for a documented process where
EM 06 environment management (including climate change)
risks and opportunities are integrated into the
Please select the option that best describes organization's centralized enterprise risk
risk management procedures with regards to management program covering all possible types/
environment management (including climate sources of risks and opportunities. Or if there is a
change) risks and opportunities. documented process which considers environment
Integrated into multidisciplinary management (including climate change) risks and
organization-wide risk management opportunities separate from other business risks and
processes opportunities.
A specific environmental (including climate
change) risk management process
No documented processes for assessing and
managing risks and opportunities arising
from environment (including climate change)
No information available

Organizations may face physical risks and

EM 07 opportunities due to changes in the climate system
and weather patterns and other environment-related
Please specify which risks and opportunities matter. These include:
posed by climate change have the potential  The impact of more frequent and intense
to generate substantive changes in storms
operations, revenue, or expenditure.  Changes in sea level, ambient temperature,
and water availability
 Impacts on the workforce, for example, health
effects (such as heat-related illness or
disease) or the need to relocate operations

As governments move to regulate activities that

contribute to climate change, organizations that are
directly or indirectly responsible for emissions face
regulatory risks and opportunities. Risks may include
increased costs or other factors impacting
competitiveness. However, limits on greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions may also create opportunities for
organizations as new technologies and markets are
created. This is especially the case for organizations
that can use or produce energy and energy-efficient
products more effectively.

Risks and opportunities may be classified as:

 Physical – due to physical changes
associated with climate change (such as
floods, droughts, and heat-related illness)
 Regulatory – due to changes in regulatory
landscape
 Other – such as availability of new
technologies, products, or services to address
challenges related to climate change, or
changes in customer behaviour

The potential impact from such risks can be:

 Increased or reduced capital and operational
costs

60
  Increased or decreased demand for products
and services
 Increase or decrease in capital availability
and investment opportunities

The methods used to manage the risk or opportunity

such as carbon capture and storage; fuel switching;
use of renewable and lower carbon footprint energy;
improving energy efficiency; flaring, venting and
fugitive emission reduction; renewable energy
certificates; and use of carbon offsets

Emergency preparedness plans are put in place to

EM 08 reduce the impact of a disaster. Emergency
preparedness plan should have roles and
Please elaborate on the organization's responsibilities identified of employees involved in it,
emergency preparedness plan (evaluation of it should include evaluation of probability of impact
probability of occurrence, impact, and and mitigation plan, such a plan should also be
mitigation plan). communicated to relevant stakeholders.

Employee training on environmental aspects ensures

EM 09 their awareness on critical environmental issues
relevant to the business, leading to process and
Please indicate the percentage of employees product innovations which are environmentally
who attended trainings on environmental sustainable
aspects in the past financial year.

Organizations should set targets to reduce

EM 10 environment footprint, increase production efficiency,
and waste minimization. Such a target setting also
Has the organization set targets for the provides future proofing against future environmental
following? challenges and threats. Targets can be both short-
1.Target set term [3-5 years] and long-term [5-10 years] targets.
Reduce operational GHG emissions Reduce The year in which target is set becomes the base year.
energy consumption Reduce water
consumption
Reduce resource consumption (excluding
energy and water; including materials used)
Reduce packaging material
Reduce waste Increase recycling 2.Target
value 3.Target year 4.Base year

Committing to sustainable/ green sourcing indicates

EM 11 that organizations may be aware of the need to be
internally efficient and responsible but also exhorts to
Is the organization committed to sustainable extend their processes to cover the entire value chain.
sourcing/green procurement?

Sustainable sourcing of raw material includes

EM 12, EM 14, EM 15, EM 39 EM 40 environmental, social and economic considerations.
For e.g., the percentage of raw material sourced

61
 What is the percentage of raw materials that sustainably is part of core raw material, recycled raw
were sourced sustainably? materials are core raw materials, etc. Core
What percentage of raw materials that were components have the bigger proportion and thus
recycled raw materials? targeting them for sustainable sourcing, recycling, etc.
Please indicate renewable energy as a will bring higher benefits.
percentage of energy consumption.
Please indicate recycled / reused water as a
percentage of total water consumption.
Please indicate the percentage of discharged
water / effluents treated before disposal

Raw material details should be relevant to the nature

EM 13 of business of the company.

Please provide details of input raw materials

used in the past five years (as per unit of
production/sales) and targets for next 5 years.

Energy consumption has a direct effect on operational

EM 16, EM 18 costs and can increase exposure to fluctuations in
energy supply and prices. The environmental footprint
Please provide the specific energy of an organization is shaped in part by its choice of
consumption data and its breakup by source energy sources. Changes in the balance of these
type: renewable and non-renewable and sources can indicate the organization’s efforts to
targets for next 5 years. minimize its environmental impacts. The consumption
Please indicate the percentage of grid of non-renewable fuels is usually the main contributor
electricity used out of the total energy to direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scope 1).
consumption and targets for next 5 years. The consumption of purchased electricity, heating,
cooling, and steam contributes to an organization’s
energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions.

With respect to third-party verification, this indicator

EM 17, EM 19 checks whether the third party is certified to conduct
such verification.

Is the energy data verified/ assured/ audited

by a third party?
Is the grid electricity data verified/ assured/
audited by a third party?

Emission trends are looked at in relation with

EM 20, EM 22, EM 24, EM 25, EM 27 coverage of activity. In case there is an increase in
production capacity, it may lead to increase in
Please provide gross global scope 1 emission figures.
emissions figures in metric tons CO2e. The indicator looks for scope of emission and
whether the source of emission mentioned is
Please provide gross global scope 2 relevant to 1, 2 or 3 and if all the relevant areas
emissions figures in metric tons CO2e. under each scope are covered to record the
emissions.
Are there any sources (e.g. facilities, specific
GHGs, activities, geographies etc.) of Scope
1 and Scope 2 emissions that are within the
organization's selected reporting boundary
which are not included in the disclosure?
Describe.

62
 Please account for the organization’s scope
3 emissions in metric tons CO2e.

Please disclose and explain any exclusion to

the scope 3 reporting.

It indicates verification / assurance / audit as a

EM 21, EM 23, EM 26 process undertaken by an independent third party
accredited to perform verification/assurance of the
GHG emissions data.
Please indicate the verification / assurance /
audit status that applies to the reported
scope 1 emissions.
Please indicate the verification/assurance/
audit status that applies to the reported
scope 2 emissions.
Please indicate the verification/assurance/
audit status that applies to the reported
scope 3 emissions.

Putting a price on emissions helps companies to not

EM 28 only focus on the cost-benefit analysis of different
options, but to also better assess how innovative
Does the organization use an internal price measures can play a role, for example, Renewable
on carbon? If yes, please provide details energy.
and examples.

Air pollutants have adverse effects on climate,

EM 29, EM 31, EM 33 ecosystems, air quality, habitats, agriculture, and
human and animal health. Deterioration of air quality,
Five-year records of NOX emissions acidification, forest degradation, and public health
Five-year records of SOX emissions concerns has led to local and international regulations
Please provide the records of volatile organic to control air emissions. Reductions in regulated
compounds (VOC). pollutants lead to improved health conditions for
workers and neighbouring communities. Reductions,
or performance beyond compliance, can enhance
relations with affected communities and workers, and
the ability to maintain or expand operations. In regions
with emission caps, the volume of emissions also has
direct cost implications.
This Indicator can also measure the scale of the
organization’s air emissions and demonstrate the
relative size and importance of these emissions
compared with those of other organizations.

With respect to third-party verification, this indicator

EM 30, EM 32, EM 34 checks whether the third party is certified to conduct
such verification.
Is the NOx data verified/ assured/ audited by
a third party?
Is the SOx data verified/ assured/ audited by
a third party?

63
 Is the VOC data verified/ assured/ audited by
a third party?

This indicators seeks information on whether the

EM 35 organization’s water policy covers the entire
organization or applicable to select facilities, whether
Please select the option that best describes the organization’s water risk assessment fully
the procedures for assessing water risks and incorporates direct operations, and whether the
provide an explanation of why this option is organization’s water risk assessment fully
suitable for the organization. incorporates its supply chain.
Ideally, water should be integrated into a
comprehensive, organization-wide risk assessment
process incorporating both direct operations and
supply chain.

Water risks can have various levels of impact and

EM 36 changes in the business. Substantive change will vary
between organizations. For e.g., a 1% reduction in
Is the organization exposed to water risks, profits will have different effects on different
either at present and/or in the future, which organizations depending on their respective profit
could lead to a substantive change in the margins. Organizations are therefore asked to
business, operations, revenue, or determine the substantive way that they would use for
expenditures? their business decision-making.

For water consumed or used again, understanding the

EM 37 source of water is important. Total water use indicates
the level of risk posed by disruptions to water supplies
Please indicate the specific water use data or increases in the cost of water. Clean freshwater is
and targets for next 5 years. becoming increasingly scarce, and can impact
production processes that rely on large volumes of
water. In regions where water sources are highly
restricted, the organization’s water consumption
patterns can also influence relations with other
stakeholders.

With respect to third-party verification, this indicator

EM 38 checks whether the third party is certified to conduct
such verification.
Is the water data verified/assured/audited by
a third party?

Waste disposal methods vary and are dependent on

EM 41 the kind of waste to be disposed. Landfill method
though popular is becoming less these days due to
Please mention waste disposal methods that lack of space available and strong presence of
were used by the organization in the past methane and other landfill gases which can cause
financial year and respective waste numerous contamination problems.
quantities Waste to energy process involves converting of non-
recyclable waste items into useable heat, electricity,
or fuel through a variety of processes. This type of
source of energy is a renewable energy source as
non-recyclable waste can be used over and over
again to create energy. It can also help to reduce
carbon emissions by offsetting the need for energy
from fossil sources.

64
 For a sustainable approach to waste management
recycled waste, composted waste and waste to
energy are the most sought after methods.

Data on waste generation figures over several years

EM 42 indicates the level of progress the organization has
made toward waste reduction efforts. It also indicates
Please indicate the total amount of waste potential improvements in process efficiency and
generated (hazardous, non-hazardous, productivity. From a financial perspective, the
recycled, and non-recycled) and targets for reduction of waste contributes directly to lower costs
next 5 years. for materials, processing, and disposal.

With respect to third-party verification, this indicator

EM 43 checks whether the third party is certified to conduct
such verification.
Is the waste data verified/assured/audited by
a third party?

This indicator checks if the process is well-defined and

EM 44 integrated. There are clear roles and responsibilities
identified, it is communicated to relevant stakeholders
What is the process to track non-compliance and its outputs are analysed for improvisation.
with applicable environmental laws and
regulatory permits in the organization?

The level of non-compliance within the organization

EM 45, EM 46 helps indicate the ability of management to ensure
that operations conform to certain performance
Please provide total monetary value of parameters. From an economic perspective, ensuring
significant environmental fines paid for an compliance helps to reduce financial risks that occur
act of violation, omission or negligence by either directly through fines or indirectly through
which the community at large was affected impacts on reputation.
due to pollution damage to land, water and Cases brought against the organization through the
air. use of international dispute mechanisms or national
Please indicate the percentage of cases dispute mechanisms supervised by government
resolved out of the total complaints on authorities.
environmental impact in the past financial
year.

Organization’s top management must regularly review

EM 47 environmental performance. This indicator looks for
top management involvement, frequency of review
Please describe how the top management and output is analysed to identify, prioritize, plan and
reviews the organization’s environmental implement improvements.
performance for its continual improvement.

Review of environmental management performance

EM 48 should help in learning and improvements which can
help it become more efficient in its process thereby
Please elaborate how the organization yielding better and improved results.
evaluates its environment management This indicator looks for a well-defined process where
process and uses the learnings to make roles and responsibilities of people involved in review
improvements. Please provide details on are systematically and clearly defined. Frequency of
roles and responsibilities, frequency, output, review is defined and output is analysed to identify,
etc. prioritize, plan and implement improvements.

65
 It is important to check that the initiatives mentioned
EM 49 under each area are relevant to the area, there is a
mention of benefit derived from initiatives undertaken
Please provide a few initiatives taken by the and these benefits are quantified in terms of cost
organization (benefits and impact, quantified saving and revenue generating.
in terms of cost saving, or revenue
generating) to:
Reduce emissions/energy consumption
Reduce water use
Increase resource efficiency (excluding
energy and water; including materials used,
and packaging material)
Reduce waste (hazardous/non-hazardous)

Improvements and innovations can be both in

EM 50 processes and product. This indicator checks if the
initiative undertaken is for process improvement,
Please list three improvements/innovations product innovation which is relevant to the business
in processes or products that have led to and if they have resulted in environmental benefits.
environmental benefits during These benefits can be both qualitative and
sourcing/production/distribution. quantitative in nature.
Also, elaborate on environmental benefits
achieved.

Measuring environmental mitigation and protection

EM 51 expenditures allows organizations to assess the
efficiency of their environmental initiatives. It also
Please provide the total expenditure on provides valuable input for internal cost-benefit
environment protection (please provide analyses. Data on environmental performance
absolute figures in INR). measured against environmental mitigation and
protection expenditures offers insights into how
effectively the organization uses resources to improve
performance.

EM 52 This indicator is to understand the company’s

performance vis-à-vis other organizations in the
Please provide Industry benchmarks for: same sector.

Sustainably sourced raw materials, recycled

raw materials, Renewable energy as % of
total energy, Total energy consumption, Grid
electricity as % of total energy, Scope 1
emissions, Scope 2 emissions, Scope 3
emissions, NoX emissions, SoX emissions,
VOC emissions, Water consumption,
Percentage of discharged water/effluents
treated before disposal, waste generated,
Recycled/reused water as a percentage of
total water consumption.
 Industry Benchmark
 Source of Benchmark
 List of companies benchmarked
against

66
Biodiversity

The basis for a policy / commitment statement on

BD 01 biodiversity is a vision and / or ambition which includes
biodiversity and ecosystem services, either in the
Does the organization have a same wording or in other words. It may be included in
policy/commitment statement on organization’s vision / mission or biodiversity /
biodiversity conservation? environment / sustainability policy.

If the organization’s biodiversity policy is embedded in

BD 02 their environmental policy, then the management
structure involved needs to be checked such as who
If yes, does the organization have a the decision maker is and whether staff is involved.
governance structure and a system in place
to follow the policy? If a separate policy exists, then complete management
structure needs to be looked at. Governance structure
could be present in following way:
1. The Environment function reports on an
annual basis, or more frequently as required,
to the Risk Committee of the Board of
Directors on organization’s significant
environmental (biodiversity) risks and
opportunities, and performance, including
corrective action for continual improvement.
2. If they have nominated a biodiversity /
environment champion in the enterprise-wide
Environmental / Biodiversity Steering
Committee (ESC). Whether senior executives
from all business segments are involved in the
steering committee.
3. Chief sustainability Environment / Biodiversity
Officer reports into the senior executive team.
The Officer is responsible for developing and
implementing environmental / biodiversity
strategy, setting environmental performance
standards and targets, and reporting to the
Risk Committee of the Board of Directors on
the performance of the environmental
management system (EMS), which is based
on ISO 140001:04 and includes corrective
action for continual improvement.

A biodiversity champion provides support in

BD 03 embedding biodiversity in decision making and
ensures implementation of biodiversity management
Does the organization have a designated plans at project and organization level.
biodiversity champion? If yes, please
provide name and designation

An organization’s BMP may contain maps of

BD 04 organization’s impact areas w.r.t biodiversity and

67
 ecosystem services or protected areas or species
Does the organization have a long-term defined roles and responsibilities, environmental
biodiversity management plan? Please impact assessment before acquiring new areas,
elaborate rehabilitation plan, monitoring and evaluation and
implementation plans. The above mentioned few
points form part of the overall management plan.
Organizations may have more points listed other than
the above stated, which will add to the value that the
management plan brings in.
This indicator looks for a well-defined plan which has
roles and responsibilities defined, has mapping of
protected / sensitive / vulnerable areas, includes
evaluation of impact, and has measures to remediate
impact.

Organizations can also adapt their Environmental

BD 05 Management Systems (EMS) to include biodiversity
management issues. An EMS defines organizational
Is biodiversity addressed in ISO 14001 or structure, responsibilities, practices and resources for
EMS, certified environmental management managing and monitoring its activities and
system? performance on environmental issues. In some
situations, such as where operations may have a
significant impact on biodiversity or where the
business model is based on the use of natural
resources, a standard EMS may not be sufficient. In
these cases, an organization may choose to develop
a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), either as a stand-
alone management system or, preferably, integrated
into the broader EMS.

If an organization is using genetic resources for

BD 06 making their product, then NBA regulation on access
and benefit sharing will be applicable.
Please list the applicable
legal/statutory/internal/global requirements http://nbaindia.org/uploaded/pdf/ABS%20Provisions
to which organisation subscribes to, related %20of%20the%20Act.pdf
to biodiversity aspects
Also, wildlife protection act may follow if the
organization’s premise exists near any protected area
or critical habitat. The organization needs to assess
the area so as to cut future risk.

If the organization operates near any Mangrove

plantation, then mangrove conservation act may
follow.

If an organization operates near any wetland, then

Ramsar convention is applicable.

Training plays a significant role as it will create

BD 07 awareness and also develop skills on biodiversity
assessments and so on. There should be a separate
Does the organization train its employees on budget allocated for training.
biodiversity and ecosystem services?

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 This indicator checks programme details, scope and
BD 08 type of training conducted.

If yes, please describe the type and scope of Any training conducted to understand linkage of their
programmes implemented and assistance business with biodiversity can be considered as a
provided to create greater awareness on strategy level training and a good practice
biodiversity and ecosystem services among
employees.

Most organizations conduct Life Cycle Analysis for its

BD 09 product to know how intensive it is carbon, pollution
(air, water, soil) or energy wise. Such studies can be
Is the organization aware that its product or further linked with biodiversity impact. However, the
components of product may lead to an scope of the study has to be looked at in such cases,
impact on biodiversity during the use whether use phase has been included or not.
phase?? For example:
· Fertilizers may end up in surface water, Use phase impacts of certain components known to
leading to eutrophication be hazardous are usually kept in organizations plan for
· Electronic equipment will use energy, disposing the product e.g., CFL, batteries, PET bottles
contributing to climate change etc.
· Hazardous substances in a semi-
conductor may emit to the soil when the
electronic appliance ends up in landfill
· Garments will be washed, using water
and detergents

After LCA is conducted, organizations will identify

BD 10 hotspots (impacts on biodiversity) and gather
information on country of origin, certification etc.
Does the organization gather and
understand information concerning Many organizations have green procurement policies
suppliers' impact on biodiversity (ex. the to tackle such risks. They prescribe certain clauses on
country of origin of raw materials, impact on biodiversity which the supplier needs to
certification status, etc.)? Please describe meet and the assessor needs to look at such policy to
activities undertaken to support better understand the process better and whether
management of biodiversity and ecosystem organization has initiated any such activities for better
services for suppliers. management of B&ES for suppliers.

E.g. http://www.omron.com/about/purchase/

Life cycle analysis if conducted will have the data for

BD 11 components sourced and whether it is sustainably
sourced.
Does the organization select
parts/components made from materials E.g., for apparel industry, one can look at how are their
which are sustainably sourced? raw materials (cotton, rayon etc.,) sourced. If an
organization usually buys raw material which are
certified under certain certification scheme that will be
a good practice or raw material sourced using certain
policies or standard can also be referred.

Sourcing FSC certified paper or wood is a good

practice. Minerals or metal sourced from companies
who have displayed good biodiversity practice is ideal.

Examples [Product-oriented standards]

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 Organic Food Labeling

Organic Food Labeling

The National Organic Program (run by the USDA) is

responsible for the legal definition of organic in the
United States and issue organic certification.
Organic food are foods that are produced using
methods involving no agricultural synthetic inputs, for
instance, synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers,
genetically modified organisms (GMO), and are not
processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or
chemical food additives. Currently, the United States,
European Union, Canada, Japan and many other
industrialized countries require food producers to
acquire special criteria or certification to market their
products as "organic". Apparently, organic food
producers emphasize sustainable conservation of the
social-ecological attributes such as soil, water and the
whole ecosystem. International organizations such as
the Organic Consumers Association supervise the
development of organic food. According to the
National Organic Program (NOP) in the US, a
voluntary green-and-white seal on foods’ packaging
denotes that a product is at least 95% organic.

MSC Labeling
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an
independent non-profit organization which was
established in 1997 in order to cope with the
overfishing problem. Fisheries that are assessed and
meet the standard can use the MSC blue ecolabel.
The MSC mission is to 'reward sustainable fishing
practices’. As of the end of 2010, more than 1,300
fisheries and organizations had achieved a Marine
Stewardship Council certification.

FSC Labeling

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an

international non-profit organization established in
1993 to ‘promote forest management that is
environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and
economically viable’. Its main responsibilities for
achieving the goal are standard framing, independent
certification issuing and labeling. FSC directly or
indirectly addresses issues such as illegal logging,
deforestation and global warming and has positive
effects on economic development, environmental
conservation, poverty alleviation and social and
political empowerment

Fair Trade Labeling

70
 Although there is no universally accepted definition of
fair trade, Fair trade Labeling Organizations
International (FLO) most commonly refer to a
definition developed by FINE, an informal association
of four international fair trade networks (Fair trade
Labeling Organizations International, World Fair Trade
Organization - formerly International Fair Trade
Association, Network of European Worldshops and
European Fair Trade Association): fair trade is a
trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency
and respect, that seeks greater equity in international
trade. It contributes to sustainable development by
offering better trading conditions to, and securing the
rights of, marginalized producers and workers –
especially in the South. Fair trade organizations,
backed by consumers, are engaged actively in
supporting producers, awareness raising and in
campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of
conventional international trade.

Sustainable products are those products that provide

BD 12 environmental, social and economic benefits while
protecting public health and environment over their
Does the organization procure final whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials
products which are sustainable (impact on until the final disposal.
biodiversity)? Final products can range from
office supplies, computers and their Similar to the above condition, however here we look
accessories etc. at finished products, such as laptop, office supplies
etc.

Life cycle analysis if conducted will have the data for

components sourced and whether it is sustainably
sourced.

This needs to be checked in the product label. Some

BD 13 organizations display on the packaging.

Does the organization display product E.g. Vistara airlines mention in their food packaging
information on being sourced that cutleries are biodegradable and paper packaging
sustainably/less impacts on biodiversity on is from FSC certified paper.
the label? (Sourced sustainably means
products purchased which are certified by
FSC, rain forest alliance etc.)

Access and Benefit Sharing Agreement (ABSA) is an

BD 14 agreement that defines the fair and equitable sharing
of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
Does the organisation use any product or is ABSAs typically arise in relation to bioprospecting
conducting research and development on where indigenous knowledge is used to focus
product which fall under Normally Traded as screening efforts for commercially valuable genetic
Commodity (NTC)? If not, then what and biochemical resources. ABSAs recognize that
measures has organization taken on it. bioprospecting frequently relies on indigenous or
traditional knowledge, and that people or communities
who hold such knowledge are entitled to a share of
benefits arising from its commercial utilization.

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 Access Benefit Sharing
(http://ethicalbiotrade.org/dl/benefit-
sharing/UEBT%20ABS%20Basic%20Info.pdf)
prohibits many genetic resources to be used for R&D.

The National Biodiversity Authority is mandated to

regulate use of India’s biological resources; it
facilitates / enables conservation action and provides
advice to Central and State Governments on issues of
conservation, sustainable use and access and benefit
sharing.

Section 40 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002

“Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the

Central Government may, in consultation with the
National Biodiversity Authority, by notification in the
Official Gazette, declare that the provisions of this Act
shall not apply to any items, including biological
resources normally traded as commodities”
In the proposed list of MOEF; 426 biological resources
/ their plant parts or whole plant; in cereals and Millets
only grains and whole plants are included and
exempted from the purview of National Biodiversity
Authority in case of exports. Whereas, in case of
Pulses, Oilseeds, Fiber Crops, Forage Crops (for
some species) seeds are considered as Normally
Traded Commodities.
(http://nbaindia.org/uploaded/pdf/Final_List_of_NTCs
_426_SPECIES.pdf)

For further details check

http://nbaindia.org/content/19/16/1/faq.html

Activity and proximity to protected zone needs to be

BD 15 checked based on the location provided, whether the
project falls in 10 km buffer zone or ESZ, whether
Please state the location and distance of official permission is taken to operate.
each operational site owned, leased,
managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas A geographically defined area should be designated
and areas of high biodiversity value outside or regulated and managed to achieve specific
protected areas conservation objectives. Nearly 16000 of the world's
protected areas can be explored from Digital
Observatory for Protected Areas (DOPA):
http://dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/explorer.

India has classified Protected Areas into following

categories:
-National parks
- Animal sanctuaries
- Biosphere reserves
- Reserved and protected forests
- Conservation and community reserves
- Village and panchayat Forests
- Private protected areas
- Conservation areas

72
 A 10 km buffer zone or Eco-sensitive Zone (ESZ) is
created around protected area to safeguard
biodiversity (http://www.moef.nic.in/downloads/public-
information/Guidelines%20for%20Eco-
Sensitive%20Zone.pdf); the list along with the official
notification provides various activities that are
permitted within the ESZ.

Initiatives for own operations should represent

BD 16 activities undertaken to conserve biodiversity and
ecosystem services in project area, such as
Please elaborate on the nature of projects, watershed management, lowering carbon emission by
cost incurred, their locations, and impact for employing efficient techniques and instruments,
the projects undertaken by the organization plantation of native trees, waste management etc.
to improve biodiversity in protected/nearby • Initiatives for supply chain should represent activities
areas undertaken to reduce impact of suppliers, for example
during transportation and distribution, making the
suppliers aware of their activities, having business
links with only environmentally certified suppliers etc.
• Initiatives for product impacts should represent
creating awareness and minimize effects of the
product use and disposal such as vehicle tyres,
battery, packaging material etc.
• Initiatives for transportation and distribution should
represent activities undertaken to limit impacts of
different modes of vehicle used, such as switching to
railways from road based transport, usage of bigger
vehicle in place of many smaller vehicles etc.

Details of habitat protected areas or restored areas

BD 17 provided by the organization are checked by this
indicator.
Please report the size and location of all
habitat protected areas or restored areas
outside the operation boundary of the
organization.

The red listed species if being affected by the

BD 18 organization’s operation can be checked from the Red
List data from IUCN.
Please provide the total number of IUCN Red
List species and national conservation list
species with habitats in areas affected by
the organization's operations.

This indicator looks for Details of impact assessment,

BD 19 whether assessment is holistic, covers important
element of biodiversity (flora fauna and ecosystems
Please provide details of Biodiversity Impact nearby). Whether remedial measure to impact
Assessment conducted. identified is presented.

73
 Usual Environment Impact Assessment of major
BD 20 sectors has a radius of 10 km study for air, soil and
water pollution and other environmental factors,
Does the organization's biodiversity impact including social and health impacts. A flora & fauna
assessments cover operation site and assessment for a). mining; b). pit-head thermal power
surrounding area? stations; c). hydro-power, major irrigation projects and
/ or their combination including flood control; d). ports
and harbours (excluding minor ports); e). prospecting
and exploration of major minerals in areas above 500
hectares is conducted for 10 km radius as well under
EIA. Some projects in India have conducted study of
cumulative impacts on biodiversity till 15 km as well.
Internationally projects are required to do assessment
for 20 km radius if some critical habitats are found to
exist there.

Biodiversity Impact assessment (BIA), usually a

BD 21 subset of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA),
contains study of flora and fauna near the project area
Does the organisation's biodiversity impact on which the project activity might have impact.
assessment also cover ecosystem Largely the BIA is ignored in EIA and so Biodiversity
services? Impact Assessment (BIA) is a new technique which
helps existing techniques achieve CBD’s three
objectives. Introducing biodiversity concerns into
conceptual stages of planning, BIA achieves the
integration needed to spur innovative solutions which
place biodiversity conservation, sustainable use, and
equitable sharing at the core of planning processes.

Under BIA or EIA many ecosystem services are

covered or impact on them is covered such as water,
air and soil. However, these factors are not studied in
relation to biodiversity which helps in healthy
functioning of the ecosystem services.

In an organization’s, BMP or any baseline assessment

BD 22 conducted, the impact of its activities will be
highlighted by its own operation, supply chain,
Does the organization evaluate the impact of products and services and transportation or
its activities, products, and services, supply distribution. The impacts of the activities highlighted
chain, transportation, etc., on protected needs to be evaluated in line with how the activities
areas and areas of high biodiversity value impact the various ecosystem services, such as food,
outside protected areas? raw material, fresh water, medicinal resources, flood
protection, local climate, carbon sequestration,
landslides, waste water treatment, soil erosion and
fertility, pollination, habitats of species, maintenance
of genetic diversity, tourism, recreation etc. More
details on ecosystem services can be availed at
(https://www.cbd.int/iyb/doc/prints/factsheets/iyb-cbd-
factsheet-ecoservices-en.pdf).

Impacting any ecosystem service can have significant

results for future sustainability and biodiversity of the
area.

74
 Impact assessment if done based on following points
BD 23 will result in better evaluation:
- Screening to determine which projects or
If yes, please elaborate the process of the developments require a full or partial impact
evaluation. assessment study
- Scoping to identify which potential impacts are
relevant to assess (based on legislative requirements,
international conventions, expert knowledge and
public involvement), to identify alternative solutions
that avoid, mitigate or compensate adverse impacts
on biodiversity (including the option of not proceeding
with the development, finding alternative designs or
sites which avoid the impacts, incorporating
safeguards in the design of the project, or providing
compensation for adverse impacts), and finally to
derive terms of reference for the impact assessment;
- Assessment and evaluation of impacts and
development of alternatives, to predict and identify the
likely impacts of a proposed project or development,
including the detailed elaboration of alternatives;
- Reporting the impact assessment, including a BMP,
and a non-technical summary for the general
audience;
- Review of the impact assessment based on the terms
of reference (scoping) and stakeholders (including
authority) participation;
- Decision-making on whether to approve the project
or not, and under what conditions; and
- Monitoring, compliance, enforcement and auditing.
Monitor whether the predicted impacts and proposed
mitigation measures occur as defined in the BMP.

Details of Biodiversity impact assessment should be

BD 24 checked, whether impacts and dependencies have
been identified in the process.
Describe impacts and dependencies on
biodiversity and ecosystem services for Details of impacts and dependencies need to be
sites that have undertaken an assessment. checked.

Ideally all such information will flow from

organization’s biodiversity action plan or biodiversity
management plan.

75
 Details from Biodiversity Action Plan, Natural Capital
BD 25 Action Plan, or Biodiversity Management Plan should
be checked to find details on plans to avoid, minimize,
Describe the action plan to avoid, minimize, rehabilitate and offset biodiversity impacts. Check
rehabilitate and offset biodiversity impacts. below example

E.g., Rio Tinto QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) pilot

site for NPI

Mine impacts: The most important direct negative

impact of mining activities on biodiversity will be loss
of 1,665 ha of littoral forest (3.5% of the remaining
47,900 ha) through dredging, which involves clearing
vegetation and removing soil. Habitat loss will be
incremental over the next 40–50 years as the mine
dredge moves slowly through the landscape, with
approximately 50 ha being actively mined at any one
time.
Avoid: Collectively covering an area of 624 ha, these
areas are now legally recognized protected areas and
protect 27% of the best quality remaining forest cover
on the ilmenite deposit. The establishment of these
protected areas within the mining zone cost Rio Tinto
QMM 8% of foregone resource.
Minimize: A diverse range of activities have been
implemented to reduce the likelihood or magnitude of
biodiversity impacts from mining activities.
Rehabilitate: Littoral forest will be re-established in
areas that have been cleared, by replacing topsoil
stored during the mining process and planting with
native species. A planned area of 225 ha will be
restored at each site, located adjacent to the
Avoidance Zones to provide a buffer, improve
connectivity and facilitate natural regeneration and
recolonization.
Offset: Rio Tinto QMM is investing in biodiversity
offsets at several forest sites in the region, with the aim
of reducing high background rates of deforestation.
These offset sites cover c. 6000 ha of forest. The offset
plans include a much larger area than is actually
“needed” to achieve Net Positive Impact, thus creating
a buffer against future unknown risks such as climate
change and political instability.

76
 Activities could be of any nature, such as protecting
BD 26 the endangered mangrove near site location, or far off
from the site with the help of local populace or
Does the organization carry out nature protecting particular species of bird or animal or tree
conservation activities in factory premises, found in the project area.
organization-owned woodlands, or other
types of land including leased land, and As per IBBI recent study of over 70 organizations
nature surrounding areas? e.g. Green Belt worldwide the below provided list contains the list of
development etc. activity related to nature conservation, restoration,
management etc. (list is not exhaustive)

1. Sustainable operations in Protected Area

2. Sustainable livestock production
3. Biodiversity partnerships (national & international)
4. Sustainable agriculture
5. Climate change
6. Habitat conservation & management
7. Ecosystem Restoration
8. Land reclamation and restoration
9. Native plant species/ Invasive plant species
10. Community engagement & engagement
11. Sectoral associations
12. Biodiversity policy
13. Research & Funding
14. Biodiversity and land use
15. Biodiversity Indexing/monitoring
16. Environment Impact Assessment
17. Endangered species program
18. Biodiversity mapping
19. Biodiversity action plan
20. Biodiversity Management Plan
21. Greenspace development
22. Responsible sourcing
23. Biodiversity Hotspot Conservation

Ideally if an organization makes investment on

BD 27 minimizing impacts due to its operation or supply chain
activity on biodiversity can be considered as an
Please give details of investments made by investment made by the organization on biodiversity.
the organization on Biodiversity &
ecosystem services in conservation,
management, restoration etc. in last five
years and targets for next 5 years

Details to be provided
BD 28

Are there any fines or penalties paid by the

organization against destruction of local
biodiversity & ecosystem services? Please
provide details

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 BD 29 This indicator looks for details on the activity of board
on biodiversity related issues. SOPs / EMS if
How does the board/top management review present.
the initiatives towards biodiversity &
ecosystem conservations? How are the
learning's used to make improvements?

BD 30 Strategy for biodiversity and ecosystem management

requires the organization to report on any goals and
What are the future targets by organization targets that are established for B&ES management.
on biodiversity mainstreaming, protecting Such as Lafarge Group has a target to get all sites
and conservation in local area, or near protected areas a biodiversity management
enhancing strategic partnership or plan.
enhancement on conservation? Please
elaborate

BD 31 Partnering with local governments, NGOs and local

communities enhance the effectiveness of
Does the organization partner with local biodiversity conservation efforts as they can be made
governments, NGOs, and local communities more in line with the demands of the local
for projects to conserve biodiversity? communities and areas. Also involvement of NGOs
Please elaborate. bring about another dimension of thought for the
organization towards biodiversity conservation.

BD 32 External communication helps build trust and

accountability of efforts. For organisations not directly
Does the organization communicate related to biodiversity, efforts towards biodiversity
externally concerning organization's conservation can be considered as a conscious
policies, goals and results on biodiversity? initiative. It may also build brand equity for the
organisation.
Policies and goals on biodiversity may help align the
efforts in a direction so as to achieve the shared vision
towards biodiversity conservation.

BD 33 Engagement with customers and communicating the

impacts of products on biodiversity is a good practice.
Does the organization communicate to its While more concerns are developed and shared
customer or engage with its customer about regarding the externalities during manufacturing or a
possibilities to limit impacts on biodiversity product or during the end of life disposal,
in the use phase? For example, ways to organisations who take charge in also communicating
minimise energy use or water use are the while-in-use impacts of their products show
explained in the product's manual and / or greater accountability.
the best way of product disposal is
explained

78
Glossary
Approach
Methods used by an organization to address the attribute requirements. It includes the appropriateness of the
methods to the item requirements and the effectiveness of their u

Benchmark
A measured, best-in-class achievement; a reference or measurement standard usually for comparison. This
performance level is recognized as the standard of excellence for a specific business process.

Benchmarking
A systematic and continuous measurement process; a process of continuously comparing and measuring an
organisation’s business processes against business leaders anywhere in the world to gain information that will
help the organization take action to improve its own performance.

Biodiversity or Biological Diversity

The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other
aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species,
between species and of ecosystems.

Boe
The barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) is a unit of energy based on the approximate energy released by burning
one barrel (42 U.S. gallons or 158.9873 litres) of crude oil.

Brand Management
The term “brand” deals with developing a promise, making that promise and maintaining it. It means defining
the brand, positioning the brand, and delivering the brand. Brand management is all about creating and
sustaining the brand. Branding makes customers committed to one’s business. A strong brand differentiates
one’s products from the competitors. It gives a quality image to the business.
Brand management includes managing the tangible and intangible characteristics of brand. In case of product
brands, the tangibles include the product itself, price, packaging, etc. While in case of service brands, the
tangibles include the customers’ experience. The intangibles include emotional connections with the product
/ service.
Branding is assembling of various marketing mix medium into a whole so as to give an identity. It is about
capturing the customers mind with one’s brand name, and gives an image of an experienced, huge and reliable
business.
Includes components of corporate brand, product / service brand and reputation.
Capital Employed
Debt + Equity = Total Assets = Total Liabilities + Net Worth

Capital Investment
The amount of money an organization spends to create new assets for increasing production capacity
[machines, buildings, vehicles, computers, etc.].

Corporate Governance
Defining and implementing a system of rules, processes, procedures and relationships to manage the
organization and fulfil its legal, financial and ethical obligations.

Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is the protection of the right of workers (and employers) to organize collectively in
organizations of their own choice.

Collective bargaining agreement

Binding collective bargaining agreements include those signed by the organization itself or by employer
organizations of which it is a member. These agreements can be at the sector, national, regional,
organizational, or workplace level.
79
Conflict of interest
A situation where an individual is confronted with choosing between the requirements of his/her function and
his/ her own private interests. (Source: GRI G4)

Contractor
Persons or organizations working onsite or offsite on behalf of an organization with a relationship determined
by a contract. A contractor may hire their own staff directly or hire sub-contractors or independent contractors.

Debt
The amount that the organization has borrowed to do its business. It can finance either fixed assets [i.e., long-
term debts] or current assets [short-term debt, or Working Capital]. Same as Liabilities.

Deployment
The extent to which an approach is applied in addressing the requirements of a criteria item. It is evaluated on
the basis of the breadth and depth of application of the approach to relevant work units throughout the
organization.

Disclosures on remuneration of Directors / KMP / Employees

1. The ratio of the remuneration of each director to the median remuneration of the employees
2. The percentage increase in remuneration of each director, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive Officer,
Organization Secretary or Manager, if any, in the financial year
3. The percentage increase in the median remuneration of employees in the financial year, the number of
permanent employees
4. The explanation on the relationship between average increase in remuneration and organization
performance
5. Comparison of the remuneration of the Key Managerial Personnel against the performance of the
organization
6. Average percentile increase already made in the salaries of employees other than the managerial
personnel in the last financial year and its comparison with the percentile increase in the managerial
remuneration and justification thereof and point out if there are any exceptional circumstances for increase
in the managerial remuneration
7. Comparison of each remuneration of the Key Managerial Personnel against the performance of the
organization
8. The key parameters for any variable component of remuneration availed by the directors
9. The ratio of the remuneration of the highest paid director to that of the employees who are not directors
but receive remuneration in excess of the highest paid director during the year; and affirmation that the
remuneration is as per the remuneration policy of the organization. [Section 197(12) of the Act and Rule
5 of the Organizations (Appointment & Remuneration of managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014]

Diversity
Valuing and benefiting from personal and individual differences that address many variables, including race,
religion, gender, colour, national origin, disability, age, education, skills, etc., as well as differences in ideas,
thoughts, academic disciplines and perspectives.

Earnings per Share

EPS = PAT / Total Number of Shares

Eco-efficiency
Operations and strategies that aim at minimizing ecological damage while maximizing efficiency of the firm's
production processes, such as through the lesser use of energy, material, and water, more recycling, and
elimination of hazardous emissions or by-products, greater durability of products, and increased service
intensity of goods and services.

Effective

80
How well a process or a measure addresses its intended purpose. Determining effectiveness requires
evaluation of how well the approach is aligned with the organisation’s needs, how well the approach is
deployed, and evaluation of the outcome of the measure used.

Employee
An individual who is, according to national law or practices, recognized as an employee of the organization.

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

They are part of employee compensation, and are paid in the form of organization shares. This is intended to
align the interests of the employees with those of shareholders, since now, employees are shareholders.

Employee Turnover
The rate at which an employer gains and loses employees, expressed as a ratio of the number of relevant
departures by the average number of employees, expressed as a percentage.

Equity
Represents the share of the organization’s assets that belong to the shareholders.

Excellence
Outstanding practice in managing the organization and achieving results based on a set of fundamental
concepts which include results orientation, customer focus, leadership and constancy of purpose,
management by processes and facts, involvement of people, continuous improvement, innovation, mutually
beneficial partnerships, and others

External Assurance
It refers to activities designed to result in published conclusions on the quality of the report and the information
(whether it be qualitative or quantitative) contained within it. External assurance may also refer to activities
designed to result in published conclusions on systems or processes (such as the process for defining report
content, including the application of the materiality principle or the stakeholder engagement process).

Fatality
The death of a worker occurring in the current reporting period, arising from an occupational injury or disease
sustained or contracted while in the organization’s employ.

Finances
The short-term funds required for the day-to-day operation of the business, and the capital funding from various
sources required for the longer-term financing of the organisation.

Forced labour
All work and service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the
said person has not offered herself or himself voluntarily.

Freedom of association
The right of workers and employers to establish and join organizations of their own choosing without the need
for prior authorization.

GJ
The gigajoule (GJ) is equal to one billion (109) joules. 6 GJ is about the amount of potential chemical energy
in 160 L (approximately one US standard barrel) of oil, when combusted.

Gross Block
The total value of all assets owned by the organization, aggregated by the original cost, with no account
being taken for depreciation.

High Biodiversity Value

Areas where there were high numbers of endemic (restricted to a certain region or part of a region) species
and the threat to those species was high.
81
High Conservation Value
An area designated on the basis of high conservation values (HCVs) which are biological, ecological, social
or cultural values considered outstandingly significant at the national, regional or global level.

Independent director
As per sub-section 6 of Section 149 of the Companies Act 2013, Independent Director means a director other
than a managing director or whole-time director or a nominee director,
a) Who, in the opinion of the Board, is a person of integrity and possesses relevant expertise and experience;
b) - 1. Who is or was not a promoter of the organization,
2. Who is not related to promoters or directors in the organization
c) Who has or had no pecuniary relationship with the organization
d) None of whose relative has or had pecuniary relationship or transaction with the organization.
e) Who, neither himself nor any of his relative---
i. Holds or has held the position of a key managerial personnel
ii. Is or has been an employee or proprietor or a partner, in any of the three financial years preceding.
iii. Holds together with his relative two per cent or more of the total voting power of the organization; or
iv. Is a Chief Executive or director, of any non-profit organization, or who possesses such other qualifications
as may be prescribed.

Inclusive Growth
The manner in which an increase in profitability of an organization is shared with societal components in a
way that includes people who are otherwise “marginalised” [or are in the fringes] in its scope. Such people
are normally outside mainstream society, and their exclusion is based on their financial status, age or other
factors that create divisions / strata within society. Benefits include providing employment, imparting skills,
transferring knowledge, providing access to public services (including education and health care), enabling
empowerment, and all ways in which there is an improvement in the overall quality of life.

IUCN Red Listed or Threatened Species

The world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world's main authority on the conservation status
of species. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk
of extinction to species within a political management unit.
The IUCN Red List is set up on precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and
subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. The aim is to convey the
urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to
try to reduce species extinction.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/amazing-species for more details of species falling in Red List

Knowledge
Part of the hierarchy that consists of 3 stages: data, information and knowledge. Data are raw facts /
statistics. Information is data with context and perspective. Knowledge is information with guidance for
action.

Learning
The acquisition and understanding of information that may lead to improvement or change. Examples of
organizational learning activities include benchmarking, internal and external assessments / audits, and best
practice studies. Examples of individual learning include training and professional qualifications.

LCA
Life Cycle Assessment is a systems-based approach to quantifying the human health and environmental
impacts associated with a product's life from “cradle to grave.” A full LCA addresses all stages of the product
life-cycle and should take into account alternative uses as well as associated waste streams, raw material
extraction, material transport and processing, product manufacturing, distribution and use, repair and
maintenance, and wastes or emissions associated with a product, process, or service as well as end-of-life
disposal, reuse, or recycling. In some cases, LCA is applied with restricted boundaries, such as “cradle to
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[loading] gate.”

Life Cycle Management

It is an integrated concept for managing the total life cycle of goods and services towards more sustainable
production and consumption.

Loss time injury frequency rate (LTIFR)

As defined by OSHA, refers to the rate of occurrence of workplace incidents that resulted in an employee's
inability to work the next full work day. LTIFR refers to the number of such injuries that occur within a given
period relative to the total number of hours worked in the same accounting period.

Lower Management
They comprise of entry level managers who report to the middle management.

Materiality Analysis
Materiality analysis is an approach to identifying critical economic, environmental and social issues, which may
either reflect a significant impact on the organization's business performance or substantively influence the
assessments and decisions of its stakeholders.

Market Capitalisation
The total value of the shares of the organization at current market price, computed by number of shares x
market price.

Method and Mode [of Stakeholder Engagement]

Method refers to the practice being adopted to engage; e.g., customer meets, focussed group discussion,
etc. Mode refers to the medium used in engaging with the stakeholder; e.g., face-to-face, telephone,
survey, third party, etc.

Middle Management
It comprises of managers who head specific departments (such as marketing, accounting, production) or
business units. Middle managers are responsible for implementing the senior management’s policies and
plans.

MWh
A megawatt is a unit for measuring power that is equivalent to one million watts. One megawatt is equivalent
to the energy produced by 10 automobile engines. A megawatt hour (Mwh) is equal to 1,000 Kilowatt-
hours (Kwh). It is equal to 1,000 kilowatts of electricity used continuously for one hour.

Net Current Assets

Those assets that are either going into the production process, or coming out [i.e., inventories of raw
materials and finished goods].

Net Fixed Assets

Those assets that reflect the productive capacity of the organization [i.e., factory, machines, vehicles,
computer hardware, etc.].

Net Profit
The income earned by the shareholders of the organization after providing for depreciation, paying off
creditors [interest] and government [taxes]. Also, called PAT.

Net Value Addition

NVA reflects the value that the organization adds to the material inputs it uses. Can be computed by the
formula: NVA = EBIDTA - Depreciation = EBITA + Wages & Salaries.

Net Worth
Equal to [Assets - Liabilities].

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Non-management employee/supervised worker
An individual who performs regular work on-site for, or on behalf of, the organization but is not recognized as
an employee under national law or practice.

Occupational illness frequency rate

It is the frequency of occupational illnesses relative to the total time worked by the total workforce in the
reporting period.

Operating Profit
The income earned by the organization after paying off all material and labour costs. This is the total amount
available to distribute between “capital” [depreciation, interest and profit] and “government” [taxes]. Also, called
Operating Margin, or EBIDTA.

Political contribution
Any financial or in-kind support given directly or indirectly to political parties, their elected representatives, or
persons seeking political office. Financial contributions may include donations, loans, sponsorships, retainers,
or the purchase of tickets for fundraising events. In-kind contributions may include advertising, use of facilities,
design and printing, donation of equipment, or the provision of board membership, employment or consultancy
work for elected politicians or candidates for office.

Protected Area
A geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation
objectives. Nearly 16000 of the world's protected areas can be explored from Digital Observatory for Protected
Areas (DOPA): http://dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/explorer

Partnerships
A working relationship between two or more individuals or parties, creating added value for the customer.
Partners can include employees, suppliers, distributors, JVs and alliances.

Practice
The act of engaging in an activity again and again, for the purpose of improving or mastering it, as in the
phrase “practice makes perfect”. It is a method of learning and of acquiring experience. Sessions scheduled
for the purpose of rehearsing and performance improvement are called practices.

A best practice is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive, or reward that is believed to be more
effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. when applied to a
particular condition or circumstance. The idea is that with proper processes, checks, and testing, a desired
outcome can be delivered with fewer problems and unforeseen complications. Best practices can also be
defined as the most efficient (least amount of effort) and effective (best results) way of accomplishing a task,
based on repeatable procedures that have proven themselves over time for large numbers of people.

Process
Sequence of interdependent and linked procedures which, at every stage, consume one or more resources
(employee time, energy, machines, money) to convert inputs (data, material, parts, etc.) into outputs. These
outputs then serve as inputs for the next stage until a known goal or end result is reached.

Product Responsibility
Deals with managing and minimizing the environmental footprint of products in the market from a life cycle
point of view. It is often a strategy designed to promote the integration of environmental costs associated with
manufactured goods throughout their life cycles into the market price of the products. Usually have two sub-
types: extended producer responsibility and shared responsibility. The latter is the more balanced approach
that is fair to all stakeholders.

Product Stewardship
Understanding, controlling, and communicating a product's environmental, health, and safety related effects
throughout its life cycle, from production (or extraction) to final disposal or reuse. This may be achieved, in
part, by redesigning products to use fewer harmful substances, to be more durable, re-useable and recyclable,
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and to make products from recycled materials

Reclaimed
Refers to collecting, reusing, or recycling products and their packaging materials at the end of their useful
lives.

Restoration
The scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and
restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human
intervention and action.

Reputation
A collective representation of a firm’s past actions and results that describes the firm’s ability to deliver valued
outcomes to multiple stakeholders.

Return on Capital Employed

ROCE is a measure reflecting the performance of the organization in terms of how efficiently it uses capital.
Same as ROA [Return on Assets]. See EVA.

Risk Management
Policies, procedures, and practices involved in identification, analysis, assessment, control, and avoidance,
minimization, or elimination of unacceptable risks. A firm may use risk assumption, risk avoidance, risk
retention, risk transfer, or any other strategy (or combination of strategies) in proper management of future
events related to sustainability.

Scope of GHG Emissions

As defined by the GHG Protocol:
 Scope 1 GHG emissions are those directly occurring "from sources that are owned or controlled by the
organization, including: on-campus stationary combustion of fossil fuels; mobile combustion of fossil fuels
by organization-owned / controlled vehicles; and “fugitive” emissions. Fugitive emissions result from
intentional or unintentional releases of GHGs, including the leakage of HFCs from refrigeration and air
conditioning equipment as well as the release of CH4 from organization-owned farm animals.
 Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions generated in the production of electricity consumed by the
institution.
 Scope 3 emissions are all the other indirect emissions that are a consequence of the activities of the
institution, but occur from sources not owned or controlled by the institution, such as commuting, official
air travel of employees, waste disposal; embodied emissions from extraction, production, and
transportation of purchased goods; outsourced activities; contractor owned- vehicles; and line loss from
electricity transmission and distribution.

Senior Management
It is a team of individuals who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing an organization or corporation.
They hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by authority of the board of directors and /
or the shareholders. They comprise of individuals reporting directly to the top management.

Social Entrepreneurship
Creation of business models that revolve around low-cost products and services to address social
inequities, thus leading to the perception that social progress and profit are not mutually exclusive.

Stakeholder Engagement
A process of relationship management through which organizations or industries engage with a set of their
stakeholders in an effort to align their mutual interests, to reduce risk and advance the organization's
sustainability performance.

Supplier
Also, called Vendor. Anyone who provides goods or services to an organization. A supplier often manufactures

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inventoriable items, and sells those items to a customer. Some people like to relate supplier to goods, and
vendor to services.

Supply Chain
The integrated structure of activities that procure, produce and deliver products and services to customers.
The chain may be said to begin from the supplier of the suppliers, and end with the customers of the
customer.

Sustainability Investments
Includes all investments made by an organization to either address sustainability issues, or leverage business
opportunities, typically with direct financial returns - such as improved sales and profits, which could be
considered to be in key or new business area/s for the organization. These investments would also have
calculated a return on investment [ROI]. Typically, these are for topics beyond those mandated by legislation.

Sustainability Reporting
It is the practice of measuring, disclosing and being accountable to external and internal stakeholders for
organisational performance towards the goal of sustainable development.

Systematic
Approaches that are well-ordered, repeatable and use data and information in a manner such that learning
is possible. Approaches are systematic if they build in the opportunity for evaluation, improvement and
sharing, thereby enabling a gain in maturity.

Top Management
Comprises of individuals at the highest level of organizational management and are responsible for making
decisions for the organization such as CEO, MD, CMD or board of directors.

Transparency
The quality of being clear and transparent

Turnover
The total amount of business done by an organization. Also, called Sales revenue, or Top-line.

Toe
The tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is a unit of energy defined as the amount of energy released by burning
one tonne of crude oil. The toe is sometimes used for large amounts of energy.

Whistle blowing
A mechanism for employees to report to the management concerns about unethical behaviour, actual or
suspected fraud or violation of the organization's code of conduct or ethics.

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 Scoring
Attribute Weight Aspect Weight
Leadership 10 Corporate Governance 10
Process 20 Business Ethics 5
Stakeholder External 5 Risk Management 5
Stakeholder Internal 5 Transparency & Disclosure 5
Key Resources 10 Financial Performance 5
Results 35 Employee Development 5
Learning & Innovation 15 Stakeholder Engagement 10
Human Rights 5
Scoring is based on the weight of aspects and Health & Safety 5
attributes. A total score for an applicant is out Corporate Social Responsibility 10
of 100 and is derived basis attributes and Supply Chain 10
aspects weight. In an aspect, first all the Product Responsibility 5
indicators are mapped against the seven Environment Management 15
attributes. All indicators representing a Biodiversity 5
particular attribute under one aspect are Compliance to Regulations No score
clubbed together. Their total sum is brought
down on a scale of 100 and then weighted as per the identified attribute. In case any attribute remains
unmapped, its weight is proportionately divided among the identified attributes.

The weighted attribute score is then weighted as per the aspect. The sum total of all the weighted aspect score
becomes the total score.

For instance, in the case of aspect ‘Corporate Governance’, there are five indicators which fall under leadership
attribute. From the sum of leadership attribute, weighted score will be derived. The same process will be
followed for other attributes. Under this aspect, there is no indicator identified for ‘internal stakeholders’. Hence,
its weight has been equally distributed to the other attributes in this aspect. The total weighted attribute score
is then multiplied by the weight of each aspect to arrive at the total score.

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