Progressing on our sustainability commitments

We are actively reducing our carbon footprint, optimising resource usage, nurturing natural ecosystems, and prioritising social responsibility and operational excellence, ensuring sustainable development for generations to come.

OUR APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability Framework: Our Sustainability Compass

At Hindustan Zinc, we have adopted a Sustainability Framework from our parent company Vedanta, which is aligned with (International Finance Corporation) IFC & (International Council on Mining & Metals) ICMM guidelines. This serves as comprehensive guidance to ensure sustainability in operations and decision-making across the business. This framework comprises a suite of sustainability policies, standards and guidance notes to steer operational and social excellence.

Sustainability Assurance Programme

The Sustainability Assurance Programme acts as a vital tool for evaluating the alignment of our sites against the Sustainability Framework. Annually, each site is systematically assessed to measure the extent of the implementation of the framework and provide site-specific sustainability scores based on 13 key pillars. The outcomes of the assessment are discussed in the Executive Committee, which in turn reports to the Board.

Based on the identified improvement areas, the respective units formulate management plans and implement corrective actions, which are periodically reviewed, evaluated and documented. To drive accountability and compliance, this score is linked with incentives for the leadership and employees. 10% of the annual performance bonus is linked to the score. Additionally, long-term incentives are also linked to the broader ESG performance of the Company.

Extending Sustainability to Value Chain Partners

As a responsible corporate, we have consciously extended our sustainability culture to our customers and suppliers, key stakeholders for Hindustan Zinc. We have built our customer service proposition around our wide portfolio of products and transparent disclosure of the environmental impact of our products. This is achieved through environmental product declaration (EPD), an independently verified and registered document.

EPD for Zinc Product: Prioritising environmental transparency

We have published an EPD for our zinc product, underlining our commitment to sustainability, transparency, and minimising our environmental footprint. The EPD uses life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to measure the environmental performance of zinc products, considering the potential impact from each stage of manufacturing, product use, and end-of-life.

Our zinc EPD complies with ISO 14025:2006 and EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 standards to ensure comparability with EPDs from other manufacturers worldwide. Our LCA study was also benchmarked to the highest standards of ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.

EcoZen: Low Carbon Zinc

In July 2024, Hindustan Zinc launched Asia’s first low carbon zinc offering for its customers worldwide. Certified as low-carbon zinc by a renowned global sustainability consulting firm through a life cycle assessment (LCA), EcoZen boasts a carbon footprint of less than one tonne of carbon equivalent per tonne of zinc produced. Manufactured using renewable energy, the carbon footprint of EcoZen is about 75% lower than the global average.

Supply Chain Sustainability

As part of responsible sourcing, 100% of our critical suppliers were assessed for ESG Risks. As part of lowering carbon footprint, some of our initiatives include introducing electric vehicles (EVs) and liquified natural gas (LNG) vehicles. Further, we conduct business partner engagement and capacity building through our initiatives, ‘Business Partner ESG Connects’ and ‘Wednesday for Transition’.

PUTTING SUSTAINABILITY AT THE CORE

Setting priorities to advance sustainability efforts

Following management systems across all sites

OUR SUSTAINABILITY GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

Strong sustainability governance is responsible for building a responsible business. Sustainability is discussed at all Board and management meetings, as well as at the business unit (BU) management meetings. Our three-tier sustainability governance framework encompasses all ESG aspects, allowing us to set short-term and long-term goals and systematically monitor performance.

Our three-tiered sustainability framework

ESG SCORECARD

Ratings across ESG indices