Reducing Environmental Footprint
ECONOMY & POLICY

Reducing Environmental Footprint

Abhishek Somany Managing Director and CEO Somany Ceramics “We aim to leverage business relations with our vendors to foster sustainability in our supply chain. At the time of selection, our vendors are assessed on various criteria including business conduct, competitive...

Abhishek Somany Managing Director and CEO Somany Ceramics “We aim to leverage business relations with our vendors to foster sustainability in our supply chain. At the time of selection, our vendors are assessed on various criteria including business conduct, competitive pricing, environmental sustainability, social interest, quality, and delivery standards. ” — Abhishek Somany Let me begin by describing what sustainability means to us. Put simply, at Somany Ceramics, it is the balance between reducing our operational impact and increasing societal efforts while charting our growth story. The year 2022 was special for us as we completed 50 years since the commissioning of our first manufacturing plant. Although these past five decades were dedicated to pursuing quality excellence and manufacturing world-class products; sustainability has been an integral part of our journey. To mark this year, we released our maiden Integrated report 2021-22 as per the International Integrated Reporting Council’s (IIRC) Integrated Reporting Framework. We understand the challenges in fulfilling our growth objectives with the growing demand for energy, rising power costs, new supply chain models, and strict environmental regulations around the world. We make continuous efforts to reduce our environmental footprint and increase societal positive impact simultaneously. Environment Energy and Emissions We strive to find climate change solutions through energy conservation, use of cleaner fuels and renewable energy installation at our plants. Our Environmental Policy guides us to act in an environmentally responsible manner. Over the last few years, we have substituted a part of our coal consumption with sawdust and agro-waste. We are also increasingly investing in solar energy and have increased our solar energy capacity to 1.5 MW across our own manufacturing facilities. These measures have been supplemented by numerous energy efficiency initiatives and the adoption of novel technologies. Water We have taken several measures to conserve water in our plants. This includes the setting up of Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) and Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP). Through these, we make optimum use of water by redirecting wastewater in the production process. As a result, both our facilities – Kadi and Kasar are Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) plants. Social Human Resource We have the motto “One Team One Somany” and thus strive to create a culture of equal opportunity and inclusion for all. Our employees are our biggest assets, and we work for their well-being. We ensure employees are skilled and motivated to perform more efficiently and support innovation in their service offerings. Somany Learning University We established Somany Learning University (SLU), an institution to train our in-house talent and develop the skills of the unemployed youth. ‘SLU e-Campus’ offers online training along with a personalised learning dashboard for each individual. We also train unemployed fresh graduates in ceramic operations through Certified vocational courses. Corporate Social Responsibility We work closely with local communities near our operational facilities for our community development activities. Our CSR arm, the HL Somany Foundation (HLSF), implements our community development efforts. Our focus areas include health and well-being, education, skill development, and protection of national heritage and art and culture. Education Our partnership with Third Planet has helped us adopt two Anganwadis centres in the villages of Bahadurgarh Tehsil, Kasar and Barahi. We have strengthened these centres to care for the cognitive development of children. Healthcare We have organised vision restoration camps for elderly people including imparting ophthalmic care and screening for cataract surgeries along with post-operative care. Skill development Under our 'Tile Master' skill development programme, we periodically assist masons in upgrading their skills and in turn improving their economic wellbeing. This initiative also enables us to contribute to the long-term growth of the tiles industry. HL Somany Scholarship To empower women, in FY2021-22, we started providing scholarships to female students for the Young India Fellowship programme under Ashoka University. We are also contributing to infrastructural development at the University, including establishing Centres of Excellence, and teaching and academic department research and development projects. Governance The corporate governance philosophy of the company upholds the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. Our Board of Directors draw from a wealth of multi-decade industry experience and knowledge; they have been empowered to act with complete independence and impartiality in the best interests of the company and its family of stakeholders. The Board navigates and oversees the value-creation process within the company. Product stewardship We believe in developing products with environmental and social benefits over their life cycle. One such product is the ‘Temp shield’, which reduces ambient room temperature, enabling savings in energy. ‘Germ Shield’ is another such innovation developed by our R&D team. These tiles are 99 per cent germ and bacteria-resistant and safeguard the health of our customers. Some of our other offerings include, ‘VC Shield’, and ‘Slip Shield’. ESG Criteria for vendors We aim to leverage business relations with our vendors to foster sustainability in our supply chain. We have set a comprehensive system to assess our suppliers. At the time of selection, our vendors are assessed on various criteria including business conduct, competitive pricing, environmental sustainability, social interest, quality, and delivery standards. We also expect our suppliers to adopt fair human rights practices in their workplace. Even post-selection, the performance of each vendor is further evaluated over a three-month trial period. In case of violation with respect to our code, we engage with our suppliers to implement corrective actions. Local procurement We aim to maximise the procurement of raw materials from communities where we operate. This makes it possible for us to also save on transportation costs and the corresponding GHG emissions from fuel consumption. Our vision for future There are many excellent examples of our contribution to sustainability, and we continue to make efforts to steer the organisation on a resilient, responsible, and sustainable growth path. About the author Abhishek Somany, Managing Director and CEO, Somany Ceramics, is a seasoned professional with an in-depth knowledge of the ceramic industry and the Indian business environment as a whole.

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