Our Approach to Sustainability
Increasing our impact has been at the center of our business philosophy at Ratnamani. We are conscious of the responsibility we have towards environment and nature, the communities within which we operate and the wider society.
At Ratnamani, we are proactively working to address some of the globally challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, resource shortage and rising inequality, by implementing various environmental-friendly and community focused initiatives.
We are on a journey to embed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) focused principles into our end-to-end business operations to contribute towards wider environmental sustainability and socio-economic development, to advance attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, whilst also driving value for our stakeholders.
Environment
Decarbonisation is one of the key challenges that we at Ratnamani and the wider steel industry faces. We continue to focus our efforts in reducing our carbon footprint by transitioning to renewable energy sources. Over the past decade, we have invested in captive renewable infrastructure, including both solar and wind assets, to reach a capacity of 12 MwH and 27 MwH respectively, which translates into significant reduction of conventional energy consumption by the Company. We continue to expand this renewable infrastructure. We also continue to invest in and adopt latest technological advances to reduce the carbon footprint of our production process and through the lifecycle of our products. Where possible, we will work closely with other players in the industry and other industry associations to facilitate transition to a low carbon steel industry and the wider economy.
As a mitigating measure against resource shortage, we adopt circular economy principles across our facilities by focusing on reducing, recycling and reusing existing resources. We also implement strict waste management mechanism including Zero Liquid Discharge facilities at all our plants and work with accredited third-party agencies for recycling scrap from our production, in-turn enabling reduction in our overall environmental footprint.
Installation of co-processing units for ETP sludge has helped us in reducing our carbon footprint as well as in preserving natural resources and by avoiding disposal through landfilling. This approach has become vital in our aim of achieving zero hazardous waste.
For compliance with our Extended Producers Responsibility, we have agreement with government accredited Plastic Waste Processors to collect back and recycle plastic waste generated through our operations further advancing our transition towards circular economy.
Alongside this, we regularly engage in nature-positive and biodiversity focused initiatives. Our work on ‘Save the Sparrow’ is one such example of working to address declining biodiversity.
We have executed “Pond Deepening” projects in 18 villages in the vicinity of our plants to improve ground water level and ensure ecological balance. All our 3 manufacturing facilities are surrounded with lush green environment.
We have rainwater harvesting capabilities and implement natural disaster management schemes across our manufacturing facilities to mitigate impacts of physical risks from extreme weather events like hurricanes, cyclones, droughts, flooding, etc.
Alongside addressing the challenges and risks as discussed above, we are also well placed to take advantage of the transition to a net-zero economy. Our products are an important part of renewable energy and water infrastructure. We will invest in improving our capability and capacity to cater to such growing need for its products in upcoming sectors like hydrogen, aerospace, water storage/transport and renewable energy infrastructure in India and globally.
Social
We strive towards creating a more inclusive and a collaborative culture across our organisation. This helps us in attracting and retaining the best talent, which forms the backbone of our growth. Our functional teams continue to implement best-in-class health and safety practices. Human rights considerations are also key while engaging with both internal and external stakeholders.
We actively promote and support our workforce to continue to learn and grow through internal and external trainings and learning opportunities.
For a wider social impact outside of our operations, we leverage our CSR fund for social and community-focused initiatives like running education schools and expanding healthcare infrastructure in rural areas, etc. to uplift the communities within which we operate and contribute positively towards the wider society.
Governance
Strong and effective corporate governance is also a key pillar of our growth and culture. We implement robust internal controls for improving integrity, transparency and accountability across our organisation. Various formal policies focused on Responsible Business conduct reiterate our commitment to a robust organisation-wide governance structure.
We have dedicated teams and functional committees, which also include our Senior Management, to oversee effective implementation of such policies.
We will continue to expand on these ESG initiatives in the coming years to increase our wider impact and accelerate the transition to a net-zero and a more sustainable economy in India and globally.