Message of Continued Support to Global Compact

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The Corporate world saw much cheer with COVID-19 restrictions being relaxed in various countries globally, in view of the overall decline in the total caseload and positivity rate. India too has relaxed restrictions bolstered by dropping infection rates. The health and hygiene protocols however, remain in force. I believe that it is good to be cautious especially after facing the unprecedented challenges posed by the second wave of the pandemic last year. Balmer Lawrie's Travel & Vacations business was worst hit amongst all and now when there is respite with the borders opening up, the Russia - Ukraine crisis has confronted us with numerous concerns. A Deloitte report highlights shooting prices of crude oil and gas, food grains and several other commodities. The conflict has also brought in severe financial sanctions and political pressure on Russia from the rest of the world. These will likely have unpredictable and undesired implications on the global financial system and economy. The war and its potential economic impact have forced several economic forecasters to revise their growth projections for this year.

Thinking sustainability has been one of the major keys to wade through global crises and Corporates can just not afford to have a 'do-nothing or do-less' approach. The need to reuse and recycle, move towards the circular economy, Net-Zero, enhanced Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks and similar concepts are gaining ground. Corporates will have to continuously align business practices towards building a sustainable and inclusive future. At Balmer Lawrie, we have been taking forward our sustainable development initiatives with the aim of protecting the interests of all stakeholders. Sustainability is well ingrained in the organisation's vision and goals.

Our Communication of Progress (COP) report for the year 2021-22 captures the various sustainability achievements and initiatives of our organisation. We focused on our ESG objectives and took forward various activities as part of the Start-up Fund, CSR and HSE initiatives. Balmer Lawrie launched the Round 3 Startup Fund program in association with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park with the objective of creating a vibrant ecosystem aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation. Total corpus of Rs 3 Crore has been earmarked for the program. The Company sponsored the installation of Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen plant of adequate capacity at five Government hospitals in the state of Karnataka. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been engaged for the preparation of Business Responsibility Report [BRR] and Sustainability Report [SR] for FY 2021-22 and BRSR FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 of Balmer Lawrie.

It is a matter of great pride that the Silvassa plant of SBU: Greases & Lubricants (G&L) and the Chennai plant of SBU: Chemicals won Gold as part of the National Award for Manufacturing Competitiveness (NAMC) instituted by International Research Institute for Manufacturing (IRIM). SBU: Industrial Packaging was awarded a silver medal in recognition of sustainability by Ecovadis, the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings in December 2021. The Sustainability Scorecard illustrates performance across 21 indicators in four themes - Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable procurement. This is testimony to our commitment to the sustainability roadmap and motivates us to do more in the future!

Adika Ratna Sekhar
Chairman & Managing Director

Last updated on : 21/04/2022
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