Materiality Assessment

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Materiality Assessment

The past three years have witnessed a series of global mega events, having a long-lasting impact on economies and businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted businesses in many ways, most notably with respect to supply chain, employee health and safety, and financial stability. The global instability was further aggravated by the conflict in Europe, that triggered geopolitical tensions leading to an energy crisis and a high inflationary situation across economies. In this backdrop, with countries and investors focussing increasingly on ESG exposure led by climate change actions, companies are finding themselves compelled to reorient their business models to align them with the new, emerging reality. At Tata Chemicals, we have been closely following the global events and assessing their impact on our businesses. We are continually adapting to the new reality by assessing and reassessing our priorities in the evolving business eco-system. Our new ESG materiality assessment underscores our agility, and aims to equip the organisation with greater resilience in the face of external business challenges and transformations.

Assessing the new material reality

During FY 2022-23, we undertook a large-scale stakeholder-driven materiality assessment with the support of a third party. The aim was to identify the material issues relevant to our businesses, and accordingly realign our strategic approach to the changing scenario.

The objective of the assessment was to capture the perspectives of all our stakeholders and take a holistic approach on what is material to Tata Chemicals
A list of 20 material topics was formulated, with the same being defined based on the views of subject matter experts from the industry, emerging trends, as well as global and regulatory frameworks and standards
Over 700 responses were gathered via primary consultations (surveys and focus group discussions) across our staff, customers, suppliers, investors, collaborators, regulators, community partners and members across India, United Kingdom, Africa and United States of America. The responses were supplemented by secondary research and prioritised based on the influence and impact metrices plotted in the next page

Our goal is to focus our efforts on prioritising how we, through our business activities, can maximise the value we bring to the economy, environment and society. The process of ESG materiality assessment is at the core of our ESG efforts – it is auditable, inclusive and balanced.

Critical material issues

Addressing the highly critical material issues

Material matters	Areas focussed	Mitigating actions
M1 Health & Safety	Safe work environment, emergency preparedness, digitised reporting	Targetted actions on zero harm Safety assessments and audits Digitalisation and data analytics
M2 Business Ethics	Maintaining highest level of code of conduct and ethics through training and policy frameworks	Strictly abiding by the Tata Code of Conduct and having zero tolerance policy for any unethical practices
M3 Employee Development	Human capital development issues like training of employees/delivery partners, inter-department learning, job up-skilling	Conducting training programmes on health, safety and wellness Rewards and recognition schemes
M4 Regulatory Issues and Compliances	Having a framework which ensures that the organisation meets all the regulatory compliances	Regular assessment and audits to ensure compliance
M5 Energy Efficiency	Process optimisation, cleaner fuel transition, energy efficiency	Energy savings through process efficiency & redesign, conversion and retrofitting of equipment Fuel shift from fossil fuel to renewable, for increasing the mix of renewable energy
M6 Water Stewardship	Reducing dependency on water, given that it is a limited resource and is essential to the production of goods; recycling as much as possible and reusing water across operations	Driving zero ground water usage Optimising freshwater consumption Emphasis on enhancing recycling of water Towards being net water positive Community watershed management and rainwater harvesting
M7 Reducing Carbon Footprint	Minimising CO₂ footprint by achieving Net Zero & taking steps to remove additional CO₂ from the atmosphere (e.g. carbon capture & storage, carbon credits, carbon sinks, route optimisation for delivery partners to reduce carbon footprint); Also adopting strategies to mitigate the long-term impact on climate change	Net Zero pathway planned Capturing CO₂ emissions to produce sodium bicarbonate Enhancing green chemistry Fossil-to-renewable fuel shift Carbon conscious growth strategy

Corporate Governance

Corporate Governance practices at Tata Chemicals is focussed on enhancing accountability, ethical behaviour and fairness to all stakeholders. Our governance philosophy is strengthened through Tata Business Excellence Model, Tata Code of Conduct for Prevention of Insider Trading and Code of Corporate Disclosure Practices, Adoption of Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering Policies and various other policies.

Community Support

Tata Chemicals maintains positive community relations in areas where the Company’s operations have impact on living conditions. We focus on empowering communities and improving socio-economic status by creating livelihood opportunities, promoting health, well-being, and education in a sustainable manner.

Moving towards Zero Waste to Landfill

Companies today are evaluated based on the environmental contamination and toxic or carcinogenic emissions arising from their operations, and the strength of their environmental management systems. At Tata Chemicals, we have taken various measures in our manufacturing processes to reduce waste material, with the aim to ensure zero waste to landfill. In product logistics, we are using bulker instead of plastic packaging. In our cement plants, we are implementing co-processing of plastic waste in the cement kilns.

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion

At Tata Chemicals, we promote diversity and inclusion through diverse hiring, flexible working and equal pay. We undertake initiatives to improve people policies on the basis of their feedback. Regular surveys are conducted to understand their concerns and evaluate their satisfaction levels. Our Board members also connect with employees to understand their concerns.

Chemical Safety

Tata Chemicals has well established PSRM (Process Safety & Risk Management) practice to prevent risk associated with accidental release of hazardous chemicals. We also support and train our distribution network in adopting such practices. Systems have been put in place for tracking and assessing incidents relating to chemical spills, transport accidents and quality of products and to take corrective actions.