CESC Highlights Commitment to Green Energy and Reduced Ecological Footprint

CESC, a company that is into the generation and distribution of electricity, has pledged to review the sustainability report through several relevant activities and has also initiated some measures for sustainable practices. This report informs about the sustainability practices followed, how the waste was managed, supplier performance evaluation, and overall organizational performance during the financial year 2023-24. Risk Assessment and Human Rights CESC has assessed risks and concerns with all its value chain partners. Their number has covered such issues as sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, child labor, forced labor, and wages. In sum, the assessments have covered 2.82% of the value chain partners of CESC. Importantly, there were no risks found during the reporting period relating to human rights violations among the assessments conducted with the value chain partners. The company has sustainably and responsibly sourced 2.12% of its inputs. The company has a Supplier Due Diligence process that assesses them against social, environmental, and compliance criteria. It ranks suppliers into gold, silver, and bronze categories, where procurement from gold category suppliers is likely to be considered sustainably sourced. The company undertook diligence exercises at 36 distinct suppliers in the prior reporting period, and coverage is set to be expanded annually. CESC generated a total of 496.87 metric tons of waste in FY 2023-24. The waste intensity per rupee of turnover was 0.057 MT/INR Crores, that adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) stands at 1.32 MT/INR. In terms of physical output, waste intensity is 0.08 MT/MU. The company recycled, reused, or otherwise recovered 229.42 t of its waste and disposed of 99.33 t of waste through processes such as incineration and landfill. Green Projects CESC has taken several initiatives to enhance its environmental and social impacts. Some of the projects undertaken include those on energy efficiency, energy conservation, waste management, water management, and employee safety. The operations are done by following national and international standards like ISO 9000:2015, ISO 45001:2018, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 27001:2013, ISO 50001:2018, LEED, and IGBC Green Building Certification. Policies and Procedures CESC is committed to conducting its business processes responsibly and sustainably. Policies have been formulated concerning each principle and its core elements enunciated in the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct. Towards the same, the Board of Directors has approved the said policies, which have been translated into actionable procedures. The company carries out awareness programs for value chain partners on key aspects of responsible business conduct. Corporate Governance The company has a system in place for conflict of interest with the board members, key management personnel, or senior management of the company. That is implemented through its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. It also has a Supplier Assessment Questionnaire to assess the supplier. The corrective actions are tracked through subsequent audits. Sustainability goals and performance • CESC has identified clear, measurable commitments, goals, and targets with timelines to enhance its sustainability performance. The company is showing satisfactory performance concerning the targets; the main areas being focused on are the reduction of GHG emissions, limitation of trash generation, and the incorporation of green energy into day-to-day operations. The ESG targets, challenges, and achievements are reflected upon by the director in charge of the business responsibility report. CESC operates on a stand-alone basis, with activities being the generation and supply of electrical power. The company supplies its power to residential, industrial, commercial, and other users. The latter category includes government departments, pump stations, local bodies, and schools. CESC has 158 power plants and 55 offices within the country in the national market. Additionally, CESC only services customers belonging to one state, and it does not engage in business activities outside of its country of operations. The CESC organization has a total of 6,087 employees, comprising 5,574 male and 496 female employees, which is 91.51% of the total of its employee payroll. The commitment of CESC towards sustainable life has been shown through detailed risk assessment in business processes, plans for sustainable sourcing, and waste management as per compliance with international standards. On any other ecological and socially relevant point, the company always has several programs on board and is working on several new ones with an effective focus on reducing its carbon footprint. With its thorough set of guidelines and policies, CESC will be poised to reach its sustainability goals with responsible business conduct. Source: BRSR Credit: CESC Ltd