Chaman Lal Setia Exports Limited is amongst India’s largest exporters in the rice segment, and the company has just released its Annual Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) for the fiscal period 2023-2024. It is further underlined that the company is committed to ensuring sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical business practice within the purview of the SEBI (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. CLSEL was incorporated in 1994 and has emerged as one of the major participants in the global rice market, with customers in more than 90 countries.
Consequently, CLSEL’s report underlines its core activities that add 89% to the company’s total turnover from the rice production sector. In this respect, the report looks at an overview of the company’s performance, governance, and business practices in line with the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC). Much emphasis has been increasingly envisaged towards ensuring that all activities carried out within a business are ethical, transparent, and accountable.
Key Financial Highlights:
During the year 2023-24, CLSEL reported an excellent turnover of ₹ 1355.63 crores and a post-tax profit of ₹ 115.63 crores. The company spent 1.45% of the generated profit on CSR activities and tried to change the lives of people staying in the surrounding villages of all its locations that were affected by the pandemic through ‘Education’, ‘Healthcare’, and ‘Environment’. Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility: The company has taken initiatives to address environmental concerns. CLSEL has committed to a 5% reduction in noise pollution, fuel consumption, and waste generation, as well as carbon emissions. In pursuit of the sustainability of business operations, measures were adopted, such as the installation of solar plants at factories to reduce GHG emissions. The introduction of the sustainability roadmap underlined the following long-term environmental objectives: “Increase the rate of recycled materials for operational usage.”
Employee Welfare and Diversity:
Employee well-being and workplace safety form integral parts of the operational philosophy at CLSEL. The report gives a detailed breakdown of its workforce, which consists of 106 employees, with a significant focus on gender representation. Women make up 30% of the board, although their percentage in the general workforce remains low. It has been ensured that all employees are covered under health insurance and accident coverage policies, and regular skill development programs are put in place to enhance employee capabilities.
CLSEL strives to make the workplace safe and healthy; it can be assumed from its strong adherence to its policies concerning anti-bribery, whistleblower protection, and harassment. Workplace discrimination incidents or any related safety cases for the year were reported nil.
Corporate Governance:
On the governance front, the board of the company is actively leading the initiatives of sustainability. The CLSEL Managing Director, Vijay Kumar Setia, pointed out that the company continues to enhance its Climate and Carbon Management Strategy by investing in renewable energy and operational efficiency down the value chain, hence positioning itself as a responsible leader in the rice export market.
Conclusion:
Chaman Lal Setia Exports Ltd. has eminently taken to itself the commitment to sustainability and responsible business. The BRSR report for the year 2023-24 very strongly reiterates the commitment of the company towards maintaining high standards in ethical conduct, taking good care of the environment, and ensuring social responsibility. As one of India’s largest rice exporters, CLSEL remains an exemplary case of how businesses can balance their books on the assets of financial success along with the intelligence of contributing positively towards society and the environment.
Source: BRSR
Credit: Chaman Lal Setia Exports Limited