Hindalco Industries

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. The company reports consistently against all its set targets.

Stakeholder engagement
Hindalco Industries discloses an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. The company discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups.

Resource exploitation and circularity
Hindalco Industries discloses its inputs, including its material footprint.

Water
Hindalco Industries has set a target of achieving Zero Liquid Discharge status across all sites by FY 2024-25 and reports progress against it.

Solid and air pollution
Hindalco Industries discloses the proportion of hazardous waste treated to reduce pollution compared to total waste, the hazardous waste diverted from disposal and the waste directed to disposal. The company reports some activities to reduce plastic use and waste in its own operations.

No leading practices were identified in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
While the company discloses some sustainability targets, no evidence that the company has group wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain based on the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool could be found in the public domain. The company links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature. However, no evidence that it covers social issues could be found. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Lobbying
The company discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. The company does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company does not report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
Hindalco Industries has demonstrated good efforts by providing evidence of conducting biodiversity screening activity at some of its sites which helps them in understanding the site biodiversity sensitivity at their operational locations. However, no evidence that the company assesses its biodiversity impact on its entire business model could be found. The company does not disclose any assessment of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, in its supply chain. The company does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations. The company does not disclose any assessment of dependencies on nature of its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species
The company states that two of its sites: Aditya Aluminium and Hirakud Complex are close to the protected areas or high biodiversity value. It further reports that it has identified 9 sites as high priority sites and 23 sites having medium exposure to proximity of critical biodiversity. However, location of all the sites isn’t given. The company does not disclose the locations of its suppliers that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity. The company discloses information on species found at Kathautia Coal Mines, Muri, and Aditya Aluminium. However, no evidence that it discloses species population existing in or adjacent to all its locations could be found. The company does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to the locations of its suppliers. The company has reported that biodiversity management plans shall be developed and implemented for sites in the red category. It further reports that it prepares Biodiversity Management Plans for high priority sites in collaboration with IUCN. However, no evidence that the company discloses the status of species found in and adjacent to its own locations according to national and international conservation lists could be found.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company does not disclose a commitment to ensure zero conversion. The company does not disclose activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company does not disclose activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company does not disclose a commitment to restore ecosystems. The company discloses details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company discloses activities to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity in its production or sourcing practices. The company does not disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
The company has reported a quantitative reduction in  water withdrawal (million m3) from 88.45 in FY 20 to 87.01 in FY 21.The company has set a target of 20% reduction in specific freshwater consumption by FY 2024-25 from a FY 2018-19 baseline but does not specify targets across its operations. The company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company reports a decrease in water pollution. The company discloses certain steps it has taken to manage water discharge quality. However, they are not sufficient to translate into evidence that the company discloses its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company has reported that they regularly monitor waste quality to ensure that water quality parameters such as pH, Biological Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, colour, heavy metals, and Total Soluble Solids are kept within permissible limits. They further report that the effluent discharges from their Aluminium and Copper operations stood at 1,39,801 m3 and 1,82,589 m3 respectively during FY 2020-21. However, the company does not report provide a year-on-year reporting on any of the water quality parameters. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
The company has reported an increase in the production of hazardous waste (million MT) in its copper business from 0.12 in FY 20 to 0.20 in FY 21. The company is reducing plastic use and waste in its own operations. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. The company does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
The company only discloses its scope 1 and 2 emissions for its aluminium and copper businesses. However, group level data could not be found. The company has committed to becoming net zero by 2050. However, no evidence of whether this commitment includes scope 1 and 2 emissions in its purview could be found. The company does not report progress against its scope 1 and 2 emissions target. No evidence that the company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found. No evidence that the company reduces its scope 3 emissions was found. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions.  The company does not report progress against its scope 3 emissions target. No evidence that the company’s scope 3 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found.

Invasive species
No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its own operations. No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its value chain.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. No evidence that the company tracks its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities was found. The company is not committed to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not disclose a commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The company does not disclose its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, nor does it describe how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. No evidence was found that the company requires its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

The company discloses its compliance monitoring process regarding human rights through check list and online compliance tool covering all stakeholders’ groups, however, it does not disclose the process to identify its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations.  The company discloses its compliance monitoring process regarding human rights through check list and online compliance tool covering all stakeholders’ groups, however, the company does not disclose its process(es) for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. The company publicly discloses the results of its human rights risk assessments, which are aggregated across its operations and locations.  The company describes its global system to take action to prevent, mitigate or remediate its human rights issues, however, the company does not disclose its salient human rights risk. Further, this process does not include a description of how its global system applies to its supply chain. No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found.  While the company discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. No evidence that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities was found.

The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers.  The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. No evidence that the company discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage was found. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. While the company states that it expects its suppliers to pay wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to fulfil their basic needs, it has an opportunity to disclose how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. The company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. While the company states that it expects its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to those.

The company discloses a global tax strategy. No evidence that the company describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations was found. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement or policy setting out its lobbying and political engagement approach was found. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions was found.