JSW Group

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company has group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company applies a mitigation hierarchy approach to its biodiversity targets.

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups.

Solid and air pollution
The company has adopted a waste management strategy focusing on zero waste to landfill, and has implemented technological innovations such as using plastic waste in steel melting process. By 2030, the company is committed to reducing specific emissions of dust to 0.28 kg/tcs, oxides of sulphur to 1.69 kg/tcs and oxides of nitrogen to 1.64 kg/tcs by 2030.

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights
The company discloses its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, and it describes how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent.

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 targets. No evidence was found that the company links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
The company does not disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities.

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
The company has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species
The company does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

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. Whilst company discloses details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations, such as its reclamation and rehabilitation of mines in Karnataka, it does not disclose a commitment to restore ecosystems.

Resource exploitation and circularity
The company does not disclose its inputs, including its material footprint. The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. Whilst the company mentions that soil moisture conservation plans were prepared for the conservation of floral and faunal elements as part of reclamation and rehabilitation of mines in Karnataka, it has an opportunity to provide evidence of what this entailed. The company does not disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
The company reported a 0.19m3/tcs reduction in freshwater consumption between FY20-FY21, but it is tied to production and does not necessarily translate to absolute reduction. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own 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 does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company does not regularly report on water pollution. The company does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution. 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 is reducing the production of hazardous waste. No evidence that the company reduces plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. 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.

GHG emissions
The company reports a 7.40% reduction of its absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions. It commits to reducing scope 1 and 2 from its three ISPs to <1.95 tCO2/tcs and achieving carbon neutrality at JSW Steel Coated Products by 2030. Whilst JSW Energy Limited has a Science-Based Target commitment aligned with a 1.5°C trajectory, this is not a group-wide target. No evidence that the company reduces its scope 3 emissions was found. Furthermore, the company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights
Whilst the company commits to understanding and respecting the rights, interests and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples for all future projects, it does not commit to this across all operations. 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 that in order to understand its position with regards to human rights management it will conduct rigorous human rights risk and impact assessment. Further, the company discloses that it identifies human rights as one of its materiality risks. However, the company does not describe the process to identify its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. No evidence that the company describes its process for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues was found. No evidence was found that the company has a global system to act on its salient human rights issues. The company has an opportunity to disclose the stakeholders it engages with on human rights risks.

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. The company has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. The company has an opportunity to describe how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. The company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. No evidence that the company describes how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining was found.

The company has an opportunity to publish a global tax strategy and should assign responsibility for this strategy to an executive-level individual or body. The company discloses that to eliminate bribery and corruption of all forms it will conduct regular risk assessments and audits. Further, the company discloses that there were no confirmed cases of bribery and corruption in the reporting year. However, the company does not disclose the process to identify its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. In a public policy statement, the company discloses its approach to lobbying and political engagement. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions was found.