Tata Steel

Sustainability strategy and accountability

Tata Steel 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 has group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company sets KPIs and targets for 2025 and 2030 for every material issue, including air pollution, water consumption, biodiversity, and circular economy, disclosing measures on how to achieve the target. The company reports consistently on its status and progress against all its targets.

Stakeholder engagement

Tata Steel 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.

Solid and air pollution 

Tata Steel regularly reports its dust, SOx and NOx emission intensity as air quality parameters. The company sets a target to achieve specific dust emission intensity of 0.4 kg/tcs by 2025. The company reports every year on its dust emission intensity and shows progress since 2017. 

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

Sustainability strategy and accountability 

No evidence was found that Tata Steel 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. 

Lobbying 

Tata Steel does not report on its lobbying and advocacy practices on nature-related issues, nor whether these activities align with its sustainability strategy. 

Impact and dependencies assessment 

While Tata Steel discloses its development of biodiversity management plans, no evidence that such plans assess its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, within its own operations. 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 and its upstream business relationships. 

Key areas and species 

Tata Steel 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 

No evidence was found regarding Tata Steel’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promote restoration. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. 

Resource exploitation and circularity 

No evidence was found regarding Tata Steel’s efforts to work towards a circular economy or which organisms it exploits. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health. 

Water 

Tata Steel sets a target to reduce freshwater consumption to 2 m3/tcs across all steelmaking sites by 2025. However, no evidence that the company reduces water withdrawal across the company’s own operations was found. 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.  

Tata Steel reduces water quality pressures through installing sewage treatment plants and rainwater harvesting facility which improves the water table of local area and increases biodiversity. The company does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality and 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 

While Tata Steel provides evidence on solid waste management and solid waste utilization, no evidence the company discloses its reduction on 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. 

GHG emissions 

No evidence that Tata Steel reduces its scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions compared to the previous year and has a year-over-year reduction compared to the  baseline year was found. While the company sets a target to achieve CO2 emission intensity of <2 tCO2/tcs for Tata Steel India by 2025 and <1.8 tCO2/tcs by 2030, no evidence that this includes scope 1 and 2 emissions and that it results in absolute emission reductions. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions.  No evidence that the company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found. 

Invasive species 

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

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment

Tata Steel does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Although the company provides health initiatives and Proximate Community Development programs to local communities, it is unclear how the company tracks its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities. 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 

Tata Steel does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities. 

While Tata Steel discloses that it conducts due diligence in general, it has an opportunity to specify that it conducts human rights due diligence that includes a process for identifying human rights risks and impacts through its business relationships. The company has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. While the company discloses that it conducts routine human rights risk assessments and that it remediates in locations with the highest risk, no evidence was found that it has a global system to act on all its salient human rights issues. 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 Tata Steel 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. While the company provides general examples of engagement with stakeholders, it has an opportunity to clarify if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

Tata Steel 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. While the company ensures that its workforce is paid wages which meet or exceed the minimum wages laid out legally or as per local industry standards, it 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. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. No evidence that the company describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers was found.

Tata Steel discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered through formal trade unions, yet it does not disclose 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.

Tata Steel 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. The company outlines its approach to lobbying and political engagement but does not formalise this approach in a public policy document. The company specifies that it does not make political contributions.