Wadia Group

No leading practices were identified in the governance and strategy area.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company discloses some activities to minimise ecosystem conversion.

Solid and air pollution
The company partakes in activities and discloses quantitative data related to plastic use reduction and transitioning towards sustainable packaging.

Water
The company reports its efforts to decrease water pollution.

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

No leading practices were identified in the core social indicators area.

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

Stakeholder engagement
The company has an opportunity to disclose an overview of the issues raised by each stakeholder group during its stakeholder engagement activities and to describe its process, including frequency and channels, for engaging with stakeholder groups beyond materiality assessment.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company discloses no sustainability strategy with nature-related targets and does not report on sustainability accountability within its governance structure at group level.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company does not disclose a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion or to ensure zero conversion, nor does it have time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. While the company discloses some evidence of addressing conversion, this does not guarantee DCF-aligned practices.

Furthermore, the company is not committed to restoring ecosystems, and it does not disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

GHG emissions
The company should set time-bound targets to reduce its scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions as well as report progress against them. Crucially, the company needs to reduce its scope 1,2 and 3 emissions and its targets need to align with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company has an opportunity to disclose assessments of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, within its own operations and in its supply chain. It also has the opportunity to disclose its dependencies on nature within its own operations and upstream business relationships.

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

Key areas and species
The company has an opportunity to disclose locations within or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity, both in its own operations and its supplier locations. It could also disclose existing species populations existing in or adjacent to both its own and its suppliers’ locations, as well as the conservation status of species identified at its own sites according to national and international lists.

Resource exploitation and circularity performance
The company has an opportunity to disclose all its inputs according to an international standard, and to report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company also has an opportunity to disclose activities to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity in its production or sourcing practices, to disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices and to report progress against it.

Solid and air pollution
The company should commit to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties, as well as work on reducing the production of hazardous substances and waste. It has an opportunity to report on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants and disclose time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain. While the company discloses data on plastic waste generated, it has an opportunity to report on the proportions directed from or to disposal.

Water
The company has an opportunity to further improve water withdrawal by setting a time-bound target and engaging with suppliers. It has an opportunity to improve on its disclosure on water pollution by disclosing water pollutant metrics and setting time-bound targets to reduce them. The company does not disclose relevant information on rights to water in its operations or supply chains.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not show if it is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company has an opportunity to commit to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders. Moreover, it should track its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities.

Act ethically
While the company’s subsidiary, BIL, explicitly prohibits bribery and corrupt practices, there is no public evidence that the parent company itself has a formal policy against bribery and corruption. The parent company should consider disclosing its procedures for identifying corruption risks, especially in specific locations or operational areas. Additionally, there’s an opportunity for the parent company to include anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with business partners. Although a grievance mechanism exists for raising concerns about corruption, it remains unclear whether stakeholders can use this channel without fear of reprisal. On the topic of political engagement, subsidiary BBTCL has declared that it abstains from lobbying and political contributions; however, this stance is not mirrored in a publicly available policy by the parent company. This leaves room for the parent company to disclose its lobbying expenditures and specify requirements for third-party lobbyists to adhere to its policy.

Provide and promote decent work
While the company maintains a health and safety policy, there’s room for a stronger commitment in this area, particularly in expecting the same from its suppliers and disclosing how it monitors their performance. Additionally, although the company adheres to minimum wage standards, it has an opportunity to take a stand on living wages by setting a time-bound target and providing details on how it calculates these wages regionally and supports their implementation among suppliers. On the issue of gender equality, the subsidiary BBTCL has declared a commitment to equal opportunities, but the parent company itself lacks a public commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The company could benefit from setting and disclosing time-bound targets for gender equality, and while it reports that 28.57% of its board members are women, it has yet to disclose salary and remuneration ratios between genders across its operations.

Respect human rights
While the company’s subsidiaries, BBTCL and BIL, have made statements affirming their commitment to human rights and creating a discrimination-free work environment, the parent company itself has an opportunity to disclose a publicly available policy statement on these issues approved by its highest governance body. The company has multiple opportunities to strengthen its human rights stance. Specifically, it could issue a publicly available policy statement that requires its suppliers to adhere to the ILO’s core labour rights. It could also delineate the processes by which it identifies and assesses human rights risks in both its own operations and its supply chain. Finally, it could disclose the results of these risk assessments and establish a global system to act on, prevent, or mitigate its most salient human rights issues.