Nurturing Stakeholder Relations through Continual Engagement

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We firmly believe that building strong relationships with diverse stakeholders in an open and fruitful dialogue is one of the main pillars of long-term business sustainability. Open communication is vital to uphold the principles of responsible business – an integral facet of Hindustan Zinc’s philosophy – aligned with the Group’s sustainability framework.

Continual stakeholder engagement enables us to adjust our business perspective in alignment with their evolving expectations and needs. It helps us evaluate the outcomes of our ongoing initiatives as we surge towards new horizons of success.

At Hindustan Zinc, we have implemented various initiatives to proactively promote stakeholder engagement. We believe, this has helped to foster mutually beneficial sustainable outcomes, while guiding our strategic interventions. Our initiatives span sustainable consumption, environmental harm mitigation, human rights integration, community upliftment and meaningful contributions to national growth. These endeavours rely on active participation from diverse stakeholders, including customers, suppliers and vendors, business partners, local communities, government, etc.

Our stakeholder engagement standard is an impactful initiative to boost stakeholder engagement. It helps to standardise the process across all sites through a structured identification and analysis of each stakeholder. This ensures effective two-way communication between the organisation and the stakeholders. Our dedicated teams also help us to identify any stakeholders, who may have been missed or remained unreported due to a position of disadvantage.

Locally acquired data is used to determine the present and anticipated impact on each stakeholder group and serves as the basis for developing stakeholder engagement plans (SEPs), which are regularly reviewed and updated as required.

Stakeholder identification and analysis helps to foster a positive transformation, leading to more responsible and forward-thinking practices

Enhancing decision-making by considering a wide range of viewpoints and interests

Building trust and credibility to demonstrate that we value stakeholder inputs, report them, consider and act on their concerns, as appropriate

Identifying and managing risks early and proactively minimises negative impact and helps to find mutually beneficial solutions

Enhancing reputation as our stakeholders can positively influence our reputation

Driving innovation and fresh thinking to creatively understand diverse perspectives and ideas

Promoting better compliances towards the Environmental, Social and Governance aspects

1 Customers

An understanding of customers’ needs helps to determine product quality and pricing. Customer needs and demands serve to guide product innovation and development in the Company. Reduction in environmental and social impacts of our products helps customers meet their sustainability goals.

2 Business Partners

The contribution of business partners is critical to our business and ensures operational efficiency through timely supplies and efficient logistics. We also depend on our suppliers to meet our objectives of sustainability and responsible sourcing, which play a significant role in promoting the safety of workers and the workplace.

3 Communities

Community engagement leads to an understanding of vital social factors for sustainable community development. Caring for the community contributes to the Company’s overall business growth and sustainability, led by reduction in any negative impact of business on environment or our people. Community engagement also serves to improve the economic well-being and quality of life. Discussions with the community aid the Company to finalise initiatives leading to overall community growth and development.

4 Government

Business contributes to nation-building through taxes, royalties and employment creation. Engagement with the government, be it alignment with the government’s policy vision or in a partnership is essential for implementation of our sustainable business operations that creates a multiplier impact by generating key opportunities that positively impact the nation. Working in alignment with the government entails meeting the compliance requirements as per the statutes and policy advocacy on subjects relevant to the Company in its core business of exploration, mining and smelting.

5 Employees & Business Partners’ Employees

This engagement involves improving employees’ experience, monitoring organisational health and enhancing the quality of life at the workplace. It further encompasses motivating employees to perform above and beyond their roles and improve their levels of trust and loyalty within the Company to enable increased employee retention, performance and innovation. Annual surveys, interactions with senior leadership, etc. are some of the ways in which the Company seeks to promote employee engagement.

6 Shareholders

Shareholder support and feedback on operations provides continual guidance to the management and serves to keep governance on track. Keeping the Company’s communication channels open with analysts and the investor community serves to connect them with the management. The Company maintains a strong focus on ESG concerns, which are of importance to shareholders too.

7 NGOs

Onboarding and engaging experts for effective implementation of the Company’s CSR programmes, besides regularly discussing and sharing updates, has served to strengthen the implementation of existing programmes.

Stakeholder Grievance Redressal Mechanism

Hindustan Zinc recognises grievances as expressions of stakeholder dissatisfaction, whether based on factual or perceived incidents. The Company actively engages with relevant stakeholders to gain a comprehensive understanding of the relevant issues and potential impact on its business. Grievance Committees, chaired by the respective unit heads, are in place to address and resolve grievances. An apex committee, chaired by the location head, meets every quarter, while the unit level committee meets every month and is apprised of the grievances received and action taken by the respective committees. As industry leaders, we prioritise the acknowledgement, assessment and timely communication of satisfactory responses for all grievances.

How We Engage With Our Stakeholders

To enhance stakeholder engagement, the Company utilises various online platforms, tailored for specific categories of stakeholders, that ensures comprehensive outreach. This engagement minimises reputational risks for the Company, safeguards the brand image and fosters strong relationships by facilitating open communication channels with a broader audience. To monitor and assess progress, a robust review mechanism has been implemented, to track stakeholders’ interactions and the outcomes.

Please refer to our <Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)> for details of our stakeholder engagement and grievances