Corporate Social Responsibility
As its operations have expanded to new geographies, the Tata Steel Group has retained a collective focus on the various areas of corporate sustainability that impact the environment; people and their health; and society at large.
The Tata Steel Group’s focus in the area of corporate sustainability includes Social Sustainability; Environmental Sustainability; Social Welfare; Sport; and Inclusive Growth. This last ensures that the Group’s successes are shared by all its constituents and stakeholders.
Social Sustainability
The Tata Steel Group – across its various operations – is
committed to making a positive contribution to society in a
number of ways. As a policy, all the Group companies promote
and encourage economic, social and educational development
within their communities – while also giving active support to
local initiatives.
Creating employment is a first step in creating social sustainability. By the end of March 2008, in Europe, the Tata Steel Group had directly employed 41,200 people – and thousands more indirectly through contractors and suppliers. The Group also actively stimulates regional employment through UK Steel Enterprise, a wholly owned sidiary, which helps to support the economic regeneration of communities affected by changes in the steel industry. Since its establishment in 1975, UK Steel Enterprise has invested almost £68 m in new and expanding businesses and £29 m in managed workspaces, supporting over 4,440 small businesses and creating over 67,300 new jobs.
Extending support to other communities as well, Corus Living Solutions, in conjunction with Aspire Defence, is constructing junior ranks single-living accommodation for Defence Estates at army camps in Salisbury and Aldershot in the UK. The technical and environmental performance of the modular housing has helped Aspire to achieve a BREEAM rating of excellent. The modules are designed to minimise process waste to 8% - of which 7% is recycled.
Healthcare initiatives
In its Indian operations, Tata Steel continued to provide curative,
promotive and preventive healthcare services to improve levels
of health amongst the community. During the course of the
year, approximately 1,45,600 persons from both urban slums
and remote, rural areas were treated by the company’s mobile
medical units. Tata Steel also organised the 13th Lifeline in
Joda to reach out to remote villages. This ‘hospital on wheels’
provides curative interventions, including surgical operations. In the year gone by, more than 2477 patients were treated and
395 surgeries were conducted and 358 aids and appliances
were distributed.
Taking forward its initiatives for preventive healthcare, 11,320 women received ante-natal check up and 9000 children received complete immunisation during the year.
Recognising the need for having well stocked blood banks for emergencies, the Tata Steel Rural Development Society collected 1312 units and conducted 14 blood donation camps during the year. In recognition of this, The Voluntary Blood Donation Association awarded the Corporate Sustainability Services division for the highest collection in East Singhbhum, Jharkhand.
Over 700 tuberculosis cases underwent treatment and nearly 434 cases were cured. 1900 cataract and 500 cleft lip/cleft palate operations were conducted. Over 161 drinking water structures and 6875 low cost toilets were constructed to improve rural sanitation.
India’s most pressing issue being population, Tata Steel has been a pioneer in population management in India and through the consistent use of communication media, motivational programmes and advocacy by satisfied clients, 250 Non-Scalpel Vasectomies were conducted. Approximately 6,487 couples got protected through permanent and temporary family planning methods.
HIV/AIDS prevention – a focus area
The treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS continued to be an
area of focus and priority. Tata Steel has received much global
acclaim for its interventions in HIV/AIDS. During the year, the
Kavach Project, which aims to arrest the spread of HIV/AIDS
among long distance truck drivers, was awarded the Golden
Standard Certificate for its Khushi clinic by the Transport
Corporation of India Foundation. This year Tata Steel has also
received TERI Corporate award for HIV/AIDS.
‘Sneh Kendra’, a counselling initiative, provides regular counselling, referrals and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS’ (PLWHA). Almost 30,000 persons were reached through the HIV/AIDS awareness programmes during the year and roughly 31,200 youths were reached through Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health projects.
Giving back to the community
NatSteel (NSA), in its Singapore operations has taken vigorous
initiatives in the area of social and health care. The Singapore
headquarters has always played an active role in giving back to the community. These include blood donation drives,
ensuring the emotional well-being of senior citizens through
various social initiatives etc. During the past year, NSA further
reinforced its commitment to CSR by pledging USD 1 million
over three years to community initiatives under the CSR plan
dubbed ‘Building Beyond Borders’ or B3.
B3 encompasses community-giving, in particular to the disadvantaged elderly and the education of needy children and youth, and responsible environmental stewardship. It also extends to the community to which the company extends support via corporate sponsorships, plant visits and other activities. In kicking-off B3, the Company presented a cheque of USD 50,000 each to adopted charities viz the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) and St Joseph’s Home (SJH).
Environmental Sustainability
Recognising the fact that the responsibility for managing
environmental impact goes beyond the operations, the
company believes that the characteristics of products, and
the information that is provided to customers, can both have
a profound effect on the environmental performance of
products. As a large company therefore, it uses its global scale
to influence suppliers who are expected to have a high level of
commitment to the environment.
In its Indian operation, Tata Steel has continued its efforts towards environment care. Committed to addressing climate change issues, Tata Steel in India has successfully brought down carbon dioxide emissions to 2.04 t/tcs in 2007-08 from a level of 2.13t/tcs in 2006-07. Its further efforts in this area, which include pursuing CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) projects are expected to further reduce CO2 emission by more than 2 million tonnes per annum.
Responding to the challenge of Global Warming
In an era where the threat of global warming is becoming
an imminent reality, the Tata Steel Group has taken several
initiatives to counter this impact. The Group recognises the fact
that the global steel industry, as a sector, contributes 4% of all
global man-made CO2 emissions. Acknowledging this, all Tata
Steel companies are committed to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and providing innovative products to help Tata Steel
customers reduce theirs.
In February 2007, in Europe, a high level task force, called the Corus Climate Task Force (CCTF) was established in order to define a climate change strategy. With a target of reducing CO2 emissions per tonne of liquid steel by at least 20% by 2020 as compared to 1990 levels, the CCTF has a continued plan of investing in longer term breakthrough technologies that will reduce the carbon footprint. In addition to several initiatives in wind, wave and product technology, the Group has committed an additional GBP 1.2 m annually to fund climate change research at the Corus RD&T.
Towards Pollution Control
Tata Steel has been an enthusiastic participant in the Steel
Task Force initiatives of Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean
Development and Climate under the aegis of Ministry of Steel,
Government of India. Dust emission from stacks reduced by
11.5% in 2007-08 to 0.86 kg/tcs due to eliminating coal burning
for power generation, improved recovery of by-product gases
and stringent surveillance of pollution control equipment.
During the past year, solid waste utilisation has been improved to 86%. The trials of LD slag as soil conditioner were found successful. Reclamation and tree plantation measures continued at Steel Works and other divisions of the steel company.
Afforestation - an ongoing effort
Afforestation is an important aspect of Tata Steel’s environment
policy. In its efforts to prevent environmental degradation,
Tata Steel has also encouraged the development of renewable
and non-polluting sources of energy in the rural areas. A
relatively new initiative, this will gradually reduce dependence on firewood and deforestation. 25,000 saplings were planted
during the year. 21 solar street lights and 255 solar home lights
were installed and 110 bio-gas plants were created.
Energy Saving Solutions
NatSteel, across its operations in Australia, China, Vietnam,
Thailand and Singapore has also undertaken several initiatives
toward environment care. Harvesting rainwater on a large
scale, ensuring that 90% of the steel is recycled, instituting ‘green buildings’ with energy saving solutions, various waste
management programmes, purifying emissions through
treatments – these are among the various initiatives being
taken on a continuous basis by the NatSteel’s various operations
across the globe.
INCLUSIVE GROWTH
The idea of Inclusive Growth at Tata Steel has been initiated
with the view that Tata Steel’s successes are shared by all its
constituents and stakeholders.
Initiatives in Europe
In Europe, several very specific initiatives have ensured that
extended communities are benefitted by the Group’s businesses.
For every two direct employees, the Company employs one “indirect” employee or contractor on the UK sites, equivalent to some 12,000 further people in full time employment as a result of its activities. The company’s UK operations are concentrated in North and South Wales, as well as Teesside, Humberside and South Yorkshire.
In Europe, the company employs over 900 people in Research and Development, of whom over 400 work in the two UK technical centres. Over £1500 per head per annum is spent on training of employees. The Company currently sponsors approximately 100 postgraduate students and is listed in the Times Top 100 graduate employers.
The Company has also stepped up its apprenticeship and graduate schemes. An internal survey of the UK businesses in January showed 538 apprentices undergoing training in the UK alone. One example being, Corus Engineering Steels in conjunction with Sheffield Hallam University, taking on 40 new apprentices in a three-year programme.
The retention of skilled personnel is one of the companys priorities. To this end it has its own management training college, and also delivers many courses in-house to people on site. A continued focus on improving health and safety has ensured that in 2007-2008 employee lost time injury frequency was reduced by 28%.
A rural focus
In the Indian operations too, inclusive growth has meant several
initiatives that help employees directly – as well as communities
who are impacted either directly or indirectly by Tata Steel.
In areas where Tata Steel has a presence, it has benefitted marginalised farmers through land and water management and agriculture extension strategies. The Company shifted its focus from mono-cropping to second cropping in 1,763 acres, and wasteland development from horticulture production in 2,177 acres. Approximately 63 community based organisations, such as watershed committees were formed to build a sense of ownership among the village community.
Skill development and resource building among farmers is an important part of company’s strategy for rural income generation. 3000 farmers benefited from the distribution of farm implements and equipment and over 2000 farmers participated in agriculture training and demonstrations.
Enterprise development has been encouraged to create sustainable development within the village. Approximately 1200 persons received training in allied activities, including animal husbandry and nearly 500 persons assisted in enterprise development such as pisciculture, small business, etc.
An important strategy in rural enterprise development is the establishment of Self Help Groups (SHGs), the majority of which comprise of women from poor families. Regular training is imparted to develop the necessary skills for various enterprises including vermicompost, rice processing, nursery raising, jute products, stone carving and artificial jewellery. 500 SHG’ s have flourished and 216 SHG’s were linked to micro-enterprise during the year. There was a total cash inflow of more than Rs. 1 crore and approximately 700 SHG members received skill development. Training is regularly conducted to develop relevant, marketable skills within the community. 900 persons benefited from vocational training in varied trades including motor driving, welding, computer hardware and software, tailoring, handicrafts, etc. In 2007, 44 Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe Community Health Provider trainees graduated; 10 were selected for Operation Theatre Assistant training and 16 secured employment.
Through its Tribal Cultural Centre, Tata Steel promotes indigenous art and culture. The preservation and upliftment of the Birhor and Sabar tribes has been identified as a CSR strategy for the following financial year.
The Company’s Rehabilitation and Resettlement initiative has
been designed to adopt all families affected by the Greenfield
projects, under the ‘Tata Parivar’ programme. The commitment
is to create opportunities for sustainable livelihood, increase
their income level, improve their quality of life and also preserve
their culture. Nearly 100 youths from the Greenfield areas in Orissa and Chhattisgarh received vocational training under the
bespoke programme ‘Prerna’.
A focus on literacy and education
The Company’s efforts at improving the literacy rates in the
operational areas have been promising. This year, the Company
continued several initiatives to attain ‘education for all’ with a
specific focus on rural and urban slum children, the girl child
and SC/ST youths. Affirmative Action was declared Company
Policy in 2006 and this forms an important part of company’s
interventions in education. The Early Child Education Project
operates 49 rural centres involving approximately 1200 children,
to inculcate a school-going habit. In an effort to encourage
school drop outs to continue their education, Tata Steel enrolled
200 rural children in camp schools during the year.
Mentoring talent
In keeping with Tata Steel’s people policies, NSA has kickstarted
a mentoring programme that pairs promising young talent
in the company with Senior Management. A new Retirement
Award for those who have reached the official retirement
age of 62 has also been launched. This award is a tribute to
those who have contributed years of dedicated service to
NSA. Going forward, NSA is working towards the Work-Life Excellence Award which recognises employers nation-wide
who are committed to helping their employees harmonise
work and personal commitments. The Company is also working
towards the Singapore HEALTH (Helping Employees Achieve
Life-Time Health) Award that is presented by the Health
Promotion Board to give national recognition to organisations
with commendable Workplace Health Promotion (WHP)
programmes.
Well-being through sport
Believing strongly, as it does, that sport is an activity that
enables a healthy mind and body, Tata Steel has always actively
encouraged and supported sport in multiple ways. From
corporate sponsorship of promising sportspersons, to making
available sporting facilities to people across socio economic
stratas. Along the way, not only has the company helped create
an atmosphere conducive to sporting activities, but it has built
champions in different sports who have gone onto represent
their countries.
Corus is the premier sponsor of British Triathlon. The Triathlon is a young but rapidly growing sport. Corus’ sponsorship will go towards helping all aspects of the sport, with the aim of developing strong future athletes at all levels including children, disabled and elite. At a grassroots level, Corus supports a number of community-based initiatives, including a nationwide programme to develop the triathlon for school age children through Corus Kids of Steel. The sponsorship includes a new series of televised elite events created for the UK known as the Corus Elite Series. Corus sees the triathlon as an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to the health, safety and well-being of its employees and their local communities by getting involved in sport and encouraging participation in triathlon.
In India, Tata Steel pays special attention to the sporting activities for youth at the State and National level, with several youngsters winning India a Gold Medal in the Asian Archery Championship. India became Asian Champions after 17 years. TFA cadets won the All India Gaustopal Memorial Tournament after beating a premier league Mohammed Sporting Club. TFA also won the inaugural All India U-19 JRD Tata Youth Football Tournament. TFA cadets also won the Jharkhand CM’s Trophy at ITKI. TFA had 100% placements of its cadets with the premier football clubs of India at all time high contract amounts. Additionally, TFA has nine training centres in different disciplines and has trained more than 500 community children through out the year.
Tata Steel has already begun preparatory work for opening of Feeder Centres at out-locations and greenfield projects. Plans are in place for opening Excellence Centres in selected sports at various schools which have the infrastructure.
The Company is also exploring the possibility of supporting Hockey, the traditional and tribal sport of Jharkhand and the National sport of India. Training of Bhutan Archery Team is a part of the CSR activity of Taj Tashi, Bhutan.
A Century of Sharing
Tata Steel, Asia’s first integrated Steel Plant, turned 100 years old
on 26th August, 2007. As part of the Centenary Celebrations,
Tata Steel launched a Rs. 100 crore mega initiative, through
which it will implement programmes targeted towards social
and environmental sustainability. One focus is land and water
management in the backward tribal blocks of the states of
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. Through this, the Company
aims to positively impact the livelihood of 40,000 poor tribal
households and create models of excellence that can be
replicated by the Government and corporate entities. Another
major initiative is in the field of education where Tata Steel will
open schools for the children of tribal communities to train
them to become self-reliant.
In addition, two major projects for the city of Jamshedpur are in the pipeline, which include the development and maintenance of one of the city’s key areas into a promenade and park; and a “Centenary City Centre”, in Jamshedpur, with malls and entertainment facilities.
