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Social Performance

Pillar 1: Transforming communities

Aim 1: Keep Communities at the core of business decisions

Building trust, being transparent and to doing no harm is central to our relationship with communities and for our ability to do business. In the areas where we operate often, we are drivers of economic growth and development for the communities and it is this position, which drives us to ensure that we are the developer of choice in our operation areas.

Our social performance agenda also encompasses the company’s approach towards:

Human Rights
Rights of Indigenous People
Land acquisition & resettlement
Stakeholder Engagement & Grievance Management

Elements of
social performance

Do no harm

HSES
Operational management
Regulatory compliance

Fair & transparent

Local employment
Local livelihood
Livelihood considerations

Trusting Relationships

Stakeholder engagement
Grievance management
Public relations

Management Performance in Social Performance

Our social performance standards help ensure effective engagement with relevant stakeholders across multiple industries and geographies; provide adequate grievance mechanisms to help resolve situations of potential conflict; and develop specialized strategies for potentially vulnerable communities such as indigenous people. We aim to maintain effective two-way communication with our stakeholders, which allow us to create sustainable relationships with all of them.

We strive for shared value creation and mutual trust with communities, and aim to ensure that:

We eliminate or minimize negative impact to communities
Ensure open, trusting relationship
Ensure timely redressal of grievances
Bring economic development to communities

Social Policy Social Performance Standards

Human Rights

An integral part of Vedanta’s core value of Respect, human rights are a crucial parameter in making key business decisions and act as guidance on issues pertaining to labour rights and industrial relations. Our human rights policy is aligned to the ‘United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights’ and includes strict prohibition on the use of child or forced labour – either directly or through contract vendors.

Human Rights Policy

Guidance Note on Human Rights

Rights of Indigenous People & Vulnerable Tribal Groups

Earning the license to operate in local communities entails respecting their norms, culture and heritage. Illustrating our commitment to serve our host communities in a responsible manner, our Cultural Heritage, Land & Resettlement Management, and Indigenous People & Vulnerable Tribal Groups Standards, have been developed in alignment with international good practices, including ICMM and IFC standards, and are implemented across our businesses.

One of Vedanta’s BUs operates in remote regions, inhabited by IPs and VTGs. As a result, we have made it a priority to respect and protect their rights. The standards and guidance notes that are a part of the Vedanta Sustainability Framework, have been developed to avoid negative impacts and risks for all stakeholders, especially the indigenous peoples and vulnerable tribes. We have made special provisions for minorities and marginalised groups. To safeguard their rights and engage in a meaningful dialogue with them, we follow the principle of Good Faith Negotiation (GFN), Informed Consultation and Participation (ICP) and/or Free, Prior Information and Consultation (FPIC).

Guidance Note on Indigenous Peoples / Vulnerable Tribal Groups

Land Acquisition & Resettlement

As part of our Risk Screening processes, we cover a wide range of sustainability issues that include land acquisition, resettlement, indigenous people (vulnerable groups), among other concerns. This has led us to develop Vedanta's Cultural Heritage Land Acquisition and Resettlement Standards that includes a Guidance Note for all our operations to better understand the standards.

Guidance Note on Land Acquisition & Resettlement Management

Standard on Cultural Heritage

Stakeholder Engagement & Grievance Management

Structured stakeholder engagement is essential to creating right programs for the multiple stakeholder groups who are influenced by or seek to influence Vedanta’s performance. At the same time, given the complexities of the business, it is not uncommon to have grievances arise. A structured, timely, and transparent response to address these grievances is critical to ensure long-term social license to operate.

Guidance Note on External Stakeholder Engagement

Guidance Note on Grievance Mechanisms

Case Studies

Project 1

Improved socio-economic conditions of tribal communities

Explore Other Sustainability Goals

Climate Change

Water Positivity

Waste Management

Biodiversity Conservation

Occupational Health & Safety

Workforce Diversity

Community Development

Social Performance

ESG Governance

ESG Sustainability Goals Social Performance

Improved socio-economic conditions of tribal communities

SDG 1: No poverty

Target 1.1: Eradicate extreme poverty

Target 1.2: Reduce by half people living in poverty

SDG 3: Health and Wellbeing

Target 3.1: Reduce maternal mortality

Target 3.2: End preventable deaths of newborns and children under the age of five years

Target 3.3: Reduce by 1/3rd premature mortality from non-communicable diseases

SDG 4: Quality Education

Target 4.2: Ensure all children have access to quality pre-primary education & development

SDG 6: Clean Water & Sanitation

Target 6.2:End open defecation and provide adequate sanitation for all

Target 6.3: Improve water quality & reduce water pollution

SDG 8: Promote economic growth & decent work for all

Target 8.1: Sustain per-capita economic growth

Target 8.3: Promote policies that encourage the growth of small and mediumsized industries,

Target 8.8: Protect labour rights and provide safe work conditions for all

Vedanta’s Lanjigarh refinery is located in one of the most backward districts (Kalahandi, Odisha) in India. The district scores extremely low on socioeconomic indicators of development, such as poverty ratio, literacy, per-capita income, size of land holding, irrigation coverage, connectivity, urbanization, industrialization, Infant & Maternal Mortality Rates (IMR, MMR), safe drinking water, coverage of health infrastructure, household savings, banking network, and education.

The population of the area is predominantly tribal and several measures have been undertaken to ensure that our presence and practices does not impose upon their culture, while at the same time, it helps improve the quality of their lives.

CULTURAL INTEGRATION: ~50% of the individuals who directly engage with the local communities, belong to the communities themselves, thereby ensuring that cultural sensitivities are understood and kept in mind during interactions. Further, the company participates in or supports local festivals and religious customs.

WORKFORCE INTEGRATION: Lanjigarh and Kalahandi district are rural, agrarian societies. To help locals who have been employed in the Vedanta plant, we run a comprehensive integration program where individuals are given tools to adapt their work practices to an industrial setting. Workers are taught safety protocols and Vedanta’s values, policies and compliance regime. They are also educated about their labour rights and about the grievance mechanisms in place to resolve their complaints and issues.

HEALTHCARE: Vedanta’s hospital has provided the community with an alternative to traditional healers or government health services. The hospital has improved health outcomes (eg: water-borne illness, vector diseases) as larger sections of the local population avail of its services.

DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL BUSINESSES: 60 fly-ash brick units have emerged in the area due to the availability of fly-ash from Vedanta’s plant. Markets for local goods and services have also come up in order to provide for the needs of Vedanta’s direct and indirect workforce.

EDUCATION: Vedanta’s school serves as the benchmark for the local community and there has been an uptick in the literacy rate of the community. Schooling is now seen as a critical first step to integrate with the mainstream economy.

LOCAL EMPLOYMENT: At least 25% of the local population is directly or indirectly employed with Vedanta or its service providers. This has led to a rise in the local per-capita incomes thereby boosting the local economy.

IMPROVED CONNECTIVITY: Better roads between Lanjigarh and the district Headquarter town of Bhawanipatna. The result is improved accessibility for all villages and towns on this route.

BETTER SANITATION: Vedanta has been actively running campaigns to improve the water and sanitary hygiene standards of the communities. The result is that six gram panchayats in the area have been declared Open Defecation Free zones, which is a significant improvement in the hygiene conditions of the area. It has also had a positive impact in decreasing the spread of water-borne illnesses that spread as a result of open defecation practices.

ESG

Social Performance

Elements of social performance

Do no harm

Fair & transparent

Trusting Relationships

Management Performance in Social Performance

Human Rights

Rights of Indigenous People & Vulnerable Tribal Groups

Land Acquisition & Resettlement

Stakeholder Engagement & Grievance Management

Case Studies

Explore Other Sustainability Goals

Improved socio-economic conditions of tribal communities

Elements of
social performance