UltraTech Cement : General updates

CONTENTS 1 CORPORATE OVERVIEW

High quality cement and concrete that

India trusts

6 Chairman's communiqué

8 Company portrait

10 Our operations

1. Business performance
2. Innovation and product stewardship

15 Awards and accolades

52 Utilisation of industrial waste as raw material

1. Co-processing of industrial waste
2. Use of municipal solid waste as alternative fuel

6 ENHANCING EMPLOYEE WELLBEING

Safeguarding health and safety, every step of the way

58 Health and safety

63 Employee well-being and engagement

66 Diversity and inclusion

Making a material difference

2 SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY Leadership driven efforts

18 Managing Director's message

20 Our material topics

22 Sustainability framework

24 Targets and achievements

3 VALUE CREATION APPROACH

Making a material difference with our value creation approach

28 Value creation model

30 Risk management

32 Stakeholder engagement

4 ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION Reducing our carbon footprint consistently

38 Climate Change, energy, and emissions

1. Minimising other emissions
2. Water management
3. Biodiversity and land use
4. Responsible mining

5 CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Raw material security and circular economy

1. Waste to resource
2. Managing waste at our plants

68 Employee learning and development

70 Human rights

7 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND IMPACT

Nurturing a symbiotic relationship with neighbourhood communities

1. Corporate social responsibility at UltraTech
2. Response to COVID-19
3. Education
4. Health
5. Water security
6. Sustainable livelihoods

1. Infrastructure development
2. Social welfare

8 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Transparency, corporate governance, ethics in business

86 Governance

87 Local sourcing and sustainable procurement

89 Digitalisation, Cyber security and data protection

9 ANNEXURES

90 GRI Content Index

1. Sustainability scorecard

1. GCCA KPIs
2. Independent assurance statement

As the largest cement and concrete manufacturer in India, we are inextricably linked to the way the future unfolds for the nation and its people. There is no way ahead without prioritising sustainability for the environment and society. That is also the only way to ensure sustainable business growth.

Close to a decade ago, we defined sustainability for ourselves as our 'ability to sustain'. This, we realised, was inseparable from our ability to create consistent value for our stakeholders -people, communities, supply chain partners, investors, shareholders, customers and other components of our value chain. We also realised that our ability to sustain was intricately associated with the way we cared for the environment from which we derive the resources that are essential for our business.

Aware of our role as an industry leader, we continually strive to make a material difference to environmental preservation by focusing on climate change, energy and water conservation, biodiversity, and natural resource substitution. We also strive to make a material difference to the lives

we touch.

Our people and our communities naturally stand to gain from our improved focus. We continue to strive in providing our people a safe, enabling, empowering workplace. It is a matter of immense satisfaction that during the reporting year, we made significant headway in creating a superior employee experience and promoting new career development programmes such as Evolve. Through these programmes, we are training our people in new-age skills and technologies that they require to be a part of the workforce of tomorrow.

In fact, both innovation and technology have been prime enablers in ramping up the employee experience. The year saw us implement our AI-enabled USHA Chatbot to provide 24x7 support to our employees, and making them more aware of safety standards. We also championed their innovative zeal, encouraging them to think differently through innovative challenges.

We are equally happy to report that we redoubled our CSR efforts during the year and furthered women's empowerment through self-help groups. The SHG in Khor, Madhya Pradesh, bears testimony to the material difference we are making

in the lives of our communities. With training and support provided by us, the Khor SHG is exporting exclusive carpets and jute work abroad, ringing in change in community life that could have hardly been imagined before. Through our targeted initiatives in healthcare, sanitation, skill development, education and sports promotion we continue to make huge difference to the lives of people, equipping them to become change agents themselves.

The key to our sustainable growth is our pioneering organisation-wide sustainability thinking. Each year we embrace newer goals, technologies, and ways of engaging with key stakeholders. As you turn the pages of this report, you will see how we are shifting the needle with our emphasis on sustainable construction, circularity, while conserving natural resources, minimising our carbon and water footprint, increasing our positive impact on communities, and making a material difference to the lives of our stakeholders.

Cover Visual

As the most widely used material on earth after water, concrete is fundamental in shaping our world. And cement is the primary manufactured ingredient for making concrete. Both cement and concrete play a significant role in enabling social progress. Safe and durable structures are integral to providing better infrastructure, mobility and living spaces. In doing so, the building material sector contributes significantly towards achieving several key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The cover visual of this report brings alive the key role of cement and concrete in human life and how as a leading global building materials company, UltraTech is taking pioneering efforts to make cement and concrete more sustainable. The colour bands represent integration of the SDGs into the Company's manufacturing, products, processes and overall business strategy, which is represented by the visual of the concrete from which the colour bands emerge.

Our efforts to contribute to societal progress and mitigate environmental risks across our value chain help us make a material difference to all our stakeholders. The cover visual brings forth a key aspect of how we, as a business, are making a 'material difference'!

Our commitment

Net Zero Concrete

We are committed to the GCCA

2050 Cement and Concrete Industry Roadmap for Net Zero Concrete, and pledge to produce carbon neutral concrete by 2050.

38

RE100

Following our commitment to Climate Group's RE100 initiative, we will be targeting to meet 100% of our electricity requirement from renewable sources by 2050.

40

Our achievements

Circular Economy

Community

28,045 Farmers

Trained on Integrated farming methods, crop production and agronomic measures, alternative cash crops and taken on exposure visits.

79

1.6 Million

people

Benefited through our community development programmes.

73

700 Youth

Covered under Skill development programmes.

79

Our assessments

Climate Change

In accordance with the guidelines

of Task Force on Climate- related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), we have identified climate change transitional and physical risks and impacts on our operations

41

SBTi validated targets

Our carbon footprint reduction targets have been validated by the Science- Based Targets initiative (SBTi). We aim to reduce 27% of carbon emissions for every tonne of cementitious material by 2032 from the levels of March 2017.

436 MW

Green power capacity (WHRS + renewable energy) that contribute to 17.64% of total energy consumption.

40

Water Stewardship

Gender Diversity

840 SHGs

Were partnered, empowering 8000+ households economically and socially across India.

A women managed ready mix concrete plant

In FY 2021-22, we set up an all women managed ready mix concrete plant - the first of its kind in India. We also aim to have women in STEM roles.

Life cycle assessment

Completed Life Cycle

24

11.03% recycled water

66

Assessment and Environment Product

First company to have Sustainability linked bonds

Launched sustainability linked bonds in 2020-21, the first ever such bonds in India.

38

We return almost four times the amount of water consumed, to the nature

43

Used in our cement operations.

All our plants follow zero water discharge

43

Rating

16% Increase

In our S&P's Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) score; amongst top 10 companies in our sector.

Our CDP score 2021

Declaration for our major product categories, among the few cement companies to do so

EP100

Part of the global EP100 initiative, we are committed to double energy productivity.

40

UNEP Energy Compact

Part of the UNEP Energy Compact, committed to accelerate achievement of clean, affordable energy for all and net zero emissions by 2050.

40

73+ Million m3

Water harvested, recharged, recycled and reused across our manufacturing locations in FY 2021-22

43

Waste Management

2.3 times plastic positive

We burn plastic waste collected from the community in our kilns, which is more than twice the number of plastics used for packaging cement

52

Awards

Won the Best Corporate

HR practices Award 2021

by National HRD Network (NHRDN) Bangalore for its HR initiative 'PraGaTi'.

Freedom of Association

28.02%

of our employees are represented by an independent trade union.

25

Biodiversity

Biodiversity assessments done for units and mines to preserve the local flora and fauna.

44

Approach to reporting

Report content and organisation

This report is in accordance with the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative, GRI Standard: Comprehensive. It covers our performance for the period from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022. The last report was released for the period from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021, maintaining an annual reporting cycle.

The report presents information organised around our priorities and key areas of interest to our stakeholders. The economic indicators presented in the report are based on the data that forms a part of UltraTech's Integrated Annual Report. As founding members of Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), we are also reporting our KPIs as per their guidelines.

Scope and boundary

The report scope and boundary cover all operations of UltraTech Cement Limited including manufacturing plants, ready-mix concrete (RMC), subsidiaries, and bulk terminals across India, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East. The ready-mix concrete (RMC) plants operated by the Company for specific customers, on their premises on a temporary basis, have not been included. More than 75% of our operations are covered under environment and social reporting. There have been no changes in the organisation and its supply chain from the previous year. There are a few restatement of data updated in the sustainability scorecard.

Subsidiaries covered in the report

• UltraTech Nathdwara Cement Limited
• Dakshin Cements Limited
• Harish Cement Limited
• Gotan Limestone Khanij Udyog Private Limited
• Bhagwati Limestone Company Private Limited
• UltraTech Cement Lanka (Pvt.) Limited
• UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments Limited
• PT UltraTech Mining Indonesia
• PT UltraTech Investments Indonesia

Precautionary approach

We follow a precautionary approach towards minimising our operational impact on the environment. We have implemented best-in-class technology for cement manufacturing and mining to limit our ecological footprint, and we continue to enhance our efforts towards the same. At all our plants, we have implemented Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) management systems to monitor and address any concerns.

Independent assurance

The report is assured by independent external auditor, Ernst & Young Associates LLP, following due diligence, and their assurance statement forms part of this report.

Feedback

Your feedback, enquiries and suggestions on any aspect of our sustainability performance are welcome.

Email : utcl.sustainability@adityabirla.com

Address : UltraTech Cement Limited

B Wing, Second Floor, Ahura Centre,

Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri (E), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Phone: +91 22 669 17800, +91 22 669 28109

Website: www.ultratechcement.com

GRI 102-10, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54

GRI 102-3, 11, 53