Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2002-05

Special visitors to three of Ashok Leylands Units

19, Rajaji Salai, Chennai 600 001 Ph: (91) 44-25342141 Fax: (91) 44-25342493 www.ashokleyland.com

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
e at Ashok Leyland are committed to preserving the environment through a comprehensive Environmental Policy and a proactive approach in planning and executing our manufacturing and service activities.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. - CHIEF SEATTLE, 1855

The objective of Ashok Leylands Environmental Policy is: To adhere to all applicable environmental legislations and regulations. To adopt pollution preventive techniques in design & manufacture of our products. To conserve all resources such as power, water, oil, gas, compressed air etc., and optimize their usage, through scientific methods. To continuously strive to minimize waste generation by all possible ways and to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle the same through a time bound action plan. To provide a clean working environment to our employees, contractors and neighbours. Towards fulfilling the above objective, we propagate our environmental policy and our commitment to continuous improvement to all employees, suppliers, customers and neighbours. We will strive towards maintaining harmony between society and environment towards achieving our environmental goal.

Foreword
By offering economical means of movement for people and goods, the commercial vehicle industry plays an indispensable role in every economic activity and developmental process. The Indian commercial vehicle industry has set for itself a challenging road map of technology upgradation in line with accelerated emission norms, aimed at improving the quality of air. Ashok Leyland has led with innovations in alternate fuels besides offering fuel-efficient engines that are at once economical and environment friendly. Along with product technology, manufacturing processes have the potential to make a difference. As a resources-intensive industry that consumes large quantities of steel, power, water and oil, a reduction in the consumption of these resources would not only help in environmental preservation, but also contribute directly to the balance sheet. Towards this end, Ashok Leyland has been adopting clean and lean manufacturing processes at all manufacturing locations, while also monitoring and guiding suppliers in establishing Environmental Management Systems. This first ever report on sustainability from the Company will be a springboard for scaling up programmes for resource conservation, environmental protection as also such actions with societal impact as are expected of a responsible corporate citizen.

R SESHASAYEE Managing Director

divided into three core areas namely international trading, investment banking and global investments. Through its global investments, Hinduja Group is a major player in India in automotive manufacturing, financial services, banking, trading, oil, media & communications, IT, chemicals and infrastructure project development. Work to give is at the core of the Groups business philosophy. This is reflected in the Hinduja Foundations initiatives in health, education, arts & culture and social welfare as also in the Group companies. A commercial vehicle manufacturer with a tradition of technological leadership for over five decades, Ashok Leyland has played a fulfilling part in the development of Indias road transport sector which today accounts for 65% of goods and 85% of passenger movement. Keeping in mind the operating environment for its products, the Company has always sought to give appropriate product configurations that make economic sense to the customer even as they offer the equally important benefits of safety, comfort and eco-friendliness. Central to the Companys customer-centric product offerings has been the engine technology that is both fuel-efficient and eco-friendly. Decades ahead of emission regulations, the Companys R&D engineers have been working on alternate fuels. The breakthrough came in 1997 when the Company launched the CNG-powered bus, making India one among a handful of countries to tame this eco-friendly fuel to power commercial vehicles. In 2002, yet another frontier technology was conquered when the Company unveiled Indias first hybrid electric bus. Along with purposefully selected product technology, the Company

shok Leyland is the flagship company of the Hinduja Group in India. The Hinduja Group is active in over 50 countries, with a wide range of products and services. The Groups activities are

Fume killers at the cab weld shop

supports its customers with training, after-sales and genuine parts availability so that the customers and the society can derive the full potential of the benefits that technology offers.

Converting the P4 engines (indirect injection engines) to S4 engines (direct injection engines) in the forklifts to reduce the forklift emission Converting the air filters from wet type to dry type in the forklift engines to reduce emission levels Installation of filter bags in shot blasting machine to prevent dust from entering the atmosphere Changing over from caustic soda to caustic lye to eliminate acid / caustic fumes escaping to the atmosphere, while regeneration of anion, cation and mixed beds in the demineralization and reverse osmosis plants Introduction of settling chamber to control the carbon dust emissions from the burner operations

The clean air mantra

Ashok Leyland has been investing in projects, to reduce the air emissions and the ecological footprint of its manufacturing processes. Apart from operating well under the statutory norms, emission reduction targets are set on a Company-wide basis to reduce air pollutant emission year on year. Some of the initiatives include, Introduction of fume killers and fume extraction systems in the CO2 welding areas

Pressurised air draft & scrubbers combine to make this paint booth eco friendly

Water emission reduction

Having fully realised the importance of conserving water and preventing water pollution, Ashok Leyland has set up at all its locations, sewage and effluent treatment plants that provide primary, secondary and tertiary treatment, apart from innovating methods for water conservation. Over 1.7 million litres of water are recycled every day for maintaining the greenery and plantations. The treated water is also used for secondary applications

Sow rain water, harvest life

With many of its manufacturing units in water-starved areas, water conservation and ground water recharging have been in practice for over a quarter century. Ashok Leylands manufacturing unit at Ennore had installed rain water harvesting systems more than a decade ago. Harvesting methods like terrace water collection, percolation wells, and ground water recharging are tried and tested practices here. Besides fully meeting

like toilet flushing, floor washing and cooling tower uptake. All five manufacturing units are zero-discharge-outside-premises, which means that no wastewater is pumped outside the factory. The water from the various treatment plants is periodically monitored to check for conformance much within statutory regulations. its daily requirement of thirteen lakh litres of water, the unit also supplies 30,000 litres of treated drinking water to its associate Company, Ennore Foundries. Ashok Leylands Hosur II unit won the CII National Award for Water Management for the year 2004- 2005 for having reduced its

Rain water harvesting is taken up as a practice not only at all units, but also at other Company premises including the Management Development Centre (in picture)

The tree lives on...

A fifteen year old neem tree being transplanted at Ennore to facilitate expansion

specific water consumption by 48% over the last three years. At the Bhandara unit, rainwater harvesting using three ponds and two percolation wells have not only improved the ground water in the zone, but also serve as a water hole for the many wild animals that have taken shelter in the large plantation. Recently, a 4500 kl capacity percolation pond was constructed at the Alwar unit, to store and utilize rainwater.

Driving tree plantation forward

Ashok Leyland has been involved in tree plantation drives, both within its own premises and outside. Most special occasions are celebrated with the planting of tree saplings. Apart from trees, herbal plants and flower gardens are also maintained. Tree plantation drives are also carried out in areas near the factories in collaboration with the local communities. Saplings are also donated to neighbouring schools and villages. Employees of the Company too are provided with

saplings and are encouraged to plant them near their houses or areas of living. More than 6,500 trees were planted in the Hosur I unit in the last four years. The Hosur II unit, which already has 19,000 trees, planted 5000 more of them in the last year alone. The Bhandara unit boasts of a lush green cover and has more than 1,84,000 trees inside its premises, which is also home to many animals living amidst the forest cover. Close to a 1,000 trees were planted in the Alwar unit last year making it one of the greenest factories in that region. units, long before such issues entered public debate. For instance, lead shot blasting used for surface cleaning treatment of rough materials and heat treatment scaling at Ennore was replaced with sandblasting, to eliminate the hazard of lead shots way back in the 1960s and sand replaced with steel shots in 1965, to eliminate the possibility of silicosis. The blasting dust generated today is collected by heavyduty dust collectors and goes into the making of firecrackers. Sodium Cyanide was used in salt bath furnaces for carburising and hardening of components. This involved an elaborate process of handling and disposal of residual cyanide salts. In 1980, this was replaced by carbonitriding process and the four sealed quench furnaces that do carbonitriding now operate without any Sodium Cyanide. At all Ashok Leyland units, modern scrubbers do duty to trap residual paint particles and cull them out to prevent their entry into the atmosphere. Trichloroethylene and Carbon Tetrachloride - two compounds used for de-greasing at Ennore - were eliminated once they were categorised as ozone depleting sub-

Responsible hazardous waste management

Consistent with its Environmental Policy and Social Commitment, Ashok Leyland has been striving continuously to reduce the hazardous wastes generation from its

stances. At the same location, introduction of direct induction hardening has eliminated the copper plating of camshafts before the carburising operation. Waste oil and used oil, which are classified as hazardous by law, are not only managed scientifically, but their generation reduced through phased targets. The used oil goes into re-processing through authorised channels.

Green supply chain management

For Ashok Leyland, its environmental responsibility extends beyond the walls of its plants. It is realized that suppliers add value to the Companys products and so their environmental performance is also its responsibility. Hence, Ashok Leyland has made a conscious decision to extend assistance to suppliers to set up Environmental Management Systems. Greening the Supply Chain Management (GSCM) consists of the involvement of purchasing and supplying in activities that include reduction, recycling, reuse and the substitution of materials. GSCM activities include examination of how intra and inter organizational factors both drive and constrain the involvement of supplier and purchaser in greening the supply chain activities. This is also necessary to consistently meet specified environmental performance criterion among the participants of the supply chain and to influence more consistent corporate environmental behaviour among all players in the chain of products and services. Ashok Leylands efforts at GSCM, kick started with seven of the

Resource consumption
Reduce says the first R of the 3Rs denoting Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. In tune with this philosophy, reducing resource consumption has been one of the core objectives of Ashok Leylands operations. Numerous projects have been undertaken towards reducing the consumption of power, oil, water, metal and other raw materials.

The Green Supply Chain Management model willing level A suppliers, who were helped with the process of implementing efficient environmental management systems. It is note worthy that most of these suppliers decided to obtain the ISO 14001 certification for their units. The beneficiaries that included AL-Pump Ltd, Madras Radiators and Pressings Ltd reported gains such as reduction in water wastages, noise level reduction, improved shop air quality and resource conservation.

Inter unit environmental benchmarking

After implementation of ISO 14001 throughout the Company, a need was felt for horizontal deployment of learnings at different units. Further it was also realized that a competitive atmosphere would

The Green Shield award

Mr Ashok Chopra, Manufacturing Manager-Alwar, (left) receiving the first inter-unit Green Shield award from Mr R Seshasayee, MD-Ashok Leyland

accelerate the gains from an environmental management system and in the year 2002-2003, a performance based award called the Green Shield award was introduced. The purpose of this award is to promote inter unit environmental benchmarking and to assess the units based on their environmental performance. Where as ISO 14001 is a generic system standard that provides a framework for improvement, it is not a standard that stipulates particular degrees of improvement. While ISO 14001 is an excellent tool for achieving improvement; it is not the ideal tool for assessing performance. Hence to accelerate improvements and assess performance, the Green Shield award became necessary. The award helps in keeping track of the improvements, as also monetary gains that have been achieved. Given the diversity among the units in terms of processes, products, scales of operation and pollution load, the criteria for the award reckons the rate of annual improvement and not the absolute quantum of improvement. This ensures all units an equal chance to win. Some of the awards Ashok Leyland has won for its initiatives in providing a safe work environment: CII Leadership and Excellence Award in Safety, Health and Environment 2003 & 2004 State Safety Awards by the Factory Inspectorate involve Competitions on safety posters, quizzes, slogans and essays Conducting safety exhibitions on the shop floor where such posters, slogans and awareness messages are displayed Running fire & safety training programmes at regular intervals Conducting mock drills to sensitize and train personnel on emergency preparedness

Safety awards and recognitions

Staying safe, working safe

Accidents in industries can cause damage to life and property which should be prevented at all costs. To reduce accidents and to sensitize employees towards safe work practices, safety drives are conducted regularly in the plants. These safety drives include the conducting of safety week programmes and

The Tamil Nadu Govt., Safety Awards 2002 03, for the highest reduction in accident rates and for the longest accident free period.

His Holiness The Dalai Lama, presenting the Golden Peacock Award to Ashok Leyland. Received by Mr J N Amrolia, ED-HR and Mr A K Chatterjee GM-Bhandara

Environmental awards and recognition

Ashok Leylands manufacturing unit at Bhandara, Maharashtra, won the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award, instituted by the World Environment Foundation during the year 2002, under the Large Manufacturing category. At the inaugural session of the 4th World Congress on Environment Management held at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, His Holiness The Dalai Lama presented the award to Ashok Leyland. Some of the other awards the Company has won for its

environmental performance: The CII National Award for excellence in energy management 2003 The CII National Award for excellence in water management 2004 The Best Environmental Upkeep Award by Hosur Industries Association

Hosur II team receiving the CII Leadership Award in Safety, Health and Environment 2004, from Mr. T. N. Seshan, former Chief Election Commissioner

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Spreading awareness, saving lives

The trucking community, constantly in transit and away from homes for days, has been identified as one of the most vulnerable to AIDS. For their benefit, awareness and prevention programmes were started in two centers in the Company: at the two Hosur factories (among convoy drivers) and at Namakkal Driver Training Centre (among driver trainees). The convoy drivers employed by Ashok Leylands transport contractors to drive the vehicles from the two plants at Hosur to sales yards all over India are targeted in this programme. At a central location, which they visit for allotment of vehicles, condom and literature dispensers are kept. Fifty-six of Ashok Leylands employees from two plants have undergone trainers training and take turns to counsel the truck drivers. At one-toone sessions, when incidence of medical conditions are suspected, such drivers are directed to the medical centre for physical examination. The Company doctor prescribes the necessary treatments, which are funded by the transport contractors. From the very beginning, the curriculum at Ashok Leylands Namakkal Driver Training Centre (NDTC) had included besides functional subjects, health education including yoga and AIDS awareness. NDTC has integrated itself well with the community, the various fleet owners associations and local NGOs, which has enhanced its ability to create mass awareness about AIDS. NDTC s contribution is well appreciated by APAC (AIDS Prevention and Control Project) and AIDS Control society. Over 1,20,000 drivers, who have been trained under various courses, have been covered under AIDS awareness sessions so far. Sessions on AIDS are part of the structured training programme and are supplemented by videocassettes, leaflets and booklets received from the AIDS Control Society.

Employees of the Company, involved in AIDS awareness among the driver community

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FunBus being launched on Childrens Day

The FunBus; big happiness for the little ones

Through Ashok Leylands interaction with groups who work with underprivileged children, it was realized that the differentlyabled and underprivileged children do not get many opportunities to explore the world outside, primarily due to the lack of appropriate transport facilities. The seed of this realization bore fruit in the form of Ashok Leylands Childrens Day gift to the children of Chennai the FunBus. The FunBus is run by Ashok Leyland, exclusively for free use round the year by the children of orphanages, corporation primary schools, and other underprivileged groups. The usage of this bus has been allocated to organizations that work with such children and the organizations in turn, use the FunBus to transport the children from such schools and institutions, for one-day outings. The bus has been built keeping in mind the comfort and safety of the physically challenged and comes equipped with a hydraulic lift for the convenience of wheel chair bound children. The colourfully painted bus, is meant to give them a day of joy, high on memorability.

One of the first special passengers on the FunBus

Children on a joy-filled trip on the FunBus.

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Training drivers for on and off the road

The town of Namakkal is today the busy hub of trucking activity, surrounded by a number of trucking centres. Namakkals identification with trucking is so total that every family is connected with the trade often in more ways than one. The Namakkal Driver Training Centre is spread over 25 acres and includes facilities like classrooms, library, model room, laboratory, cafeteria and an open-air theatre. It also boasts of a driving range with all conceivable configuration of roads. The driving range consists of single-lane, two-lane, four-lane and six-lane roads, S bend, 8 bend and hair-pin bend, humps and dips with different gradients, speed breakers, bye-pass road, Y junction, different types of parking bays, basic and variable yards... The roads come complete with electronic signals, signboards, road markings and streetlights for night driving. The curriculum at the centre goes much beyond the basic knowledge and skills for obtaining a driving licence. With an objective to ready a driver for life on and off the road, training is imparted on a multitude of subjects including techniques for defensive driving, fuel conservation, basics of repairs & maintenance, first aid, fire fighting and the need for - and ways of - keeping body and mind in good health. Besides driver training and mechanic training, the centre also conducts certificate courses in specialised subjects such as responsible and safe handling of hazardous materials. Yoga programme at the Namakkal Driver Training Centre

Comprehensive infrastructure to deliver scientific driver training

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Mr J N Amrolia, ED-HR, Ashok Leyland, presenting the Eco-First Award to Mr C S Lakshmi Narayanan SM-Utilities & Services, Hyundai Motor India Ltd.

Promoting industry, NGO partnerships

Environment
Ashok Leyland partnered the Kanchi Health and Education Society, an NGO working in the Kanchipuram district on village self-sufficiency, to recognize eco-consciousness among industries. It instituted the ECO FIRST award for responsible environment management among industries in the Kanchipuram district. Besides sponsorship support, the Company lent its expertise and human resources to formulate and implement the evaluation process. The design of the award, with a leaf on the chimney, has been conceptualised to highlight the much-needed synergy between the industry and the environment. The winner was arrived at based on an exhaustive assessment of the various facets of environment management, which included positive process changes, training, material reuse & recycling and product life cycle responsibility. Four finalists were selected and audited by a team of experts from the Industry and NGOs.

Hyundai Motor Corporation was adjudged the winner and received the ECO FIRST award.

Road safety drives

Ashok Leyland has been involved in various activities to promote road safety by sensitizing drivers and public on the need for safe road use practices. In partnership with various organizations like Suraksha, awareness on road safety is spread amongst the public, which includes

Safey, the mascot for safety, used for communication with children

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School children participating in a joint safety awareness programme

Two wheeler safety rally by Ashok Leyland employees more than 25,000 students of various schools and colleges. Road safety guidelines for cyclists, two/ four wheeler users and pedestrians are prepared in vernacular languages and distributed. Ashok Leyland also participates in many of the road safety weeks carried out by the local RTOs and district administrations across the country.

Assistance to schools
Ashok Leyland started the Dharam Hinduja Matriculation School in Thiruvotriyur, Chennai, to cater to the children of its employees. Here emphasis is placed on the all round development of the

students. The Company has financially supported the construction of sixty-eight school buildings and in some cases has donated note/text books and computers. Initiatives like health camps, tree plantation drives, environmental and safety

Children of the Dharam Hinduja Matriculation school, Chennai performing a skit on environment in the neighbourhood

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awareness camps have also been conducted in many schools present near the various plants of the Company. Many of the Companys employees, in their own personal ways, are involved in supporting schools, orphanages and poor children through education.

also working through the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for long-term solutions like fishing equipment and community centers to the fishermen communities in the Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts. On the day the tragedy struck, the Company threw open its gates to the residents of the badly affected fishermen hamlets near the Ennore Unit, which is near the Northern coastline of Chennai, one of the badly affected areas. Over a 100 employees, along with buses and ambulances, were involved in relief operations including medical attention and feeding of the displaced. Around 30,000 food packets have been distributed for those affected. A permanent drinking water arrangement has been provided just outside the Ennore factory premises for use by nearby residents.

A good neighbour
While expanding its manufacturing network, the Company has spearheaded the industrialization of many economically backward regions. It was therefore natural for the neighbourhoods to look up to the manufacturing units for assistance from time to time. The Company has always responded to the needs of the neighbourhoods infrastructural development, medical outreach programmes, blood donation camps, provision of ambulances and in various ways to suit the needs. The Company conducts regular perception surveys among the neighbouring communities. Not resting on the overwhelmingly positive scores, the Company works on the suggestions from the communities, to be a responsible neighbour to them.

Employee volunteerism
What is gratifying about the Companys various CSR initiatives is the role of employee volunteerism in all of them. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, their experience has encouraged many of them to take on individually and collectively, a variety of initiatives that make sense to their immediate living environment. An Ashok Leyland employee runs a 40-strong orphanage at his home. Many employees raise funds to see underprivileged children through school. Many more give their time for causes dear to their hearts, acts that make a difference to peoples lives. After all, needs vary. And hence, responses, too.

Lending a helping hand

The employees and managements of Ashok Leyland and its associate companies have supported the tsunami relief work with cash, kind and physical labour. The Company is also committed towards long-term support for the relief operations and was also involved in supporting many NGOs carrying out relief. It is 16