Cement, Energy and Environment

<J Institute of Corporate Affairs(IICA), which has been established by the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs as a Think Tank, service delivery, policy advisory and capacity building institution on matters relevant to corporate regulation and governance such as the CSR Act, Cement Manufacturers' Association(CMA), the apex body of large cement manufacturers in India, and NextGen, India's leading CSR and Sustainability Management Company. The Panel discussion was organised in the background of the landmark legislation passed by the Indian Parliament in Augus t 2013 under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 mandates reporting of CSR initiatives and paying for CSR Fund of the Government 2% of Profit Before Tax(PBT) on CSR activities by Companies with net worth of ~ 500 crores or more or turnover of ~ 1000 crores or more or a net profit of ~ 500 crores. Indian Cement Industry with an estimated CSR corpus fund of over~ 210 crores will be one of the major contributors to th e CSR kitty/pie compared to the total capital to be generated, which is of the order of~ 20,000 crores. As a fall out of the new legislation, the amount of money available for CSR in India shall increase manifold and there is a critical need to invest this capital efficiently. The Cement Industry will be one of the major contributors to this CSR pie, and effective utilization of this fund can impact the goal of inclus ive social development s ignificantly. Alongwith the funds, the Cement Industry can also bring in Solid Waste(MSW) as a fuel to replace coal in cement kilns. It is felt that co-processing of MSW, which has high societal impact, could possibly qualify as a CSR activity. The objective of the Panel discussion was to brainstorm on how best the Cement Industry can further the CSR agenda in India through a collaborative approach for maximum impact, while meeting compliance requirements of Section 135 of The Companies Act, 2013 i.e. creating a win-win situation for the society and the businesses alike by promoting the usage of MSW in cement sector. The discussions were guided by an experienced and distinguished group of stakeholders that included: Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India; Shri N. A. Viswanathan, Secretary General, Cement Manufacturers Association; Shri L. Rajasekar, Executive President, Ultra Tech Cement Ltd; Shri S.K. Wali, Whole time Director, JK Lakshmi Cement; Shri Mahendra Singhi, Group CEO and Whole Time Director, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd.; Shri Ujjwal Batria, Managing Director, Lafarge India Pvt. Ltd.; Dr. Jigar Shah, Executive Director, Institute for Industrial Productivity. expertise on better environmental The CEOs of the cement companies, while sustainability practices. The Panel discussion was intended to build on an ongoing multi- stakeholder joint initiative of CMA and liP, wherein along with the concerned stakeholders, an action plan is being drawn to promote increased usage of alternate fuels and raw materials for cement manufacture. One of the possible options involves use of Municipal reiterating their commitment to CSR also shared a lot of optimism for creating win-win models of collaboration with the Society. CMA representative, while mentioning about their ongoing initiative with liP on promoting the use of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as a fuel to replace coal in cement kilns, felt that s uch initiatives having high environmental and