At Hindustan Zinc, good governance practices and adherence to the highest standards of ethics, transparency and integrity is a key driver of our progressive journey. Our culture of fair and honest business conduct defines the Company’s ethos, which is imbued across the organisation’s systems, processes and functions. It enables us to succeed and celebrate our successes even in the most challenging environment.
In line with our Corporate Governance (CG) philosophy, we remain steadfastly focussed on nurturing a culture of accountability, responsibility and integrity to sustain the trust and confidence of our stakeholders. Our sustained thrust on promoting ethical business practices, coupled with our belief in the values of transparency, fairness and honesty, keeps us on track with our growth trajectory. It helps us deliver sustainable long. term growth and accretive value to all our stakeholders.
Ethics, transparency, accountability, inclusiveness, equity as well as stringent adherence to legal principles are the key pillars of our Corporate Governance Framework. This three-tier framework is designed to promote strong corporate citizenship at every step of Hindustan Zinc’s journey.
To effectively manage and strengthen our corporate governance modules, our Board of Directors has set up various committees, entrusted with specific responsibilities. Their decisions guide the overall management approach at Hindustan Zinc. In accordance with our strong sustainability focus, climate change ethos is integrated into the agenda of all the committees.
The Executive Committee acts as the bridge between the Company and the Board. It comprises Hindustan Zinc’s functional and plant heads, including the Chief Executive Officer, the Interim Chief Financial Officer and the IBU CEOs. It oversees the management and control functions at the Company and plays a pivotal role in the execution of its strategies. It is responsible for coordinating the various business transactions, besides steering process improvements at mines and smelters.
To ensure effective execution of our strategies, plans and programmes, we have set up Independent Business Units (IBUs), with a well-articulated strategy to drive their actions. Sustainability is embedded in all our business decisions and the IBUs work concertedly towards the realisation of our sustainability goals.
For more details on our sustainability governance framework, read the Sustainability chapter on Page 106 of this report.
Strict compliance to the Company’s Code of Conduct is ensured at all levels of the organisational hierarchy, and also by the external stakeholders, including our partners, contractors, shareholders and other stakeholders. The code is rooted in the values of trust, mutual respect, professionalism, responsibility, accountability and transparency in communication. We have strategically aligned the Code with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and UK Bribery Act, 2010. Besides guiding our behaviour and actions, the Code facilitates our efforts to promote honest and ethical conduct across the Company. It also ensures ethical handling of any conflicts of interest, complete and timely disclosures, among others.
All the Board members, executives and new employees affirm their adherence to the Code on an annual basis. We have instituted an Ethics Committee to orient and address the principles and standards contained in the Code.
We had, in FY 2021-22, strengthened the Code to give better indication of its complete applicability and clearer guidance on Facilitation Payments, Gifts and Business Partner relations. We had also introduced several contemporary concepts for Sanctions & Trade Controls and Social Media conduct, besides expanding the ambit of confidentiality with Data Privacy & GDPR and Information security.
In line with our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we had incorporated these elements, along with equal opportunity, in our Code, and also made our POSH policy gender-neutral. Inclusion of Charity & Sponsorships along with an Acknowledgement to the Code, as well as a separate annexure for Antibribery & Anti-corruption Policy, were some of the other new features added in the previous fiscal.
Our Whistle-Blower Policy actively encourages and empowers our employees to raise concerns about any unfair business dealing in the organisation. The responsibility for addressing the complaints vests with the Group Head – Management Assurance. The complaint registration process is simple and can be completed via a mobile application in just three clicks. After in-depth investigation, the report for complaint resolution is shared with the Audit Committee for review. We have also established a special ‘Whistle-Blower Portal for Safety’ to encourage compliance with safety practices.
Compliance with the anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies is strictly ensured at Hindustan Zinc for ensuring fair and transparent conduct of all business transactions. All our employees and Business Partners are trained and apprised about the principles of our Code of Conduct as well as the importance of strict adherence. Undue monetary or facilitation payment to any person or persons, including public officials, customers, or to any other organisation, is strictly prohibited and checked.
