JSW Steel is India’s leading and one of the world’s most efficient integrated steelmakers. The Company led by Sajjan Jindal, spent Rs. 235 crores on its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects during the fiscal year 2023-24. It has aligned its CSR programs to the key areas of health and nutrition, education and learning, agri- initiatives, livelihood, sanitation, water conservation and augmentation, biodiversity promotion, skill enhancement, and art, culture, and sports.
The company was mandated to spend Rs. 298 Cr. for CSR in FY24. Therefore, in addition to the ₹235 crore directly spent on various CSR initiatives, JSW Steel has deposited the remaining ₹63 crore into an escrow account, earmarking the amount for future specified projects.
In line with the Group’s philosophy of ‘Better Everyday’, JSW Steel has strived to deliver on its responsibilities towards its communities, people, and society at large. The Company carries out its social and out-of-fence environmental initiatives through JSW Foundation. The aim is to drive meaningful and sustainable change among communities (Direct Influence Zones & Indirect Influence Zones) across eight cause areas.
1. Sustainability Governance at JSW Steel
Maintaining and preserving the environment is a key business objective for the Company. The Company is aligned with the global steel industry’s focus on reducing its environmental impact and contributions toward climate change. Over the years, JSW Steel has fortified its commitment to conserve natural resources, reduce emissions by undertaking long-term measures like harnessing innovation, technology adoption and process change. The Company has developed a sustainability framework based on 17 key areas which embody the long-term Environmental, Social and Governance goals of the enterprise. The focus areas have been identified through an extensive process of studying the impact and the level of contribution required to be made.
2. Tackling Climate Change
As an industry leader, JSW Steel understands its responsibility to contribute towards creating a cleaner and sustainable planet for the future. The Company has developed a climate action plan to improve its carbon emission intensity beyond India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and achieve more than 42% reduction by 2030 from the base year of 2005. JSW Steel aims to achieve this through:
– Improvement of input raw material quality through beneficiation
– Increased use of renewable energy and scrap
– Reducing coke in Blast Furnaces (BFs), increased Pulverised Coal Injection (PCI) and Natural Gas (NG) use in BFs
– Energy efficiency and process efficiency improvements through best available technologies
– Continue efforts and collaborations towards development of deep decarbonisation technologies
The Company has an operating Carbon Capture Utilisation (CCU) plant at Salav facility, which is capturing carbon from the exhaust gases generated by sponge iron operations, treating and converting it to approximately 100 TPD CO2 (99.5% purity) and which is being used in the food and beverage industry for use.
The Company has earmarked Rs. 10,000 crore over the next few years to decarbonise, the initiatives include shifting to solar power for energy and increase the usage of scrap in the steel making operations.
3. Waste Management
JSW Steel has set a target of achieving specific water consumption (in steel production) of 2.21m3/ tcs by 2030. Currently, all the facilities follow Zero Liquid Discharge principles. The major steel producing facilities of the JSW Steel operate in water-stressed regions, and thus the Company consistently introduces process improvements to ensure better water conservation and harvesting. The plants have extensive water management plans in place which accelerate water conservation.
4. Conservation of Biodiversity
With an aim to protect the biodiversity where it operates, JSW Steel aims to practice prudent land use management. The Company also engages local environmental organisations and societies to study the biodiversity impact and improve local flora and fauna.
Till date, JSW Steel Vijayanagar has planted around 18 lakh trees in an area of 2250 acres and plans to enhance the plantation to 24 lakh. The facility has also developed greenery in an expansive stretch of 432 acre of degraded forest land adjacent to JSW Steel Complex in association with Karnataka State Forest Department.
The Company has carried out study to determine the impact on flora and fauna of core area. JSW Steel is planning to develop a Jubilee Park spread across 242 acres in Vijayanagar to enhance biodiversity.
5. Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives
JSW Foundation’s interventions are oriented towards achieving better outcomes in the local context by adopting SAMMS approach- Strategic, Aligned, Multi-stakeholder, Measurable, Sustainable. The interventions aim to leverage the long-standing trust and engagement with the communities to enable a self-sustaining ecosystem of well-being.
The interventions range from strengthening educational institutions to provisioning of secondary & tertiary healthcare and strengthening of public health system, helping communities to access basic sanitation & promoting hygiene, contributing towards water and environment conservation, facilitating women-centric livelihoods and, promoting agribusiness approach.
5.1 Interventions in Education
The education programmes and initiatives focus on a spectrum of aspects, including the construction and maintenance school infrastructure, interventions in early childhood education, e-learning, scholarships, teacher training, remedial classes, additional teacher support, career guidance, exposure to science and math activities, the provision of science labs and libraries, and mid-day meal. The company spent Rs. 5.54 lakh on CSR in education in FY24.
5.2 Health and Nutrition
The efforts under this focus area aim to enhance health and nutrition services at all levels of the healthcare systems by increasing awareness, contributing to infrastructure development, and encouraging community engagement to support the nation’s efforts. The company spent Rs. 6.07 lakh on CSR in Health and Nutrition in FY24.
5.3 Skills and Livelihood
The Company focuses on ground realities to increase the employability of graduates and women in rural areas with innovative solutions and vocational trainings. The company spent Rs. 18,821 on CSR in Health and Nutrition in FY24.
5.4 Art, Culture and Heritage
The Company has focused on developing a long-term preservation and restoration strategy to protect the country’s heritage for future generations. Through active collaborations with organisations and initiatives that preserve and promote the art, culture, and heritage of India, JSW Foundation is involved in establishing art precincts, restoring heritage structures, and preserving history.
5.5 Promoting Sports
JSW Steel has pioneered the success of rural sporting talent in India with focus on providing holistic and integrated solutions ranging from infrastructure, equipment, training of trainers to partnering with government bodies and other associations for growth.
