Shree Cement was the first Indian and the third Asian cement company to join the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Switzerland. With the achievement of this honor, the company has joined the league of the seven nations comprising the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development & Climate Change with member countries like USA, Australia, China, Korea, Japan, Canada and India.Shree Cement is the largest cement manufacturer in Northern India and is ranked among the top five cement manufacturing groups in the country. The company has always believed in measuring its performance against the benchmarks of economical, social and environmental benefits. The company has received various awards and recognition at the national and international level for excellence in energy efficiency, environment management and sustainability. The company has also encouraged correct HR initiative which employ right systems and processes for appropriate manpower planning, recruitment, orientation, training & development and employee benefits. These initiatives have created a workforce that is happy and driven to continually improve upon their standard of performance.Plant LocationThe company operates cement plants at Beawar, Ras, Khushkhera, Jobner and Suratgarh in Rajasthan and Laksar (Roorkee) in Uttarakhand. In the last 5 years, the company has more than trebled its cement capacity to achieve the present capacity rate of 13.5 million tons per annum.The company has a power generation capacity of 260 MW with plants located at Beawar and Ras in Rajasthan, including waste heat recovery power plants of 46 MW capacity, which is the largest such capacity in the global cement industry excluding China. The company is further expanding its power capacity by setting up a 300 MW (2 x 150MW) power plant at Beawar. This will be taking the company’s overall power generation capacity to 560 MW.The company achieved a world record by setting up a 1 million ton clinkerisation unit at Bangur city, Ras, Rajasthan in 330 days as compared to an industry average of 630 days during 2010-2011. In building this facility, the company broke its own world record of 367 days made earlier in 2009. A clinker grinding unit of 1.5 mtpa was also commissioned by the company at Jobner near Jaipur. The company is also in plans to set up cement plants in Chhatisgarh with split grinding units to be set up in other parts of eastern India. Pre-project activities have also been initiated for a cement plant in Karnataka.BrandsIn a highly competitive industry which is evolving continuously with changes in branding and marketing strategies of different companies, the company has always believed in building brands which are aligned to the customer’s needs. The company has been able to realize a larger sales quantum, better realizations and increased competitiveness through extensive brand promotions and opening of new strategic markets.Shree UltraThe company’s flagship brand is Shree Ultra which contributes to more than half of its sales volumes. This brand is a perfect example of the company’s strategic shift from commodity to brand marketing. The two variants of Shree Ultra, Shree Ultra OPC and Shree Ultra Jung Rodhak Cement have been distinctly positioned, keeping in view the market demand. A high acceptance level has been observed for Shree Ultra Jung Rodhak Cement among brand influencers such as masons due to its unique rust prevention properties. The value of the brand can be gauged from the fact that alongwith a high demand level in highly educated markets like Delhi, it has enhanced its presence in the interior markets of Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.Bangur CementBangur Cement has been positioned as a premium brand in the market. It has been conceived to cater to the high end market segment. The unique tagline of the brand "Sasta Nahin, Sabse Achcha" has given it the status of ‘top of the market’ value brand.Rockstrong CementRockstrong Cement is the latest addition to the product portfolio of Shree Cement. The brand has recorded the highest YoY growth amongst the three brands of Shree in 2009-10. The unique position of this brand has been attributed to its promise of high performance and the ability to withstand exceptionally harsh environment conditions. Promotions for the brand are undertaken through a series of witty hoardings designed on current topics.AwardsAs a company which has always kept customer focus and compliance with environmental objectives at the forefront of its business strategies, Shree Cement has been honoured with several awards, reaffirming its commitment to a healthy and competitive business agenda. It has been awarded the CII-ITC sustainability award for nurturing innovation, promoting excellence, building trust and contribution towards sustainable future for all. The company has also won the ICC Sustainability Vision Award 2010 – 11 by Indian Chamber of Commerce for "CSR contributing inclusive growth". It has been awarded the Golden Peacock Award by the Institute of Directors for Climate Security. The company has also won the FE-EVI Green Business Leadership Award by Financial Express & Emergent Ventures India for Green Business Practices.It has also been awarded the National Award for Excellence in Energy Management – 2010 by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The company has won the National Award in Excellence in Cost Management-2009 by the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India (ICWAI). It has also been awarded the Greentech HR Excellence Silver Award in best Strategy – 2010 as well as the Best Employer Award by the Employers Association of Rajasthan.Corporate Social ResponsibilityAs part of its corporate social responsibility, the company has undertaken several measures with a view to empower the environment and making community life sustainable. It has undertaken grass root development in two districts of Ajmer and Pali, covering 20 villages. The company has formed the "Shree Rural Foundation Society" with a view to formalizing community engagement and developmental initiatives. A lot of prevailing issues in the society can be solved and answered through the effective spread of formal education, Understanding the importance of education, the company is providing assistance to a senior secondary school located within its premises. It has also been making contributions for meeting infrastructural requirements which help children gain better access to education. Shree Cement has also undertaken various literacy projects for non-school going girls, education development schemes for students wanting to pursue ITI and computer education for rural youth.The company also organizes various health camps like polio vaccination and eye camps. Mobile dispensaries are dispatched by the company in nearby villages for weekly health check up camps. Various awareness programs are also undertaken for their trucker’s community for combating diseases like HIV/AIDS. Recognizing the importance of family as an important and valuable unit of society, family welfare programs are also undertaken by the company. One such program is the MAMTA project which has been able to reach out and provide benefits to pregnant women as well as infants upto 1 year of age. Vaccination programs for protecting children against diseases like Hepatits – B and Typhoid have been organized. Awareness drives against use of tobacco, liquor have also been carried out. In order to spread the benefits to as many community members as possible, we also provide assistance to the government in their health programs by way of donations, mobility support and material supportEnvironmental complianceShree Cement has always believed in the amalgamation of business practices and compliance with environmental obligations. The company’s thoughts, planning and implementation contains at its core, environmental improvement and people betterment to ensure a sustainable growth. The company’s commitment towards ensuring protection and nurturing of the environment is reflected through some of its initiatives like setting up of Green Power Plants, manufacturing of synthetic gypsum and use of Air Cooled Condensers (ACCs).A deep concern has been expressed by the company towards the ecosystem and it is aware of the dependency of the surrounding communities on it. It has introduced various measures in our processes to ensure reduced emissions for the preservation of the environment. While the company’s clinker production has increased, it has brought down the SPM (Kg/ton of clinker) through its conservation measures like improving the efficiency of ESP and Dust Collectors.Reduced Dust LoadThe company is deeply concerned about our ecosystem and are aware of the dependency of our surrounding communities on it. It has introduced various measures in our processes to ensure reduced emissions for the preservation of the environment. While its clinker production has increased, it has brought down the SPM (Kg/ton of clinker) through conservation measures like improving the efficiency of ESP and Dust Collectors.Fly Ash Consumption and CO2 ReductionFly Ash is a waste-product of thermal power plants which is discarded as landfills. Shree Cement has increased the utilization of this waste-product in the process of cement manufacturing which has led to a decrease in the consumption of clinker. This in turn has helped in the conservation of limestone. As a result, the company has achieved CO reduction of 18.33 lakh ton in 09-10 and 14.09 lakh ton in 08-09.Reduction of CO Emission in Heavy Earth Moving Machines (H.E.M.M.)The company monitors the CO emission in all H.E.M.M. on regular intervals with Fuel Gas Analyzer. By analyzing the data, the company took corrective measures i.e. ensuring proper burning of the fuel (tappet setting), proper fuel injection (injector calibration) and thereby maintained the CO level within limits. Even with increased load on these machines, these steps have enabled the company to reduce the fuel consumption, increase the engine life and contribute towards the eco-system.Green for GoodThe company is committed to protect the environment and has taken measures to address global challenges such as climate change. It green power projects and increased use of fly ash in cement production is a step in this direction. Besides, the company’s dedicated focus towards the ‘green cause’ saw an increase in the number of trees planted. The overall greenery level of the plant area was 34% on 2009. Solar lights and heaters in have been installed by the company in its premises and LED based lights in its plants. Commenting on the company’s energy conservation efforts, it was stated by the World Economic Forum, "faced with limited access to low-cost energy, Shree Cement developed the world’s most energy-efficient process for making its products. The company has become the global benchmark: leading cement companies from around the world visit Shree to learn from its innovations."The company celebrates World Environment Day on 5th June to create awareness about environment safety. The company organizes workshops and distributes booklets emphasizing on environment protection.Prudent Water ManagementThe company is committed to conservation, recycling and recharging. One of the major steps towards conservation of water has been the replacement of the Conventional Water Cooling System with Air Cooled Condensing System. Another initiative in this direction was installation of Waste Heat Recovery Boilers (WHRB). In the absence of WHRBs, the waste hot gases had to be conditioned by spraying of water to bring it down to ambient temperature before releasing the gases. The installation of WHRBs has eliminated the need for conditioning of gases thereby resulting in considerable water savings. A new sewage treatment plant has been installed for the treatment and reuse of domestic waste water generated from our housing colony. This water is reused for purposes like irrigation, quenching and water spray. The company is also engaged in constructing various rain water harvesting structures like check dams, open and injection wells etc. It has adopted unique approaches like utilizing sites of abandoned mines to harvest rain water and Roof Rain Water Harvesting System. For the State at large, the company also provides assistance to the government for rejuvenation of local water bodies.New Sustainability ChampionThe sustainability paradigm has been accepted whole heartedly by Shree Cement. The company has always pursued a holistic program with an emphasis on three bottomlines of corporate performance-economic, social and environmental. Economic performance brings out the Company’s contribution to production and profit; social performance highlights its contribution to community; environmental performance brings out the contribution to conserving the environment.The World Economic Forum and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) chalked out a program for seeking out unconventional, practical solutions to the current challenges of growth, aiming to identify and support key business practices, and to relay them to the global community. This project deliberately did not look to governments, environmental organizations or multinational corporations from advanced economies. Instead, it went to agents who deal with a wide range of constraints in their daily business: rapidly growing companies originating and operating in the emerging markets, where economic prosperity and populations are growing fastest, and where environmental constraints and stresses are often highest.Towards the end of a rigorous research process, the project identified and assessed 16 emerging market-based companies that share a unique mindset and set of best practices: these are the New Sustainability Champions. Based in countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Egypt and Kenya, these companies provide inspiring examples for any corporation around the world interested in tackling the challenges of performance, innovation, growth and sustainability.Shree Cement was the first Indian and the third Asian cement company to join the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Switzerland. With the achievement of this honor, the company has joined the league of the seven nations comprising the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development & Climate Change with member countries like USA, Australia, China, Korea, Japan, Canada and India.Prashant Bangur, Joint executive President, Shree Cement, elucidates his views on sustainability practices, "We believe that sustainability is continual process and it is not something which was founded by nature. So we ensure sustainability in our day to day operations and adopted it as a habit. Sustainability should be understood as a multi dimensional approach wherein the focus should just not be upon profit, but the business should be integrated with energy conservation, natural resource conservation, healthy stake-holders dialogue, employee satisfaction, community at large and transparency.Through sheer dedication, innovation and creativity we have achieved a safe platform where we can hold a comfortable stand comparatively, yet there is long way to go. We have grown at a pace faster than the industry average with various thoughts and ideas. All our thoughts and ideas are not essentially contributing to our profit, but they are giving us a steady base to cement a green future. One natural way of ensuring sustainability is transparency about our practices, principles and thoughts as transparency is an outshoot; it’s a prerequisite of united, prosperous and sustainable organization."Prudent Business LeaderThrough the adoption of best business practices, a deep concern for the environment and continuous progress through constant application of contemporary technological methods, the company has managed to be a prudent business leader and a leading cement manufacturer.