UltraTech Cement Limited, a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group and the leading manufacturer of cement, ready-mix concrete, and white cement in India, has made a landmark accomplishment by being the first company in the country to obtain a multisite certification for a unified Integrated Management System (IMS) and Energy Management System (EnMS) in the cement sector. This ambitious endeavour of the company, which goes beyond the traditional certification framework, establishes a new standard not only for governance, sustainability, and operational excellence, but also for the whole industry.
The certification framework merges the different manufacturing units' quality (ISO 9001), environmental (ISO 14001), and occupational health and safety (ISO 45001) management systems of the corporation into one single IMS document. Additionally, UltraTech is certified with ISO 50001:2018 for its Energy Management System and SA 8000 as a standalone certification for Social Accountability. The Indian cement industry has never witnessed such an extensive approach before.
With the deployment of an integrated management organization in each of the sites, the company managed to significantly simplify governance processes, harmonize the systems, and consolidate the control of compliance aspects by operational departments. The consolidated IMS schema decreases the instances of the duplicated audits and documentation, hence the several departments are engaged in the continuous development and not in the repetition of administrative tasks. Since the audit timetable is optimized and the same evaluation standards are applied at all the sites, they can guarantee better control, transparency, and accountability.
The ISO 50001:2018 certification is indicative of UltraTech's efforts in enhancing the energy performance of the company. The cement industry is mostly criticized for its large consumption of energy, thus energy efficiency has become the main concern of it. Certified by a third party, the company could make an efficient progress by means of structured processes such as monitoring, benchmarking, and the implementation of the improvement initiatives to not only mitigate energy consumption but also link their emission reduction efforts with the constant rechargeable-energy transition goals of India. And the standard too facilitates decision making that is based on data which in turn allows the Company to map out energy optimisation opportunities at a macro level.
The SA 8000 certificate gives another proof to UltraTech's promise of ethical business integrity and being a fair workplace employer. It pays special attention to the labor rights, safety in the workplace, the provision of fair wages, the working conditions, and child labor and forced labor prohibition. Through the initiation of the worldwide established social accountability standard, UltraTech gains popularity and trust among the employees, business associates, and stakeholders that it is a responsible operator throughout its value chain.
This consolidated certification framework is also a great tool for customer loyalty as it showcases that the product consistently meets the standard in terms of quality, environment-friendliness, and safety across the different manufacturing locations. As for investors and stakeholders, it serves as an indicator of good governance in place which not only assures operational excellence but also sustainability and social responsibility.
The company’s move to obtain a multisite unified IMS and EnMS certification is a key strategic decision demonstrating the embracement of integrated, efficient, and socially responsible management approaches. Fundamentally the project will lead to better operating efficiency and higher financial returns, and more importantly, it will undergird the Company’s pledges to sustainable growth and sector leadership over the long run. Setting such a benchmark, UltraTech, in effect, becomes the pioneer of best practices in the Indian cement sector and even further.\
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