COVID 19

Responding as a Business

Ambuja Cement’s singular focus is Health, Cost and Cash. In accordance with the government’s directives on operating essential services, Ambuja has resumed operations in some sites in a phased manner giving utmost consideration to the health and safety of our people. Health screening, social distancing in plants and warehouses is being strictly maintained. Manning of operations is minimum and as per the SOPs.

Protecting our employees and stakeholders

At Ambuja Cement Health and Safety is a core value. In the face of the coronavirus pandemic we have continued to live up to this core value, acting quickly and with great solidarity to protect employees, contractors and all our stakeholders in the time of Coronavirus (Covid-19).

Overarching aim and objectives

We aim to safeguard the Health and Safety of our staff and partners, and ensure that the business does not suffer of inadequate planning or poor decision making in the time of Coronavirus (Covid-19). Our objectives are:

Protect the health and wellbeing of our people, their families, our stakeholders through medical preparedness, awareness, training and communication

Maintain business activities through continuity planning and proactive supply chain management

Protect and strengthen long term relationships with our partners and the communities in which we operate

Response to and Operating in a COVID-19 Environment

Business Resilience Team

A Business Resilience Team (BRT) has been instituted to oversee and synergise all actions related to Coronavirus (COVID-19). COVID Action Teams have also been formed at all units/ sites and guidance has been provided/ is ongoing. The BRT is using its expertise in HR, Health & Safety, Communications, Operations, Procurement, IT, Legal, Compliance, Security and Resilience to provide monitoring, guidance, advice and reporting on the preparedness of our manufacturing, logistics and marketing organizations. Our responses have been in a graduated manner using a four alert level Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP), with specific actions at each deteriorating alert level. We have now taken this Response action plan to the next level where we are currently working towards both startup and stabilisation. While doing so, our Teams are accountable to comply with national health regulatory requirements and the execution of central guidance on a risk basis. We are putting in every effort to protect our employees and the wider community to tackle the risk of COVID-19.

Reaching out to our communities

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent nationwide lockdown that has brought the country to a standstill, Ambuja Cement immediately mobilised resources to protect the communities where we operate. Our CSR arm, Ambuja Cement Foundation quickly put together a plan of action that touched the lives of five lakh people. Running parallel are relief efforts, awareness and food security programs for communities living near our plants and the less privileged like migrant workers and daily wage labour.

Creation of SPOCs
- Individuals from the community like the lead farmer, field facilitator, SHG women, Sakhi, Village Volunteer were selected to be a Single Point of Contact (SPOCs) between the community and ACF.
- Around 4000 SPOCs created till date in 2000 villages who have been working diligently alongside health authorities sharing information on helpline numbers and Public Distribution Systems

Self Help Group (SHG) women make face masks
- Looking at an economic opportunity for our women during this lockdown to start their own micro-enterprise, ACF approached the women to help local authorities with face masks.
- Around 2000 empowered women from 9 locations have created more than 2.2 lakhs face masks and distributed across locations.

Dissemination of Mobile Messages
- Messages like social distancing, helpline numbers, emergency numbers were shared by the SPOCs, who used mobile messaging systems to send daily messages/images about the virus to beneficiaries.
- Reached over 5 lakh population of farmers and beneficiaries on with educative awareness images & messages through mobile messaging systems pushed out by the SPOCs.

Creation and Distribution of Ration Kits
- Critical Need for Ration Kits led to supporting more than 10000 families in Chandrapur, Dadri, Roorkee, Ropar, Bhatinda, Marwa Mundwa, Ambujanagar, Sankrail, Bhatapara and Farakka.
- Supported migrants and casual labourers by providing financial aid to the non-government organizations to distribute food supplies - ≈3,300 households (16,500 lives) through Goonj, Rations to ≈35,500 lives through Praja and Feeding 20,000 people through Roti bank