Driven by our Chairman, Mr Anil Agarwal’s vision, “Our policies support equal opportunities, workplace safety, and employee well-being, creating an environment where all employees can thrive,” Vedanta Group has a robust safety record with world-class facilities, supportive infrastructure, and industry-leading best practices.
At Vedanta, we are a “Safety First” Organization, deeply committed to providing a safe work environment across our diverse, high-risk mining operations as we believe every miner deserves to return home safe. By putting well-being first, we honour our responsibility as an employer and develop a culture of safety and sustainability to achieve our ultimate vision of “Zero Harm”, “Zero Waste” and “Zero Discharge”.
Our standards have received global appreciation at prestigious forums such as the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2024 – where Vedanta Ltd attained 5th rank among 248 metal and mining companies & subsidiary Hindustan Zinc Limited retained the #1 global ranking for the second consecutive year. Notably, Vedanta and Hindustan Zinc are the only Indian companies in the global top ten rankings. Our efforts are spearheaded by our Safety Community of Practice, ensuring organization-wide engagement and consistency.
We have adopted 17 safety performance standards and 20 technical and management standards for health and safety, benchmarked against international best practices, including the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). Adherence is regularly evaluated through internal audits under the Vedanta Sustainability Assurance Programme (VSAP), ensuring all business units comply with the Vedanta Sustainability Framework (VSF).
Further stressing the need for inviolable safety protocols, business units have implemented the Critical Risk Management (CRM) framework to manage top critical risks and improve on-site safety, integrating external experts and verification checklists to reinforce Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) measures. As part of our technological impetus, we have onboarded Slope Safety Radars to provide real-time data, thus significantly enhancing our capability to conduct safe operations.
The implementation of ‘Design Safety’ through the Infrastructure Matrix (Infra Matrix) program, is unique to Vedanta & helps recommend design standards and practices for key critical risks. This home-grown concept is data driven & developed from parsing through a decade’s worth of data, guides infrastructure development and design of engineering controls, prioritizing critical safety improvements to manage each critical risk, supported by governance oversight and budgetary backing.
In alignment with India’s legal framework, specifically the Mines Act of 1952, Vedanta follows a progressive mine closure approach, integrating closure activities during the mining lifecycle through afforestation, water management, and rehabilitation. The Sanquelim Reclaimed Mines, in Goa are a prime example of mine closure carried out in a scientific and collaborative manner. To ensure responsible handling and minimize losses, we prioritise establishing Tailings Storage Facility Standards in accordance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), along with a Tailings Management Policy that safeguards employees, communities, and the environment across all operational phases.
We place particular emphasis on continuous learning and skill development for those overseeing site safety, ensuring teams stay ahead of evolving risks. Our systems feature proactive checks and early-warning mechanisms to swiftly address potential dangers, including real-time surveillance to monitor personnel behavior & helps detect potential safety breaches.
Mining projects face various security risks that can jeopardize operations and community safety. We prioritize the safety and well-being of local communities as part of our ‘Safety is Us’ approach, fostering collective responsibility for workplace and community safety.
At Vedanta , safety is not merely a compliance factor but ensuring it and implementing the protocols forms the very bedrock of our operational philosophy as a responsible & sustainable producer of ore.