As one of the largest metals and mining groups in India and with mines in Australia and Zambia, the Group is committed to managing its business in a socially responsible manner. The management of environmental, employee, health and safety and community issues in respect of our operations is central to the success of our business.

The key areas that Vedanta addresses are:

Environment

The company aims to reduce the impact of its activites on the environment wherever feasible. The majority of our sites are certified to the international environmental management systems standard ISO 14001. This includes the requirement that environmental  impacts are identified and that there are ongoing programmes for improvement accross key impact areas.

Health & Safety

We are proud of the fact that we have won numerous safety awards. In March 2002 Sterlite's copper smelter at Tuticorin received the British Safety Council five star award, the first copper smelter in the world to achieve such a rating. In September 2003 the National Safety Award was presented to HZL's Debari zinc smelter by the Indian Ministry of Labour for outstanding performance in industrial safety.

Employees

We have a business ethics policy, employee training, are improving equal opportunities through a change management programme as well as offer support to employees' families through the provision of housing, schools, medical and recreational facilities.