This report's theme is based on how we have embedded the principles of sustainability in business activities - People, Planet, Profit and Partnership. We are determined to create and provide sustainable value to all our key stakeholders. Our Motto, Mission, Vision serve as the guiding pillars towards our responsible business growth.
It is our pleasure to present our 9th Sustainability Report in which we share Galaxy's sustainability performance. This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option. The GRI content index is at the end of the report.
The report covers sustainability data and information for the identified material topics considering the reporting boundary as the operations in India, Egypt and USA. Our material topics have been identified through survey and stakeholder engagement process.
The reporting content is based on our annual reporting year which is from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.
We invite you to share views and feedback at sustainability@galaxysurfactants.com.
Click here to share your Feedback“FY 2019-20 might have ended on a somber note and our ‘today’ is filled with uncertainty; but let me assure you, the future holds promise. I hope you and your families are safe, healthy and secure.”
I am pleased to share our 9th Sustainability Report for the Financial Year 2019-20 which shows how we have embedded the principles of sustainability in business activities - People, Planet, Profit and Partnership. In these grim times, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to share some positive news with you. The year 2020 marks the 40 year since inception for Galaxy. The journey which began in 1980, has now completed 4 decades.
Read MoreConsolidated Revenue
From Operations
INR 2596.38 Crore
Pat Growth
+ 20.6 %
Innovation
Patents- 70
CSR Spend
INR 3.32 Crore
Talent Nurturing
18.79 Training
hours/employee
Safety
Zero Reportable Incidents
I am pleased to share our 9th Sustainability Report for the Financial Year 2019-20 which shows how we have embedded the principles of sustainability in business activities - People, Planet, Profit and Partnership. In these grim times, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to share some positive news with you. The year 2020 marks the 40 year since inception for Galaxy. The journey which began in 1980, has now completed 4 decades.
In these grim times, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to share some positive news with you. The year 2020 marks the 40 year since inception for Galaxy. The journey which began in 1980, has now completed 4 decades. I would like express my gratitude to all people who have contributed in growth of Galaxy – our employees, customers, investors, vendors, partners, and stakeholders. This journey has been built upon and enhanced through our focus on customer centricity, people and continuous innovation. In spite of numerous challenges, our strengths have enabled us to surpass the hurdles of changing requirements in terms of certain regulations, consumer demands and sustainability, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Our COVID ‘Yodhas’ as we internally call-our members from the Plant, Operations and Logistics not only fought through the various risks and lockdown restrictions but also ensured that we kept on delivering and fulfilling our customers’ needs 24x7. For the year 2019-20, while our Performance Surfactants business grew at 6% in volumes, Specialty grew at 1.7% after a spectacular FY 2018-19. Overall volumes grew at 4.4%.
Our entrepreneurship was recognized as my own nomination for being selected as Finalists in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2019 awards. Few of our key achievements were being awarded with Gold Innovation Award at HPCI 2020, Great Place to Work-Certified™ for Dec. 2019 – Nov. 2020, Gold level - National Awards for Manufacturing Competitiveness (NAMC) for Jhagadia manufacturing site and many customer recognitions.
As part of the Valuable 500 initiative, we have committed ourselves to including 40 differently-abled members within Galaxy by 2022. We have voluntarily embraced the TCFD recommendations to evaluate, manage and report our climate-related risks and opportunities through CDP Disclosure. Although, in this year, we have maintained our progress for our Sustainability Goals 2020, we are continually improving towards delivering positive impact on society and environment.
In April 2020, we had a very unfortunate and rare incident resulting in 3 fatalities of our employees. We deeply regret for the incident and express our solidarity to the family members of deceased. Safety has been an integral part of Galaxy’s Culture & Ethos since inception. Galaxy is known for its safety standards and while this accident has left an indelible mark, we shall ensure that such an incident never ever occurs again. Based on the insights derived from the investigation, we have launched Project Abhayatam – A Fearless, New Beginning. This project comprises an 8-step review mechanism by a Team of subject specialists within Galaxy. This will strengthen and enhance the Design, Operations, Safety and Skill levels of all our plant personnel across the organisation and enable us to identify the areas requiring improvement in Safety.
We look forward to work towards the larger purpose of contributing to better living along with our partners in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. We shall always be committed to safety of our employees and at workplace, contribute to community, and become major player in Personal and Home Care industry.
But to succeed tomorrow, one needs to work today, and work for the next decade has already begun. The next decade shall see the rise of ‘PERSISTENCE’ – Growth driven by: Premiumisation, E-commerce, Regulations, Sustainability and Safety, Innovation, Supplier Integration, Trade, Emerging Opportunities, New-age Technologies that shall power unmatched consumer experience, Customised Consumption, Engagement with all Stakeholders.
On that futuristic, optimistic and positive note, ladies and gentlemen, thank you once again for being part of this journey.
Thank you,
Yours sincerely,
U. Shekhar,
Managing Director
PS = Performance Surfactants
SC = Speciality Chemicals
From 2019, Galaxy is committed to including differently-abled members of society in our world and integrating them into the business. We have committed ourselves to including 40 differently-abled members within Galaxy by 2022.
Galaxy has embraced TCFD recommendations with a commitment to evaluate, manage and report its climate-related risks. The assessment aims to conduct climate-related risk assessment across Galaxy’s operations, identify the principal risks – physical and transitional, prioritise and estimate the financial impacts, thereby assessing Galaxy's resilience upon transitioning to a low carbon economy.
CII GreenCo is the “first of its kind in the world” holistic framework that evaluates companies on the environmental friendliness of their activities using the life cycle approach. Galaxy has adopted the GreenCo rating system at its Taloja plant, India to assess its operations’ environmental performance adopting a procedure-based approach.
Galaxy has adopted structured way of energy monitoring and control through EnMS 50001:2018. The certification was awarded to Taloja plant, India after successful audit conducted by BSI, a certification body.
GRI 102-40, 42, 43, 44
We consider it extremely important to understand the viewpoints and concern of our stakeholders. Every year, we attempt to bring continuous improvement in our approach towards comprehensively engaging our stakeholders and arriving at the material aspects. We have a range of internal and external stakeholders. We engage with all relevant stakeholders through a variety of mechanisms, including direct meeting, surveys, digital platform, engagement at industry forums, and sharing information. The frequency of engagement is organised for regular communication with stakeholders on key issues. We conduct additional engagement with identified stakeholders as part of development of our sustainability reports. Combining internal and external feedback, we have prioritised 14 topics as mentioned in Materiality Matrix. The Sustainability Cell has reviewed the material topics and validated 10 priority areas to be reported in the report.
GRI 102-47
Materiality assessment is essential to understand our sustainability priorities. We regularly review and update our materiality matrix. In February 2020, we have conducted survey with selected stakeholders to identify key topics of importance.
Also, we have identified priority UN Sustainable Development Goals* in line with Galaxy's material topics. The performance with respect to these topics is shared for the operations in India, Egypt and USA in subsequent sections based on GRI standards.
* To know more about United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,
visit web site: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
Based on the survey responses, we have updated Galaxy's Materiality Matrix as shown in diagram below. While finalising this list of topics, we have considered the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Our 10 material topics are Employee Safety, Health and Well-being; Innovation-Product Quality and Safety; Ethics and Governance; Water Stewardship; Waste Management; Climate Change; Oil Palm Derivatives; Financial Growth; Labour Relations; Customer Communication.
Galaxy has posted excellent financial performance during the year in a challenging environment. Against the consolidated volume growth (adjusted) of 4.4 %, the PAT grew by 20.6%. This has been achieved against deteriorating growth, adverse geopolitical conditions, volatility in currency and feedstock market and start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the continuous decline in the price of a major feedstock, the volume growth does not reflect in the sales revenue.
Particulars (Values in Rs. Crores) | Consolidated | Stand-alone | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
  | FY 2019-20 | FY 2018-19 | FY 2019-20 | FY 2018-19 |
Direct Economic Value Generated
|
2596.38 5.92 2602.3 |
2762.99 4.68 2767.67 |
1793.12 5.36 1798.48 |
1996.36 35.91 2032.27 |
Economic Value Distributed
|
2046.05 178.1 23.8 73.73 60.28 |
2246.19 160.41 30 91.29 42.55 |
1414.25 94.37 16.9 70.51 60.28 |
1638.43 87.31 20.44 82.32 42.55 |
Donations/CSR expenses | 3.32 | 3.02 | 3.32 | 3.02 |
Economic value retained Profit before tax Profit after tax |
217.02 288.84 230.41 |
194.21 276.85 190.98 |
138.85 229.7 182.18 |
158.2 254.37 168.45 |
The Consolidated financial statements comprise financial statements of Galaxy Surfactants Ltd (“the Company”) and its subsidiaries (collectively, the Group). As of March 31, 2020, the Company has five wholly-owned subsidiaries within the definition of ‘Subsidiary Company’ under the Companies Act, 2013. Further pursuant to the provisions of Section 136 of the Act, the Financial Statements of the subsidiaries are uploaded on the website of the Company i.e. www.galaxysurfactants.com.
Safety forms an integral part of our culture. Galaxy's Vision is to achieve and sustain an incident-free organisation. In order to achieve this Vision, we have established processes and systems and ensure that our culture promotes safety across all locations. In manufacturing sites, we conduct monthly meeting of joint safety committee chaired by Site Head and Safety in-charge. Members are from staff, operator and contractor category. Representation of operators and contractors is 50% and staff is 50%. As a company, we have always believed training and up-gradation of skills is an important aspect of employee development. In order to enhance safety awareness among employees & contractors, various emergency drills and trainings have been conducted. Galaxy provides safe workplace environment and imparts training to all its employees on regular basis. We regularly provide training to company and contractor employees on topics like behavioural safety, Fire Safety, SCBA, MSDS, EMS-OHSAS standards, Responsible Care, etc.
Across all locations, there were no reportable accidents, no fatalities or disabilities caused to employees during the FY 2019-20. TRIFR and Severity Rate are key safety indicators which are reviewed and monitored regularly.
Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate - TRIFR
3.70
(M: 3.57 , F: 0.13)
Severity Rate - Lost Day Rate (LDR)
0.47
(M: 0.33, F: 0.13)
Note: As per the Factories Act, 1948 (India), there is no reportable incident. TRIFR is based on injuries related to first-aid and medical treatment case. TRIFR and Severity rate (LDR) are calculated considering number of million working man-hours.
Responsible Care is the chemical industry’s unique global initiative that drives continuous improvement in health, safety and environmental (HSE) performance, together with open and transparent communication with stakeholders. This initiative, which started in Canada in late 1980s, is gaining worldwide momentum in the chemical industry. In India, Indian Chemical Council is in the forefront in spreading this initiative. Galaxy Surfactants Ltd. received permission for using Responsible Care Logo for a period of 3 years: January 2018 to December 2020; post-surveillance audit carried out in November 2017.
Responsible Care enables the chemical industry to contribute to most of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as address some of the major sustainability footprint issues that the chemical industries face, including product stewardship, pollution prevention, occupational & process safety, emergency preparedness, community engagement, safe chemicals distribution and chemical security.
Security Vulnerability Assessment at Jhagadia, Gujarat
Signatory to Responsible Care Global
Charter in March 2015
Recertification Responsible Care Logo for 3 years:
January 2018 to December 2020
Every year, more than 10,000 organizations from over 60 countries partner Great Place to Work® Institute for assessment, benchmarking and planning actions to strengthen their workplace culture.
Great Place to Work® Certification Program is the first step for an organization in its journey to build a High-Trust, High-Performance Culture™ and our organization has successfully accomplished this milestone. Galaxy Surfactants has been certified for the second time as Great Place to Work - Certified™ by the Great Place to Work® Institute for period December 2019- November 2020.
As part of the Valuable 500 initiative, Galaxy has committed to having 40 differently-abled members as a part of its family by 2022. Our work culture fosters diversity and equal opportunity. We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to including differently-abled members of society in our world and integrating them into the business.
We had participated in the job fair organized by the National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped (NASEOH), India held in Mumbai.
GRI 102-8, 103-1-3; 401-1
In FY 2019-20, our employee strength was 2506 including 1566 permanent employees and 940 (M: 908, F: 32) contract employees. There was 12% increase in number of permanent employees across all our regions - India, Egypt and USA as compared to our employee strength in FY 2018-19.
There is no discrimination in recruitment, development, promotion on the basis of gender, age, religion or disability. Out of Galaxy Group workforce, around 8.5% of our employees are women, 0.5% are Persons with Disabilities (PwD) or differently-abled employees and 0.3% have chosen not to identify their gender.
LOCATION | MALE | FEMALE | UNIDENTIFIED* | TOTAL |
---|---|---|---|---|
GROUP - EMPLOYEE COUNT | 1427 | 133 | 6 | 1566 |
INDIA | 1240 | 93 | 0 | 1333 |
EGYPT | 153 | 10 | 0 | 163 |
USA | 34 | 30 | 6 | 70 |
Total: 320 (Male: 287, Female: 33)
Total: 129 (Male: 107, Female: 22)
GRI 103-1-3; 404-1
Galaxy is committed towards building talent and a high performance learning culture where our employees feel empowered, challenged and rewarded, and have many opportunities to demonstrate their skills and abilities. In line with our People Energy (PE) Policy, we continuously train our people to perform efficiently, effectively and to enlarge themselves.
Our objective continues to be to support the business in achieving sustainable and responsible growth by building the right capabilities in the organisation. Various Behavioural, Safety, Technical and On-the-job training programmes were organised for our workforce. Total training hours in FY 2019-20 was recorded to be 29426 hrs covering 99.5% employees
Average Training hours: 18.79 hours/employee
118 hours/employee
9.5 hours/employee
19 hours/employee
Training on Code of Conduct, Human Rights, Whistle Blower Policy, Ethical Trading
Initiative (ETI) Code (in India)*
400 Trained, 30% employee coverage through KYG, Parichay for Staff and classroom sessions for operators at all plants
522 impacted, 39% employee coverage through LMS and email communication
145 Trained , 19% coverage through classroom sessions conducted at Taloja plant
GRI 103-1-3; 203-1,2; 413-1
66,293 People benefited through various initiatives
100 Tribal creches supported by providing nutritional food to 1100 underprivileged and malnourished infants
Notebooks distributed to over 5950+ students during the year
198 underprivileged women benefited from Livelihood skill based training
~ 18 tons of material-Distribution of Food & Hygiene Kit to 1009 families affected by flood
Sponsored for 9 Health cum Eye Camps covering 1560 people
Construction of New Village Overhead Tank (80,000 litres capacity) for villagers of Talodara, Jhagadia, Guajarat
CSR Committee has identified the thrust area projects around which Galaxy shall be focussing its CSR initiatives and channelising the resources on a sustained basis.
Over the years, our initiatives have reached over 2.6 Lakh people including 68,000+ students and 1,92,000+ community members.
Projects | IMPACT* |
---|---|
Environment Tree Plantation |
45,328 Trees |
Education Schools supported |
113 |
Health & Hygiene Toilet Blocks in schools Toilet Blocks in communities Hand-washing stations Water Filters for safe drinking water Hand Hygiene sessions Nutrition Project
|
125 200 1918 85 151 2200 infants 200 students |
Differently-Abled Special schools and institutions Beneficiaries |
12 798 |
Women Empowerment Vocational training in Navi Mumbai Vocational training in Jhagadia |
430 young women and girls 173 women |
Community Development Rainwater Harvesting Structure potential Water conservation |
11.89 Crores Litres 15.10 Crores Litres |
Tree Plantation, Panvel,
Maharashtra, India
Safety Session in school, Egypt
Construction of Village Water
Tank, Jhagadia, Gujarat, India
Medical Camp, Taloja,
Maharashtra, India
Notebook and School Kits
Distribution, Tarapur
Maharashtra, India
Flood Rehabilitation - Rebuilding
houses, Kolhapur, Maharashtra,
India
With Sustainability - a way of life at Galaxy, we have embarked on a journey of sustainable growth across all geographies of our operations. Galaxy continues to improve sustainable performance and practices by adopting globally applicable management systems. Galaxy strives to minimize environmental impact by setting long term sustainability goals. Over the past several years, we have made substantial progress in Environmental Management and Sustainability goals.
CII’s GreenCo Rating is the “first of its kind in the world” holistic framework that evaluates companies on the environmental friendliness of their activities using the life cycle approach. Galaxy adopted the GreenCo rating system at its Taloja plant in Nov. 2019 to assess its operations’ environmental performance adopting a procedure-based approach.
In August 2020, Galaxy Surfactants, Taloja plant has been conferred with the CII Green Company rating (GreenCo - Silver level).
Galaxy has Sustainability Goals 2020-21 with focus in areas of climate change, energy, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, tree plantation, water, packaging waste and life cycle assessment. The Financial Year 2020-21 will mark 10 years of Sustainability Journey and final year for our Sustainability Goals 2020. With a clear roadmap in mind, focus and vision, Galaxy is determined towards making a positive impact and further difference to our society in the coming years. The performance of these goals and material topics are being reviewed on quarterly basis in Sustainability Cell meetings and other internal review meetings.
Sustainability Goals 2020- Targets | Target for FY 2020-21 |
Achievement FY 2019-20 (March 31, 2020) |
Base Year |
---|---|---|---|
Water Reduction (Intensity), India | 80% | 58% | FY 2011-12 |
Water Reduction (Intensity), Egypt | 50% | 39% | FY 2014-15 |
Energy Reduction (Intensity), India | 50% | 37% | FY 2011-12 |
Energy Reduction (Intensity), Egypt | 30% | 8% | FY 2014-15 |
GHG Reduction (Intensity), India | 35% | 23% | FY 2012-13 |
GHG Reduction (Intensity), Egypt | 25% | 10% | FY 2014-15 |
Packaging Waste Reduction (Intensity), India | 10% | 19.8% | FY 2015-16 |
Waste Reduction (Intensity), Egypt | 15% | -17% * | FY 2014-15 |
Tree Plantation, India | 25000 | 51703 | FY 2015-16 |
Renewable Energy Share **, India | 10% | 2.2% | FY 2015-16 |
Life Cycle Assessment of Products (India, Egypt) |
40 | 29 | FY 2015-16 |
Note: Water Reduction, Energy Reduction, GHG Reduction targets are intensity based which means unit per MT reduction. The Targets for Tree plantation, Life Cycle Assessment are absolute numbers.
* The increase in waste is due to implementation of new projects and manufacturing of new products.
** Increase share of power from renewable energy sources
GRI 103-1-3
Galaxy is committed to deliver consistently high quality and high performing products and services to its customers. Product quality and safety is a significant topic for us as our products are widely used in personal and home care industry globally. We focus relentlessly on continuous improvement in quality in all domains and implemented key Best Practices at our sites, which enables it to meet the stringent quality benchmarks set by multinational customers for the product qualifications. Quality is reviewed by teams and top management at regular levels to ensure compliance and improvements.
Since 2000, a total of 70 patents have been granted to Galaxy. Currently, 15 patents in USA, 2 patents each in China, Japan, Brazil and Russia, 4 in the European Union, and 16 patents in India are being maintained by Galaxy. Galaxy has applied for an aggregate of 16 patents globally, of which 6 applications have been made in India and an aggregate of 10 applications have been made for the patents in US, China, the European Union and Brazil. In FY 2019-20, a total of 11 patents were granted to Galaxy, of which 6 were granted in India, 3 in USA, and 2 in Brazil.
Galaxy has received the honour of ‘Excellent use of IP in Innovation’ for ‘Method to produce N-acyl amino acid surfactants using N-acyl amino acid surfactants or the corresponding anhydrides as catalysts’ (US9187407 B2) by Transformance Forums on September 27, 2019.
The constant endeavour of Innovation Process is to provide high-performing, value-added solutions to the Home and Personal Care industry. Galaxy works in close collaboration with Research & Development teams of the home and personal care product manufacturers, both locally and globally. Our focus remains on expanding our innovative basket of ingredients which form part of multiple existing as well as emerging categories like UV absorbers, functional macromolecules, non-toxic preservation, mild surfactants for gentle cleansing, and blends. Backed by the principles of Green Chemistry, sustainability is always at the core of Galaxy’s innovation efforts.
GRI 417-1
We display product information like product trade name, gross wt., tare wt. etc. on regular product labels. In addition, we ensure that the hazards and adverse effects of the chemicals on human health and the environment, as well as physical and chemical properties are communicated down the supply chain in the form of Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and hazard labels. SDS are prepared for all our products according to the Commission Regulation (EU) No. 2015/830 for EU and GHS (Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labeling of chemicals) for all other countries. GHS /Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation ((EC) No. 1272/2008) labels are also affixed on packages for clear and concise communication of product hazards, as applicable. SDS and hazard labels are periodically reviewed and revised. In addition, SDS and hazard labels are also updated whenever new and significant information is available.
While transporting dangerous goods, we ensure use of UN certified packing material and affixation of Dangerous goods labels in compliance with IMDG (International Maritime Dangerous Goods) and IATA (International Air Transport Association). We have registered for worldwide emergency service through ChemTrec*.
Galaxy has received ECOCERT attestations for our 17 products and
COSMOS attestations for our 4 products in India.
Galaxy is committed to develop safe, sustainable & eco-friendly products, processes, technologies and services and to adopt Life Cycle thinking contributing towards product stewardship. Sustainability is an integral part of product design. We are developing new products by giving highest priority to safety and health impact.
One of our Sustainability Goals 2020 is to conduct Life Cycle Assessment of 40 products. Galaxy plans to assess majority of its product range for their total environment impacts, moving beyond basics like energy and water intensity of products. Galaxy took up Life Cycle Assessment based on ISO 14040/14044 as a part of assessing total impact of product through its lifecycle and completed LCA for 29 identified products with the help of GaBi tool, as part of the initiative.
GRI 103-1-3; 308-1; 414-1
We consider suppliers as one of the important partners in our value chain. We have supplier selection and evaluation process based on environment, social, safety and quality parameters prior to registration of the supplier. This helps us to ensure integrity of our final product quality and safety. We have established Supplier Code of Conduct which defines the requirements of ethics and integrity, human rights, safety, health & environment to be met by all suppliers. Engaging continuously with our supply chain partners to improve operational efficiency and integrate sustainability considerations into value chain, we scaled strategic engagement with our suppliers on sustainability agenda during the year.
During the year, we have taken conscious efforts to create sustainability and safety awareness among local suppliers. We are regularly assessing our suppliers on their environment and social performance through our internal audit team. Our supplier sustainability survey covers key suppliers amounting to more than 90% in procurement spend. In India, 33% of new suppliers were screened using environmental and social criteria in FY 2019-20. 48.8% of all raw materials sourced were from renewable sources for FY 2019-20.
Our key raw materials are obtained from Palm plantations and are derivatives of Palm Kernel Oil & Palm Oil. The demand for palm oil & palm kernel oil based products is poised to grow in the market with the coming years. ‘Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’ is a not-for-profit organisation established to unite various stakeholders in palm oil supply chain and to develop and implement global standards of sustainable palm oil.
Galaxy is an ordinary member of RSPO since 2012. Our manufacturing units in India & Egypt are RSPO certified. We were the first company in India to receive permission to use RSPO trademark globally. We are certified to use MB (Mass Balance) grade for our products and also got upgraded to SG (Segregation) model for our India facilities. This enables us to partner with our key customers’ sustainable palm oil strategy and goals.