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Objective of Review
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was retained by ITC Limited (“ITC”)
to review the contents of its Corporate Sustainability Report
(“Report”) prepared under its responsibility and based on Global
Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2006 guidelines (G3). The Report,
which relates to ITC’s triple bottom line (TBL) performance for
the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007, covers all units of
ITC mentioned in the Report.
This statement to ITC provides PwC’s
Independent Review on select information and data, as stated
below, presented in the Report.
Responsibilities
during Review
The Management of ITC is responsible for the
collection and presentation of the TBL information in the
Report. Our responsibility, as agreed with the Management, is to
express conclusions with limited review of select data and
information contained in the Report in accordance with the
International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000
“Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of
Historical Information,” approved December 2003 by the
International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).
The Report and its contents are the
responsibility of the management of ITC, while the observations
made under Independent Review Statement is the outcome of the
professional work undertaken by PwC.
Limitations of Scope
of Work
Our review comprised limited assurance on data and
information reported against the indicators delineated under
Scope of Review, below.
The data and graphs on financial performance,
as specified in the Report under Economic indicators are derived
from the audited 2006-07 financial statements of ITC Limited.
Excluded from the scope of our work is
information relating to:
-
Units and indicators other than those
mentioned above ;
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All future looking statements including
those of commitments, opinion, belief and/or aspiration.
Scope and Approach
of Review
The scope of the review covering sample sites and indicators, as
delineated below, included those that are material to ITC’s
business and provided our evidence gathering procedures with
sufficient appropriate evidence on which to base our conclusion.
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Visits to the following sites viz.
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Paperboards and Specialty Papers
Division ((PSPD): Bhadrachalam (Andhra Pradesh)
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Packaging and Printing Business
(PPB): Tiruvottiyur (Tamil Nadu)
-
India Tobacco Division (ITD):
Bengaluru Factory, (Karnataka)
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Hotels: ITC Windsor, Bengaluru
(Karnataka)
Additionally, discussions were held at
the Corporate Head Quarters at ngal) with
senior management responsible for providing overview of HSE
issues and community initiatives.
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Review of the following short-listed TBL
indicators:
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Energy
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Direct Energy and Indirect Energy
use
-
Initiatives to use renewable
energy
-
CO2 Emissions
-
Water
-
Total water withdrawn segmented
by source
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Significant effluent discharges,
water recycled and reused
-
Initiatives for water
conservation and harvesting
-
Solid Waste
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Solid waste generated, reused and
recycled
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Accidents
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Lost Day, injury, absentee rates
and work related fatalities
-
Community Initiatives
-
Targeted investments for soil and
moisture conservation
-
Social & Farm Forestry
Initiatives
Review Procedures
carried out
Our work comprised of:
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a desktop review of TBL issues relevant
to ITC’s businesses;
-
understanding of the operations and
systems established at each of the four sample sites
mentioned above with respect to the delineated indicators
for the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 and the TBL
commitments made by ITC;
-
an understanding of systems for data
generation, collection, analysis, consolidation and
reporting at business unit, divisional and group level based
on evidence gathering procedures;
-
review and sample testing at four sample
sites of the indicators and associated statements presented
in the Report;
-
interviews with senior management at
Corporate Office as well as relevant ITC personnel at the
four sample sites for issues relating to HSE and community
initiatives;
-
review of conclusions drawn from data and
corresponding statements made in ITC’s Report for the
delineated indicators stated above at (2) under Scope of
Review in the context of completeness and reliability.
Basis for Review
We planned and performed our work in accordance with ISAE 3000.
We sought all information and explanations that we considered
necessary to provide sufficient evidence for us to ascertain
that the above indicators were consistent with the activities in
the four sample units for the financial period; and were
documented and stated in accordance with G3 as well as the
corporate guidelines under ITC’s corporate policies.
Conclusion
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On the basis of the work undertaken, nothing has come to our
attention that would cause us not to believe that:
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Based on our review, we consider the data and text presented
in the Sustainability Report to cover the significant aspects of
ITC’s sustainability performance and management thereof.
-
The Report is in accordance with G3 guidelines.
Tapan Ray
Executive Director
PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited Dated:
1 February 2008
Place: Mumbai |
