Annexures

 Policies and Guidelines

ITC’s Vision

Sustain ITC’s position as one of India’s most valuable corporations through world-class performance, creating growing value for the Indian economy and the Company’s stakeholders.

ITC’s Mission

To enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a globalising environment, delivering superior and sustainable stakeholder value.

ITC’s Core Values

ITC’s Core Values are aimed at developing a customer-focussed, high-performance organisation which creates values for all its stakeholders.

Trusteeship- As professional managers, we are conscious that ITC has been given to us in ‘trust’ by all our stakeholders. We will actualise stakeholder value and interest on a long-term sustainable basis.

Customer Focus- We are always customer-focussed and will deliver what the customer needs in terms of value, quality and satisfaction.

Respect for People- We are result oriented, setting high performance standards for ourselves as individuals and teams. We will simultaneously respect and value people and uphold humanness and human dignity. We acknowledge that every individual brings different perspectives and capabilities to the team and that a strong team is founded on a variety of perspectives.

We want individuals to dream, value differences, create and experiment in pursuit of opportunities and achieve leadership through teamwork.

Excellence- We do what is right, do it well and win. We will strive for excellence in whatever we do.

Innovation- We will constantly pursue newer and better processes, products, services and management practices.

Nation Orientation- We are aware of our responsibility to generate economic value for the Nation. In pursuit of our goals, we will make no compromise in complying with applicable laws and regulations at all levels.

Corporate Governance Policy- ITC defines Corporate Governance as a systemic process by which companies are directed and controlled to enhance their wealth-generating capacity. Since large corporations employ a vast quantum of societal resources, ITC believes that the governance process should ensure that these resources are utilised in a manner that meets stakeholders’ aspirations and societal expectations. This belief is reflected in the Company’s deep commitment to contribute to the ‘Triple Bottom Line’, namely, the development, nurture and regeneration of the nation’s economic, social and environmental capital.

ITC’s Corporate Governance structure, systems and processes are based on two core principles -

	Management must have the executive freedom to drive the enterprise forward without undue restraints; and
	This freedom of management should be exercised within a framework of effective accountability.

ITC believes that any meaningful policy on Corporate Governance must empower the executive management of the Company. At the same time, Governance must create a mechanism of checks and balances to ensure that the decision-making powers vested in the executive management are used with care and responsibility to meet stakeholders’ aspirations and societal expectations.

From this definition and core principles of Corporate Governance emerge the cornerstones of ITC’s governance philosophy, namely, trusteeship, transparency, empowerment & accountability, control and ethical corporate citizenship. ITC believes that the practice of each of these creates the right corporate culture that fulfills the true purpose of Corporate Governance.

The Policy Document that sets out the structure, policies and practices of governance is available on the Company’s corporate website www.itcportal.com under the section ‘Our Values’.

The ITC Code of Conduct, as adopted by the Board of Directors, is applicable to Directors, senior management and employees of the Company. This Code is derived from three interlinked fundamental principles, viz. good corporate governance, good corporate citizenship and exemplary personal conduct. The Code covers ITC’s commitment to sustainable development, concern for occupational health, safety and environment, a gender friendly workplace, transparency and auditability, legal compliance, and the philosophy of leading by personal example. Any instance of non-adherence to the Code or any other observed unethical behaviour on the part of those covered under the Code is to be brought to the attention of the immediate reporting authority, who in turn, should report the same to the Head of Corporate Human Resources. The Code is available on the Company’s corporate website.

ITC has a Code of Conduct for Prevention of Insider Trading (‘ITC Code’) in the securities of the Company. The ITC Code, inter alia, prohibits purchase/sale of securities of the Company by directors and employees while in possession of unpublished price sensitive information in relation to the Company. The ITC Code is available on the Company’s corporate website.

ITC’s Mission is to sustain and enhance the wealth-generating capacity of its portfolio of businesses in a progressively globalising environment. As one of India’s premier corporations employing a vast quantum of societal resources, ITC seeks to fulfil a larger role by enlarging its contribution to the society of which it is a part. The trusteeship role related to social and environmental resources, aligned to the pursuit of economic objectives, is the cornerstone of ITC’s Environment, Health and Safety philosophy. ITC’s EHS philosophy cognises for the twin needs of conservation and creation of productive resources.

In the multi-business context of ITC, Corporate Strategies are designed to create enduring value for the nation and the shareholder, through leadership in each business and the attainment of world-class competitive capabilities across the value chain. The objective of leadership extends to all facets of business operations including Environment, Health and Safety.

ITC is, therefore, committed to conducting its operations with due regard for the environment, and providing a safe and healthy workplace for each employee. Various international and national awards and accreditations stand testimony to ITC’s commitment to EHS. Such external recognition further reinforces the need to direct the collective endeavour of the Company’s employees at all levels towards sustaining and continuously improving standards of Environment, Health and Safety in a bid to attain and exceed benchmarked standards, whether regulatory or otherwise.

In particular, it is ITC’s EHS policy-

	To contribute to sustainable development through the establishment and implementation of environment standards that are scientifically tested and meet the requirement of relevant laws, regulations and codes of practice.
	To take account of environment, occupational health and safety in planning and decision-making.
	To provide appropriate training and disseminate information to enable all employees to accept individual responsibility for Environment, Health and Safety, implement best practices, and work in partnership to create a culture of continuous improvement.
	To instil a sense of duty in every employee towards personal safety, as well as that of others who may be affected by the employee’s actions.
	To provide and maintain facilities, equipment, operations and working conditions which are safe for employees, visitors and contractors at the Company’s premises.
	To ensure safe handling, storage, use and disposal of all substances and materials that are classified as hazardous to health and environment.
	To reduce waste, conserve energy, and promote recycling of materials wherever possible.
	To institute and implement a system of regular EHS audit in order to assure compliance with laid down policy, benchmarked standards, and requirements of laws, regulations and applicable codes of practice.
	To proactively share information with business partners towards inculcating world-class EHS standards across the value chain of which ITC is a part.

All employees of ITC are expected to adhere to and comply with the EHS Policy and Corporate Standards on EHS.

ITC’s EHS Policy extends to all sites of the Company. It will be the overall responsibility of the Divisional/SBU Chief Executives, through the members of their Divisional Management Committees, General Managers and Unit Heads, to ensure implementation of this Policy and Corporate Standards on EHS, including formation of various committees and designating individuals for specific responsibilities in respect of their Division/SBU.

The Corporate EHS Department is responsible for reviewing and updating Corporate Standards on EHS, and for providing guidance and support to all concerned.