Case study: How Arvind creates economic value for its stakeholders
Arvind Limited is a globally renowned integrated solutions provider in textiles, ranking amongst the top suppliers of fabric globally. Arvind has widened the scope of sustainability through joint development and collaborations with its customers leading to growth, innovation and, most importantly, delivering more sustainable value to all its stakeholders. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2022 Sustainability Report by Arvind, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
In FY 21-22, the economic value distributed by Arvind reached INR Crore 7,455. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Arvind took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for providers of capital
- create economic value for the government of India
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Arvind has identified;
- How Arvind proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Arvind to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2022 Sustainability Report Arvind identified a range of material issues, such as environmental impact of cotton and other fibres, product traceability, water use and management, regulatory and legal challenges. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Arvind.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Arvind engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics Arvind engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Customers | · Periodic one-to-one interactions with key customers · Customer satisfaction survey · Personal meetings by Arvind’s design and technology teams with customer groups at regular intervals throughout the year · B2B customer portal launched during the reporting period to facilitate a continuous dialogue · Feedback gathered during customer visits and audits of the manufacturing locations |
| Investors | · Regular dissemination of financial performance through newspapers and published accounts · In-depth interactions via analyst meets and investor presentations · Address specific queries on sustainability from investors |
| Media | · Media interaction events, press conferences, media announcements of quarterly reports and major tie-ups · Media visits to facilities to demonstrate business growth and new technologies |
| Employees | · Structured interactive appraisals, career path guidance, training programmes, employee rewards and recognitions, development programmes · Feedback mechanism for Front Line Managers (FLMs) using various channels |
| Community
| · Activities by institutions promoted or partnered by Arvind, like NLRDF, SHARDA Trust, etc. · Interactions by the Industrial Relations department |
| Government
| · Personal meetings · Submission of relevant compliance documents · Presence in industry forums, etc. |
| Suppliers | · Periodic interactions with suppliers by Arvind’s buying and sourcing teams · Training programmes, quality workshops, etc. |
What actions were taken by Arvind to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2022 Sustainability Report Arvind reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In FY 21-22, Arvind paid INR Crore 809 for employee benefits and wages.
- Creating economic value for providers of capital
- In FY 21-22, Arvind paid INR Crore 176 to providers of capital.
- Creating economic value for the government of India
- In FY 21-22, Arvind paid INR Crore 26 to the government of India.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In FY 21-22, Arvind spent INR Crore 3.8 in community investments.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Arvind, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
https://www.arvind.com/pdf/Arvind_SR_22.pdf
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