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Our ESG Commitments
1.1. 100 % Green Portfolio
We are committed to a 100% green portfolio since 2013. All our projects are IGBC gold and above/ GRIHA 3 star and above.
1.2. Carbon Neutrality
We are committed to Carbon Neutrality by 2040 for our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for our entire business operations aligned with Mahindra Group’s Carbon neutrality commitment. Science Based Target is an enabler to achieve carbon neutrality for Mahindra Lifespaces.
1.3. Science-Based Targets:
Science Based Target Science-based targets show companies how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Our climate action plan is based on our SBTi approved target.
Mahindra Lifespaces, Mahindra world City Developer(Chennai) Ltd and Mahindra World City(Jaipur) Ltd lead the way to in climate action in India. The only companies in real estate sector in India to get Science Based Targets approved by SBTi in 2019. Our Scope 1 and 2 targets are aligned to 1.5 degree pathway. SBTi approved targets are a means for reaching carbon neutrality.
- Science-Based Targets – Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited
- Science-Based Targets – Mahindra World City, Chennai
- Science Based Targets – Mahindra World City, Jaipur
4. IGBC mission on Net Zero
On April 22nd we signed up the IGBC pledge for development of net zero buildings. We are committed to the mission on Net Zero for our upcoming projects. Since over 90% of our emissions are in use phase this pledge enables us to channelise climate action strategies in residential portfolio.
Our Sustainability Policy
1.1. Our ESG Journey So Far
Cities continue to be the engines for economic growth and social prosperity. From driving investments and effecting social change, to setting benchmarks in productivity and competitiveness, cities have been at the forefront of international progress. With the building sector primed to facilitate rapid urbanisation, there also comes the opportunity to tackle some specific challenges, especially for optimal utilisation of resources. With heavy reliance of the sector on natural resources, utilising between 20% to 40% of basic resources like water, raw materials, and energy; and contributions to water effluents and waste between 20% to 30%, there is a significant opportunity to harness and drive disruptive and sustainable change.
As a real estate developer, we are mindful of the impacts of our operations on the environment. We are also aware of the risks that depleting natural resources and other environmental issues pose to the sustainable growth of our business. In order to tackle the challenges, Mahindra Lifespaces practices and promotes sustainable urbanisation through an integrated approach to design and execute projects that is strongly rooted in environmental and social considerations. In the first wave – Sustainability 1.0 of our journey, our efforts revolved on developing green built environment, cascading sustainable practices across the supply chain, and enhancing the quality of our disclosures.
Sustainability 2.0 is a manifestation of our futuristic approach. Under this, we are focusing on moving towards carbon neutrality, integrating SDGs into business considerations, and deepening our engagement with customers and employees. This is being facilitated by our Sustainability Policy which helps us to realise our mission and create value for our stakeholders. The Policy, aligned with other organisational policies and the Group Sustainability Framework, comprises four pillars.
1. 2. Our 10-year milestones
View our sustainability report here.
1.3. Our Road Ahead
Our 2025 Sustainability Roadmap enables us to chalk out our actions to deliver the well-being of our employees, environment, customers, and communities. The roadmap delivers the clear sense of direction that comes from assessing how we create value now while considering how we can create more in the future.
Our 2025 sustainability Roadmap is aligned with:
- Our business strategic objectives
- Mahindra Group Sustainability Framework
- External commitments – Science Based Target (SBT) and Carbon neutrality
- Compliance requirements as per CSR Act and group CSR mandates
- 6 capitals of International Integrated Reporting guidelines (IIRC) framework
We have separate roadmaps per business – one for residential and the other for our IC & IC.
Roadmap progress:
- FY 2023-2024
Our ESG Journey
Our Sustainability Policy
Mahindra Lifespaces’ corporate policies and codes form a key component of the governance framework. They guide our employees and other stakeholders across the value chain to uphold our commitment to ethics, transparency, and sustainability. To enhance transparency, all our policies have been published on our website and disseminated to our employees and supply chain partners through during induction and onboarding. Refresher trainings are also provided through the internal communication portal. Policies are also translated into local languages, wherever required.
Our Sustainability Policy enables us to realize our vision and purpose of bringing spaces alive. Mahindra Lifespaces practices and promotes sustainable urbanization through an integrated approach towards design and project execution that is strongly rooted in our environmental and social considerations. Our Sustainability policy is aligned with other organizational policies around Environment, Health and Safety, Corporate Social Responsibility, Green Supply Chain Management, Quality, Equal Opportunity, and our Code of Conduct. It follows the Mahindra Rise principles and Core values and is aligned to the Mahindra and Mahindra Sustainability Framework of – Building Enduring Business while Rejuvenating the Environment and Enabling stakeholders to Rise.
Mahindra Lifespaces has been an early adopter and one of the leaders in sustainable development. The policy renews our commitment to enable a million people to live, smile, and prosper by building homes, industrial parks, and cities that provide integrated ecosystem through design, experience & acceleration. Our array of sustainability-related policies provides a foundation for assessing ESG and climate-related risks and integrating sustainability into our operations. The four pillars of our Sustainability Policy – Sustainable Products, Sustainable Sites, Sustainable Offices, and Sustainable Communities – help us in realizing our vision and creating greener, safer, and healthier buildings for all.
Our sustainability policy can be accessed here.
Value Creation Model
Our Value Creation Approach
1.1. How we create value: Our Value Creation Model
As a leading real estate developer, we are committed to delivering value to customers; to creating decent employment opportunities; and to driving positive change in the communities around our projects. To enable a million people to live, smile and prosper by building homes, industrial parks and cities that provide integrated ecosystems through design, experience & acceleration, we rely on our value creation model. It leverages financial, manufactured, human, natural, intellectual, and relationship capital to create value for our stakeholder. Our value creation process is based on pillars of our Sustainability Policy – Sites, Product, Offices and Communities. It is inclusive of stakeholder requirements and enables us to focus on material issues for long term sustainability of the organisation while mitigating risks and leveraging opportunities.
Our value creation model is aligned to the strategic pillars of our sustainability policy. It enables us to deliver impacts that enhance customer , environmental , associate and community well-being.
1.2. Material Issues for value creation
Our materiality process applies integrated thinking to identify matters that may influence our ability to create value in the short medium, and long term. We, at Mahindra Lifespaces, incorporate material topics that have a direct or indirect impact on our ability to create, preserve, or erode economic environmental, and social value for ourselves, our stakeholders, the environment, and society in our strategy and decision-making processes.
The sustainability focus areas of Mahindra Lifespaces have been identified on the basis of a structured materiality assessment conducted in 2018-19 in line with the GRI standards. Our material assessment is aligned with changing regulatory requirements, business context due to Covid pandemic, market needs, customer preferences, evolving sustainability and climate discourse, commitment to Science based Targets initiative, and Mahindra Group commitments. We performed an extensive engagement exercise with internal and external stakeholders to understand their needs and expectations and strive for inputs pertaining to sustainability. These inputs were then mapped on a materiality matrix based on importance to stakeholders as well as to Mahindra Lifespaces, prioritised, and validated by the senior leadership.
The issues identified through deep consultations with leadership and stakeholders have been mapped as per the 4 areas of well being, governance, economic performance and supply chain.
Financial Year: 2023-2024
1.3. For whom do we create value: Creating value for stakeholders through engagement
Determining the nature of our stakeholders and understanding the importance of engaging with them is crucial to determine issues material to our company and lays the foundation of our ability to create value. We embrace a people-centric and stakeholder inclusive approach to creating value. This means that stakeholder engagement is integrated into every step of our value creation process. Our stakeholder engagement process is used for fostering and nurturing relationships with our stakeholders, which help in strengthening strategy development and decision making. Proactive and transparent communication channels enable us to identify and address the needs, expectations, and concerns of our diverse stakeholder groups and gain valuable insight for sustainable value creation. We identify our stakeholders based on three key dimensions – importance and influence, physical proximity, and dependency factor. Identified stakeholder groups are then prioritised based on their ability to influence and be influenced by Mahindra Lifespaces. We classify our prioritised stakeholders under inner and outer coterie.
Mitigating our Risks
1.1. Managing Our Risks
At Mahindra Lifespaces, we define risks as events that may impact our ability to deliver sustained value creation to stakeholders. To deliver on our strategy, we respond nimbly to opportunities, as well as the associated risks, without jeopardizing the direct interests of stakeholders. Sound management of risk enables us to anticipate, where possible, and respond to changes in the operating context, as well as make well-considered and agile decisions under conditions of uncertainty. We have adopted, and are guided by, an enterprise-wide approach to risk management, which means that every identified material risk is included in a structured and systematic process of risk management. The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework is utilized to identify, monitor, and mitigate business risks from operations, compliance, strategy, financials, governance, reputation, and processes. This is driven by a Risk Management Committee, consisting of two Directors and the Chief Financial Officer, that periodically reviews the risk management plan and oversees the complete process. Our risk management approach is aligned to COSO Framework.
Risk Management Committee
Risk management system is in place for the identification & assessment of risks, mitigation measures, & mechanisms for timely monitoring & reporting. We have defined a procedure to inform the Board about the risk assessment & minimization procedures.
Our Approach To Managing Risks
1.2. Our ERM Framework
ERM is a dynamic framework, adapting to evolving stakeholders needs with the latest integration of Climate & other ESG risks. Climate change-related risks are identified for the short, medium and long term & corresponding risk mitigation measures are incorporated into our sustainability strategy roadmap aligned with our SBT and Carbon neutrality targets.
1.2.1. Our ESG Risk Universe
Our ERM framework helps us to tie the long-term ESG risks identified through the materiality exercise to the current ongoing site-specific risks which are internally assessed. We also identify short, medium, and long-term climate and ESG risks for our operations, suppliers, and customers. Financial planning is conducted on the basis of these risks and their impact on business continuity. For upstream, the risks associated with supplier and procurement are factored into business planning. Labour productivity and operational disruption due to climate change are factored in through labour welfare and weather preparedness planning in the operations of our residential business. For downstream the impacts of climate change on customers provides us with an opportunity to deliver a green product portfolio. Our environmental management system also tracks the risks associated with climate and ESG in the impact register. This helps us assess and mitigate risks at the site level.
Climate-related risks are identified at the corporate and site level by cross-functional teams comprising of Sustainability, Strategy, Environmental, Health, & Safety (EHS), Quality, and Projects. All the risks (classified into low, medium, and high) are mapped in the company-level risk register. Mitigation measures for these climate-related risks are identified and reviewed every six months. Updates on the identified risks and mitigation actions are shared with the Board on a quarterly basis.
We are a signatory to TCFD and utilize the TCFD recommendations to focus on climate change and the potential risks of financial losses in the following ways.
- Financial losses due to infrastructural damage owing to floods, etc. These risks are categorized as physical risks.
- Financial losses by the reporting organization owing to transition to a low-carbon economy, such as from a Company adopting advanced technologies to mitigate exposure to adverse climate scenarios. This climate-related risk is called transition risk
Read more about our Climate related risks here.
Site Sustainability Maturity
1.1. Site Sustainability Maturity Assessment
For assessing the sustainability measures taken by project sites, Mahindra Lifespaces institutionalised sustainability maturity assessment as a mechanism to engage, improve site sustainability performance which has resulted in improved performance, heightened awareness, and implementation of sustainability initiatives across locations.
Our project sites collect data on the environment with respect to environmental, social, and governance aspects for various public disclosures related to the project for the organization. However, a systematic process to assess the maturity of sites in terms of timeliness, accuracy, effectiveness, and comprehensiveness of overall sustainability processes (such as data collection and reporting, sustainability initiatives, and compliance tracking) was missing. A ‘Site Sustainability Maturity Assessment Model’ was developed with the long-term goal of ‘Elevating the sustainability performance of the project sites to meet the global benchmark and contribute to the sustainable growth of the organization and subsequently accelerate to set new global standards. To achieve this long-term goal, the assessment tool is used to ‘set up uniform processes across all project sites pertaining to Environment Management System and Sustainability’.
1.2. What is Site Sustainability Maturity Assessment?
Site Sustainability Maturity Assessment is a self-assessment scorecard to track the Sustainability Maturity of Project Sites (i.e.; continuous growth) backed by evidences on sustainability performance against the set Goals & Targets through continuous tracking of progress and performance improvement. It provides a one-stop platform for all the project compliance tracking and the bottom-up approach drives integrated thinking and facilitates sustainability-centered decision-making. Project sites are scored on 5 parameters.
The maturity model aimed to assess the effectiveness of existing processes, initiatives, and awareness level of personnel at sites to achieve the sustainability goals of the organization. Based on the self-assessment results and analysis by the Corporate Sustainability function, sites identify opportunities for improvement and establish realistic targets. Best project sites/team members were rewarded on multiple categories basis their yearly performance. With the current objective of establishing uniform processes across all projects, the model will be refined based on global benchmarks (CDP/GRESB).
1.3. Benefits of Site Sustainability Maturity Assessment
With the help of the model, we have been able to build a culture of sustainability across projects. The model introduced across mid-premium and premium project sites created a healthy competition, and knowledge sharing between the projects and helped share best practices and thereby helped set up uniform processes across the projects. Project sites have benefited with better awareness on sustainability vision and mission of the organization, and have significantly improved their data collection process. There has been an increase in the site engagement (within & across) with structured communication on sustainability aspects of the project and organization. Compliance tracking has also become more stringent which has contributed to avoiding non-compliance related penalties. Innovative sustainability ideas and their implementation across projects saw a rise across the projects with initiatives on better waste segregation, automated air monitoring systems, energy and water conservation, use of alternative sustainable materials, reduction of waste, and the likes. As a result, our energy productivity and water productivity increased significantly. We also witnessed better performance during external audits.
4. What Next?
