| Reporting Process |
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The Management and Board of Directors
Mahindra Group
Mumbai, India |
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| OUR ENGAGEMENT |
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| The Mahindra Group ("Group") retained Ernst & Young Pvt. Ltd. ("EY") to provide an independent assurance on its Corporate Sustainability Report for the financial year 2010-11 ("Report"). |
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The Group's management is responsible for the contents of the Report, its presentation, identification of key issues, engagement with stakeholders and its presentation. EY's responsibility is to provide independent assurance on the report content as described in the scope of assurance. |
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Our responsibility in performing our assurance activities is to the management of the Group only and in accordance with the terms of reference agreed with the Group. We do not therefore accept or assume any responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person or organization. Any dependence that any such third party may place on the Report is entirely at its own risk. The assurance report should not be taken as a basis for interpreting the Group's overall performance, except for the aspects mentioned in the scope below. |
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| LEVEL OF ASSURANCE AND CRITERIA USED |
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| The assurance engagement was planned and performed in accordance with International Federation of Accountants' International Standard for Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information (ISAE 3000). Our evidence-gathering procedures have been designed to obtain a limited level of assurance (as set out in ISAE 3000) on which to base our conclusions. Moreover, for sustainability performance indicators our work employed the criteria of the reporting principles and indicators of GRI 2006 guidelines (GRI-G3). |
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| WHAT WE DID TO FORM OUR CONCLUSIONS |
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| Within the scope of our engagement, we requested evidence on a sample basis based on risk and materiality criteria to obtain a limited level of assurance on the contents of the Report. |
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| The performance of our engagement mainly involved the following key steps: |
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Interviews at the Group's corporate office to understand the sustainability commitment, management of key sustainability issues and review of stakeholders' engagement process; |
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Visits to sample 18 sites covering the Group's 9 sectors amongst those mentioned in the Scope below; |
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Interviews and analytical considerations with employees from select departments at the Group's corporate office, at sector level and at the sites visited as well as review of relevant documents and systems for gathering, analyzing and aggregating sustainability performance data in the reporting period; |
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Review of material qualitative statements in the Report with regard to consistency and plausibility and review of select underlying documents; |
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Appropriate evidences to support the conclusions in this assurance report were obtained. Most of the information and data reviewed were supported with documentary evidence; wherever such documentary evidence could not be collected on account of confidential information, our team reviewed the documents. |
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| Scope of our engagement |
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The scope of assurance covers the following aspects of the Report: |
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Data and information related to the Group's sustainability performance for the period 1st April 2010 to 31st March 2011; |
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Sustainability specific data and information related to energy, water and waste management, workforce and safety; |
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Review of the GRI-specific core performance indicators and information reported from the following business sectors, companies and locations: |
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Automotive & Farm Sectors |
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Mahindra & Mahindra Limited-Automotive Division-Zaheerabad (Andhra Pradesh) & Kandivali (Maharashtra) |
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Mahindra & Mahindra Limited-Farm Division-Rudrapur (Uttarakhand), Kandivali (Maharashtra) |
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Two Wheeler Sector |
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Mahindra Two Wheelers Limited (MTWL)-Pithampur (Madhya Pradesh) |
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Real Estate Sector |
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Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited (MLDL)-Faridabad(Haryana) |
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Mahindra World City Developers Limited (MWCDL)-Chennai (Tamil Nadu) |
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Leisure & Hospitality Sector |
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Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited (MHRIL)-Puducherry
(Tamil Nadu) and Goa |
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Mahindra Partner Division |
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Mahindra Intertrade Limited (MIL)-Mumbai (Maharashtra) |
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Mahindra Steel Service Centre Limited (MSSCL)-Mumbai (Maharashtra) |
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Mahindra Logistics Limited (MLL)-Bengaluru (Karnataka) |
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Financial Services Sector |
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Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited (MMFSL)-Mumbai (Maharashtra) |
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Information Technology Sector |
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Tech Mahindra Limited (Tech M)-Bengaluru (Karnataka) |
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Mahindra Satyam (MSat)-Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) |
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Systems & Technologies Sector (Systech) |
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Mahindra Ugine Steel Company Limited (MUSCO)-Rudrapur (Uttarakhand) |
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Mahindra Hinoday Industries Limited–Bhosari (Maharashtra) |
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Mahindra Gears & Transmissions Private Limited (MGTPL)-Rajkot (Gujarat) |
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Aftermarket Sector |
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Mahindra Spares Business (MSB)-Kanhe (Maharashtra) |
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Visits to 18 sample sites across 9 sectors amongst those listed above where our work comprised review of the above mentioned indicators for these locations. |
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| Limitations |
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| The assurance scope excludes: |
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Operations of the Group outside India; |
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Aspects of the Report other than those mentioned above; |
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Data and information outside the defined reporting period (1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011); |
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The Group's statements that describe expression of opinion, belief, aspiration, expectation, aim or future intention provided by the Group; |
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Data and information on economic and financial performance of the Group. |
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| Observations and opportunities for improvement |
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| Our observations and opportunities for improvements were communicated to the Mahindra Group management. Selected key observations are indicated below: |
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The Group has established an online system for improved management of sustainability data across its various sectors. |
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The Group completed an internal materiality exercise in 2010; however, it may consider seeking views from external stakeholders as well. |
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While the Group has been monitoring its carbon footprint, there is an opportunity for improvement of monitoring and disclosure on GHG emissions due to business travel. |
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The Group may consider further strengthening the monitoring of its social initiatives, especially with respect to volunteering hours and tree plantation. |
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Due to the diverse nature of the sectors and businesses therein, training related information may be centrally aligned. |
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| Our conclusions |
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| Based on our work, nothing has come to our attention that causes us not to believe that: |
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the Report contents are presented fairly, in material respects, in keeping with the stated reporting principles and criteria; |
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the systems and procedures applied by the Company for collection, collation and interpretation of data on sustainability performance parameters for inclusion in the Report are reliable. |
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| Our assurance team |
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| Our assurance team, comprising of multidisciplinary professionals, was drawn from our climate change and sustainability network and undertakes similar engagements with a number of significant Indian and international businesses. |
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| For Ernst & Young Private Limited, |
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Sudipta Das
Partner |
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8 December 2011
Kolkata |