Social Responsibility of Lafarge Surma Cement

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Lafarge Surma Cement strongly believes that business is a priority, but social
welfare is a responsibility. Thus, the Company has undertaken wide ranging CSR
activities around its plant at Chhatak and its quarry in Meghalaya. Whether it is
through responsible business operations and environmental management or
through community development initiatives in the area of education, healthcare,
employment and infrastructure development, Lafarge Surma Cement is committed
to ensure sustainable development of the economy, community and environment.

The Company’s Community Development Center (CDC), located beside its plant,
is the hub of all its community development activities. It is home to a primary
school, where children can receive free education up to class five; a medical centre,
where people can receive free medical services and medicines; and also a training
center, where both men and women are provided skill development trainings for
employment and income generation. Five “Lafarge Surma Sub-Centers” located in
remote villages have also been setup to serve the people who cannot access the
benefit of the CDC. Through these centers, the company provides its community
development services to more than 26,000 people.

MEETING HEALTHCARE NEEDS

One of the focus areas of the Company’s CSR initiatives is Healthcare. The
medical centre located in CDC has a qualified physician and a nurse to provide
free medical assistance to the local community. They now have access to primary
health-care that includes consultation, medicinal support, vaccination and capacity
building though health counseling. A full-time paramedic is also based in the five
“Lafarge Surma Sub-Centers” taking health-care to the doorsteps of villagers
residing in remote locations. More than 82,000 free health services and counseling
sessions and 9,800 vaccinations have been provided from the medical centre
located in CDC and more than 11,200 free health services and counseling sessions
and 1,460 vaccinations have been provided from the 5 sub-centers till date.

To support the community from a health and hygiene perspective and ensure
access to safe drinking water, Lafarge Surma Cement has also installed 200
sanitary latrines, 29 tube-wells and 125 arsenic removal filters in Chhatak.

ENLIGHTENING COMMUNITIES THROUGH EDUCATION

Earlier children of the local communities in Chhatak never went to any school as
there was no schooling facility nearby and the guardians lacked motivation to
educate their children. After going door to door to explain the benefits of education
to the parents and inspiring the students to attend the school, Lafarge Surma
Cement was able to change the situation dramatically. The Company also
established a primary school in its community development centre – “LSC
Community Welfare School” for providing free education up to class five. A
library has also been setup at the school complex where school children now get
the opportunity to read different kinds of books required for general knowledge
development. The standard of education in LSC Community Welfare School is
highly appreciated by the community and has set a benchmark for all. A total of
1,618 students have benefitted from the Company’s schooling program till date.

Another 447 students also received free education from the 5 ‘Lafarge Surma sub
centers’ established in the remote locations of Chhatak. These sub centers serve as
coaching centers and has a full time teacher present in each location. As part of
developing the lives of the entire community, the Company also provided
education to 110 adults to meet the needs of their daily lives. Lafarge Surma
Cement also provides scholarships to 50 students every year to help them continue
their high school education

EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES THROUGH EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME

GENERATION

Creating employment opportunities for the locals by providing free skill

development training has always been one of the key focus areas of the company’s
CSR activities. This has also been identified as one of the major ambitions of
Lafarge group under its ‘Sustainable Ambitions 2020”.

Lafarge Surma Cement provides Small Enterprise Development training in

tailoring, embroidery, candle making and the necessary start-up capital to the
women of the community as part of the company’s effort to drive women
empowerment. Once living as dependent housewives, women in the project
affected community at Chhatak now have sufficient opportunities for
empowerment through these income generating activities. Through an NGO, the
company has also created market linkages for these women with key sellers in
affluent towns, thus ensuring a ready and good market for their products. More
than 300 women have benefitted from this program till date

After conducting a study on local employment opportunities, the Company also

introduced training on solar panel installation and mobile servicing along with the
necessary startup capital for the youths of the local communities. This has opened
up new employment opportunities for them, with most of them gaining
employment in local NGO’s working on solar panel installation or opening up their
own mobile servicing shops

As part of the Company’s objective of ensuring economic development of the

communities, the Company also actively provides business opportunities to the
cooperatives formed by the local communities, to help generate income for the
cooperatives and its members.

DEVELOPING LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURES

Lafarge Surma Cement also takes pride in lending a hand in community

infrastructure development activities. The Company regularly donates cement and
provides technical assistance for developing local infrastructures and institutions
and constructing educational institutions, places of worship, important public
places etc. This has resulted in a dramatic improvement in the local infrastructure
and economic condition of the locality. Multiple employment opportunities have
opened up for the locals, businesses and shops have sprouted in locations
surrounding the plant, road communication has been established with distant rural
areas and establishments have been setup with cement donated by the Company.
Such facilities were a dream to them only a decade ago and with the help of
Lafarge Surma Cement, this dream has now become a reality.

Apart from all these, the Company has always tried to be at the forefront in
responding to the needs of the disadvantaged people in and around its operations at
the trying times. The Company has, on number of occasions, undertaken initiatives
to distribute blankets during winter, food items during eid holidays, relief packages
during floods, etc. The Company also participates in organizing various
community activities such as science fair, traditional mela, art competition for
school children, traditional folk dance and music

In 2013, Lafarge Surma Cement’s community development program won the

“Lafarge Awards”, one of the most prestigious awards given by Lafarge group
annually for the best initiatives undertaken by the business units of Lafarge. The
Company won the award under the ‘Sustainable Development’ category as the
‘Best initiative to contribute to the long-term development of local communities’,
by competing and winning against submissions made by 50 countries.

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

As Bangladesh expands its industrial base and population rises, waste management
solutions has become a dire need for this country as huge amounts of waste are
being generated every day. Under the tenets of industrial ecology and as part of
providing a solution to this problem, Lafarge Surma Cement has developed waste
co-processing facilities at its plant in Chhatak, providing safe and environmental
friendly waste disposal services to industries that generate huge amounts of waste.
Wastes collected from these industries are incinerated in its kiln, which leaves no
harmful residue, not even ash. This also contributes to the usage of alternate fuels
by the Company, thus helping conserve natural resources. The Company has
already provided co-processing services to some of Bangladesh’s leading oil and
gas pharmaceutical, food and consumer goods companies. Lafarge Surma Cement
strictly implements the Lafarge Group standards of waste in alignment with
international standards. This prohibits the use of materials that pose either health or
environmental risks or would compromise on cement quality.

DEVELOPING THE COMMUNITIES OF MEGHALAYA

LUMPL, the Indian subsidiary of LSC, has also undertaken wide ranging
community development activities in the field of healthcare, education,
infrastructure development, water supply scheme and development of livelihood in
the villages surrounding the mining site in Meghalaya especially at the villages of
Nongtrai and Shella.

Free consultation and medicines along with necessary diagnostic services are
provided to the villages in and around Shella and Nongtrai Durbars throughout the
week, with the help of a mobile clinic van, manned by a registered medical
practitioner and health assistants. LUMPL organized several health camps where
free pathological tests, dental and vision screening tests, distribution of spectacles
free of costs and free cataract operations were conducted.

The Company provides annual scholarships to local bright and needy students,
assistance for enhancement of school teachers’ salary, support to the local schools
infrastructure and academic gadgets to the students. This full sponsorship of
Nongtrai Secondary School has been undertaken to ensure financially challenged
students are retained in the education system since there are no high schools yet in
the village. Exceptional students meeting the criteria are also sponsored for higher
technical education outside the State of Meghalaya.

LUMPL has also set up sericulture and weaving projects for women where
stipends are provided and handlooms are set up through Public Private Partnership
(PPP) with the Government. Furthermore, through the Entrepreneur Development
Program and SHG training program young men are provided training in livestock
management along with seed money to set up units. The trainees are further
assisted to set up Self Help Groups with an aim to make them self-sustaining
through a 5 year capacity building program called the Indigenous People
Development Program.

To develop infrastructure, the Company has undertaken a wide range of activities,

such as ensuring water supply, improving the source of water, construction of
village footpaths, hand rails, public toilets, and provision of electricity and
preparation of football grounds to enhance the development of the villages
surrounding the mining site in Meghalaya, especially the villages of Nongtrai and
Sheila.