As Lithium is a fleet operator company that operates in urban areas only, no impacts related to Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement (PS5), Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources (PS6), Indigenous Peoples (PS7) or Cultural Heritage (PS8) are expected to result from Lithium’s direct activities.                                                  

 This is a Category B project according to IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability because a limited number of specific environmental and social impacts may result that can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards and guidelines.

The key environmental, social, health and safety risks and issues associated with this proposed investment include development and implementation of: (a) HR policies and procedures; (b) applicable labor and safety requirements for drivers; and (c) management of used batteries.                                                  

 Environmental and Social Assessment and Management System:

Provision of transportation services is not classified as a business activity which requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as per the national legislation. Considering the company’s operations, Environmental and Social (E&S) risks are limited to safety and security of the passengers who use the fleet services of Lithium. The company operates an extensive IT network and systems to support and manage its operations, with environmental and safety aspects well integrated into its IT-based operational management system. The key functions of the IT-based management system platform include:

(i) Fleet management: tracking fleet with live in-trip indicators thereby enabling tracking of vehicle status, location/vehicle based emergency information for quick response time and tracing vehicle movement and in-trip milestones at the end of every trip for analysis.

(ii) Safety management: trip alerts and tracking, vehicle arrival confirmation, boarding authentication, periodic wellness alerts, pervasive panic button and triggering of multiple call placement with camera capture in the event panic button is pressed, safety nets like driver confirmation alert and co-passenger information and number masking to protect privacy.

(iii) Driver management: analysis of background verification for each driver through a third party, training on code of conduct, safety and security of passenger, incident reporting/emergency situation management and defensive driving and robust process for driver engagement.

The company has developed a formal EHSS policy documenting its E&S objectives and articulating  company’s commitment to comply with the applicable laws and regulations as well as compliance with IFC Performance Standards.

Organizational Capacity and Competency:

Lithium has an experienced management team in place to manage day-to-day operations of the company, comprising of board of directors supported by management team covering marketing, operations and analytics sub-heads. The operations head is also responsible for E&S aspects and reports directly to the senior management. Human Resources (HR) function is headed by a HR manager and supported by a team of 10 personnel (three team members for driver engagement, six for recruitment and one for employee administration).

Monitoring & Reporting:

Lithium has instituted an internal monitoring system, to ensure the consistency and high quality of its services. A set of key performance indicators (KPIs) covering (i) operational: trip analytics, vehicle productivity, asset utilisation and energy efficiency; (ii) HR: compliance management, and (iii) safety: driving pattern and speed profile, accident analysis, fleet tracking and vehicle live status are integrated in the operational management system as described above.

Emergency Preparedness and Response:

Lithium places high emphasis on ensuring safety and security of its drivers and passengers. For this purpose, the passenger app is provided with a panic button which, in the event it is pressed, automatically triggers multiple calls with camera capture. Safety nets are in place such as driver confirmation alert and co-passenger information which is shared with each passenger in advance. In addition, there are periodic wellness alerts that are sent to the passenger. Through centralized vehicle network operations center, the company monitors the fleet at real time and provides 24x7 helpline service. In addition, as part of emergency drills, the drivers are routinely trained to respond to on–the-road emergency situations. When working within their client’s facilities they must follow and adapt to clients’ emergency plans and when operating on road, the drivers are required to follow the emergency procedure of the company which specifies notifying the responsible person and reporting the incident immediately. Each car is equipped with a first-aid box and the contents of which are periodically reviewed as part of vehicle maintenance audit done on a weekly basis. Speed monitors are installed in each car and speed profile of each driver is reviewed to ensure adherence with specified speed limit.                                                  

 As of Dec 2017, the company had a total of 145 employees (including 50 female) and engaging around 650 drivers through rental services agreements.

Human Resources Policies and Procedures, Working Conditions and Terms of Employment:

Lithium has in place a HR Policy, manual and procedures which are applicable to all its probationary and full-time employees. The policy covers general terms and conditions of services including appointment procedure, probation period, confirmation of service, employee’s code of conduct, leave, compensation and rewards. There is a procedure in place for addressing harassment at workplace and an internal complaint committee has been set-up.

Workers’ Organization:

HR policy of the company includes provision for freedom of association. 

Workers Engaged by Third Parties:

The company enters into a rental agreement with the drivers and on a particular day, a driver can rent a car for upto 12 hrs. The company typically assigns two drivers for one car. Each driver typically drives for 3 hrs at a stretch and then gets a break as EV needs to be charged after every 100 km. During a 12 hr shift, around 4 hrs are spent in charging the EV, during which the driver can rest and is not required to remain in or near the vehicle if all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the vehicle and its load have been taken, and 8 hrs in driving. The working hours regime at Lithium aligns with the ILO recommendation on hours of work and rest periods for road transport sector.

The total remuneration of all drivers is aligned with the prevailing minimum wage levels. The company offers incentives to all the drivers, including a loyalty bonus based on number of trips completed and driver award (monthly, quarterly and annual) based on monthly scorecard where criteria include driver attendance, driving efficiency given by car telematics, customer service record (based on rating of driver given by Lithium’s client) and incidents of traffic violation. Other incentives include driver family award whereby scholarship is provided for drivers’ children. The company covers medical and accident insurance policy for all drivers. The company also offers additional incentives to high performing drivers as well as long serving drivers and offers them the option to own a car under a government scheme (Mudra Yojana) under which vehicle finance is provided for drivers. The company promotes financial inclusion for its drivers

by ensuring that all payments are cashless and are to bank accounts only. The company also facilitates credit rating appraisal for the drivers. These two help drivers avail bank loans and government schemes, which are more attractive as compared to the market. The company also offers the opportunity of social mobility by promoting high performing and high potential drivers to fleet supervisory roles.

Going forward as included in ESAP item#1, the company will introduce certain amendments in the driver rental and service agreement to enhance certain aspects with respect to the manner of provision of services to the company. 

The company engages an external audit firm who is ultimately in-charge within the company for labor management and compliance. The audit firm is responsible for HR compliance management and scope of audit includes review of employment law compliance for the employees and review of driver compliance with regards to completion of background verification check, availability of police verification certificate and valid driving license. Going forward, as included in ESAP item#2, the scope of this audit will be expanded to include a review of the company’s implementation of the agreements and report shared with IFC. 

Grievance Mechanism:

The company has in place a driver engagement process and a grievance register is maintained whereby drivers can report grievances verbally or report through phone/email. Weekly meetings are held at client sites where HR team of Lithium engages with drivers and records their grievance. The company has developed and is implementing grievance mechanism meeting PS 2 requirements covering both employees and service providers and including the provision on anonymously raising grievances.

Training:

Drivers are methodically selected, trained and certified with background checks from a third party legal firm. The employee details are geo-coded and not accessible to the drivers, thus providing a layer of privacy and safety of employees. The company commits substantial resources to provide comprehensive training for its drivers to ensure that they have the necessary skills and competencies to maintain high standards of customer service. All the drivers are required to undergo a mandatory 5-day training followed by online test and certification and which includes training on aspects such as code of conduct, customer service etiquette, EV-efficient driving and vehicle mechanics, safety and security of passenger and incident reporting/emergency situation management. The drivers are also trained and certified in defensive driving by third party.

Protecting the Work Force:

All employees and drivers are hired through open recruitment and based on the candidate’s qualification.  The minimum age of hiring is 18 in line with Indian labor law requirement.

Occupational Health and Safety:

Lithium places a strong emphasis on safety both for its passengers and its drivers and has implemented a robust monitoring, management and training regime for the drivers and other staff. As a result, it has a strong safety record. Root cause analysis is undertaken for all accidents involving a vehicle and so far there has been no accident involving any passenger. Incident report is required to be submitted within 24 hrs to the supervisor who in turn reports to the management.                                                  

 Lithium currently uses fleet of electric vehicles only and as such there are no air emissions from the vehicles.  Vehicles have to follow a strict schedule of maintenance to ensure battery health and energy consumption. Data on energy efficiency is monitored which includes records of electricity consumption by all cars. Electric cars used by Lithium are procured from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and comes with battery. Given that Lithium started operations less than three years ago and batteries have an average life of 5 years, no discarded batteries have been generated till date. The company has entered into battery and vehicle leasing contracts for its fleet. In the contractual arrangement, the leased batteries and the leased vehicles will be returned back to the lessors at the end of the lease period. For the vehicles that the company owns, As included in ESAP item#3, the company will develop a battery disposal plan including duty of care procedures to be followed.

Maintenance and service of cars is done through the car supplier at their authorized service stations. There is a contract agreement in place between Lithium and the car supplier, which covers maintenance services. The vehicle maintenance team of Lithium is responsible for scheduling the maintenance of all cars on a periodic basis and also carries out maintenance audits to ensure that maintenance is done on specified intervals.

Office wastes generated at Lithium operations (e.g., paper, cardboard, plastic bottles etc.) are segregated for recycling purposes and non-recyclable wastes are disposed at licensed municipal landfills.

The primary energy requirement for the office is that of electricity which is procured from the national grid. Small capacity diesel generator is installed as backup, for use in the rare case of power failure.  Greenhouse emissions are, therefore, low (<25,000 tons CO2-eq/year) and due to electricity consumption.                                                  

 Lithium implements high standards of safety and security, which are founded on a robust training regime for its drivers, as discussed in more detail under Performance Standard 2 above. Additionally, the company subscribes to vehicle insurance covering damage to the vehicles, personal injuries to the drivers and passengers and third-party liability caused by its vehicles. The vehicles are parked inside client premises and as such traffic related impacts due to the company’s operations are not expected to be significant. Vehicles follow a strict schedule of maintenance and drivers are trained/updated in traffic safety on a periodic basis. All the vehicles are equipped with first aid box.                                                  

 Given company’s business activities, primary stakeholders include drivers and passengers / clients. Lithium’s Customer Response Center is the primary channel to receive and record any complaints and grievances that the customers or any community member may have about the drivers, service quality or safety.                                                  

 Lithium will disclose this ESRS at the following address and all inquiries and comments may be directed to:

Company Name: Lithium Urban Technologies Private Limited

Contact Person: Sanjay A. Krishnan

Mob: +91 9686204177

Email ID: sanjay@project-lithium.com

Facsimile: NA