The year 2024-25 has been challenging and rigorous for the entire domestic coatings industry despite the steady levels of overall economic activity in the country. The year saw further tapering of demand, continuing from a similar trend in the previous year. Key factor for the dampened demand conditions was the tepid consumer sentiments especially in the urban markets, coupled with slowdown in construction sector. We witnessed consumers deferring discretionary spends with visible downtrading, especially in premium decorative products. Our strong intent to scale the organised market and expand offerings in the economy segment under our 'bottom of the pyramid' strategy, led to relatively better growth in value-priced products, even as the premium end remained flat.

I urge you to read our Integrated Annual Report for FY 2024-25 which provides detailed insights into the Company's performance on financial as well as non-financial aspects.

We take immense pride in the way we operate our businesses with sustainability being the cornerstone to our strategic direction. Our ESG strategy encompasses sustainable product offerings and operations, promotes societal well-being and world-class governance, enhancing the focus towards the value chain.

The sustainability report provides greater details of the Company's tangible and far-reaching progress made under environmental and social responsibility. Our environmental performance for the year reflects the transitional impact of expansion and backward integration projects, alongside tapering demand affecting intensity-based indicators. The capacity expansion projects have a transitional impact and our long-term sustainability trajectory remains intact. Backward integration enhances resource efficiency and contributes positively to environmental outcomes beyond our operational boundaries.

Our climate strategy is two-fold – mitigation through decarbonisation and adaptation to enhance resilience. We have achieved a 69% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emission intensity compared to our 2013-14 baseline, driven by energy efficiency and a 57.6% share of renewable electricity. Through community-led water initiatives, we replenished 478% of the freshwater consumed across our eight manufacturing facilities. In waste management, we recorded a 79% improvement in both hazardous waste disposal and trade effluent intensity. Our sustainable supply chain initiative, Samaveta, is embedding ESG principles across our value chain – 81% of our raw material and packaging suppliers (by spend) were assessed on ESG criteria this year.

We continue to offer our customers safe, eco-friendly, and high-performance products through our green-certified, low-VOC, and high-durability product lines with increased renewable content. We launched innovative products such as Nilaya Arc and Suprema Air-O-Clean, which further enrich our sustainability propositions for both interior and exterior applications.

All our decorative paint plants are certified five-star by the British Safety Council, and six of our factories have reached the 'Generative Stage' in Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS), reflecting a deeply embedded safety culture. Our community programmes continue to create significant impact. Our water management initiatives created a 273% water harvesting potential. The Beautiful Homes Academy has empowered over 9.5 lakh painters, carpenters, and plumbers with skills and financial literacy. Our health and hygiene programmes reached more than 2.8 lakh individuals.

We are committed to achieving our 2030 targets by advancing sustainability in our product offerings, operations & value chain while generating meaningful benefits for the communities around us.

For any feedback or queries, do write to us at sustainability@asianpaints.com.

Happy Reading!

Warm regards,