Castrol India's response to COVID-19

India has seen the worst of the second wave of Covid-19 in recent months. We must all without exception, be responsible and careful with our own health, that of our loved ones and the wider communities we live in - we are #InThisTogether!

As we continue to face the unique challenges of the second wave of the pandemic, our focus remains on our three strategic priorities:

Protecting our people
Supporting our communities
Protecting the financial health of our business

We continue to monitor the situation and we will take necessary steps keeping people at the heart of everything we do, while bearing in mind the best practices and government’s directives on the ongoing lockdown.

employees

Our first priority – protecting our people – has gained a different dimension in the past year, with the constantly evolving nature of the crisis. We have supported our employees in multiple ways including:

COVID-19 vaccinations made available progressively to our employees and their families across the different locations we operate in, including our plants
Medical support including 24/7 online doctor consultation, access to ambulance and hospital beds
Free, confidential and independent advice, and support on any concern related to work or personal front through our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
Access to a free app for meditation and mental wellbeing
One-week paid compassionate leave for our employees in addition to their existing entitlement
Additional ergonomic support allowance for all our employees to ensure they work comfortably at home
Consistently underscoring the importance of empathy and flexibility to all our people managers

We are continually asking ourselves what more we can do to support our employees.

Communities

Last year we directed our CSR efforts towards Covid relief activities covering a variety of stakeholders including government hospitals, mechanics, truckers, independent workshop owners and migrant labourers who were impacted, along with our Corona warriors - essential service workers.

In continuation of our efforts, we have taken several actions to support relief activities in India and have allocated Rs XX crores for the same. This year the second wave required our approach to be different. With the number of cases being very high and the severity of this wave being more intense, it required interventions which were tailor-made and on a case-to-case basis. While we have been assisting several people and their families in our stakeholder network on a one-on-one basis, we have supported wider communities in the following ways

Provided O2 concentrators and ventilators across three government hospitals in Pune, Silvassa and Chhattisgarh.
Set up a 500 litres per minute oxygen plant at the 1000-bed Base hospital at Delhi Cantonment
Launched a voluntary employee contribution program in collaboration with our NGO partner, Americares where bp foundation will match employee contribution and donate an equivalent amount to the NGO.
Awareness sessions on government schemes and support in availing benefits under these schemes to truckers and mechanics where more than 500 mechanics and truckers were able to avail insurance, scholarships for children and other benefits.
Well-being sessions engaged mechanics, truck drivers and their family members to participate in discussions on topics of mental health and stress management. They also have access to a helpline for well-being consultation.

Handing over medical equipment documents to Vinoba Bhave hospital Silvassa

Helping in vaccination registration drive

Many, especially in smaller towns and villages, are struggling with lack of information or awareness about how to go about online vaccination registrations on the CO-WIN site. With support from our marketing and sales team, we have begun a drive to reach out to mechanics, truckers, dealers, their teams and families to help them register on the Co-WIN site. We hope this will contribute towards the government’s efforts towards a safer India during these challenging times.

We remain committed to supporting the government and community through this difficult time.

customers

Following Covid safety protocols, we have been in constant touch with our customers through virtual channels. We have conducted several customer technical training programmes to help them with a better understanding of the industry and equip them with information on latest lubricant technology.

After the initial lockdowns ended in 2020, we also offered free sanitization services to independent workshops across10 cities to help them prepare to restart their business.

As always, we are fully committed to them and continue to fulfil our customers’ demands, from across various industries, to the best of our abilities during this difficult period.

BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS

We have activated our business continuity plans so that we can respond effectively to the constantly evolving situation, and are prepared to safely resume our operations when various parts of the country open up.

We have developed response plans, which we continue to monitor given the dynamic nature of the crisis, evolve to protect the health and long-term sustainability of the company. We continue to focus on the growth agenda which will help us realise our potential when normalcy is restored.

Our plants, where operations were temporarily suspended last year for a couple of months, safely resumed and continue to fulfil customer demand. We have taken adequate steps to ensure safety and wellbeing of our plant teams, while also complying with the directives of the local authorities.

OUR COVID RESPONSE IN 2020

Castrol India’s Response to COVID-19

EMployees

All our employees, excepting critical ones, continued to work from home even after the lockdown restrictions were eased after wave 1.

We recognized that coping with this issue was both a mental and physical health challenge. We kept our teams informed and well engaged offering them the psychological support and comfort they may have needed to navigate this journey appropriately.

cOMMUNITIES

In 2020, Castrol India worked with various NGOs in these areas:

Medical support in the form of ventilators, ICU beds, masks, emergency supplies and other critical equipment to government hospitals across various states including Maharashtra, Telangana,New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Haryana.
Survival kits, including groceries and dry rations to the migrant daily wage earners and food for stranded truck drivers at various transportation hubs.
Protective gear to policemen and garbage collectors in key metros.
Truckers and mechanics support through our pan-India outreach to help them and their families tide over the periods of reduced activity.
Touched 62,000 mechanics and their families with a small monetary contribution to support them during this crisis.
Partial cover for any Covid-19 medical expenses they may incur.
Complimentary lubricants through independent workshops across the country to service vehicles belonging to essential service workers.

PURPOSE LED CAMPAIGNS

We undertook campaigns with social messages to thank truckers for their selfless commitment to ensure continued supply of essential goods during these difficult times as well as appealed to people to stay safe by hanging up their vehicle keys and not venturing out.

#salutetruckers

While the entire nation is thanking all those who are working towards keeping us healthy and safe, Castrol India would like to thank truckers for their contribution in keeping India moving by ensuring supply of essential products throughout the country in these tough times. Nothing will stop them in their tracks as they silently go about doing their work. #SaluteTruckers