Infosys Sustainability Insights
Infosys Sustainability Insights
104,000+
Employees*
496,000+
Shareholders*
240,000+
Social beneficiaries*
3,500+
Vendor partners*
One Infosys
N. R. Narayana Murthy
Chairman and Chief Mentor
Enhancing Trust
At a time when corporations around the world
are concerned about unstable market conditions
and the effect of a weak economy on their
business, it is easy to disregard sustainability
and its importance for a company’s long-term
business success.
We believe that economic performance and
sustainability are inherently linked. Our key
stakeholders trust us to contribute to
strengthening the economy, preserving the
environment and developing the society in which
we function. By ensuring sound governance
practices, we minimize risk and improve
performance. This in turn enhances our
stakeholders’ trust in us and secures our own
viable future.
For us, sustainability is an integral part of our
business strategy.
This Sustainability Report is printed on 100% recycled paper as certified by the UK-based National Association of Paper Merchants (NAPM) and
France-based Association des Producteurs et des Utilisateurs des papiers et cartons Recyclés (APUR).
Enhancing Trust | 1
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Nandan M. Nilekani
Co-Chairman
Enhancing Trust
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
The financial crisis has tarnished the image of global We are a signatory to the UN Global Compact (UNGC)
business organizations. It is a lesson for corporations and its 10 principles. We continue to engage with the
around the world, and a warning for entrepreneurs, UNGC leadership to ensure the effectiveness and
regulators and governments that we need to consider communication of the principles in emerging economies
the various long-term risks we face seriously, and build a where they are so much more relevant.
sustainable business model that accounts for their dangers. The journey for the coming year will be an interesting
As the world grapples with the worst excesses of free one. The global meltdown and the subsequent responses
market capitalism, the role of corporations and markets is have created an air of uncertainty on business forecasts.
being questioned. A sustainable corporation that nurtures This is a time to strengthen the strategy of economic
its employees, which cares for its community, and strives success and continuity. At the same time, it is important
to minimize its environmental impact, will be the one not to lose the momentum of our focus on social and
which retains the trust of society and be successful in environmental issues which are equally fundamental
the long term. The need for sustainability has never been to our existence in the long term. We intend to take a
stronger, or more urgent. more holistic view of our sustainability by setting up a
We understand the implications our business has on framework and governance structure. We have extensive
the economy, environment and society. We also realize experience in deploying policies and processes across
that there is much to learn and engage with all our the company and we hope to increase the sensitivity,
stakeholders to improve our performance in all areas. awareness and participation of all our stakeholders
in this journey. We will strive to meet more stringent
This report, which follows the GRI framework, is a
short term goals while defining a roadmap to become a
summary of our activities across the company in the past
carbon neutral, water sustainable and socially meaningful
year and reflects our commitment to move towards a
business.
sustainable world.
We also look forward to your ideas and feedback that
It is this generation’s responsibility to ensure that the
would help us do better.
world moves along a path that addresses the challenges
of climate change, environmental degradation and the Write to us at sustainability@infosys.com
inequities that arise as a result of rapid economic growth.
Towards this effect, our leadership is involved in activities
beyond business to influence public policy, create thought
Bangalore Nandan M. Nilekani
leadership and reinforce our commitment to create an
May 25, 2009 Co-Chairman
equitable and sustainable world.
Enhancing Trust
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Contents
Organization profile ....................................................... 1
Contacts ..................................................................... 47
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Organization profile
Our vision is to be a globally respected corporation that Innovation, speed and excellence in execution
provides best-of-breed business solutions, leveraging We were one of the first companies to develop and
technology, delivered by best-in-class people. deploy a global delivery model and attain SEI-CMMI
Infosys Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ : INFY) was started Level 5 certification for our offshore and onsite operations.
in 1981 by seven professionals with US $250. Today, we We manage growth by investing in infrastructure
are a global leader in the “next generation” of IT and and by rapidly recruiting, training and deploying new
consulting with revenues of over US $4.6 billion. professionals.
We define, design and deliver technology-enabled Industry leadership
business solutions that help Global 2000 companies win
Our history is marked by a series of firsts. We were the
in a Flat World. For more information on Flat World, refer
first Indian company to be listed on a US stock exchange
to www.infosys.com/flat-world/business/default.asp.
and the first Indian company to do a Public Offering
We also provide a complete range of services by
Without Listing (POWL) in Japan. In December 2006, we
leveraging our domain and business expertise and
were the first Indian company on the NASDAQ-100 index
strategic alliances with leading technology providers.
and the only Indian company to be part of any of the major
Our offerings span business and technology consulting, global indices. We were recently listed on The Global
application services, systems integration, product Dow and also ranked No. 14 among the most respected
engineering, custom software development, maintenance, companies in the world by Reputation Institute’s Global
re-engineering, independent testing and validation Pulse 2008. This year we were listed on Forbes’ Asian
services, IT infrastructure services and business process Fabulous 50 for the fourth consecutive year. We are a
outsourcing. five-time Global MAKE Winner and one of only two Indian
We have 104,850 employees and a large global presence companies amongst global leaders to have won the award
with over 54 Global Development Centers (DCs) in India, in 2008.
China, Australia, the Czech Republic, Poland, the UK,
Canada and Japan. Customers
Values 579*
The values that drive us underscore our commitment to : Market capitalization
• Customer Delight : To surpass customer expectations US $14,952 million*
consistently
Revenue
• Leadership by Example : To set standards in our
business and transactions and be an exemplar for the
US $4,663 million**
industry and ourselves Net income
• Integrity and Transparency : To be ethical, sincere and US $1,281 million**
open in all our transactions
Global presence
• Fairness : To be objective and transaction-oriented, and
thereby earn trust and respect 63 cities across 26 countries
• Pursuit of Excellence : To strive relentlessly, constantly Employees
improve ourselves, our teams, our services and 104,850*
products to become the best
Company
Committed to nurturing talent Started in 1981, with seven founders,
Fortune magazine recognized us as one of the top US $250, and a dream
companies that “inspire, nurture and empower a new * As of March 31, 2009
** FY 2008-09
generation of global leaders.” We are committed to remain
among the industry’s leading employers.
Organization profile | 1
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
S. Gopalakrishnan
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Sustainability at Infosys
In this Sustainability Report, we present the progress we have made in 2008-09 and also
our charter for the future. The sea change in the world’s economic scenario has highlighted
the importance of, and sharpened our focus on sustainability initiatives. These measures
have been conceptualized and implemented keeping in mind our responsibilities towards
key stakeholders, our role in the economy and society, and our impact on the environment.
2 | Sustainability at Infosys
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Additional information on strategy, governance and and existing mechanisms, to understand their
financial performance is available in our annual financial expectations. These expectations were mapped against
statements at www.infosys.com/investors/reports-filings/ their significance to our business and operations to
default.asp identify material issues. The following representation is
We considered the feedback from our stakeholders and the materiality of the GRI indicators in the context of our
the needs they expressed through formal forums business operations :
Given the nature of our business and our operations, the following GRI core indicators are either not relevant or have a
low significance to our business :
Section Indicators Comments
EN11, EN12 We are primarily a services company and our offices are located in
industrial or commercial zones approved by the local governments
where we operate.
Environment
LA4, HR5 We provide alternate channels for employees to participate and voice
their opinions about the company and employee policies.
Product Responsibility
Sustainability at Infosys | 3
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Report scope and boundaries Further, these guidelines allow our Board to take decisions
that are independent of the Management. Our Board may
The scope of this year’s report is limited to the Global
change these guidelines from time to time to effectively
Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators that are most
achieve our stated objectives.
significant to our business and stakeholders. While there
are no significant changes to the scope and boundary For details on our corporate governance, refer page 105 of
pertaining to economic, product, people and community our Annual Report.
aspects, we have covered all locations in India to report
on environmental impact. For more information on the
Corporate governance ratings
report scope and boundary, refer the GRI index section of CRISIL
this report. CRISIL assigned us their highest rating, “CRISIL GVC
Level 1”. This Governance and Value Creation (GVC)
Corporate governance rating indicates our capability to create wealth for all our
We believe that sound corporate governance is critical stakeholders while adopting sound corporate governance
to enhance and retain the trust of our stakeholders. practices.
Hence, we consistently seek to ensure that we attain our
ICRA
performance goals with integrity.
ICRA assigned “CGR 1” rating to our corporate governance
Our Board exercises its fiduciary responsibilities in the
practices. The rating is the highest on ICRA’s Corporate
widest sense of the term. Our disclosures always seek
Governance Rating (CGR) scale of CGR 1 to CGR 6. We are
to attain the best practices in international corporate
the first company in India to be assigned the highest CGR
governance. We also endeavor to enhance long-term
by ICRA. The rating reflects our transparent shareholding
shareholder value and respect minority rights in all our
pattern, sound Board practices, interactive decision-
business decisions.
making process, high level of transparency and disclosures
Over the years, our Board has developed corporate encompassing all important aspects of our operations, and
governance guidelines to help fulfill our responsibility to our track record in investor servicing. A notable feature of
various stakeholders. These guidelines ensure our Board our corporate governance practices is the emphasis on
will have the necessary authority and practices in place, to “substance” over “form,” besides our transparent approach
review and evaluate our operations. to following such practices.
4 | Sustainability at Infosys
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Monitoring progress of We created and implemented internal CSR and environment dashboards to track
sustainability activities sustainability activities
Designing and deploying We developed and implemented an application based on the .NET platform to capture
systems to integrate information based on GRI indicators as a pilot. Going forward, our various functional
various sustainability departments plan to share their data and activities periodically using this application.
initiatives
Stakeholder engagement • Our Green Initiatives team collaborated with multiple stakeholders and devised
appropriate interventions for reducing carbon footprint, energy and resource
consumption
• Our Green Initiatives team established Eco Clubs at all our DCs to understand
employee and community expectations
• Our Human Resources team has drafted the CSR guidelines for employee voluntary
groups. These guidelines will assist our employees to monitor and report CSR activities
in a systematic manner.
Sustainability at Infosys | 5
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Ashok Vemuri
Senior Vice President and Member – Executive Council
Engaging stakeholders
Recent global events have shown that sincere two-way dialog is vital for any business
organization to win and keep the trust of its stakeholders. We have always ensured that our
communication channels with customers, employees, investors, vendors and society are
open and collaborative. Their valuable feedback influences the business decisions we take
and the sustainability strategies that we implement.
In 2008-09 we engaged with our key stakeholders through Confluence, our annual customer leadership summit, was
various programs and communication initiatives : held in September 2008 for customers in Europe and
the Middle East, and in November 2008 for customers
Intensive customer interaction
in the Americas. Select senior executives from global
As an IT services company, our commitment to exceed
organizations shared their ideas and best practices in
customer expectations is one of our defined values.
the areas of business, innovation, leadership and other
CSAT, our annual Customer Satisfaction Survey, is an
sustainability aspects.
important tool through which we gauge the satisfaction
of our customers globally. This survey rates us on key Facilitating employee – employer dialog
parameters, including comparison with other global We regard our employees as our greatest asset
IT service companies. We analyze the feedback and and value their opinion and feedback to improve our
identify important areas for improvement – business performance as an employer. We believe that constant
strategy, delivered solutions and services, people and transparent communication with our employees is
capabilities and innovation. In 2008-09, we sustained critical in propagating employee satisfaction. Infoscions
high levels of customer satisfaction. Around 81% of across all our office locations can express their opinions
our global customers were satisfied with our services. and participate in organization-specific policy and process
Approximately 82% of our global customers said that they definition exercises through multiple channels including :
would engage us for providing services and developing • Employee Satisfaction Survey (ESAT) : We understand
products and solutions in the future. the impact of employee engagement activities,
6 | Engaging stakeholders
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
policies and processes through ESAT every year. The Anti Sexual Harassment Initiative (ASHI) allows
This year, we partnered with Gallup, the world leader employees to report sexual harassment in the workplace
in employee engagement surveys, to conduct the and cases are heard and resolved by an unbiased group.
survey. The results of the survey indicated workplace In 2008-09, there were 11 significant cases heard and
strengths and weaknesses and examined the drivers resolved by Grievance Redressal Board (GRB).
of our organization’s workplace culture. This helped us
in benchmarking our workplace quality against other We encourage our employees to report on corrupt practices
organizations. or unethical behavior using the Whistleblower Policy.
This year, 78% of our global workforce participated in Employees undergo an awareness program on this policy
the survey. On a scale of 1-5, the Overall Satisfaction during their induction.
was 3.62, Advocacy was 3.64 and Loyalty scored 3.47. We have established control systems for complying with
• Inclusivity Survey : Our large and diverse global local laws on anti-corruption in the geographies that we
workforce necessitates the need for inclusivity operate. In the financial year 2008-09, we did not record
programs to promote a sense of belonging. any incident of corrupt practices by any individual or
In 2008-09, the annual Inclusivity Survey, used to business unit.
measure the inclusivity index of our workforce,
revealed that both male and female employees
feel equally engaged. The survey helped us identify
programs related to gender, culture, parental status
and work experience.
• Quarterly Town Hall (QTH) : We use these meetings at
the organization and unit levels to share our quarterly
progress with employees. Corporate strategies
and new policies are also communicated by senior
management through these meetings.
• Sparsh : Our intranet, Sparsh, is an important mode
for communicating key business achievements,
policies, operational strategies and messages from
senior management. Sparsh helps foster a feeling N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor, with the
of community within our 104,000+ strong global InStep Business Plan competition winners
workforce.
• InfyTV : India’s first corporate TV channel, InfyTV, has Employee participation is crucial in strategizing and
created a decentralized, collaborative platform for rich influencing our business policies and operations. We provide
media content. InfyTV has emerged as a compelling Infoscions at all levels the opportunity to participate in
communication platform.
decision making processes through the following channels :
• CEO-employee column : The interactive column,
• Strategic and Action Planning meet (STRAP) : Tier
Ask Kris, hosted on Sparsh, allows employees to connect
leaders participate in this annual meet to strategize on
directly with our CEO, S. Gopalakrishnan, every month.
the organization’s business plan for the year ahead.
Any Infoscion can directly share suggestions or raise
queries on policies and strategies and receive responses • Voice of Youth (VoY) : Infoscions who have less than
from the CEO. This serves as a platform for employees five years of work experience and are below 30 years
to approach, interact and communicate with our senior in age, are elected to the VoY team in each DC. These
management. teams act as an important communication channel
between senior management and employees to
• HRD Blog : The Internal Communications (IC) team
recommend and plan location specific operational
maintains the HRD Blog, which enables employees to
issues.
share their views on our policies, benefits, values and
culture. This blog provides employees an opportunity • Infosys Women Inclusivity (IWIN) : IWIN circles have
to interact with Nandita Gurjar, SVP and Group been formed by women employee volunteers across
Head – HRD. our locations globally to facilitate gender sensitivity.
They are peer counsellors who understand local
We take employee grievances and complaints seriously. concerns pertaining to gender and share suggestions
Hearing Employee and Resolving (HEAR) is a formal with the DC management councils. The volunteers are
mechanism to help employees express unresolved nominated by their respective business units and get
grievances and instances of discrimination. This year appropriate training to handle their counseling needs.
HEAR did not receive any discrimination cases based on • Management Council (MC) : The MC consists of
gender, age or ethnicity. leaders in every business unit, Business Enabler
Engaging stakeholders | 7
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Infosys Board of Directors preside over the 27th Annual General Meeting
Functions (BEF) and DCs. Their responsibilities include Establishing strong vendor partnerships
formulation of unit specific strategies and ensuring
The strong partnerships we have established with our
units achieve their business goals (financial and
vendor partners help us run our business in an efficient
non-financial). The MC also proactively highlights risks
manner. As with all partnerships, trust is an important
and provides solutions.
factor in our relationships with our vendor partners.
Keeping our investors informed We conduct an annual Vendor Satisfaction Survey to
The Investors portal on our website, www.infosys.com/ understand the expectations of our vendor partners and get
investors/default.asp is the primary channel of feedback on their experience with us. The survey results are
communication with investors. We release earnings used to improve our daily operations. In 2008-09, the survey
reports and financial forecasts every quarter in compliance showed that our vendor partners are willing to participate in
with domestic and international financial exchange green initiatives undertaken by us.
regulations. These are sent by email or posted to investors We share our sustainability goals, especially on the
every quarter. The Annual Report is also sent to all our environment, during periodic review meetings and
investors at the end of each fiscal year. Starting fiscal awareness sessions with our vendors. This year
2010, we intend to send the printed copy of the Annual we launched our first comprehensive sustainable
Report to our shareholders containing details that are procurement policy to minimize any adverse impact on
statutorily required. We believe this approach will help us the environment and society at large.
reduce paper consumption by approximately 120 tons. As
always, the complete Annual Report with all other details
will be made available on our website www.infosys.com.
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the most important
forum for direct communication with our investors.
A report on the company’s operations and financials along
with select highlights are presented to all shareholders
who attend the meeting in person or view it on our
website.
We hold three annual Analyst Meets in India, Japan and
the US. We communicate the state of our business,
operational and financial highlights along with unit specific
An Infoscion interacting with women at the transit care center -
highlights through these meetings. The Banyan, Chennai, as part of the Community Empathy Policy
program
8 | Engaging stakeholders
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Engaging stakeholders | 9
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
• Chairman of Indian Institute of Information Technology engineering and enterprise technology. We use a
and Management (IIITM) – Kerala multi- stage process for engaging with various
T.V. Mohandas Pai, Director and Head – Administration, stakeholders including our Business Units (BU),
Education & Research, Finacle, Human Resources customers and partners in identifying the technology
Development and Infosys Leadership Institute, has been areas for us to focus on research and development.
actively working with regulators and the Government of As shown in the following diagram, we go through a
India to improve the business ecosystem. process of visioning and identifying emerging
He was a member of the Kelkar Committee constituted technologies and disruptive business trends and develop
by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, for multiple scenarios relevant to Infosys stakeholders.
reforming direct taxes, and a member of the Non-Resident We then deliberate on the relevance and impact of these
Taxation Committee, the high powered committee on trends and create a technology roadmap that outlines
e-commerce and taxation. He is currently on the Board of focused interventions. We select the areas that we can
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and also a impact. We create and protect intellectual assets including
member of the SEBI Accounting Standards tools, frameworks and methodologies that can accelerate
Sub-committee and the Empowered Committee for the adoption of these technologies in the Infosys
setting up the Tax Information Network of the Indian ecosystem.
Government. We then look to exploit these technologies by taking to
He is also a trustee of the International Accounting market, solutions and offerings.
Standards Committee Foundation that oversee the This cyclical process is repeated periodically to ensure we
International Accounting Standards Board. are aligned to industry and technology trends.
Engaging stakeholders through R&D
Our Software Engineering and Technology Labs (SETLabs)
is the center for applied technology research in software
Reference : The above diagram is adapted from Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B : Journal of Engineering Manufacture 1989-1996 (vols 203-210)
10 | Engaging stakeholders
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Stakeholders Channels
Government / NGO / Others Membership in key public / government / trade councils and federations
Media interactions
Infosys Blogs
Engaging stakeholders | 11
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
V. Balakrishnan
Chief Financial Officer
year as compared to
US $546 million in 2007-08
Subhash B. Dhar
Senior Vice President and Member – Executive Council
39,464 knowledge assets • Infosys iProwe : Our first web accessibility evaluation
tool for the visual and hearing impaired, and users with
motor or cognitive disabilities.
available in our central knowledge • ShoppingTrip360™ : This platform enables a suite of
repository managed-information services to create a 360-degree
view of real-time in-store shopper and shelf activity.
• Infosys Sustainability Solution : Infosys Sustainability • Maintenance CoE of SETLabs : Continues to leverage
Solution helps organizations to rapidly deploy a its platform-based, knowledge-centric, collaborative
sustainability reporting framework. The solution helps process to significantly differentiate our maintenance
data capture, data aggregation, analysis and reporting offering. The Mantra platform continues to add to our
of different data types such as energy accounting, competitive advantage helping us win large deals.
water accounting, product performance data, human Two patent applications have been filed for the Mantra
resource and labor performance data, economic platform this year.
performance data and safety performance data. • CRM Practice CoE : Aims at developing solutions,
• Digital Convergence Platform : This platform currently tools / accelerators and methodologies to enhance the
powers the Digital TV service for a leading mobile effectiveness of package implementation
carrier Other CoEs focus on technology domains like product
• LogO : LogO, our Logistics Optimization solution, testing, IP multimedia, datacom, digital media, network
helps companies reduce the carbon footprint created solutions and technology platforms such as .NET, J2EE,
through their logistics operations C++, GIS and Java. We have also established CoEs that
Infosys mConnect and Infosys TruSync, our innovative specialize in industry verticals such as retail and logistics,
sustainability solutions that we had developed for the banking and manufacturing.
communications industry in 2007-08, continue to be Product Incubation and Engineering
deployed by our global customers.
Our Product Incubation and Engineering (PIE) unit
Our new India Business Unit (IBU) enables customers develops products working in close cooperation with the
based out of India, specifically state-owned utility other business units. The mandate for the PIE unit is to
customers, create a technology roadmap. It provides ideate, build, and monetize on new ideas and potential
solutions to reduce Aggregate Technical & Commercial business models through the following process :
(AT&C) losses, and move towards smart grid technology
• Identify and filter ideas to incubate and qualify as a
and green IT. We also work with the public sector corporate-funded product / platform
companies in India to improve the delivery of their • Engineer the idea into products and platforms by running
services using IT. them through clearly demarcated delivery milestones
De-risking our services and check points. Each check point is a candidate for
internal venture capital funding.
Our Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan • Monetize these products and platforms
(DRBCP) is robust and ensures the safety of our employees
The products and platforms benefit customers by
and continued business operations during any crisis. We
providing packaged industry knowledge, helping
have a team that actively and continuously identify potential
them reduce their learning curve and time-to-market.
risks and develop possible solutions. Our Information
Customers also get long-term support and commitment
Security Management System (ISMS) facilitate secure
on upgrades, which help them in aligning their business
operations, creates security awareness, conducts periodic
roadmap with the product roadmap and vice versa.
audits to identify gaps and proactively address security risks.
For details on enterprise-wide risk management aspects, SETLabs
refer the Risk Management Report on page 59 of our Our Software Engineering and Technology Labs (SETLabs)
Annual Report. is the center for applied technology research in software
engineering and enterprise technology. SETLabs leverages
Propelling innovation through R&D
emerging technologies for improving engineering effectiveness
We have invested in research and development activities and developing customer-focused business solutions. During
to provide innovative solutions to our customers. the year, SETLabs built several products, solutions, frameworks,
Centers of Excellence tools and methodologies in the areas of software engineering,
Our Centers of Excellence (CoE) are units that focus on high performance and grid computing, cloud computing,
extending our delivery competence around specific and convergence technologies, knowledge driven information
focused technology areas. These include : systems and Web 2.0 technologies.
• Wireless CoE : Initiates R&D projects focusing SETLabs is organized into various research hubs based on
on mobile platforms and technologies that enable the areas of technology focus :
wireless access to information services • Software Engineering Lab focusing on delivering the
• Contact Center CoE : Provides innovative contact next generation software engineering solutions
center solutions for various industry verticals in tune • Convergence Lab focusing on the convergence of
with changing business dynamics services, networks and applications
• Centre for Knowledge Driven Information Systems • Security & Privacy Lab focusing on the security needs
(C-KDIS) focusing on the areas of Text Analytics, in our customers’ context
Machine Learning, Symbolic and Quantitative • Innovation Lab focusing on leveraging ICT to innovate
approaches to Reasoning and Decision Making, and and co-create with our customers
Task Oriented Knowledge Management Systems
• High Performance and Grid Computing Lab focusing
on virtualization, grid models for computing
efficiencies and cloud computing
Through SETLabs, we applied for an aggregate of 81 Australian Government to develop an ambitious R&D
patents in the US and India this year. With this, we now program aimed at creating IP of value to Australia’s services
have a total of 200 patent pending applications in both market. Over the course of the program, this IP will be
countries and have been granted two patents by the engineered and commercialized by CRC participants
United States Patent and Trademark Office. resulting in new technology products and services that will
increase the competitiveness of Australia’s IT industry and
Research across borders
make the services market more innovative.
SETLabs and Infosys Australia are working jointly in the
Smart Services Cooperative Research Center (CRC) Infosys R&D – Awards and leadership recognition
program that explores business process innovation and We continue to innovate and co-create with our
Service Orientated Architecture (SOA) through research customers. In 2008-09, British Telecom (BT) signed
projects. This program brings together the best technology a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with us to
minds from industry, six Australian universities and the collaborate on research and innovation. BT Innovate and
Signing of the MoU for collaborative research ventures between N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor and Professor Alison Richard,
Vice Chancellor, University of Cambridge
SETLabs collaborated to utilize their respective intellectual • We have set up a research hub, Center for Advanced
properties to develop and market the product – Real-time Software Technologies (CAST), at the Viterbi School of
Business Intelligence Plus (RTBI Plus). Engineering, University of Southern California (USC) to
aid joint research and education
Nomura Securities partnered with us to address
performance and scalability issues in its Interest Rate We continue to seek new sources of business and
Risk Analysis application. We implemented our High technological research through our interns. InStep, our
Performance Computing Solutions and Grid Application global internship program, has attracted 4,000 applicants
Migration Framework to enhance the scalability of the for 175 positions so far.
application by supporting a greater number of products.
Our thought leadership journal, SETLabs Briefings,
received the “Best of Show” and “Distinguished Technical
Communication” Awards in the Technical Publications
competition organized by the Society for Technical
Communication (STC), India Chapter.
Collaborating with academia for R&D
We are currently pursuing joint research with the following
institutes :
• We signed an agreement to undertake joint research in
unstructured data analytics, inference and diagnostics
tools and the development of next-generation
business intelligence tools with the International Prof. Manindra Agrawal, from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Kanpur receives the first Infosys Prize for Mathematics
Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H)
• We signed an agreement with Purdue University for
joint research in various technology areas Nurturing research beyond business
• We have an agreement with the Indian Institute We believe in promoting research in pure and social
of Science, Bangalore for joint research in various
sciences outside business which has a long-term impact
technology areas
on society. This year we set up a not-for-profit trust, the
• We signed an MoU with the University of Cambridge
Infosys Science Foundation, to promote research in
for collaborative research ventures with a focus on
sciences in India. The Foundation will award prizes worth
engineering, management and business, architecture
US $107,435 (Rs. 50 lakh) each to five Indian scientists in
and pharma
• 39,464 knowledge assets are available in our central • Sears Holdings Corporation chose us as a “Partner in
knowledge repository Progress” for the second consecutive year
• 100,000 knowledge interactions are hosted on our • The International Association of Outsourcing
KM systems and archived for enabling and providing Professionals (IAOP) ranked us as number three in
customers with better solutions their “2008 Global Outsourcing 100” list
• An aviation major recognized us as its “Supplier of
Enhancing capabilities
the Year”
We have invested substantially in enhancing the capability
of our business units. Over the past year, the Infosys
Scaling Outstanding Performance (iSOP) framework
has helped us design and conduct self-assessment
workshops for all business units that have resulted in
understanding businesses, priorities, gaps and in setting
goals for enhancing capabilities.
We strive to develop and deploy innovative products to help our customers increase their
business productivity. As part of our social focus initiative, we work towards providing
healthcare services to more sections of society and aid business in becoming more
eco friendly.
Jeff Smith, Group Executive & CIO of Average time taken for web accessibility Workflow of the LogO application
Suncorp, in discussions with our team assessment of a sample web page
Improving business productivity This tool is expected to train, recommend remedial measures
We applied Agile delivery principles educate and facilitate rural doctors. to make them accessible
that are commonly used in It also provides a platform for • Reduce the time, cost and
software development, in a major physicians to stay connected with effort as well as errors involved
patients throughout their treatment. in assessing and fixing web
infrastructure integration program for
accessibility issues
Suncorp, one of Australia’s leading This software will allow Project ECHO
to expand and cover multiple chronic • Facilitate enterprises that are
financial services companies.
planning their web accessibility
The program which resulted in diseases and health conditions such
strategy.
significant business productivity as AIDS, cardiac-related, mental
for the customer, was deployed health disorders, diabetes, autism Green IT solutions
across 400+ locations and 19,000 and substance-abuse disorders LogO, our Logistics Optimization
employees within the Suncorp group among others. Since the application solution, was piloted for a
across Australia and New Zealand. is delivered via a Software as a confectionary company in Europe to
Service (SaaS) model, it reduces reduce the carbon footprint created
Agile solutions like these empower
potential technology barriers that through their logistics operations.
financial services institutions to
previously existed in rural Based on the observed shipment
maximize their opportunities for
health clinics. data, LogO helped the customer with
growth while minimizing the risks
Enhancing web accessibility temporal consolidation and reduction
that come with large-scale business
of about 3,803,363 miles and thereby
transformation. Web accessibility is a challenge
reduction of GHG emissions.
Facilitating community healthcare to those who have physical and
cognitive disabilities. This limitation LogO has also uncovered
One of our endeavors has been opportunities for reduction in
can be overcome if websites
to improve community healthcare transportation cost between 2.42%
implement an effective accessibility
facilities. As part of Project Extension to 8.61% of the annual Less Than
design. In 2008-09, we launched our
for Community Healthcare Outcomes Truckload (LTL) spend at two large
first web accessibility evaluation tool,
(ECHO), we collaborated with the US grocery and general merchandise
Infosys iProwe, a patent-pending
University of New Mexico to design retailers. This translates to around
solution that can :
and implement a web application that US $1to 4 million in direct annual
• Assess accessibility of websites
facilitates real-time flow and access cost savings.
for users with physical and
of clinical data among participating
cognitive disabilities and
health providers.
Nandita Gurjar
Senior Vice President and Group Head – HRD
The annual Petit Infoscion Day recognizes children of Performance appraisals are conducted for all eligible
employees who have achieved excellence in the areas employees to facilitate career planning and progression.
of academia and extracurricular activities. On this day, a Our promotion and career opportunities are based on
large number of employees and their extended families merit and competencies of individuals. During the year
participate in carnivals, contests, and theme parties 2008-09, we did not record any substantiated cases of
organized at our campuses. discrimination based on gender, age or ethnicity.
Global Buddy : The Global Buddy program, started in 2007, For more information about our employee engagement
aims at assisting our new hires understand our culture initiatives, refer the Engaging stakeholders section of
and value system. As a buddy, the Infoscion becomes this report.
a brand ambassador, meets new people, and acquires
Creating dynamic work-life policies
insights into new cultures and nationalities.
Our work-life policies reflect local requirements and
Ensuring equal opportunities regulations. Our employees based in India are eligible for
Job openings across the organization are announced on paid maternity leave and paternity leave. We have satellite
the following platforms : offices for new mothers, telecommuting for employees
• WithInfy : Internal portal on which internal job on need basis, adoption leave, flexible work hours,
openings are published part-time work policy, one-year childcare sabbatical policy
• ConnectInfy : Internal portal on which job openings for and near-site daycare facilities. Employees can apply for
all other recruitment categories are announced scholarships for their children who have excelled in
• Our website, www.infosys.com academics, arts and culture. Infoscions can also apply for
• Media extended family healthcare coverage.
• Other relevant recruitment channels
Nurturing talent and competencies
Our compensation and benefits are inclusive. Notice
periods and minimum wage policies for our employees Customer delight and the pursuit of excellence are key
are in compliance with local laws and regulations. drivers for equipping our employees with competencies
and skills to stay ahead of the competition. Our Education
Our Annual Excellence Awards recognizes our employees’
and Research (E&R) department is responsible for
effort and contribution towards achieving our business
enabling employees with the required skills. At the
goals and pursuit of excellence. The awards are instituted
entry level, all trainees undergo a rigorous three month
at the corporate, regional and business unit levels to
foundation skills program and are evaluated before being
ensure due coverage of efforts and accomplishments
absorbed into the workforce. In 2008-09, we provided
at all levels. All employees are encouraged to apply or
1,383,146 person days of training at the foundation level
nominate projects through a transparent process.
for new hires.
As employees progress in their careers, they can We have instituted many other forums which have turned
choose the required technical and soft skill development out to be excellent training ground for future leaders.
programs. For example, E&R department offers 483 One such initiative is LEAD INFY which was launched in
courses round-the-year, of which 338 are instructor-led February 2009 to identify potential leaders for managing
and 145 are web based programs. This year, 51,501 large organization-wide initiatives.
technical certifications and 59,013 domain and process Besides these formal programs, there are many volunteer
certifications were awarded by the department. networks to deploy organizational initiatives such as
Training and certification are also offered by our Centers of productivity and quality enhancements, training and
Excellence (CoEs) and academies : development, informal coaching and counseling that allow
• The Project Management Center of Excellence employees to develop leadership capabilities.
(PMCoE) assists our employees to enhance their
project management competencies. Around 3,080
project managers were enabled and benefited by the
PMCoE programs. An additional 318 project managers
got certified as Project Management Professionals in
2008-09.
• The Business Analysts Center of Excellence (BACoE)
was launched in 2008 to provide a development and
knowledge framework for business analysts and
professionals
• The Enterprise Solutions (ES) Academy provides
academic certifications on technical and domain
related subjects. This year, the Academy awarded Drawing competition organized for children of Infoscions as part of
14,208 certificates. Petit Infoscion Day celebrations
• HALE Hotline : Balancing professional and personal • HALE leisure and fun events : In 2008-09, HALE
relationships can be very stressful for several organized events in partnership with hobby clubs
employees and the HALE Hotline is a means to avail and networks internally to encourage employees
professional advice. We partner with experts and to discover their hidden talent and pursue areas of
consultants to provide counseling for our employees interest. These events promote a healthy lifestyle and
throughout the year. Nearly 2,500 employees ensure holistic development of our employees.
benefited this year.
We provide health club and sports facilities for employees
• HALE Health Week : Our employees and their family in India. This year, around 14,784 employees enrolled as
members can seek expert medical advice and members of our Health Clubs.
checkups at our office premises and through hospital
tie-ups. Over 10,000 employees this year underwent Employee safety and security is of prime importance
Master health, Well Women and the Basic health to us. Disaster recovery and safety drills are conducted
check-ups. Feedback forms were monitored by the periodically to ensure readiness in case of emergencies.
service providers. During Health Week this year, over Emergency contact numbers are shared with all
5,000 employees participated in online interventions employees on the Intranet and through mailers and
such as the online health crossword and online health campaigns. The HALE Safety Week was organized across
quiz programs. The Chat with the Doc program on all DCs in India during January 2009. This year the focus
InfyTV, our corporate TV channel, allowed employees was on road, home and personal safety.
to interact with specialists in the areas of dermatology,
The incident and frequency rate recorded for the past two
ophthalmology, fitness and nutrition.
years are as follows :
2008-2009 2007-2008
Incident Rate / 100 employees 0.504 0.454
Frequency Rate 0.241 0.248
Scope : Infosys India operations
Note : The Frequency Rate is for 100,000 hours worked. The incident rate and frequency
rate for 2007-2008 has been recomputed and restated.
Keeping our workforce happy and satisfied through the promotion of caring and inclusive
policies not only increase productivity but ensures that we remain the most attractive
employer for the best talent available.
Our employee volunteers at a Spark event Sign language story-telling competition held N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and
on World Disability Day Chief Mentor, presenting an award as part of
International Women’s Day
Lighting a Spark for volunteerism Creating a sensitive work Recognizing women role models
We provide platforms for employees environment in the company
to demonstrate their communication As part of creating awareness about To mark International Women’s Day
and interpersonal skills. our diversity practices, two this year, we recognized our women
Spark, a program launched this year, innovative events were organized on employees who were catalysts
aims at instilling career inspirations World Disability Day this year – the for social change. We called for
among school and college students first-ever story-telling contest in sign nominations in two major categories
in India as well as equipping them language in the corporate sector and – those who are social transformers
with an understanding of the ICT the launch of the web accessibility and those who have used our
industry. Students participate in evaluation tool, Infosys iProwe. The platform to reach out to communities.
sessions on problem solving and Equal Opportunities Team from Around 20 women, selected for
the entrepreneurial mindset. This Infosys BPO provides necessary these honors by a team of external
program was conceived, coordinated support, guidance and resolution of panellists, were also featured in
and managed completely by issues for these employees. The a coffee table book released on
Infoscions. Over 2,300 employee team also performs accessibility International Women’s Day.
volunteers across Indian offices audits to ensure that facilities at our The week long celebrations
reached out to over 35,000 urban campuses comply with the comprised events including panel
and rural students this year. The key accessibility guidelines for buildings discussions on empowering women,
skills that the volunteers acquired and infrastructure. women as social transformers and
through conducting this program This year, we collaborated with work-life balance. A new e-learning
included communication skills, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) tool for women in leadership called
leadership, team work, problem to publish guidelines for managing “Labyrinth” was launched.
solving, creativity and interpersonal employees with disabilities. This Spark Guru program, one of our
effectiveness. The program acted as manual, titled “A values route to community activities for this year
a networking zone for like-minded business success : The why and to educate the teachers from rural
employees within the company. how of employing persons with areas, was also launched. Events at
disabilities”, is meant for the corporate our offices around the globe were
sector to guide them on best organized and conducted by the
practices of hiring, recruiting and Infosys Women Inclusivity Circles.
retaining employees with disabilities.
The community activities performed at each stakeholder The Foundation’s rural upliftment projects and
level in 2008-09 are given below : sponsorships continue to provide a sustainable lifestyle
for underprivileged communities through rainwater
Board of Directors
harvesting facilities and solar-powered lamps. As part of
Our Board members actively participate as founders or
Seva Sahayog – Teach India, the Foundation initiated a
trustees of advisory councils, government bodies and
project in Ramnagar near Warje (Kothrud), India, targeting
not-for-profit organizations to drive and influence views
children from economically weaker sections of society.
and policies related to issues like global warming,
The Foundation has begun an experimental project
corporate governance, education and training, social
promoting the usage of solar-powered lamps in
welfare, healthcare, infrastructure management and
Raichur, India.
rural upliftment. They also sponsor organizations like
The Foundation also continues to enable meritorious
the Akshaya Patra Foundation, a mid-day meal initiative
students from rural and underprivileged backgrounds by
that goes beyond providing sustenance and ensures
providing grants, scholarships and donation of books to
high enrolment and low drop-out rates among urban and
nearly 4,000 students. They also empowered 150 rural
semi-urban students. This year, 102,190 children across the
college lecturers and 1,290 students, with a vision to
country have benefited from this scheme.
prepare them for the competitive world through
Infosys Foundation
similar initiatives.
The Infosys Foundation was formed in 1996 and
comprises a dedicated team who work to support and
enrich the underprivileged sections of society. The
Foundation is involved in four key areas :
• Facilitating affordable health care
• Rehabilitating destitute women
• Enabling children from rural and underprivileged
communities
• Nurturing Indian arts and heritage
We invest in community development programs through
the Infosys Foundation. With an Infosys grant amounting
to US $4,297,400 (Rs. 20 crore) in 2008-09, the Foundation An eye checkup camp for underprivileged students held at a primary
school in Thiruvananthapuram
implemented various community programs benefiting
3,150 schools and approximately 43,680 individuals.
This includes the rehabilitation of 920 devadasis, an
underprivileged community of women in India, and their
children. This project provides vocational training and
sponsor academic education to help bring an end to
generational poverty.
In 2008-09, the Foundation helped the Sankara Eye
Hospital. They also reached out to 27,020 beneficiaries
through hospitals and medical centers in Indian states
such as Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra,
Bihar, Kerala and Karnataka by providing free treatment
Infoscions distributing books in a government school in Bangalore as
and donating essential equipment and medication. part of Notebook Donation Drive initiative
The Foundation, in partnership with the Chirantana Trust,
provided aid towards the treatment of cleft lip and palate
The Foundation maintained their support of art and culture
patients in Orissa.
through various initiatives ranging from sponsoring puppet
In partnership with Saathi, an NGO, the Foundation has
shows to helping maintain Indian traditional art forms like
rehabilitated 910 street children in Delhi, Patna and Kanpur.
Tanjore paintings. The Foundation has also partnered with
Through BAIF Development Research Foundation, a
Adima, an organization in Kolar, India, where they train rural
self-help group, they have trained 1,560 rural destitute
artists in folk arts. The Foundation supported their cultural
women in Maharashtra to set up small businesses. They
activities and provided aid to 60 child artists this year.
also organized rehabilitation programs for 300 Orissa tribals
and offered training in agriculture and related life skills.
A mid-day meal sponsored by the Akshaya Patra program in progress at a school in Karnataka
Candidates were selected after a rigorous test and the Mamata – An exemplary volunteer program
student’s economic situation was verified through home Mamata, the employee CSR group in Hyderabad,
visits. Over 200 students took the test and 57 were has organized events, initiated activities and created
identified for aid. Soften raised funds which provided awareness about community welfare. The group best
for over 60% of the amount required to support the 57 exemplifies our philosophy of making employees agents
identified students. The rest of the funds were contributed of social change.
by the Infosys Foundation.
In the field of education, the team identified
North America more than 100 students from economically challenged
The employee CSR group in North America has families and provided them scholarships through the
conducted programs in the areas of education, health Pratibha Poshak program.
and humanitarian issues. The Junior Achievements in a In the area of health, Mamata conducted a blood donation
Day program enabled volunteers to teach students about camp which saw a record 1,504 employees participating.
financial literacy and design a work-readiness curriculum. They also organized a No Smoking awareness campaign
Pune, India and organ donation awareness initiatives.
The Pune CSR group, Sparsh – A Healing Touch, assisted Protecting the environment and raising awareness of
Snehankit, an association for the visually challenged, green issues is a continuous endeavor for Mamata.
prepare students for examinations. The team also created This year, in collaboration with the Greater Hyderabad
a website, www.snehankit.org, to increase public Municipal Corporation, they organized a Sapling Plantation
awareness about the association’s work. Sparsh – A Drive. Around 11,000 saplings were planted and funds
Healing Touch works with the National Association for amounting to US $1,740 (Rs. 81,000) were raised through
Helping the Physically Challenged (NAHPC), to ensure employee donations to cover purchase and maintenance
employability. Through Prarambh, the team reaches out to expenses.
underprivileged children and educates them on personal Mamata conducted a “Say No To Plastics” campaign
hygiene, social and moral issues. The team also organized to spread awareness about the environmental hazards
Prithvi 2008, a social consciousness week to highlight of excessive plastic usage and bring about changes
environmental and social issues. in the lifestyle habits of individuals. A CFL Week was
coordinated to create awareness about CFLs and promote
Thiruvananthapuram, India
their usage among employees.
In Thiruvananthapuram, the Sanjeevani team organized
The group donated US $770 (Rs. 35,000) to Prajwala, an
Florescence, an initiative to spread CSR awareness
anti-human trafficking organization that empowers victims
among other companies in the city through debates, skits
and rehabilitates them. The team also initiated a Citizen’s
and cultural performances. The team also held Theatre, an
Rights awareness campaign before by-elections in
initiative to spread awareness on various health related
18 assembly and four parliamentary constituencies in
topics through street plays. Sanjeevani also initiated
Andhra Pradesh, India. The campaign was launched to
Santhwanam, to assist government and public healthcare
highlight the importance of exercising the right to vote.
centers with medical equipment and medication
expenses. The Save A Heart program conducted by Through these myriad initiatives and activities, Mamata
Sanjeevani provides financial support for treating children is constantly looking for avenues to reach out and
with heart ailments. assist communities and address developmental issues.
Employee CSR groups like Mamata are the voice of our
social consciousness.
We invest time and resources in social development knowing that the changes that result
from these initiatives will be instrumental in the establishment of a more inclusive society.
Panel discussion during a Special Training An interactive Campus Connect session in Student participants at a Campus Connect
Program (STP) session progress event
Promoting inclusive growth like Malaysia, China, Thailand and Technology course that focuses on
We have initiated the Special Training Mexico. Country specific events ”Learning-by-doing”. The subject
Program (STP) to partner with state have been designed and was offered as an industry elective.
governments and industry groups implemented to benefit key Nearly 100 students were trained in
to build competencies and enhance stakeholders like students, 2008. The program proved to be very
employability for engineering engineering college faculty members popular among students.
students from socially disadvantaged and not-for-profit organizations that Mexico – In September 2008,
sections. promote IT education. Mexico’s IDETI (Instituto de
The STP curriculum balances Malaysia – We trained nearly 90 Desarrollo del Talento TI) launched
technical training, soft skills training, students and 10 faculty members the IT Finishing School program in
guest lectures, industry visits and from Malaysia in IT at the Global two reputed universities with an
team project work, over a period of Education Center (GEC) at our Mysore initial batch of 150 students. Our
six months. Around 449 of the 552 campus. In parallel, the anchoring Foundation program courseware was
trained students have been placed organization, Multimedia Development used on an exclusive basis.
in established companies and have Corporation (MDEC), collaborated with A delegation from Tech De Monterrey
been recognized as high performers. advanced institutions within Malaysia visited our Mysore and Bangalore
to train over 50 faculty members. DCs to interact with leading subject
Currently, we are partnering with
These faculty members in turn have matter experts from E&R and seek
universities in five Indian states to
trained nearly 200 students using the industry input regarding revision of IT
offer STP. These universities include
Finishing School model. and Computer Science curricula.
Indian Institute of Information
Technology (IIIT), Bangalore, Institute China – China has adopted the Thailand – We conducted a
of Electronic Governance, Jawaharlal Campus Connect program to train three-week FEP in April 2008 for 33
Nehru Technological University in 20 senior faculty members using engineering college faculty members
Hyderabad, Symbiosis Institute in the train-the-trainer approach by from nearly 15 universities in
Pune and Malaviya National Institute conducting a two week Faculty Thailand. These faculty members in
of Technology, Jaipur. Enablement Program (FEP) from turn have conducted several short
July 14-25, 2008. courses and seminars on IT subjects
Connecting beyond India in their respective universities
Singapore – We collaborated with
The Campus Connect program the School of Information Systems at reaching over 2,000 students.
facilitates the building of industry- Singapore Management University
academia relationships in countries to design the Enterprise Web
B. G. Srinivas
Senior Vice President and Member – Executive Council
10% reduction in per capita As an IT services and consulting company, our operations
are people-intensive rather than resource-intensive. Our
electricity consumption in 2008-09 products and services contribute in developing smart and
efficient solutions for the various industries they touch,
thereby helping in improving resource productivity and
reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions on the planet.
16,000 saplings of more All our development centers in India except Jaipur,
Gurgaon and Mangalore-Nethra are ISO 14001:2004
than 200 species planted in our and OHSAS 18001:2007 certified. There have been no
sanctions for non-compliance of environmental regulation
Mangalore biodiversity park at any of our locations in India.
We have well established management processes and are engaged in sustainability related activities.
a dedicated team focused on reducing the ecological A significant part of our investment decisions are driven
impact of our operations. Currently we do not track the by our commitment to be a responsible consumer of
environment protection expenditures but have integrated energy, water and other resources.
the expenses with various initiatives and departments that
Energy and emissions Our buildings are the largest consumers of energy and to
Electricity alone contributes to 72% of our emissions. resolve this issue, we implemented an aggressive plan last
Therefore, to meet our objective of carbon neutrality, we year to design all new buildings as green buildings.
are focusing on energy efficiency initiatives and sourcing The infrastructure team has spent considerable time in
energy from renewable sources. the R&D of building technologies and developing the best
practice specifications for our future buildings.
The new projects in our Indian campuses such as Mysore,
Per capita monthly electricity Electricity consumption (KwH)
consumption (KwH) Thiruvananthapuram, Mangalore and Hyderabad are
Grid (Kwh) Captive (KwH)
being designed as per the Leadership in Energy and
296.51
266.51
We are also working with various regulatory authorities in a unique program called INSTANT in association with
India to create laws whereby ”Green Utilities” can become Stanford University. As part of this program, employees in
a viable alternative. These efforts will help us in realizing our our Bangalore campus were given incentives for travelling
vision of sourcing our electricity through renewable sources. during off-peak hours.
In terms of onsite renewable energy, we are currently Sustainable IT infrastructure
amongst the largest users of solar hot water in India. This
We have a focused strategy to optimize energy
year, we augmented this capacity by an additional 199,000
consumption and address other IT-related sustainability
liters to reach a total of 604,700 liters per day. This has a
aspects. Various tracks under the Green IT initiative are
potential of saving 23,380 KwH on a bright sunny day.
formulated with a full lifecycle approach ranging from
Mobility procurement to e-waste disposal. Energy efficiency has
The world consumes a cubic mile of oil each year, been included in our procurement policy as one of our key
amounting to an alarming 85 million barrels of oil per day. parameters along with performance, productivity,
Most of this oil is consumed in the transportation sector, scalability, security and availability while evaluating
which is a major contributor to GHG emissions. To reduce new products.
our carbon footprint related to business travel and employee Deployment of technologies that help improve the energy
commute, we have undertaken certain long-term initiatives. efficiency of systems is at the core of our Green IT
We encourage employees to meet and collaborate on strategy. In 2008-09, we rolled out an optimized power
virtual platforms like video, audio and web conferencing management configuration covering around 50% of
infrastructure. In 2008-09, this approach led to the average desktop computers in our network. As a result of this
number of video conferences trebling from around 300 configuration, desktops enter sleep mode after one hour
per month to 1,000, leading to a reduction in travel and of inactivity. Considering an average power consumption
hence carbon footprint. of 10W per hour by a desktop and a monitor in sleep
mode, as against 60W per hour during non-sleep mode,
To reduce the footprint due to employee commute in
this configuration is expected to bring in a maximum
our Indian operations, we continue to encourage our
reduction of 18-20% in total power consumption by
employees to use multiple means of mass transit.
desktops. We are in the process of monitoring and
Around 80% of our employees use mass transport for measuring the actual reduction through these initiatives.
commuting to office. We have also developed a car pool
application for employees who use personal vehicles Green Datacenters
for commuting, and are providing preferential parking to Consolidation of core infrastructure servers like Dynamic
car poolers. To reduce congestion on roads, we started Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and file servers from
more than 250 to less than 100 is expected to reduce
277.83
*
Previous year CFC 11 equivalent of R123 has been revalued from 8.88 Kgs by using
correct conversion factor.
One of our ongoing efforts has been to create a During the year, there were no significant cases of fuel or
biodiversity park in our Mangalore campus. This year, chemical spills. There was no significant water discharge
our Mangalore Facilities team in collaboration with our from our campus.
Eco Clubs has initiated and transformed the landscape Hazardous waste disposed 2008-09 2007-08
of the campus by planting over 16,000 saplings of Used Oil (Liters) 22,130 20,000
more than 200 species. A rich collection of endemic Cotton Waste (Kgs) 227 638
plants, especially those that are endangered, have been
DG Filters (Numbers) 319 487
introduced ensuring that the area continues to support
E-waste (Metric Tons) 59 5.4
these rare species. We also endeavor to transplant all
Batteries (Numbers) 2,888 1,315
trees that have to be unearthed for development.
2008-2009 2007-2008 Paper usage
Trees on our campuses 118,000 100,000 Last year 111,945 reams of A4 size paper were procured
We have been recognized for our landscaping efforts in for our operations. We encourage judicious use of paper
various campuses by local authorities. through the following initiatives :
Our Pune DC received 12 Garden Awards from the Pune • enforcing duplex printing
Municipal Corporation including : • replacing printed forms with e-forms
• The Girme Farm Trophy for Greenery • raising usage awareness
• The Late Shevantabai Krishnaji Thackery Trophy for • organizing Zero Print Week
Landscaping at Organization Level
The Zero Print Week campaign in Bangalore witnessed a
• The Lions Club of Hill Top Trophy for Tree Plantation, reduction of 37.6% in printouts, a saving of 18,800 sheets
Conservation and Maintenance of paper.
Our Bangalore campus won the Special Outstanding
Prize Best Ornamental Garden and the Smt. Jayalakshmi
Venkatasubbaraju Rolling Cup from the Mysore
Horticulture Society, Lalbagh, Bangalore. The Mysore DC
was awarded the First Prize in “Best Garden Award –
Large Gardens Category” and Third Prize in “Best Garden
Award – Hostel Areas” in the Dasara Horticulture Show.
Our waste management strategy
Our operations generate various types of wastes that can be
categorized broadly as solid waste and hazardous waste.
Our solid waste management program is based on the
3Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle principle. We have put
in place practices of waste segregation at the source.
Biodiversity park in Mangalore DC
Solid waste is disposed as follows :
• Paper waste, plastic, bottles and steel scrap is sent
for recycling Use of natural resources
• Food waste is sent to piggeries
Most of the natural resources are consumed while
• Hazardous waste, including e-waste, is disposed developing new infrastructure and maintaining existing
by authorized vendors approved by local and central facilities. We focus on reducing the consumption of
Pollution Control Board and
building materials by use of efficient designs. We have
• Biomedical waste is sent to vendors authorized by the carried out peer reviews of the structural design of all new
local Pollution Control Board buildings to ensure optimum use of concrete, glass and
Food vendors at our campuses are urged not to use steel. We promote the use of recycled materials such as
disposable plastic. Suppliers are encouraged to take back bagasse-based table tops, aluminium for our workstation
packaging material. Innovative ways and means to reuse frames and partitions.
are explored for waste that is generated. For instance,
Eco Clubs
wood waste is used in carpentry.
We believe that it is essential to engage our employees,
partner with them in nurturing a sustainable environment
and empower them with the knowledge to accomplish
our corporate commitment. This year, the Eco Clubs have Stakeholder engagement :
undertaken several initiatives working tirelessly towards Stakeholders Action Impact
instilling a sense of responsibility and accountability for
Vendors and Procurement policy Resource efficiency
the environment. Contractors was modified to and reduced
As a commitment to protecting and developing an incorporate green environmental
eco-friendly environment, the following activities were practices impact of products
and services
undertaken in India :
Stringent Greening supply
• An inter-collegiate rock fest was organized in procurement criteria chain
Bangalore, India, to nurture a new generation of
Government Power report : Role Smart grids with
eco ambassadors and to promote the concept of
and policy of technology in lower losses
environmental sustainability among college students. makers transformation of
This initiative provided colleges and students an power distribution
opportunity to display their innovative sustainability
White paper on Greater proportion
solutions. renewable energy of clean energy in
• A Bus Day was organized on March 13, 2009 at our the electricity grid
Bangalore campus to promote the use of mass transit Trade Green Infrastructure Sharing of best
Our CSR employee group in Mysore, India, launched a Associations committee practices amongst
members
three-month eco campaign to educate employees on
green issues. Eco Club members ran campaigns to ban NGO Funding India Youth Awareness building
Climate Network amongst the Indian
plastics at our campuses. They also organized Eco Fairs (IYCN) road tour youth to influence
to promote environmental-friendly products such as LED behavior change
lamps, cloth and jute bags, and plants. A CFL Fair was
held in Hyderabad, India, to encourage the usage of CFL We select vendor partners who are sensitive to green
lamps, a small but effective step in countering procurement, human rights and are ethical in their work.
global warming. We prefer sourcing raw materials from vendor partners
who are available within a 500 mile radius.
Eco Club members recommended the introduction
of online application for new ID cards, which was Last year 76% of total space was added in Tier 2 and
incorporated and resulted in a no-wastage-of-paper Tier 3 cities in India, thereby promoting local economic
initiative. An Eco Club member won the Intel Involved growth and creating indirect employment opportunities for
Environment Research Award for his idea to conserve the local community.
power by automating the process of shutting down
computers when employees swipe out.
To offset the adverse impact our operations have on the environment, we realize that
sustainable building design is a must. We have implemented these designs in all our new
office buildings under construction.
The new Software Development Block at The new Software Development Block under The new Software Development Block at
Mysore DC construction at Hyderabad DC Thiruvananthapuram DC
Our sustainable design team focused have been shaded to reduce the heat design to optimize lighting levels and
on optimizing the building envelope gain from direct radiation. The glazing energy consumption.
and equipment with the help of and wall insulation specifications were Plug loads
sophisticated simulation software. identified after simulating the energy
The IT team has committed
The team looked at the impact of performance of the building envelope.
to providing the most efficient
each building component, individually Day lighting equipment and which is projected to
and collectively, and optimized
The buildings are designed to bring down the plug loads to
the overall building performance 1W / Sq. ft.
provide maximum daylight without
to achieve a 35% improvement in
glare. The building width is limited Cooling technology
design over the base-case building
to 18 m and light shelves have been These design interventions are
as defined by American Society
provided to increase the penetration projected to reduce heat loads by
of Heating, Refrigerating and Air
of day light and reduce the glare. 130 TR. In order to increase the
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
To maximize the spread of daylight, operational efficiency and achieve
The entire process of design cabins and conference rooms have our target of 500 Sq. ft / TR of
optimization is explained in the been moved to the central zone and air conditioned area, the team
context of the new Software workstations to the periphery in the used energy modeling software
Development Blocks in Mysore and building plan. extensively to choose the most
Hyderabad, India. The design of these efficient HVAC system. We have
Artificial lighting
buildings have undergone a thorough adopted a conventional cooling
optimization process and they are To achieve a goal of 0.7W / Sq. ft,
system comprising efficient
currently under construction. the team used simulation software
centrifugal chillers with variable
to model the optimum position of
High performance envelope speed drives, high performance
lighting and have chosen lamps,
cooling towers and efficient pumps.
A detailed sun path analysis was luminaries and ballasts with the Installation of heat recovery wheels
carried out to study the solar heat gain highest efficiency. This measure and variable air volume system,
and glare effects on the different faces is projected to achieve 30% along with a very efficient Air
of the buildings. In order to reduce more efficiency compared to the Handling Unit (AHU), has added to
the solar heat gain, we designed recommended ASHRAE standard the efficiency.
insulated double brick walls and of 1W / Sq. ft. LED lights have Data on both capital and operational
spectrally selective double-glazed been incorporated in the design for cost savings make the business
windows. The window-to-wall ratio is corridors and toilets. Further, day case for high performance buildings
optimized to 30% and the windows light sensors are also provided in the stronger than ever.
We will focus on specific strategic and operational level goals for 2009-10.
1. Strategy and analysis Section Page UNGC Operational 3. Report parameters Section Page UNGC Operational
scope scope
1.1 Statement from the SR 2 3.1 Reporting period SR 2
most senior decision
maker 3.2 Date of most recent SR 2
previous report
1.2 Key impacts, risks SR 2, 3, 40
and opportunities AR 40, 59 3.3 Reporting cycle SR 2
2. Organizational profile Section Page UNGC Operational 3.4 Contact point for SR 45
scope questions
2.1 Name of the SR 1 3.5 Process for defining SR 3
report content
organization
2.2 Brands, products and SR 14, 15 3.6 Boundary of the SR 4, 40
report
/ or services
www.infosys.com/offerings/ 3.7 Limitations on the SR 3
products-and-platforms.asp scope or boundary of
the report
2.3 Operational structure AR 6
SR 5 3.8 Joint ventures, AR 12
subsidiaries, SR 3
2.4 Headquarter location SR 1 and outsourced
www.infosys.com/contact/ operations
apac.asp#India
3.9 Data measurement SR 12-13,
2.5 Countries in AR 149 techniques 32-38
operation
2.6 Nature of ownership AR 120 3.10 Effects of SR 44
2.7 Markets served AR 127 restatement of
information provided
2.8 Scale of the AR 127 in earlier reports
organization 3.11 Significant changes in SR 4
2.9 Significant changes AR 12, 120 the scope, boundary,
regarding size, SR 38 or measurement
structure, or methods
ownership 3.12 GRI content index SR 41-44
2.10 Awards received AR 14
SR 18 3.13 External assurance SR 46
AR : Annual Report 2008-09 SR : Sustainability Report 2008-09 UNGC : UN Global Compact Principles
Global operations India operations
4. Governance, Section Page UNGC Operational Economic indicators Section Page UNGC Operational
commitments and scope scope
engagements Disclosures on AR 55,
4.1 Governance structure AR 105, management 125,
118 approach 127,
4.2 Indication whether AR 105 149
chairperson is also SR 12, 32
executive officer EC1 Direct economic AR 86
4.3 Independent AR 105 value generated and SR 13, 27
members at the distributed
board EC2 Financial implications SR 9 ݞ
4.4 Mechanisms for AR 116 due to climate
shareholders and change
employees to provide EC3 Coverage of the AR 94
recommendations to organization’s
the board defined benefit plan
4.5 Linkage between AR 113, EC4 Financial government AR 128
executive 118 assistance
compensation EC5 Entry level wage SR 22
and organization’s compared to local
performance minimum wage
4.6 Processes to avoid AR 107, EC6 Locally-based AR 80, 100
conflicts of interest 118 suppliers SR 38
at the board ݝ
EC7 Local hiring SR 21
4.7 Expertise of board AR 107,
members on 114 EC8 Infrastructure SR 32
sustainability topics investment and
4.8 Statements of SR 1 services for public
benefit
mission, codes
of conduct, and EC9 Indirect economic SR 32
principles impacts
4.9 Procedures for AR 113 Environment Section Page UNGC Operational
board governance SR 5 scope
on management
of sustainability Disclosures on SR 3,
performance management 32-39
approach
4.10 Processes for AR 113,
evaluation of the 118 EN1 Volume of materials SR 37 ݟ
SR used
board’s sustainability 5
performance EN2 Recycled materials SR 37 ݟ, ݠ
4.11 Precautionary SR 2 ݞ
EN3 Direct primary SR 33 ݟ, ݠ
approach energy consumption
4.12 External charters, SR 9, 10 EN4 Indirect primary SR 33 ݟ, ݠ
principles, or other energy consumption
initiatives
EN5 Energy conservation SR 33 ݟ, ݠ
4.13 Memberships in SR 9, 10
associations EN6 Initiatives for energy SR 34 ݟ, ݠ
4.14 Stakeholder groups SR 11 efficiency and
renewable energy
4.15 Stakeholder SR 6, 8 EN7 Initiatives for SR 34 ݟ, ݠ
identification and reducing indirect
selection energy consumption
4.16 Approaches SR 6, 8 EN8 Total water SR 36 ݟ
to stakeholder withdrawal
engagement
EN9 Effect of water SR 36 ݟ
4.17 Key topics and SR 6, 8 withdrawal
concerns raised
EN10 Water recycled and SR 36 ݟ, ݠ
through stakeholder
reused
engagement
EN11* Land assets in or Not 3
adjacent to protected applicable
areas
EN12* Impacts on Not 3 Not
biodiversity applicable applicable
EN13 Habitats protected or Not ݟ Not
restored applicable applicable
EN14 Strategies for Not ݠ Not
biodiversity applicable applicable
EN15 Endangered species Not Not
applicable applicable
EN16 Greenhouse gas SR 35 ݟ
emissions
*
These indicators are of no or low significance to our business.
AR : Annual Report 2008-09 SR : Sustainability Report 2008-09 UNGC : UN Global Compact Principles
Global operations India operations
Environment Section Page UNGC Operational Labor practices and decent Section Page UNGC Operational
scope work scope
EN17 Other greenhouse SR 35 ݟ Disclosures on SR 3,
gas emissions management 20-25
EN18 Initiatives to reduce SR 34, 35 ݞ, ݟ, approach
greenhouse gas ݠ LA1 Workforce by AR 125
emissions employment type SR 21
EN19 Emissions of ozone SR 35 ݟ LA2 Employee turnover AR 134, ݝ
depleting substances 135
EN20 NOx, SOx, and other SR 35 ݟ LA3 Benefits to full-time AR 94,
air emissions employees 95
EN21 Water discharge SR 36 ݟ LA4* Employees with Not 3 Not
collective bargaining applicable applicable
EN22 Waste by type and SR 37 ݟ agreements
disposal method LA5 Minimum notice SR 22 ݚ
EN23 Significant spills SR 37 period(s) regarding
operational changes
EN24 Waste deemed Not 3 Not
hazardous under the applicable applicable LA6 Workforce SR 24 ݘ
terms of the Basel represented in joint
Convention health and safety
committees
EN25 Impacts of SR 37
discharges and runoff LA7 Occupational SR 24 ݘ
on biodiversity diseases, lost days,
and number of
EN26 Initiatives to mitigate SR 15, 33 ݟ, ݠ
fatalities
environmental
impacts LA8 Training on serious SR 24 ݘ
diseases
EN27* Packaging materials Not 3 ݟ, ݠ Not
applicable applicable LA9 Trade union Not Not
agreements on applicable applicable
EN28 Sanctions for SR 32
health and safety
non-compliance
with environmental LA10 Training per SR 23
regulations employee
EN29 Environmental SR 34, 35 LA11 Programs for lifelong SR 23
impacts of transport learning
EN30 Environmental SR 33 ݟ LA12 Regular performance SR 22
protection and career
expenditures development reviews
LA13 Composition of SR 21, 22 ݝ
Society Section Page UNGC Operational governance bodies
scope LA14** Gender pay disparity SR 22 ݝ
Disclosures on SR 3, 7, 22,
management 26-31 Human rights Section Page UNGC Operational
approach scope
SO1 Impact on SR 26, 27, Disclosures on SR 3, 7,
communities 28
Management 21, 22
SO2 Corruption risks AR 60 ݡ Approach
SO3 Anti-corruption SR 7 ݡ HR1 Investment SR 32, 38 ݘ- ݝ
training agreements
SO4 Actions taken in SR 7 ݡ HR2 Supplier screening SR 38 ݘ- ݝ
response to incidents on human rights
of corruption HR3 Training on human SR 40, 41 ݘ- ݝ
SO5 Public policy SR 9, 10 rights
positions and HR4 Incidents of SR 7, 22 ݘ, ݝ
participation in public discrimination
policy development
SO6* Donations to political Not Not HR5* Freedom of Not 3 Not
parties and politicians applicable applicable association and applicable applicable
SO7 Legal actions for SR 13 collective bargaining
anticompetitive HR6 Child labor SR 21 ݘ, ݙ,
behavior ݜ
SO8 Sanctions for non- SR 13 HR7 Forced labor SR 21 ݘ, ݙ,
compliance with ݛ
laws and regulations HR8 Training for security SR 40 ݘ, ݙ
personnel
HR9 Violations of rights of Not Not
indigenous people applicable applicable
*
These indicators are of no or low significance to our business.
**
The ratio of basic salary of men to women is 1.
AR : Annual Report 2008-09 SR : Sustainability Report 2008-09 UNGC : UN Global Compact Principles
Global operations India operations
AR : Annual Report 2008-09 SR : Sustainability Report 2008-09 UNGC : UN Global Compact Principles
Global operations India operations
Assurance statement
Introduction
Det Norske Veritas AS (‘DNV’) has been commissioned by the management of Infosys Technologies Limited (‘Infosys’) to
carry out an assurance engagement on the Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09 (‘the Report’).
Infosys is responsible for the collection, analysis, aggregation and presentation of information within the Report. Our
responsibility in performing this work is to the management of Infosys only and in accordance with terms of reference
agreed with the Company. The assurance engagement is based on the assumption that the data and information provided
to us is complete and true.
Scope of Assurance
The scope of work agreed upon with Infosys includes the following:
• The full Report as well as references made in the Report to the annual report and corporate website;
• Review of the Report against Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines Version 3.0 (GRI G3)
and confirmation of the Application Level;
• Reporting boundary as set out in the Report;
• Visits to the Infosys’ head-office in Bangalore and development centres in Mangalore, Pune and Trivandrum, India.
The verification was carried out during May 2009.
Verification Methodology
DNV is a leading provider of sustainability services, including verification of sustainability reports. Our environmental
and social assurance specialists work in over 100 countries. Our assurance engagement was planned and carried out in
accordance with the DNV Protocol for Verification of Sustainability Reporting.
The Report has been evaluated against the following criteria:
• Adherence to the principles of Materiality, Stakeholder Inclusiveness, Completeness, Responsiveness, Reliability and
Neutrality, as set out in the DNV Protocol*, and
• The GRI G3 Application Levels.
As part of the verification DNV has challenged the sustainability-related statements and claims made in the Report and
assessed the robustness of the underlying data management system, information flow and controls. For example,
we have:
• Examined and reviewed documents, data and other information made available to DNV by Infosys;
• Conducted interviews with 55 representatives (including data owners and decision-makers from different divisions
and functions) of the Company;
• Performed sample-based reviews of the mechanisms for implementing the Company’s own sustainability-related
policies, as described in the Report, and for determining material issues to be included in the Report;
• Performed sample-based audits of the processes for generating, gathering and managing the quantitative and
qualitative data included in the Report;
• Reviewed the process of acquiring information and economic-financial data from the 2008-09 certified consolidated
balance sheet.
* http://www.dnv.com/services/assessment/corporate_responsibility/services_solutions/sustainabilityreporting/order/
Conclusions
In DNV’s opinion, the Report is a fair representation of the Company’s sustainability-related strategies, management
systems and performance. The Report, along with the referenced information in the annual report and on the
Company website, meets the general content and quality requirements of the GRI G3, and DNV confirms that the GRI
requirements for Application Level ‘A+’ have been met. We have evaluated the Report’s adherence to the following
principles on a scale of ‘Good’, ‘Acceptable’ and ‘Needs Improvement’:
Materiality : Acceptable. The Company’s materiality process has not missed out any significant, known material issues,
but the process should be validated with more specific inputs for each business area to bring out material issues that
reflect short, medium and long term impacts.
Stakeholder Inclusiveness : Good. The Company’s engagement process effectively identifies the expectations of
stakeholders in several business units through different engagement channels.
Completeness : Acceptable. Within the reporting boundary defined by Infosys, we do not believe that the Report omits
relevant information that would influence stakeholder assessments or decisions or that reflect significant economic,
environmental and social impacts.
Responsiveness : Acceptable. Within the reporting boundary defined by Infosys, the expectations expressed by
stakeholders have generally been addressed through corporate policies and management systems which are reflected
in the Report.
Reliability : Acceptable. The Company has developed its own data management system for capturing and reporting its
sustainability performance. This has enabled the company to improve the reliability of data resulting in certain
re-statements for year 2007-08. Although no systematic errors have been detected, DNV has identified some manual
discrepancies on data which have subsequently been corrected.
Neutrality : Good. The Company has reported sustainability-related issues in a balanced manner, in terms of content and
tone. Challenges and limitations are presented together with commitments to future improvements.
Opportunities for Improvement
The following is an excerpt from the observations and opportunities reported back to the management of Infosys.
However, these do not affect our conclusions on the Report, and they are indeed generally consistent with the
management objectives already in place.
• Implementation of systematic quality assurance procedures of internal data management systems will help further
improve the reporting process by increasing the reliability of reported data.
• Expanding the boundary of environment, health and safety performance reporting to global operations will provide
stakeholders with a fuller picture of Infosys’ impact in these areas.
• Best practices in reporting among peer organisations should be used to improve the quality of disclosures.
DNV’s Independence
DNV was not involved in the preparation of any statements or data included in the Report except for this Assurance
Statement. DNV did not provide any services to Infosys during 2008-09 that could conflict with the independence of
our work.
DNV expressly disclaims any liability or co-responsibility for any decision a person or entity would make based on this
Assurance Statement.
For
Det Norske Veritas
Bangalore, India
June 01, 2009
Contacts
For queries on Sustainability Report
Srimathi Shivashankar
Principal Diversity Officer - Infosys
Tel. : 91 44 4446 3235 Fax: 91 44 2450 0390
E-mail : Srimathi_S@infosys.com
This report contains forward-looking statements characterized by the use of words and phrases such as “may”, “believe”, “expect”, “continue”, “will”, “forecast”, “estimate”, “target” and
other similar expressions. Our business model is subject to uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.
Such statements are not to be understood as in any way guaranteeing that the expectations would turn out to be accurate. Readers are also cautioned that the risks outlined in the
report are not exhaustive and are for information purposes only. Readers are requested to exercise their own judgment in assessing the risks associated with the Company, and
refer to the discussions on risks in Infosys’ Annual Report available on www.infosys.com and the filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Infosys neither plans nor
undertakes to update any forward-looking statements in the report.
© 2009 Infosys Technologies Limited, Bangalore, India. Infosys acknowledges the proprietary rights in the trademarks and product names of other companies mentioned in the
Sustainability Report.
Contacts | 47
Infosys Sustainability Report 2008-09
Notes
Sustainability Report 2008-09
104,000+
Employees*
496,000+
Shareholders*
240,000+
Social beneficiaries*
3,500+
Vendor partners*
One Infosys