Corporate Governance

How we are making change

Fostering Good Governance

Mahindra Lifespaces believes that sound and effective corporate governance practices serve the long-term interest of our stakeholders including shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, and community. In keeping with the faith and trust the public has placed in us over the past twenty-five years, we continue to operate with the highest standards of ethical conduct and in compliance with all laws and regulations. We are guided in this pursuit by our governance philosophy, policies, and codes.

Our Governance Structure

Mahindra Lifespaces has a multi-tiered governance structure with well-defined roles & responsibilities. Spearheaded by Board of Directors (BoD), responsible for overseeing formulation & implementation of our strategy, management of daily activity rests with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & senior leaders. As on date, the Company’s Board comprises of seven members, including one woman Director.

Further details on the Board and Board committees, composition, responsibilities, and nomination process are available in the Corporate Governance section of our Annual Report

Corporate codes and policies

Mahindra Lifespaces’ corporate policies and codes form a key component of the governance framework. They guide our employees and other stakeholders across the value chain to uphold our commitment to ethics, transparency, and sustainability. To enhance transparency, all our policies have been published on our website and disseminated to our employees and supply chain partners through during induction and onboarding. Refresher trainings are also provided through the internal communication portal. Policies are also translated into local languages, wherever required.

Our array of sustainability related policies provides a foundation for assessing ESG and climate-related risks and integrating sustainability into our operations. The four pillars of our Sustainability Policy – Sustainable Products, Sustainable Sites, Sustainable Offices, and Sustainable Communities – help us in realising our mission and creating greener, safer, and healthier buildings for all. The Green Supply Chain Management Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct reinforce our commitment to reduce our environmental and social impact across the supply chain.

Leadership Commitment to Sustainability

We have integrated sustainability into our existing governance structure to enable strategic oversight of sustainability issues and facilitate long-term value creation. Working closely with the Board of Directors, the senior leadership oversees the implementation of sustainability initiatives by different functions. We also leverage the enterprise risk management (ERM) framework to identify and mitigate ESG & Climate risks and capitalise on opportunities.

Business Ethics and Compliance

We remain steadfast in our commitment of conducting business ethically and with integrity. The Code of Conduct for our Independent Directors, Directors, and Senior Management and Employees communicates our stance of zero tolerance to bribery and/or corruption to our employees. These Codes provide guidance on:

Recognising and dealing with ethical issues and foster a culture of honesty and accountability
Conflicts of interest and appropriate disclosures
Involvement in political activities
Dealing fairly with customers, suppliers, competitors, regulators, and employees
Protection and use of Company’s assets, confidential information, and intellectual property (IP) rights, including respecting the IP rights and trademarks of third parties
Behaviour and conduct at the workplace
Reporting violations

As a responsible corporate citizen, we expect our employees to comply with all applicable environmental and socio-economic legal frameworks of the country. All of us are expected to know and understand the legal obligations that apply while executing our duties and responsibilities on the job. A strict adherence to regulatory compliances is ensured and every project is launched only after relevant approvals have been procured. This is supported by an inhouse regulatory risk management process that maps emerging regulations, allowing us to have a seamless transition in regulatory regime. We understand the implications of anti-competitive practices on the business and reputation of the Company. Mahindra Lifespaces seeks to compete fairly, ethically, and within the framework of applicable competition laws.

To strengthen our legal accountability, we have streamlined processes related to contractual obligations to customers and litigations. We have implemented measures,

Streamlined and standardised processes related to customer relationship management (benchmarked with peer industry practices) facilitating the customer’s response related to cancellations, defaults, and other transaction-related decisions;
Digitisation of legal-handled litigations, providing a macro-level view of region-wise litigations (associated with forfeiture or defects in projects) and enabling root cause analysis to inform business or management perspective

The Corporate Governance Cell periodically reviews the efficacy of the codes and policies and suggests amendments on the basis of market trends, global good practices, and feedback provided by stakeholders. We also conduct periodic review and evaluation of the policies internally through The Mahindra Way (TMW) as well as through Integrated Management System (IMS). All stakeholders can freely communicate their concerns and grievances through vigil mechanism set down in our Whistle Blower Policy.

Mahindra Lifespaces is an advocate for good governance and enhanced transparency and accountability. However, governance practices require constant improvement as the external circumstances change. We regularly evaluate and refine our processes and policies to remain relevant and up-to-date.

Regulatory Compliance

1. Our Management Approach

Mahindra Lifespaces is built on a robust foundation anchored on the core values of the Mahindra Group - Professionalism, Good corporate governance, Customer centricity, Quality, and Transparency. The company operates in a highly regulated sector, which has experienced a drastic shift in regulatory and market dynamics. These changes have been instrumental in providing our customers the rights and provisions for legal actions against any infringement of their rights. However, for Mahindra Lifespaces, the impacts of such changes were minimal as from the very beginning, we have been committed to sustainable business practices, ethical values, and driving positive change in the lives of our stakeholders and communities.

The structural shifts also enables the industry to consolidate and evolve to ultimately benefit the homeowners. As a responsible corporate citizen, we were one of the first real estate developers in India to be fully prepared for the GST regime, as well as share the impact of input tax credit with our customers. We also adopted the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 framework with alacrity for all our applicable projects. This seamless transition to the new normal was possible because of our ability and willingness to conduct business in the rightful manner. This reinforces that we are not only agile in envisioning the future business environment, but also quick to implement the necessary changes in readiness
for accelerated growth.

All our projects are executed after an in-depth due diligence and sanction of relevant approvals. A strict adherence to socioeconomic and environmental regulatory compliances is ensured and every project is launched only after relevant approvals have been procured. This is supported by an inhouse regulatory risk management process that maps emerging regulations, allowing us to have a seamless transition in regulatory regime. Our policies, procedures, and practices surpass minimum requirement for any regulation, providing us with the support to swiftly implement necessary changes. As a result, no penalties or fines have been imposed by any regulatory authority for noncompliance with any rules and regulations (Economic, Environmental and Socioeconomic), since inception in 1994.

Some of our achievements include,
• Adoption of RERA framework for all our projects.
• Publication of our annual Business Responsibility Report (BRR), in line with SEBI’s notifications and nine principles of the Government of India's 'National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business'.
• Abiding by the Competition Act, 2002 - a mandatory legislation that deals with anti-competitive behavior and all labourrelated legislations of the Central and State Governments.

Such good practices and track records have enhanced our reputation and helped in reinforcing the confidence of all stakeholders in the company, including investors.

2. Transparency & Disclosures

Sharing our sustainability performance in a timely manner not only makes us accountable for our actions but also enables us to receive feedback. We keep our stakeholders updated on our performance through business responsibility report, website, news articles, social media, and annual sustainability report.

We have been active participants in the Climate Disclosure Projects (CDP) and Global Real Estate Sector Benchmarking (GRESB) assessment. In 2019-20, we were 'CDP Supplier Engagement leaders' with supplier engageement rating of 'A' and Climate change disclosure rating of 'B'. Likewise, we ranked 1st in 'GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) Public Disclosure' and 4th in 'GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) Real Estate Disclosure'.

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