Orient Cement Ltd, part of the CK Birla Group, announced that it has joined the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI).

The Indian cement producer expects membership of this initiative to give further impetus to its efforts to create a safe and ecologically favourable environment and is in line with its vision to be the “employer of choice” and the “neighbour of choice” in the geographies where it operates, the CSI said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We are delighted to be a part of the global mission to make our industry shoulder the responsibility for global sustainability." said Deepak Khetrapal, managing director and CEO of Orient Cement.

"We thank the WBCSD and the CSI for partnering with us in our journey. We expect to contribute to and benefit from our participation in the various working groups of this initiative and look forward to a very engaging and fulfilling journey ahead. We accept this membership with a deep sense of responsibility and intend to play our role to the utmost extent in this noble mission," he added.

The CSI a voluntary CEO-led business initiative operating under the umbrella of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and a global effort by major cement producers towards sustainable development. Today, the CSI represents 23 member companies with operations in over 100 countries. Ranging in size from large multinationals to smaller local producers, these companies collectively account for around 30 per cent of the world's cement production and more than 60 per cent in India.