In a fertiliser plant that handles complex chemistries and sits alongside a bird sanctuary sheltering over 100 species of migratory birds, safety is not an afterthought. It is architecture. That philosophy has now earned Coromandel International’s Kakinada plant one of the most respected workplace safety honours in the world: the British Safety Council’s Sword of Honour 2025.
The award was presented at Drapers’ Hall in London, one of the city’s most historic venues, at a ceremony that brings together organisations from across the globe recognised for demonstrating the highest standards of occupational health, safety and employee wellbeing. Receiving the award on behalf of Coromandel were K. Jaganathan, Senior AVP and Head of Manufacturing at the Kakinada unit; Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Vice President and Head of Manufacturing at the Vizag Plant; and P. Ganesh, DGM for Environment, Health and Safety at Kakinada.
A Three-Year Journey to London
The Sword of Honour is not applied for directly. It is earned through a process that begins with the British Safety Council’s Five-Star Audit, one of the most rigorous independent assessments of workplace safety management available globally. Coromandel’s Kakinada plant began that journey in June 2023. The plant achieved Five-Star Certification twice in 2024 and again in 2025, and it is that sustained, repeated performance across multiple independent audit cycles that qualifies a facility for the Sword of Honour.
That progression matters. A single strong audit performance can reflect a moment of readiness. Achieving Five-Star Certification three times across two consecutive years reflects something more embedded: a safety culture that holds under ongoing scrutiny, not just during a focused push.
What the Kakinada Plant Represents
The Kakinada facility is among the largest phosphatic fertiliser plants in India, handling chemical processes that demand rigorous safety standards as a basic operating requirement. The fact that such a facility, dealing with complex inputs and large-scale manufacturing, has met global safety benchmarks at this level is significant both for Coromandel and for the broader Indian manufacturing sector.
Amir Alvi, Chief Operating Officer for Fertilisers at Coromandel International, described the recognition as a reflection of something the company has deliberately built over time. “The consistent performance of our Kakinada plant against global benchmarks reaffirms our conviction that sustainable growth is achievable when health, safety and wellbeing are deeply integrated into every aspect of our operations,” he said. The company, he added, remains committed to building a sustainable workplace and a responsible global manufacturing organisation.
Safety as a Strategic Commitment
For Coromandel International, the Sword of Honour sits alongside a broader track record of external recognition for responsible operations. The company has been recognised by UNDP for its environmental efforts and named among the ten greenest companies in India by TERI. The Kakinada plant’s bird sanctuary, which coexists with an active large-scale manufacturing site, is itself a symbol of that broader approach: productivity and environmental stewardship designed to work together rather than in tension.
The British Safety Council’s recognition adds a globally credible third-party validation to that story. Workplace safety in Indian manufacturing has historically been an area where the gap between policy and practice can be wide. A plant that has earned Five-Star Certification three times and the Sword of Honour is making a statement about where that gap stands at Kakinada.
For the thousands of workers who operate that plant every day, the award is less about the ceremony in London and more about the standards that made the ceremony possible.
