Rainwater harvesting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of Allstate India felicitated by Govt of Karnataka

Bengaluru, India: Allstate India, the strategic services arm of Allstate, a Fortune 100 US insurer, and an established hub for top talent in India, was felicitated in the presence of Honourable Basavaraj Bommai, Chief Minister of Karnataka, for its leadership in the Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) project driven by the NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies) GCC Karnataka chapter. The initiative helps provide clean drinking water to local school children and surrounding communities by setting up rainwater harvesting units in select government schools.

Speaking at the NASSCOM Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Partners’ Felicitation Ceremony in Bengaluru on 06 Dec 2022, the Chief Minister thanked GCCs (Global Capability Centres) like Allstate India for partnering on this commendable venture and encouraged more organizations and individuals to join hands.

Rainwater harvesting proves to be one of the most effective solutions especially now when global warming has made monsoon and rainfalls unpredictable and scarcer. Involvement in this project is part of Allstate India’s commitment towards developing sustainable solutions to strengthen resource conservation and mitigate climate challenges.

Piloted in 2020 with the support of a few other GCCs in Karnataka, the project successfully covered 31 schools during the first two years and 38 schools in the third year (2022). Allstate India alone has installed rainwater harvesting units in 6 such schools across Bengaluru and Pune. So far, over 27 million litres of water have been harvested with more than 24,000 students and broader communities enjoying easy access to clean water. The aim is to cross over 50 schools in 2023 and reach more than 2,675 schools over the next five years. The Forward Foundation is the implementation partner for this project.

Chetan Garga, Managing Director and Senior Vice President, Allstate India, said “Water conservation is a key step in India’s climate journey. It is due to this reason that we started the rainwater harvesting project, driven by NASSCOM, in government schools in Bengaluru. The effort is also designed to inculcate resource sensitivity among school children, the torch-bearers of tomorrow, besides dealing with water stress in the concerned schools and communities around them.”

“The State Government has been extremely supportive, and we have received a lot of encouragement from the Chief Minister. The opportunity size is huge with potential to cover more than 2,600 schools in Urban Bengaluru alone. We are hopeful of bringing a visible change and becoming a catalyst for creating a positive impact on the larger society,” Garga added.