Environment conservation campaign in the tribal hamlets of Mumbai

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September 10, 2015

Environment sustainability & Upliftment of tribals being one of the main objectives

Allcargo Logistics, through its in-house NGO Avashya Foundation has successfully executed phase II of environment conservation campaign in the tribal hamlets of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Gorai village of Mumbai. Avashya Foundation in association with NGO Jaag, organized tree plantation, solar lamp distribution and laid foundation stone for toilet project in the interiors of Mumbai.

The phase II of conservation campaign included planting and distributing of over 500 fruit bearing plants, distribution of 250 solar lamps and foundation stone of eight toilets were laid down in 4 schools. This is likely to benefit around 200 families across all hamlets namely Patachepani, Aakrachebhati, Kalmacha Fonda, Devipada, Barikpayri, Palasapada, Babarpada, Jamzadpada, Mundapada, Dongarpada and Appapada. Distribution of solar lamps will help students to devote more number of hours on studies as it provides access of lights to the students and conducive study environment. This will highlight the importance of education and the role it plays to eradicate poverty.

Like the previous tree plantation drive, an important aspect of this campaign was also to have voluntary engagement of employees of Allcargo Logistics. Eight employees were personally present throughout the campaign and energetically participated for environment conservation drive. Voluntary engagement of the employees highlighted strong social commitment and demonstrated the care for environment and future generations.

In addition to addressing the problem of soil erosion in the region through green plantations, one of the underlying motives of this drive was to provide supplementary source of income to the beneficiary tribal families.

Commenting on the successful implementation of phase II of environment conservation campaign, Non Executive Director of Allcargo Logistics Mrs. Arathi Shetty who also spearheads Avashya Foundation in its initiatives to drive social causes said, “We are extremely delighted on the successful completion of phase II of our green campaign. The core objective of Avashya Foundation is to work for the upliftment of the tribal community, to lay down the importance of education and to work for issues hampering dignity of women. To address these issues Jaag has been the right partner for us as it has always helped us in all our the social causes and thereby helped the tribal community as a whole to develop over a period of time.

I would also like to congratulate the entire team of Allcargo who made this possible along with our partners at Jaag. We shall continue our support in spreading a greener and better tomorrow through such programmes and other such social initiatives.”

Marches, Speeches and Promises

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The CSR Journal

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September 10, 2015

‘Honored delegates, leaders of the world, I pretend for a living, but you do not… The time to answer humankind’s greatest challenge is now. I beg of you to face it with courage and honesty.’ Leonardo DiCaprio, who has recently been made the UN Climate Change representative, made a strong plea to combat Climate Change with this message during the opening of the Climate Summit 2014. The summit had many high moments and riveting speeches and concluded on a high note with promises and pledges.

For those of you who missed it, here are the highlights:

4,00,000 people turned out for the People’s Climate March in New York on the weekend before the Summit, including Hollywood stars & noted environmental activists Mark Ruffalo & Leonardo DiCaprio.
Apart from New York, rallies were held in over 150 cities around world across the UK, Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, Italy and Afghanistan.
The opening of the summit had another powerful moment when Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a 26 year old poet from Marshall Islands, a small nation in the western Pacific, read a poem that essentially shamed world leaders for not acting fast enough to prevent sea level rise.
The mood of the Summit based on the speeches made by the World leaders in attendance seemed to reflect that countries are now recognizing the effects and Climate Change like cyclones, droughts, larger wildfires, intense heat waves. These incidents are now spurring countries to action that was not visible in the last Summit held in Copenhagen in 2009.
A total of about $1.3 billion in new pledges were announced from Denmark, France, South Korea, Norway, Mexico and three smaller nations towards the Green Climate Fund, which was established at the 2009 Copenhagen Summit. The US, however showed a lack of financial commitment.
25 top global Companies, including Unilever and Philips, committed to pricing carbon internally, and boosting their efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Before the Summit, 73 countries and over 1,000 businesses, had signed a World Bank initiative to encourage governments to set a price on carbon.
The New York Declaration on Forests, was signed by governments, companies and nongovernmental organizations. The declaration proposes cutting the rate of natural forest loss by 50% by 2020, and eliminating it altogether by 2030, among other actions.

SOME OF THE PROMISES MADE

USA signed an executive order directing all federal agencies to begin factoring climate resilience into international development programs and investments. The U.S. is also deploying experts and technology to help vulnerable nations better prepare for weather-related disasters and plan for long-term threats.

European Union will cut emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and aspire to cut emissions by 80 to 95% compared to 1990 levels by 2050. It will also provide 14 billion Euros of public climate finance to partners outside the EU over the next 7 years.

China will cut carbon intensity up to 45% by 2020 over 2005 levels and double annual financial support for South-South cooperation.

India will double the amount of energy from wind and solar by 2020.

WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE

Here is a quick video that can get you up to speed on the subject.

If you are a numbers person, this video form 350.org’s DO THE MATH can help get a little perspective on Climate Change.

Now that you are an expert on the subject, here’s a quick look at some myths around Climate Change. Armed with this eye opening myth-buster, you can answer the toughest questions and silence the naysayers once and for all.

CCS Petitioning the HRD Minister

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The CSR Journal

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September 10, 2015

Centre for Civil Society is petitioning India’s Human Resource Development Minister, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani to ‘Assess all schools and accord recognition on basis of learning outcomes and not input/infrastructure norms’

Today in India, 3,494,520 children are out of school, due to the fact that 19,414 private schools across 17 states have been closed or issued notice for closure for not fulfilling the input-centric norms laid down by Right to Education Act (such as infrastructure and teacher salaries). These schools are primarily private, low-fee schools that cater to the poorer sections of society. As research has shown, these schools often deliver better learning outcomes than government schools, and do so at a per-child cost that is much lower than what the government spends in public schools.

By closing down these schools, children across India are being denied access to good quality education of their choice and therefore, the purpose and spirit of the Right to Education Act is being undermined.

10 seconds to sign the petition. 20 seconds to share it.
30 seconds to impact 3.5 MILLION lives!

It’s time to raise a voice. SIGN THE PETITION.

Mining Must Carry Communities Along: Shaifalika Panda

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The CSR Journal

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September 9, 2015

THE mining sector has long been embattled by scams and negative publicity, but long before wp became mandatory, the much-maligned industry has been serving disadvantaged and marginalized groups, especially in mining intensive states like Odisha, says Shaifalika Panda, CEO of Bansidhar and Ila Panda Foundation (BIPF), the wp arm of mining major Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys (IMFA). In an interview with The wp Journal’s Raksha Shetty, Panda talks about IMFA’s wp legacy, and the need for senior management to take the lead in formulating wp policy. Excerpts from the interview:

IMFA has always had a long involvement in the social sector as part of its ethos, but these works have not been necessarily structured into the business model. In what way are you evolving your wp model going forward, especially in light of the new provisions?

THE FOUNDERS OF IMFA – DR BANSIDHAR PANDA AND LATE MRS ILA PANDA – WERE CLEAR THAT AN ISLAND OF PROSPERITY COULD NOT BE BUILT IN A SEA OF DESPAIR… ALL THIS BEFORE wp WAS THE BUZZWORD.

When IMFA was set up in the 1960s, in the remote erstwhile undivided Koraput district, it was with a vision to provide livelihood to the people of Odisha. The founders of IMFA – Dr Bansidhar Panda and Late Mrs Ila Panda – were clear that an island of prosperity could not be built in a sea of despair. It was their commitment to the local community that saw the development of an English Medium CBSE school, an Industrial Training Centre for Skill Development and a dispensary – all this before wp was a buzzword.

There is no doubt that the wp model needs to evolve over time. We too introspected and incorporated wp into our overall business strategy. We have reorganized the wp structure and chosen a few areas where to invest our time and resources for meaningful results. This led to the setting up of the Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation (named after IMFA’s founders) with the aim of serving disadvantaged and marginalized groups by implementing sustainable and scalable interventions through strategic partnerships and a multisectoral approach. It is once again a sign of our proactive approach that we did all this much before wp became mandatory.

What are the key initiatives you have planned for this year?

WE HAVE REORGANIZED THE wp STRUCTURE AND CHOSEN A FEW AREAS WHERE TO INVEST OUR TIME AND RESOURCES FOR MEANINGFUL RESULTS.

The foundation has a range of activities going on at any one time. The most recent addition is a new Industrial Training Centre in Sukinda for which we laid the foundation last month and this will be operational in 2015. With India having the world’s largest youth workforce, skill development is a significant challenge which must be prioritised so that our demographic advantage does not to turn into a millstone around our neck. The ITC Sukinda will follow in the footsteps of our ITC at Therubali which was set up in 1994 and shall impart vocational training for fitters, welders, electricians etc as per NCVT. We will also be starting other short-term duration courses and will set up training academies in a few districts of Odisha over the next 5 years.

Project ‘Unnati’, our women’s empowerment project, envisages social transformation in the hands of women with an integrated self-help approach (finance, livelihood, education, health, nutrition, sanitation & hygiene). This program has been successfully implemented in Angul & Keonjhar districts and is being scaled up while we are going to start in Rayagada & Jajpur districts. It is also our endeavour to include new segments and this year we have included behavior change communication taking the life-skills approach. Eventually these SHG members will be a valuable resource in the community and work as change agents.

MINING COMPANIES HAVE THE SOMEWHAT UNPLEASANT TASK OF DISPLACING PEOPLE IN THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING LAND. WHAT A PROPER wp POLICY CAN ACHIEVE IS TO TAKE EVERYONE ALONG RIGHT FROM THE START THROUGH PROPER RESETTLEMENT AND REHABILITATION

The mining industry in this country has been mired in scams, lack of transparency in getting contracts, negative publicity. Do you see wp playing a role in restoring some measure of goodwill in the region where you work?

The mining industry is an important foundation for growth. It is unfortunate that because of the misdoings of a few in this sector, the rest get painted with the same brush. However, as far as we are concerned, wp activity is taken up for the benefit of all stakeholders as that is a part of our core belief. Having said that, we obviously generate credibility and goodwill which helps us in doing business. In my opinion, giving credit to a responsible company for good work done in the community is a win-win situation.

What is your long-term vision for what wp has the potential to accomplish, in your company and on a whole in the mining industry?

While the mining industry contributes to the exchequer by way of royalty, cess and other statutory payments, unfortunately the local community does not always see any direct benefit other than limited employment generation. On the other hand, mining companies have the somewhat unpleasant task of displacing people in the process of acquiring land. Therefore, what a proper wp policy can achieve is to take everyone along right from the start through proper resettlement and rehabilitation, skilling and an outlay directed at need-based, sustainable projects with the involvement of the community.

Our long-term vision is to carry communities with us. It has never been about profitability but rather the triple bottom line. We strongly believe in “Touching lives, beyond business”.

What is your advice for other companies who are gearing up to meet this requirement?

THERE IS NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL MODEL SO YOU NEED TO GO ABOUT IN A MANNER SUITED TO THE SUSTAINABILITY REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR BUSINESS.

First and foremost, wp should not be seen as expenditure. It is an investment which must be made with the involvement of senior management rather than being passed on to those lower in the hierarchy. It is important to understand that with the support of the local community a lot more can be achieved than if the relationship is confrontational or exploitative.

Once you see the value in and commit to the wp process, chances for success are low without the right structure and operating model. There is no one-size-fits-all model so you need to go about in a manner suited to the sustainability requirements of your business.The aim should be to have a holistic approach that runs across the organization as wp must be an integral part of the corporate culture. My advice would be to give passionately, plan strategically, implement technically and monitor strictly.

Stitching a Better Future

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The CSR Journal

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September 7, 2015

When Guddi Bai, is cutting the fabric to stitch it and create a garment, she is actually shaping her dream to create a better future. An underprivileged woman from Palki village near Nagda in Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh, feel self-confident when she earns Rs 500 per month to contribute her share to support her family by stitching clothes.

“I feel confident as my income has helped improve the lives of my family members, especially my children. Earlier, I had nothing to do except household chores once my husband left for work and children went to school. The stitching training has made me self-sufficient and confident,” says Guddi Bai.

Guddi Bai’s such initiative has also encouraged young girls in village. When Twenty-year-old Sona, holds colorful fabric in her hand one can see color of life in her eyes. When with all her imagination she makes beautiful attire for someone her parents feel proud that she is self-employed and earns Rs 1000 per month.

“I thank Grasim for providing me the opportunity to learn sewing and tailoring training over three months. Such initiatives help women like me to become self-employed,” she said.

The female population of Palki village is 245 and like Guddi Bai or Sona over 200 other women have been trained in tailoring at the Mahila Stitching Centre, at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh. This is a part of the wp initiative to empower women by Grasim Industries Limited, a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group.

The Mahila Stitching Centre is working towards women empowerment in and around Nagda where Grasim’s VSF plant is located. The three-month training programme imparts a simple skill to 15-20 women that redefines their social standing, giving them economic freedom and self-confidence. By imparting training in essential earning skills, the organization is helping these women evolve into self-assured, economically independent individuals. Consequently, it is bringing forth a transformation in the socio-economic landscape of the region.

Commenting on the success of the program, Mr. Siddhartha Banerji, President, Grasim Industries, Nagda plant (MP) said, “We had been exploring various income generation activities, especially for low income families, and after an in-depth discussion, tailoring was chosen as a good livelihood support activity. The idea was that the women from the remote villages learn to stitch clothes required for their families and neighbours. The Mahila Stitching Centre collaborates with Usha International which administers the exams and awards certificates to successful candidates.” Grasim also provides them with sewing machines on part contribution paid by the stitching enthusiasts. “This help them in two ways – one, they sharpen their skills by practicing more, learn new dress design and secondly they can quickly eke out a livelihood by stitching clothes for the villagers”, adds Mr. Banerji.

Tailoring is a very old business in India. Still large number of people believes in buying fabric and getting it stitched. This wp initiative of Grasim Industries ltd has generated an opportunity for this creative and imaginative ladies to stitch a better future.

Proving Their Metal: IMFA Award for Saura tribesman

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The CSR Journal

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September 7, 2015

‘SUPERHEROES need no muscles and metal parts… All they need is a heart!’ If Odisha-based mining major India Metals and Ferro Alloys (IMFA) needed to borrow a line from a Shah Rukh Khan potboiler, this would be it. IMFA’s wp arm, the Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation (BIPF), has been focusing its wp energies on the Saura tribe of Southern Odisha, where its core businesses are based, as part of its inclusive growth model. Recently, BIPF awarded Saura tribesman Krishna Sabar with its first Shambhavi Puraskar, an award instituted to encourage local effort, for spending the last 15 years developing a computer software for the Saura script.

A rather dwindling jungle tribe mainly spread across Rayagada district, most Sauras have little access to education or awareness about basics like health and hygiene. Sabar’s effort, it is believed, will go a long way in uplifting their standards of living. BIPF’s key focus areas are among the tribes of Orissa, spreading awareness about critical issues like preventive healthcare, sanitation & hygiene, and immunisation.

Shaifalika Panda, Trustee & CEO, BIPF, underlining the purpose of the award, says, “Behind the success of critical development issues, is the commitment and hard work of many who go unnoticed. It is pertinent to recognize such contributions and boost the morale of those who work relentlessly towards the upliftment of their communities.”

While the award is a symbol of the company’s intentions, Corporate Social Responsibility for IMFA goes beyond symbolism. Multi-pronged social upliftment programs are already at different stages of development in all five districts of Odisha, where the company has manufacturing units and power plants. Efforts include setting up of Industrial Training Centers to impart vocation training, and an initiative called Janani Express to reduce infant mortality rate, among other water and sanitation programmes.

Clearly, at a time when battle between industry and local communities gets more complex than ever before, IMFA has set an example of mining with a mandate.

ICICI Foundation Signs MoUs for Skill Academy with Industry Leaders

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The CSR Journal

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September 7, 2015

ICICI Foundation Signs MoUs for Skill Academy with Industry Leaders

Mumbai: ICICI Academy for Skills (ICICI Academy), an institute set up by the ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation) to create sustainable livelihood for the youth, announces the signing of agreements with Spencers Retail Ltd, Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre Ltd and AkzoNobel India Ltd. While Spencers Retail and Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre will provide employment opportunities to the eligible students of ICICI Academy, AkzoNobel will be a knowledge partner and will assist the Academy in setting up a new course and building the course curriculum.

As per the MoUs signed with ICICI Academy, Spencers Retail and Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre have agreed to offer employment opportunities to the students across various centres. While Spencers Retail will recruit students who complete their training in the course – ‘Selling Skills’, Bluechip Corporate will offer employment to those who successfully complete their training in ‘Office Administration’. ICICI Academy and AkzoNobel India will introduce a course on Paint Application Techniques at the Jaipur and Coimbatore centres of the Academy. AkzoNobel will assist the Academy in designing the course curriculum, in faculty training and will also help students secure jobs on successful completion of the course.

Currently, ICICI Academy offers vocational skill building programmes in eight courses. They are: Electrical & Home Appliance Repair, Refrigeration & AC Repair, Pumps & Motor Repair, Central Air Conditioning, Retail Café Operations, Web Designing, Selling Skills and Office Administration. The course duration is around 12 weeks. The Academy has tied up with Schneider Electric Pvt. Ltd , Blue Star Ltd. , Crompton Greaves Ltd. , NIIT Ltd. , Café Coffee Day , Tally solutions Pvt. Ltd. and Voltas Ltd. to provide course curriculum and suitable channels for job placement. The Academy has four residential centres at Jaipur, Coimbatore, Narsobawadi (in Maharashtra) and Patna; and five non-residential centres at Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, and Guwahati.

ICICI Academy is looking to train more than 6,000 youth at these nine training centres across the country by FY2015. Over 100 companies across sectors such as financial services, automobiles, telecommunications and manufacturing have participated in the placement process. The Academy has ensured 100% placement of all eligible students looking for employment opportunities, across all centres.

CSR’s Whopping EUR 1Billion Commitment For Climate Action

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The CSR Journal

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September 6, 2015

In this critical year for climate action, IKEA Group and IKEA Foundation are making bold new commitments to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and to support the communities most at risk. Announced today, the EUR 1 billion total is made up of an IKEA Group commitment of EUR 600 million for investment in renewable energy and a EUR 400 million IKEA Foundation funding commitment to support communities most impacted by climate change.

The ‘Smart’ CSR Of Samsung India

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The CSR Journal

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September 6, 2015

NEW DELHI: Samsung India Electronics has been awarded two Golden Globe Tigers Awards for its initiatives to empower disadvantaged children and youth through its CSR initiatives.

The “Samsung Smart Class” initiative received the award for Excellence & Leadership in CSR under the category Support and Improving the Quality of Education, while the “Samsung Technical School” initiative was awarded for Excellence for Sustainability Leadership under the category Best Project Collaboration. The Awards were announced last week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Commenting on the Awards, Mr. Rajiv Mishra, Vice President, Samsung India Electronics said, “We are delighted to receive the Golden Globe Tigers Awards for our work to empower communities. The Awards are testimony to our focus on harnessing Samsung’s legacy of innovation to transform communities and their lives for the better while opening a new world of possibilities for them.

The Smart Class and Technical School initiatives have grown from strength to strength in a short time and reach out to thousands of students; the awards encourage us to continue our work and expand their scale to reach many more students this year.”

The Samsung Smart Class initiative aims at bridging the digital gap in India while improving the quality of education provided to disadvantaged children. Smart Classes are equipped with Samsung interactive whiteboards, laptops, printers and Wi-Fi to enable students to learn in a digital, interactive environment. Over 120,000 students in 200 schools across India have benefitted through the initiative to date. Teachers who teach using Smart Classes testify to increased attention and participation from students during lessons, as well as higher familiarity among students in using laptops and printers.

The Samsung Technical Schools are a response to the country’s need for skilled manpower and an opportunity to engage disadvantaged youth to contribute to the economy. Set up in collaboration with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Departments of Technical Education in states such as Delhi, Bihar, Rajasthan, Kerala and West Bengal, the Technical Schools enable youth to gain technical skills that will equip them to seek job opportunities in the consumer electronics manufacturing and service sector.

As of March 2015, 18 Technical Schools are operational and over 3,000 students have enrolled in the Schools. Over 1,500 students have already graduated and many of them had job offers at the time of graduation.

The Golden Globe Tigers Awards was established in 2013 and is a multifunctional, multidiscipline industry award that attracts participation from across the world.

CSR Comes To The Aid Of Quality Medical Education

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The CSR Journal

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September 5, 2015

Chennai-based TAKE Solutions has made a CSR contribution to the Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), the Technology Business Incubator of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad for seed investment in an early stage healthcare based impact company. The joint selection committee of CIIE and TAKE solutions chose Gurgaon-based start-up Bodhi Health Education, with a mission to empower frontline health workers through quality skill training.

Commenting on the deal, Srinivasan H R, Vice-Chairman and MD, TAKE Solutions said, ‘We have undertaken this seed investment with the primary aim of helping India’s budding entrepreneurs set up innovative, disruptive and scalable ventures. As a niche technology player in the Life Sciences domain we found it apt to fund Bodhi Health Education; we will also further its growth with our unique position in the Life Sciences/Healthcare market’.

Voicing the same, J Salim Vali, Vice President (Impact Investments), CIIE said, ‘We are delighted to have closed this investment round in Bodhi with TAKE Solutions Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, Village Capital, Beyond Capital and Mr Samir Shah (a Mumbai based Angel Investor). This validates CIIE and Bodhi Health Education’s belief in its outstanding, highly effective Social Impact and the clearly defined entrepreneurial opportunity.’ Founded in 2013, Bodhi Health Education is Software as a Service (SaaS) company that provides quality training and education to frontline health workers. CIIE partnered with Village Capital for the Last Mile Accelerator program, 2014, in which Bodhi Health Education was a winning team.A part from Village Capital, other investors in the round include Beyond Capital. The seed investment around closed at around Rs 75 lakh. Here, Vali further added, ‘CSR funds in seed investments have a great potential as this will encourage communication between industry and technology business incubators and can bring about many successful start-ups. Entrepreneurship will play a Key role in achieving accessibility affordability and transparency in healthcare.’ CIIE’s partnership with TAKE Solutions takes the CSR route, mandated by Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013.

This will enable Bodhi leverage low cost mobile technology at health facilities to provide scalable, high quality eLearning solutions for the primary health workers. ‘We are excited with this support from TAKE Solutions given their deep expertise in the Life Sciences industry. Inputs from TAKE Solutions would be highly valuable in developing relevant training products and engaging with clients where Bodhi Health Education can maximize the impact to the communities,’ said Shrutika Girdhar, Chief Technology Officer, Bodhi Health Education.

Bodhi’s seed funding round has been an instance of diverse investor cohorts converging towards promoting early-stage entrepreneurship. Apart from funding the start-up, the investors and TAKE Solutions also bring in significant strategic benefits that Bodhi can leverage in the future. These include intensive mentoring and advisory support, fund-raise support, networking and linkages, and media coverage.

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