Britannia A-Eye turns a smartphone into an intelligent shopping assistant, allowing users to scan their surroundings through their smartphone cameras. The AI reads the environment, providing voice-based responses to guide shoppers through store aisles which are customised to each retail store. Further, the solution identifies products, and access details such as pricing, ingredients, nutrition information and expiry dates and currently this solution is enabled for Britannia products. This innovation removes barriers to information, omitting the dependency on external assistance.

This first-of-its-kind initiative uses the latest multimodal AI capabilities of Google Cloud to enable seamless navigation, real-time product identification, and instant access to key product information, empowering consumers to shop independently.

Siddharth Gupta, General Manager – Marketing, Britannia Industries, said: “At Britannia, we believe that technology has the power to break barriers and create a more inclusive world. Britannia A-Eye is a testament to how innovation can revolutionize inclusivity in retail. This initiative is not just about leveraging cutting-edge technology—it’s about fostering equity and independence for all consumers. We are proud to be at the forefront of this transformation and look forward to shaping the future of inclusive retail.”

Daniel Hulme, Chief AI Officer, WPP “Our partnership with Google is about pushing the boundaries of AI-driven innovation. With Britannia A-Eye, we’re not just creating technology—we’re redefining inclusivity in retail, proving that AI can be a force for good, transforming lives and empowering communities. While this initiative is still in its early days, it holds the promise of fundamentally changing the way retail is experienced, ensuring accessibility is not an afterthought but a standard for all.”

Amar Jain, Co-Founder of Mission Accessibility, lawyer and a key advocate for accessibility said “For the visually impaired, the ability to shop independently is not just about convenience—it’s about dignity. Britannia A-Eye is a powerful step towards ensuring that visually impaired individuals can experience shopping as it should be—autonomous, seamless, and barrier-free. It’s inspiring to see technology being used in such a transformative way, and I hope this paves the way for a more inclusive ecosystem across industries.”

Vidhyashankar Jayaraman Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer, More Retail Pvt. Ltd. commented “Retail should be accessible to all, and Britannia A-Eye is a bold step towards making that vision a reality. This initiative ensures that visually impaired shoppers can navigate stores and make informed decisions independently. We are proud to be part of a movement that is setting new standards in inclusive retail.”

The pilot has been executed with support from Mithra Jyoti. Consumers can experience this technology at MORE Supermarket at TC Palya, Bengaluru starting 28th March, 2025.

The post CSR News: Pilot solution aimed at transforming retail experiences for the visually impaired launched appeared first on The CSR Journal.

Company spokesperson at Britannia Nutrition Foundation, said, “The Britannia Nutrition Foundation takes pride in doing its part to contribute to the GoI’s flagship initiative ‘Poshan Maah’ and its theme – ‘Suposhit Bharat, Sakshar Bharat, Sashakt Bharat.’ The efforts taken by our ‘Nutrition Champs’ & ‘Suposhan Sakhis’ in educating their peers about the importance of a balanced meal, consuming the right nutrients, and maintaining health & hygiene are commendable. The IEC (information, education & communication) Booklet that we have launched today is a plethora of information, helping our volunteers and Anganwadi workers in conveying essential information to the communities in Ranjangaon and other regions.”

In Ranjangaon, Maharashtra, BNF installed bulletin boards in schools communicating on the importance of nutrition especially on the issue of Anemia. Additionally, Nutrition corners are set up at the school to provide access to height, weight & BMI calculation, and sessions are organized on raising awareness about growth monitoring. These sessions are being conducted by Nutrition Champions, who are 10 to 18-year-old students from the schools that BNF works with and trains these volunteers. Awareness sessions with women who are pregnant & lactating are planned at the local community level & at the Aanganwadi center.

Mr. Vinod Londe, Child Development Project Officer, Srigonda unveiled the Information, Education, and Communication Flip Book (IEC) developed by the BNF team to be used by field workers and volunteers during their visits in remote regions to promote the agenda of nutrition, health, and hygiene.

“We are very grateful for the transformative role played by the Britannia Nutrition Foundation in our community. Their unwavering commitment has not only removed malnutrition (Kuposhan) and anemia among our children but has also sparked hope for a healthier future. Year after year, they have tirelessly worked across 100 Anganwadis, 37 villages, and 3 blocks in Ahmednagar district, freeing a substantial number of our children from the grasp of these health challenges. This remarkable effort truly embodies the spirit of ‘Meri Thali, Mera Poshan’ and serves as an inspiring example of how collaborative efforts can create lasting positive change in the lives of our next generation,” said Mr. Vinod Londe, Child Development Project Officer, Srigonda.

As a part of the activity, BNF also recognized mothers that were practicing good Infant & Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices, children who were able to put together a balanced plate, as well as schools that are serving nutritionally balanced mid-day meals.

In addition, the campaign also hosted a plantation drive in the rural Maharashtra region and planted 1000 trees of citrus fruits in local schools, Anganwadi centers & Britannia factories.

The post National Nutrition Month: My Plate, My Nutrition campaign launched across 7 states of India appeared first on The CSR Journal.

India ranks second after China, with 77 million people with diabetes (source IDF). It is one of the largest global health emergencies of this century, ranking among the 10 leading causes of mortality. Over 1 in 2 adults with diabetes are undiagnosed. In India, one of the primary reasons for the steady rise in cases of diabetes is the increasingly unhealthy lifestyle and dietary choices. For a problem that affects so many, there isn’t one solution that fits all.

This World Diabetes Day, the service launched by Britannia Nutrichoice is to provide a customized diet plan to individuals managing diabetes, based on age and dietary preferences while minding the diversity of food choices across the country. The initiative recommends the most suitable diet plan for each person basis demographics and delivers it via an easy to access, interactive WhatsAppChatBot.

Knowing that the journey to good health requires consistency and commitment, the initiative uses AI-powered technology to deliver a personalized video (addressing every individual by name) to check in on them a week after the diet plan has been delivered, to keep them motivated and on track.

Ryan Fernando, India’s leading nutritionist with over two decades of experience has partnered with Britannia Nutrichoice to provide the customized diet counsel. The diets keep in mind the need for diversity in taste, focuses on portion control and works with simple to source, everyday sources of nutrition.

Prof. (Dr.) Hemraj B. Chandalia – Director, DENMARC and Director, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Jaslok Hospital and Research Center said, “On the occasion of World Diabetes Day let us intensify our efforts to stop the onslaught of diabetes by choosing a healthier lifestyle. Healthful foods and increased physical activity will go a long way in preventing diabetes and mitigating its complications.”

Speaking on the launch, Amit Doshi, Chief Marketing Officer, Britannia Industries Limited said,“India is home to the World’s second-highest population of people managing diabetes. On World Diabetes Day, we are happy to launch this national initiative to provide expert counsel towards balanced nutrition for diabetes. We aim to democratize access to nutrition and deliver a highly personalized experience using the power of AI technology. We are happy to have partnered with award-winning nutritionist Ryan Fernando, who worked extensively on the diet plans, and helped bring the large scale,and much needed initiative to life.”

Ryan Fernando, nutritionist, and founder of Qua Nutrition said,“As a nutrition coach it is my responsibility to educate and guide people towards healthier options and choosing foods that heal the body. Diabetes is a disorder that can be regulated and managed through the food one consumes and the lifestyle one leads.I am excited about my collaboration with BritanniaNutriChoiceand hope what we have worked on, benefits a lot of diabetics and pre-diabetics across the country”.

The post On World Diabetes Day, Britannia NutriChoice launches diet consultation for diabetics appeared first on The CSR Journal.

The programme builds capacity of dairy farmers by helping them generate higher productivity of their cattle, leading to enhanced incomes, while improving nutritional security for milk consumers. The holistic programme provides advisory to farmers by helping them produce high quality milk in a clean and hygienic environment at significantly reduced costs. The programme leverages technology through an app to enable dairy farmers track their milk supplies and payments, apart from helping them monitor the performance of the cattle.

The real-time information and customised knowledge have enhanced the ability of farmers to take decisions and align their cattle output with market demand and secure quality and productivity. Today, this capacity building program has scaled up to 54 milk collection centres in Maharashtra with a cumulative volume of 53,000 litres/day, benefitting over 2,500 farmers.

Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia Industries said, “Britannia, as a responsible corporate citizen shares the responsibility to create value for our stakeholders and sustainable sourcing is a key element of our promise. The Dairy Farmer Welfare Programme helps farmers gain knowledge and skills to unlock their potential by enabling higher productivity, better margins and increased incomes, while promoting best practices aligned with the government’s vision to promote a sustainable agriculture sector.”

“Britannia will also be implementing various developmental schemes to ensure farmers’ prosperity and welfare, while mitigating their risks”. Mr Berry added.
The Dairy Farmer Welfare Programme for milk procurement was launched in 2017 targeting 3 villages near Ranjangaon in Maharashtra and engaged with 120 farmers to procure 2,100 litres of milk, every day. The farmers were faced with financial losses due to the prevalence of Mastitis (bacterial infection), resulting in deterioration of udder health leading to low quality of milk and less yield. Farmers had to spend up to Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000 per cow towards allopathic medication. This was further exacerbated with tied cattle housing, poor cattle nutrition and improper pregnancy care, which led to decreased milk yield and substantial financial losses.

Britannia Industries embarked on a mass farmer contact program to educate farmers about the best animal husbandry practices. Farmers were educated about the benefits of loose cattle housing in which animals are kept loose throughout the day and night, except at the time of milking. The freedom to roam freely and get optimum exercise prevented and reduced the incidence of lameness in cattle, reduced instances of Mastitis & increased the yields.

Over the last two years, loose housing has grown five times to 400 units. Training was provided to farmers on prevention of Mastitis and early detection, along with the use of ethno veterinary medicines that provided low-cost alternatives to allopathic drugs.

Farmers were also taught to make silage through available resources such as Maize, Sorghum, Napier, Bajra and Sugarcane tops. This reduced the cost of silage production of Rs. 3.0- 3.5 per kg, as against the external procurement price of Rs. 6.5- Rs. 7 per kg. This has resulted in better utilisation of land for farmers, especially those with lesser land holding and has increased output of fodder crop, besides providing better nutrition to cattle.

The programme ensures that cattle are dewormed and given calcium and mineral supplements. Under the aegis of Project Kamadhenu, farmers were educated about the best calf rearing practices, that helped reduce high incidence of mortality, and enabled weight gain of calves up to 800 grams per day compared to 300 gms per day, before the interventions. In addition, the Heifer management programme helped in better reproductive management and ensured better performance of the breeding herd.

Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content

The post Britannia enhances farmers’ livelihood with tech-enabled Dairy Farmer Welfare Programme appeared first on The CSR Journal.

The food-processing industry in India is a sunrise sector that has gained prominence in the recent years. Availability of raw materials, changing lifestyles and appropriate fiscal policies has given a considerable push to the industry’s growth. The industry supports the economy by reducing agriculture waste, optimising the country’s GDP from the agricultural produce, and providing employment to a large number of people with minimum skills. In addition to this, the food-processing companies also contributes to social and community development through various CSR initiatives. Let us look at five such companies.

Britannia

Britannia Industries is by far the favourite food company of the Great Indian Middle Class. The company has the credo: Eat healthy, think better. It furthers this motto through its CSR initiatives by focusing the most on nutrition and healthcare.

Britannia CSR makes a difference at the community-level through various interventions addressing undernutrition and malnutrition. Research and development into nutrition is a major component of Britannia corporate social responsibility. In FY 2019-20 the company made a total expense of Rs. 28.43 crores for its CSR programs. The major focus of the company’s CSR in the last financial year was COVID relief.

Programmes to fight malnutrition and undernutrition take up the biggest share of Britannia CSR activities. Biscuits fortified with vitamins and micronutrients are part of the nutrition programme. Most of the initiatives are carried out by Britannia Nutrition Foundation. Britannia Nutrition Foundation (BNF) is more than a decade old. It was set up with the goal of delivering every Child’s Right to Nutrition and Growth. BNF runs long term replicable programmes in various states. Community development is considered a focus area since BNF assumes responsibility for the nourishment and vitality of the whole community it works in.

Britannia CSR projects in healthcare include hospitals of repute that house modern equipment and provide free to low-cost treatment and medical care. 

Nestle

Nestlé India Limited, a leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company has been in India for about 100 years. The company, since its inception, has projected a responsible behaviour by ensuring the welfare and upliftment of communities around which it operates. The company believes that creating better livelihood opportunities for the communities residing around its operations, is its responsibility.

Through its Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Nestle focuses on areas in which it can create maximum value. These areas include:

– Nutrition: India bears the double burden of malnutrition for a large part of her population. Nestle’s CSR initiatives aim at improving nutrition awareness of communities with a special focus on school children.

– Water and Sanitation: India is among the world’s most water-stressed countries. Many citizens of India do not have access to safe drinking water. The CSR initiatives of Nestle India aims to help farmers with techniques to reduce water usage in agriculture, raise awareness on water conservation and provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

– Rural Development: Nestle CSR has chosen to focus on rural development in order to support the sustainable development of farmers, which would allow them to grow as the company grows.

Nestle firmly believes in the purpose of ‘Enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future’. The company operates around this mantra and is mindful of the needs of the communities around it. It not only strives to be sustainable with the community but also works to make a positive difference and create maximum value for the society.

Nestle India focuses its efforts in society on the three pivotal ambitions of enabling healthier and happier lives for individuals and families, on helping develop thriving and resilient communities, and on stewarding the planet’s natural resources for future generations, with particular care for water.

Under its Nestle Healthy Kids Program, the company has partnered with MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child to realise their shared vision of creating healthier communities. The project has a specific focus on 4 groups consisting of adolescents, pregnant women, lactating mothers and married couples. Creating an enabling environment for the women, it targets the sensitization to institutional deliveries, post-natal visits to the hospital, awareness on family planning. As malnutrition affects an individual over his/her entire life, the project makes considerations and strategies which minimise this effect and bring about a holistic development of the individual.

Nestle launched a water stewardship CSR initiative with AgSri at the Kabini river Basin in Karnataka to develop sustainable agricultural practices for rice and sugarcane. As agriculture is the largest user of water from the catchment, engaging farmers on ecologically sustainable practices of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and the Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) are helping to reduce the agricultural water withdrawal and improving agricultural productivity. These interventions make it possible to have more yield and good income by using less seeds, less water and fewer fertilizers besides reducing the number of labourers and expenditure.

Nestle launched Project Vriddhi under its CSR initiatives in order to work towards building a healthier society and positively impacting the lives of people in marginalised communities. Project Vriddhi, in collaboration with SM Sehgal Foundation, is a three-year village adoption project started in 2019. The project is aimed at improving the livelihoods of 1,500 people in Rohira village in Nuh district, Haryana.

Nestle’s CSR initiatives, founded on strong principles of transparency, honesty, integrity and fairness are playing a significant role in building an equitable and just society in the country.

Mondelez India

Mondelez India are the makers and bakers of some of India’s favourite snacking brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Bournvita, Oreo. As it makes its way into the hearts of the populace, it has not stepped back from its responsibility towards it.

Mondelez India has announced a grant to Hasiru Dala, an NGO that will recycle Multi-Layered Plastic (MLP) waste to create sustainable furniture boards for creating tables, benches and for other uses. The pilot project will use the technology purchased from start-up TrashCon, to convert ~600 tonnes of MLP waste per annum into ‘WoW Boards’. The project was facilitated by Ubuntoo, a global environment solutions company.

“One of the key challenges in India, is recycling of multi layered plastics given infrastructure constraints. While on the one hand, we continue to work with the government to support collection, segregation and recycling, we felt it was critical to experiment and support enterprising technologies and initiatives that can recycle multi layered plastics at scale to address the issues of waste management. This unique and one-of-a-kind pilot project recycles multi layered plastics to create WoW Boards that are highly durable and a sustainable plywood alterative for building, construction, furniture, and other end uses. We have made a grant to Hasiru Dala that will convert waste to wealth, generate employment and create a viable business model while addressing the challenges of MLP in a sustainable manner. The success of this project and its learnings will create a model for companies in India to replicate for MLP recycling at scale. We are very excited to pilot this initiative.”, said Deepak Iyer, President – India, Mondelēz International.

As part of this initiative, MLP waste will be collected by Hasiru Dala’s wide network of waste collection units and then processed and converted at a special unit set up in Bangalore into recycled ‘WoW Boards’, which is a highly durable and efficient alternative to plywood. The technology solution, provided by TrashCon, a start-up waste recycling equipment manufacturer, will create highly durable WoW Boards that can be used for a variety of purposes – both industrial and consumer.

During the first wave of COVID-19, the company in total has donated over 140 tonnes of chocolates, biscuits and beverages to India FoodBanking Network (IFBN) across 20 cities to support relief workers and the migrant population. The company also donated dry ration kits to support over 8600 families in communities around its factory locations in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The employees of Mondelez India also donated 110,000 meals to the poor and needy through the Akshaya Patra Foundation, through employee giving.

McCain Foods

McCain Foods is one of the world’s largest producer of Potato Specialties and a global leader in the Frozen Food industry. The company focuses majorly on sustainability and community development in India, contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

Project Shakti by McCain Foods has organized socially or economically vulnerable women into Self Help Groups, or Mahila Vikas Mandals, who hold periodic discussions on issues related to the socio-economic development of group members and the village in general. Project Shakti has facilitated 45 such women self- help groups covering about 600 women. It helps members of these Self Help Groups to undertake various income-generating activities, market their outputs and attain Sustainable Livelihoods. The profit thus earned is shared by the members, and a part of it is re-invested as capital to increase the production. Apart from profit, which is a varying factor, the members earn steady labour wages from these activities and commit themselves to saving a predetermined amount of money every month, which is later on used for extending credit among group members.

The company’s Project Utthan focuses on livelihood enhancement and Improvement in the overall quality of life of small farmers through suitable interventions. In northern Gujarat, more than 90% rural communities are largely dependent on agriculture and animal husbandry for their livelihoods and about 70% of them are small and marginal farmers. Recognizing the significant role that McCain India can play in the development of the region, especially in the alleviation of rural poverty, the company explored collaboration to jointly initiate agriculture based livelihood project in 4 villages of Vijaynagar block, District Sabarkantha of Gujarat namely Khedasan, Ladivada, Joravarnagar and Bhankhra with BAIF Development Research Foundation.

The company has launched a ‘Smart Farming Program’ in India, which spans from Gujarat to Lahaul-Spiti, Punjab and Rajasthan and where the company works with over 1000 farmers. Currently, more than 1/3rd of the company’s contracted volume of potato is grown under the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) scheme. The farmers associated with McCain Foods grow these crops under drip and sprinkler irrigation with the overall vision of growing and distributing better quality potato for the customers, without disturbing the biodiversity of the region. During the pandemic, it also accelerated Digital Management of agriculture through which it remotely managed to ensure supply continuity and income for its farmers.

Parle Products

Parle Products is the country’s leading manufacturer of biscuits and confectionery. It manufactures the all-time-favourite snack with chai – The Parle G biscuit. The company has its reach among the hearts of the people not only because of its products, but also because of its CSR initiatives.

In its fight against COVID-19, the company donated 3 crore packs of Parle G biscuits through government agencies.

Parle products support Indian sportspersons who have the potential to win medals at the Olympics through Olympics Gold Quest.

In 2016, Music channel MTV, along with Parle, has launched the ‘The Junkyard Project’, aimed at tackling the problem of littering, a common practice in India. The project used the ‘dumping ground’ to communicate the anti-littering message. Dump trucks were deployed across Mumbai and Delhi, sporting colourful graffiti with the message Dunk That Junk. The initiative received a lot of support from celebrities and people on social media. The program was awarded Gold at the Appies Asia Conference as one of the most effective CSR activities across Asia.

The post Five Food Processing Companies that Take CSR Seriously appeared first on The CSR Journal.

Hindustan Unilever

HUL is committed to operate and grow its business in a socially responsible way. Their vision is to grow its business whilst reducing the environmental impact of their operations and increasing the positive social impact. The company has spent more than 500 crores on its CSR activities in the last 5 years and has always spent more than the amount mandated by the CSR law.

Hindustan Unilever Limited uses its CSR funds to work on issues that plague India’s development. It has achieved huge successes in the areas of water conservation as well as tackling health and hygiene issues at the grassroots level.

The company implements its CSR initiatives through Hindustan Unilever Foundation (HUF). The non-profit acts as a vehicle to anchor water management related community development and sustainability initiatives of Hindustan Unilever Limited. HUF operates the ‘Water for Public Good’ programme, with specific focus to empower local community institutions to govern water resources and enhance farm-based livelihoods through the adoption of judicious water management practices. Since 2010, HUF has supported grassroots interventions in 53 districts with 23 NGO partners across over 4,300 villages in India.

ITC Limited

ITC has been focusing its CSR energies on rural development in India. The company spent Rs. 326.49 crores on CSR initiatives in 2019-20, surpassing its spending for previous years. The conglomerate has active social projects in education, environmental conservation, sustainable agriculture, healthcare, digital literacy, sports and culture.

ITC Choupal is a long-running flagship CSR programme by the company that has become the gold standard on community development in international circles. Not only has ITC Choupal impacted lakhs of farmers over the years through digital literacy and economic empowerment, but it has also been replicated by scores of other corporates for social welfare in their own communities.

In line with its commitment to put Nation First and responding to the needs arising out of the lockdown implemented to contain the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, ITC has spearheaded a CSR initiative to enable the creation of an eco-system that would lead to significant livelihood generation for farmers and daily wage earners under the ambit of the Government’s MGNREG Scheme.

During the second wave, the company worked to mitigate the crisis by supplying oxygen cryogenic containers to oxygen concentrators and generators. To serve the national priority of easing the bottleneck of transporting medical oxygen, ITC tied up with Linde India to airfreight 24 cryogenic ISO containers of 20 tonnes each from Asian countries in order to transport medical oxygen across India. The CSR initiative comes in the wake of an acute shortage of medical oxygen, constraining the healthcare system’s ability to treat coronavirus patients.

In addition, ITC is airlifted a large number of oxygen concentrators for distribution. The group’s paperboards unit in Bhadrachalam has commenced a supply of oxygen to neighbouring areas.

Nestle India

Nestlé India Limited, a leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company has been in India for about 100 years. The company, since its inception, has projected a responsible behaviour by ensuring the welfare and upliftment of communities around which it operates. The company believes that creating better livelihood opportunities for the communities residing around its operations, is its responsibility.

Through its Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Nestle focuses on areas in which it can create maximum value. These areas include:

– Nutrition: India bears the double burden of malnutrition for a large part of her population. Nestle’s CSR initiatives aim at improving nutrition awareness of communities with a special focus on school children.

– Water and Sanitation: India is among the world’s most water-stressed countries. Many citizens of India do not have access to safe drinking water. The CSR initiatives of Nestle India aims to help farmers with techniques to reduce water usage in agriculture, raise awareness on water conservation and provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

– Rural Development: Nestle CSR has chosen to focus on rural development in order to support the sustainable development of farmers, which would allow them to grow as the company grows.

Nestle firmly believes in the purpose of ‘Enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future’. The company operates around this mantra and is mindful of the needs of the communities around it. It not only strives to be sustainable with the community but also works to make a positive difference and create maximum value for the society.

Nestle believes in creating partnerships with stakeholders including communities, academia, civil society, expert organisations and so on. Nestle India Limited spent more than the prescribed 2% in corporate social responsibility programs in the financial year 2018-19. While the prescribed CSR expenditure as per Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 was 38.07 crore rupees, actual CSR spend during the year amounted to INR 38.31 crores.

Britannia

Britannia CSR focuses the most on nutrition and healthcare in India. The company makes a difference at the community level through various interventions addressing undernutrition and malnutrition. Research and development into nutrition is a major component of Britannia corporate social responsibility. In order to undertake its CSR projects to address these causes, the company has set up a Britannia Nutrition Foundation (BNF) which is more than a decade old. It was set up with the goal of delivering every Child’s Right to Nutrition and Growth. BNF runs long term replicable programmes in various states. Community development is considered a focus area since BNF assumes responsibility for the nourishment and vitality of the whole community it works in.

When it comes to plastic in the manufacturing and supply chain, the company believes in reducing, recycling and recovering plastic. The R&D team is researching ways to reduce plastic in the offices, manufacturing process and distribution. One step was to remove plastic trays from the product portfolio. The R&D is working on creating 100% reusable packaging in line with the circular economy being embraced by international companies of repute.

Britannia CSR steps up to be of service for the people in times of crises. The COVID-19 pandemic is hands down the worst humanitarian crises the world has witnessed in the last 100 years. The Britannia corporate social responsibility team mobilised its people and resources to help those in need.

Since food is the core of the company’s business, providing essential foods was at the top of the list of activities in response to the pandemic. The Wadia Group gave out 1.35 crore meals (and meal equivalents) and 90 lakh packets of biscuits and bakery items across 19 states.

The team deployed workers in the supply chain infrastructure and joined hands with agencies to send essential food to the people whose lives were disrupted by coronavirus. Nutritious food was distributed to daily wage workers, migrant families and domestic help who had lost their livelihoods to children from low-income families and anganwadis.

Marico

At Marico Limited, the idea of social responsibility is viewed from the perspective of moral and ethical duty rather than an obligation. The company wants to ‘Make a difference’ across the spectrum. Chairman Harsh Mariwala is passionate about social welfare, philanthropy and climate change action.

Marico spent Rs. 19 crores on community welfare activities in FY 2019-20. The company has designed community sustenance initiatives to build and maintain a harmonious relationship with the local communities in and around operations while uplifting their lives in a sustainable and responsible manner. Marico’s flagship CSR programme is ‘Kalpavriksha’ directed at bettering the lives and productivity of coconut farmers. There are various key initiatives that are propagated as a part of Kalpavriksha such as increased current crop productivity, hybrid plantation, replantation, right water management and usage of technological intervention. Kalpavriksha has also launched several projects under its umbrella in different domains such as digital channel, farm care personnel, and training.

During the COVID crisis, the company spent Rs. 12 crores to support the fight against the pandemic. The company donated sanitisers worth Rs. 1 crore across various cities to frontline professionals including government organisations, police, hospitals and health staff. The company committed to raising Rs. 2 Crore in collaboration with GiveIndia. The proceeds will be invested in various hospitals to strengthen the health care system in this fight against COVID-19. For every rupee that is donated by individuals, the organisation has pledged to match it in order to achieve its target.

The post Five FMCG Companies in India that take CSR Seriously appeared first on The CSR Journal.

Britannia Industries is by far the favourite food company of the Great Indian Middle Class. It has a rich legacy of dishing out tasty snacks in eye catching and attractive packaging so good, you can’t miss it at the supermarket. The company has the credo: Eat healthy, think better. So, it’s not surprising that Britannia CSR focuses the most on nutrition and healthcare.

The emphasis is results-oriented. For example, Britannia Industries ranks 4th in the India Index 2020 of the Access To Nutrition Initiative (ATNI). It is the highest-scoring Indian-headquartered organisation on the index and has made improvements across all categories in the Index, thanks largely to the recent Britannia Nutrition Policy. It has been working towards becoming India’s first Zero Trans Fat food company.

1. About the company

Britannia Industries Limited is a food and beverage company with a rich legacy of over a century. It was established in the year 1892 at a starting capital of a mere Rs. 295 in a small house in Kolkata. Who would have thought it would go on to become one of the oldest Indian companies with annual revenue in excess of Rs. 9,000 crores?

1.1 How it started

The origin goes back to World War II, when India was under British rule. Indian soldiers fought on the side of the British in the war – a fact many folks still can’t grapple – and, of course, their rations included biscuits. Cooking was difficult in the barracks and nutritious food wasn’t available on demand in the war. This demand for large batches of biscuits for the soldiers was filled by a little outfit called the Britannia Biscuit Company, which was called something else entirely back in 1892. Started with the tiny sum of Rs. 295 only, it operated out of a small house in Kolkata (then Calcutta). The Gupta brothers bought the biscuit maker five years later and continued running it under the name V.S. Brothers. It wasn’t until an Englishman partnered with the brothers in 1918, and incorporated it as Britannia Biscuit Company.

As the war and post-war operations continued, so did the biscuit business. So much so that the tie-up last several years. The armed forces must have appreciated the freshly baked biscuits, because after a point the company was primarily working to full capacity to bake biscuits only for the army men.

1.2. Being Indian

Business was booming; the biscuit making outfit became one of the first in the country to use a gas oven. Mechanisation was a sign of more popularity to come by. By the year 1978, the company went public and was recognised as Indian with a majority shareholders being Indian. It was renamed Britannia Industries as late as 1979. Of course, the clientele has changed to civilians. The company still sends out millions of packets to soldiers in war-torn countries abroad as part of its CSR partnership with the Nobel Prize-winning World Food Programme.

1.3. Trusted food products

Multiple generations in the same families have grown up consuming the edible offerings of this cherished household name. Dairy constitutes only 5% of the revenue yet has products delivered daily to 100,000 shops. Such is the magnitude of operations and distribution for this trusted food business. The company’s white bread is the biggest brand in the organised bread market. In a year, roughly 1 lakh tonnes of Britannia bread is produced. Franchisees sell 1 million loaves of the popular bread every day in more than 100 cities and small towns across India. The secret is perhaps the simplicity of the sandwich bread which has maintained its quality and fluffiness.

As for packaged goodies like biscuits and cakes, the corporation stays relevant by constantly reinventing itself. The products reach half – mostly middle class and upper class – Indian homes. The various brands including Bourbon, Marie Gold, Good Day, Nice Time and dozens more have managed to retain the original flavour and improve on the existing offerings with new flavours.

1.4. International footprint

Besides dominating the Indian food market, Britannia Industries has a presence in 60 countries worldwide. The company’s international presence covers all the major continents including North America and Africa through exports. Britannia has a strong footprint in the Middle East. It is the #2 in the UAE biscuit biz. The expansion strategy has a simple yet solid principle: Explore one new market a year. The behemoth plans to set up local operations in Africa and South East Asia in this decade.

1.5. Recognition

The brand is regularly equated with the words ‘trusted’ and ‘popular’ for its products as well as ethics and policies in numerous surveys including Brand Equity in 2020. The company has won prestigious accolades including the Golden Peacock National Quality Award and the Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Award.

2. Britannia CSR and Sustainability

Britannia CSR makes a difference at the community-level through various interventions addressing undernutrition and malnutrition. Research and development into nutrition is a major component of Britannia corporate social responsibility. 

When it comes to plastic in the manufacturing and supply chain, the company believes in reducing, recycling and recovering plastic. The R&D team is researching ways to reduce plastic in the offices, manufacturing process and distribution. One step was to remove plastic trays from the product portfolio. The R&D is working on creating 100% reusable packaging in line with the circular economy being embraced by international companies of repute.

3. CSR spend

The graph of Britannia CSR spending in the last 5 years shows a steady increase in the budget every year. The 2019-20 CSR budget was the highest at Rs. 28.43 crores. Interestingly, the amounts spent are exactly as much as the prescribed budget, down to a decimal. CSR of Britannia spent a major chunk of this year’s budget on COVID-19 activities. This was expected since the trend was consistent for India Inc. Most companies donated to the PM CARES Fund, state relief funds and nonprofits fighting the pandemic. The same can be said about this food corp.

4. CSR Committee

The Britannia Corporate Social Responsibility Committee comprises industrialist Ness Wadia, presiding as Chairman of the CSR committee. The other members are Keki Dadiseth, Dr. Ajai Puri, Dr. Y.S.P Thorat. They hold office and conduct meetings in accordance with the requirements mandated under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.

The Britannia CSR committee is expected to formulate the CSR policy and recommend it to the Board of directors. The members decide on the strategy and recommend the amount of money that will be spent on each activity. They are entrusted with monitoring the Britannia corporate social responsibility projects and ensuring there is compliance.

5. Providing COVID-19 relief

Britannia CSR steps up to be of service for the people in times of crises. The COVID-19 pandemic is hands down the worst humanitarian crises the world has witnessed in the last 100 years. The Britannia corporate social responsibility team mobilised its people and resources to help those in need.

Since food is the core of the company’s business, providing essential foods was at the top of the list of activities in response to the pandemic. The Wadia Group gave out 1.35 crore meals (and meal equivalents) and 90 lakh packets of biscuits and bakery items across 19 states.

The team deployed workers in the supply chain infrastructure and joined hands with agencies to send essential food to the people whose lives were disrupted by coronavirus. Nutritious food was distributed to daily wage workers, migrant families and domestic help who had lost their livelihoods to children from low-income families and anganwadis.

The food relief began in the communities close to the factories in Kolkata, Gwalior etc and then spread out to more districts. The goal of the enterprise was that food is distributed on time and on a large enough scale that no one gets left behind or goes to bed hungry. The Britannia corporate social responsibility division distributed hot food and monthly rations, dairy items and bread according to what the community needed in that particular district. Rations included enough whole foods and spices that the families could cook and sustain themselves with meals made out of those ingredients. The relief teams followed social distancing and hygiene measures during the lockdown.

As was reported in the news, a large number of migrants who could not find transport started walking home. Britannia corporate social responsibility offered the distressed walkers some respite by converting the organisation’s depots into relief centres. They served free hot meals and biscuits, along with water to freshen up the weary travellers. When the ‘Shramik’ trains started taking migrant families to their hometowns from the cities, Britannia CSR activities involved comfort food for the travellers on the long train journey. Sweet buns and biscuits made the rounds of train compartments for them to snack on till they made it home.

6. Nutrition

Programmes to fight malnutrition and undernutrition take up the biggest share of Britannia CSR activities. Biscuits fortified with vitamins and micronutrients are part of the nutrition programme. Most of the initiatives are carried out by Britannia Nutrition Foundation.

6.1. Britannia Nutrition Foundation (BNF)

Britannia Nutrition Foundation (BNF) is more than a decade old. It was set up with the goal of delivering every Child’s Right to Nutrition and Growth. BNF runs long term replicable programmes in various states. Community development is considered a focus area since BNF assumes responsibility for the nourishment and vitality of the whole community it works in.

6.2. Sir Ness Wadia Foundation

Sir Ness Wadia Foundation (SNWF) is nearly five decades old, making it one of the oldest charitable organisations in India. SNWF is a registered NGO set up in honour of philanthropist-industrialist Sir Ness Wadia. He was one of the most respected Parsi gentlemen who has pioneered the way charity is done on a large scale, and inspired many others to follow. He had a burning desire to empower the most impoverished sections of society by fulfulling their basic needs of food, education and economic independence. SNWF supports various CSR projects to reduce malnutrition in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. The Foundation works towards improving the beneficiary’s quality of life through better nutrition, education and rehabilitation where needed.

7. Healthcare

Britannia CSR projects in healthcare include hospitals of repute that house modern equipment and provide free to low-cost treatment and medical care.

7.1. Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital 

Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital (NWMH) in Mumbai will celebrate its centenary year in 2026, five years from now. NWMH was established to provide affordable healthcare to women across all sections of society. It specialises in obstetric and gynaecological services, to avail which women come from far and wide. It is renowned for care following complicated pregnancies. The IVF Centre was the first in our country to achieve QAI accreditation. The certified Human Milk Bank for newborns was another first.

The hospital treats 1 lakh outpatients a year. The hospital also counsels women on their health and the importance of clealiness and sanitation in their surroundings.

7.2. Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children 

Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children (BJWHC) is a hospital and research centre that is nearly 100 years old. Women and children who cannot afford private treatment benefit from this facility in Mumbai. Not only does it provide health care, it is also one of the most reputed paediatric teaching institutes in the country with a massive Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

It has been bestowed with several international accolades, such as International Quality Award for Excellence in Child Health Care Services; Outstanding Achievement Award in HealthCare – Social Cause and the Best use of Six Sigma in Healthcare. The children’s hospital regularly reaches out to the tribal communities by conducting medical camps.

In conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought us face-to-face with the absolute importance of preventive health care, nutrition and immunity building. Britannia CSR had the vision to take up these areas to focus on, many decades ago. The long term interventions have ensured that it is on the right track to make Indians healthier and happier. 

The post Britannia CSR Report Shows Commitment to Nutrition of the Nation appeared first on The CSR Journal.