Business & Community Foundation, India

NOURISHING ‘CSR’ AT ITS ROOTS

First Aid Book (Hindi Version)

This publication is a background paper for the India-European Union Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility: the cross-cultural Perspective. This report compares differing definitions, practices, and degrees of awareness towards issues of Corporate Social responsibility that are available between India and Europe and within the different EU countries.

Seeds of Bondage

The present report is based on the detailed study carried out by the author on the working conditions of these children in seven mandals of Telangana and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, which was supported by Business and Community Foundation as part of its fellowship programme for Corporate Partnerships.

The study estimated that in India nearly 4 lakh female children, in the age group of 7-14 years, are employed in cottonseed fields, in which AP alone accounted for nearly 2.5 lakhs. This number is far greater than the total number of children employed in carpet, glass bangles, gem polishing and limestone industries put together in India. Child labour in these industries does not exceed 25%, with a majority of them beings boys, where as in cottonseed female child labour constitutes about 90% of the labour force.

The study also showed that the children work on long-term contract basis, with low wages and long working hours because their parents had either taken loans or advances from the seed producers (more often it is thrust upon them) and thus are forced to live in a debt trap for years. About 95% of the children employed in the study area come under this category of debt bondage.

On average children are paid about 70% of the adult female of 45% of the adult male wage rates. When it is realized that the local child labour is insufficient, the seed producers bring children from neighbouring areas. These children are put in camps and given food.

In order to extract more work from children, the employers are resorting to new methods of exploitation by offering several incentives such as chocolates, biscuits, Tiffin-boxes, bangles, ribbons, and occasional film shows. There are certain wrong notions being intentionally spread by the employers to avoid adult labour, like citing the age-old superstition that it is inauspicious for women to work during menstruation. The female children are pliable and also endure long working hours.

Study found that the work in cottonseed fields seem to pose long-term health problems for girls because of their constant exposure to poisonous pesticides used to control pests. Another dimension, which affects the female children, is literacy. About 60% of the children working in cottonseed fields in the study area are school dropouts.

Contrary to popular belief, the study showed that poverty is not the reason for child labour, but the absence of a strong social norm against employing children and governmental response in providing facilities.

The 'Silicon Valley Perspective' by Ms Shobha Manogoli

“Corporate Social Responsibility” in the IT sector is characterized by very clearly defined HR policies. The employee has access to the HR policy through the intranet .The company makes many novel attempts to make the life of a software employee as comfortable as possible. It starts from providing transport to and fro, catering services, help desks, good ambience, facilities of gym, crèche, so and so forth. These facilities which are some of the basic part of the infrastructural development of the companies itself and are taken for granted.

IT companies go beyond these focusing on the work environment and culture, programs for family, skill development programs, fun filled out bound training programs to build employee’s commitment and loyalty to the company. These initiatives form the core of internal CSR.

External CSR is compromised of evolving ways and means to give back to society. It starts from employing housekeeping and security personnel from the nearby communities to sponsoring events for goodwill and brand building. Many best practices have been evolved by the companies to reach out. Some of the best practices are described below:

FICCI India and European Union

This publication is a background paper for the India-European Union Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility: the cross-cultural Perspective. This report compares differing definitions, practices, and degrees of awareness towards issues of Corporate Social responsibility that are available between India and Europe and within the different EU countries.

In introduction we approach the rise of Corporate Social responsibility. A slowly growing process, which is surely taking place and will be more and more integrated to a business strategy. Businesses are slowly discovering that social, economic and political problems are economic problems, and ignoring them can have an impact on the economic well being of companies.

In consequence a growth of civil society organizations happened leading to the democratization in the marginalized and impoverished communities creating local responses to the grand Meta narratives. On an other hand the globalization gave them more power leading to a situation where the regulations of best practice applicable at the level of the home country influence the practice at the host country level.
This overview is followed by a comparative analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in India and Europe.

Firstly we can see that in India there are both domestic and global forces encouraging a broader understanding of Corporate Responsibility to develop. This supplements the long tradition of philanthropy with employee, community and environmental commitments. But, the historical influence of colonialism, stage planned economic development and vast disparities of income have created unique local conditions in India. This should be taken into consideration when considering the applicability of transferring models of CSR that have been developed elsewhere.

In the same manner each country in Europe has its own CSR Model depending on the history, values and lifestyles. That is why in this comparative analysis some of the EU member state cultural traditions have been explored while examining reasons for differing attitudes to corporate social responsibility today: France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands…

The common points, which have been found are that in Europe Government rather than Businesses has until recently been considered primarily responsible for economic and social development and this has led to formal state led initiatives in social and environmental protection and less expectations for corporations to provide social welfare programmes. In the general Western approach to corporate citizenship, good business practices are usually examined in terms of their potential benefits to business.

This emphasis on enlightened self-interest is more limited than the Indian focus, which had tended to view its wider responsibility to society or stakeholders. Nevertheless, despite the strong social reform movement in India, many of the philanthropic activities initially undertaken by Indian corporations were also often driven by their economic interest in having a healthy and educated workforce living close to business operations.

After comparison, this background paper finished with a optimistic point of view remaining that we don’t have to forget that globalization is heightening our understanding of other cultures and traditions. This can lead to seeking positive synergies between different cultural models of CSR rather than one model seeking to replace an other.

Corporate Responsibility
Bringing India and Europe Closer Together.

This publication contains all you need to know about corporate responsibility and how European and Indian companies and civil society organizations are responding to it. Both Indian and European companies are working hard to reach high standards in corporate responsibility. But they are doing it separately, yet, there is much they can learn from each other. This publication is the bridge between European and Indian responses to Corporate Responsibility.

European companies have a direct responsibility in influencing labour and environmental standards through their investment in India. As consumers, employees and shareholders, the public in Europe shares that responsibility. It is a responsibility, however, that has to be shared with companies, workers and civil society in India too.

Consequently the implantation of standards of corporate practice internationally applicable can only work if Indian business and other stakeholders are fully involved and if Europe and India better understand each other. So European companies in India must try to understand not only the Indian Business environment and its practices but also the needs of the local community in the national context. At the same time Indian companies need to be aware of European innovations and best practices in social and environmental responsibility, in order to meet the increasingly standards which the European public is setting.

To reach this partnership Indian companies and foreign companies implanted in the country, but not only the bigger ones and the ones from the industrial sector, have to integrate their Corporate Responsibility practices into their core business strategy such as mark and brand management. They also have to develop a comprehensive implementation and monitoring system. Simultaneously they have to reduce the discrepancy between the perception of workers and management about company compliance with labour regulation.

Ideally companies, the government and the civil society would work together toward making the local community an equal partner in the decisions and deals that impact on their lives, developing disaster relief and prevention programmes…

Beside, European buyers should accept their reciprocal responsibility of agreeing to pay a reasonable premium for products made under socially and environmentally responsible conditions. There is a need to prevent CSR from being used by developed countries as non-tariff barriers.

Surely there are still interrogations from every sides. What role should a company play versus the role of local and international institutions, trade unions and civil society? Should a company act as a campaigner in a country for human rights activists, or is that going beyond their remit? How does corporate responsibility intersect with the pressures of trade and competition?

But the most important in this publication is that questions are raised, the dialogue opened, the fragmented information currently available in India and Europe collected and consolidated to be disseminated as widely as possible, the links between business, government and civil society in India and Europe facilitated, best practices promoted and perhaps the most important of all is that finally a platform for a organized and cross -cultural debate has been provided.

It constitute an essential meeting point in an increasingly interdependent world, in which Corporate Social Responsibility will not begin or end in Europe or the US but will emerge as a global trend that transcends regional and national boundaries, north and south’s cut-out. Through this mutual understanding, this publication gives us an approach of what could be Corporate Social Responsibility at an International level.

CSR Conference in Asia
December 9-10, 2005 – New Delhi

This two days conference envisaged capturing some of the CSR best practices in Asia, documenting and making them available for domestic and international audience. Also looking at what CSR means internally at the workplace. In addition the conference aimed at highlighting the roles that business in Asia plays towards the fulfillment of wider initiatives like the MDG’s, Mission 2007 and accountability standards.

Nowadays Asia faces many critical issues in the context of globalization, varying from regional conflicts and terrorism, corruption, growing gaps between rich and poor, environmental pressures and access to infrastructure and basic services such as health, clean water education and housing. Business can play key roles as corporate citizens in contributing to human resource development, technology access, sensitive and creative industrial restructuring and inclusive economic development as well as respecting human rights.

Deliberations during the 2 days conference began with significant presentations on CSR with the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) Chairman Emeritus emphasizing that’…corporate don’t just make money, they create wealth. Unless wealth is created, there will be nothing to distribute’. This opening session continued in raising several issues as the role of the Government and Medias in CSR.

The first session brought together Janet Blake Human Resources CSR from British Telecom Global Services; Asit Roy, General Manager of Kanoria Chemicals & Industries; Richard B saldhana, Head of Times Foundation; Raghavan Iyer, Senior mentor of Bharat Yuva Shakti Trust and Naveen Bhatai, Vice president & Head Corporate Business of NIS-Sparta. Together they demonstrated to the Asian business community how Corporate Social Responsibility could pursue competitiveness and growth on a global stage whilst ensuring resource enhancement, environmental protection and social development; and how corporate responsibility can contribute to business success.

The session “The State of Corporate Responsibility Progress in Asia” followed, during which the progress of CSR in different South Asian countries was outlined along with the emerging policy framework. Dr K. Vijaya Lakshmi from development Alternatives moderated this program and the participants were Rajeev Pradhan from lotus Opportunities Nepal, Jiranya Ratchinda from Kenan, Thailand, Ambreen Waheed, responsible of Business Initiatives Pakistan.

Several parallel Break-out Sessions took also place, focused at first on CSR Communications with a provocative question raised by Balinder from Youth Reach: Was CSR a publicity stunt for corporate? Secondly Dinesh Argawal from NTPC questioned the need of partnership between profit and non-profit, since their work cultures and core competencies also differed. The third Break out session focused on Internal Policies in terms of how CSR is defined, what are the policies at the top, and what is the way forward.
Finally these sessions were conclude with a panel discussion on environmental Management, raising the important question whether business perceive a role for CSR beyond their immediate core business.

Followed the response from the private sector to Mission 2007, which constitutes to create a village knowledge centre in each of 600, 000 villages of India. Then Sanjay for Tata Steel, Chetan Sharma the founder Director of the Datamation Foundation, B.G Mukhopaddyay for NABARD, Praveen Kumar for NLogue and Abhay T Bang for Search Gadchirolli discussed to find ways for CSR to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The last session “Corporate Social responsibility models for Asia” raised the concern of specific guidelines and principles for CSR, and the role of NGO partners (with especial focus on financial aspects). Also CSR was not be held ransom to resources, rather the focus was on companies changing business practices. It was reiterated yet again that corporate responsibility was not corporate philanthropy. Another question raised took up the issue of the influence of the cultural and religious ethos of a country on its CSR practices and that of variations in the approaches of trans-national corporations and small companies towards CSR practices.

Information on Disability

This information CD was designed to promote inclusive opportunities and contains useful information on disability. It includes a list of the state commissioners for persons with disabilities, organisations in delhi working with the disabled, donor agencies in India, a building regulations document on access for the disabled, the disabilities act 1995 and a short video on employing disabled persons

The following publications are part of the 'BCF Fellowships for Corporate Partnerships' which was funded by the Ford Foundation.

Public-Private partnerships in urban governance:
The case of Bangalore and Mumbai
By Mr. Sanjiv Vasudeo Aundhe

Mr. Sanjiv Vasudeo Aundhe has a Bachelors degree in Engineering and is a fellow with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Mr. Aundhe has vast experience of working on urban issues and has made a number of presentations on this subject.

Since the liberalization of the Indian economy, there has been increasing emphasis on the mode of public-private partnerships. The debate has been going on that partnerships should be encouraged among public agencies that administer the infrastructure area with private entities in such a way that a fair sharing of risks and profits associated with projects may be the answer to the severe paucity of infrastructure in the country.

However, the term 'public -private partnerships' has been used primarily to signify the participation of private enterprises in construction, operation and use of assets to yield returns to the private entrepreneur. Such approaches have been used to successfully build, operate and transfer assets such as bridges, roads, water supply and sewerage systems. An interesting version of public-private partnership mode has been in operation in some cities, especially in matters concerning urban governance. The study looks at the effectiveness of such public-private partnerships in urban governance through an in-depth case study on two such initiatives in urban India; namely the Bombay First initiative in Mumbai and the Bangalore Agenda Taskforce in Bangalore.

The Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) was set up in 1998 with a mandate that includes identifying priorities, upgrading infrastructure, capacity building of institutions, revenue enhancements, providing strategic inputs and becoming a forum for inter-stakeholder cooperation and dialogue. BATF has been a very visible high profile group constituted by eminent people with great track record of achievements in their life. The group has enjoyed extensive political support and has been billed as the real PPP, which has brought together the best of private and public sectors.

BATF which has been in existence for almost four years now has been quite visible and has a few success stories to its credit. Some of these include a public private partnership for bus stops, implementation of the self assessment of property tax, the establishment of 'Nirmala Bangalore' and the construction of public toilets, the Swachcha Bangalore collection of garbage. But the biggest achievements of BATF could be the role it has played in streamlining the Bangalore Development Authority to become one of the most effective organisations in the city and the country.

Meanwhile , Bombay First was set up in Mumbai in 1995 with the idea of retaining Bombay's position as a premier financial center. It also had a significant proportion of large corporate heavy weights who would work for the growth and development of Mumbai. But nine years after it was set up the initiative is still struggling to be on its feet even though the initiative had started with a corpus of 25 crores. It was initially decided that Bombay First would function as a pressure group and would lobby for services to the city. But the initiative really never caught up mainly because of the lack of political support and due to the strong base of other pressure groups and NGOs who did not wish to relinquish control. A number of reports on various ways in which services in the city can be improved was generated but little could be done to take it forward due to various factors.

The study concludes with suggestions on how cities should go about to work on a plan for urban governance. Perhaps the biggest realization of this study is that these initiatives would have to be reinvented in every city. The study lists some points which are crucial for the successful implementation of such systems like strong political support, customisation of approach to agencies, capacity building, financial strength, leadership and public support for the success of such initiatives.

From Waste Paper to Recycled Paper:
Towards an Eco-Friendly Work Environment
By Ms. Chandni Khanduj

Ms Chandini Khanduja has done her BA (hons) in political science from Delhi university and has been working in the field of environment. She runs the 'rethink, reuse and recycle paper' programme at 'Kriti' and has a keen interest in waste paper management.

In today's crisis of natural resources and their management, the ways through which the existing resources can be put to maximum use have to be explored. This in itself is a good argument to take up the case of recycled paper. The study thus explores and identifies ways to optimally use, reuse and recycle paper in daily work life and thus promote the concept of eco-friendly offices and work practices. A total of 23 organisations with a mix of government, corporate, NGOs and international organisations from Delhi were involved in the study.

Delhi which has a large number of offices ranging from multinationals to small businesses uses large amounts of paper every day for various purposes. It was felt that with the advent of computers, this scenario will change and the use of paper would be reduced. But this has remained a dream and a large quantity of paper used in these offices finds it way into the wastepaper basket. It is often pointed that paper, unlike plastic, is environment friendly and biodegradable but paper cannot be made without felling trees. Thus by reverse logic, every scrap of paper wasted has a direct impact on environment.

In fact the study can be divided into two distinct parts. The first part deals with understanding the processes and practices which lead to wastepaper generation and its disposal, while the second part looks at the availability and accessibility of paper recycle units in and around Delhi and understanding their economy. In fact, the study drives home the point that patterns of paper use and reuse are individual based and not necessarily determined by any prescribed organisational policy.

The report looks in detail at waste paper management and the role of the informal sector. It also looks at various other aspects like the non existence of a policy framework of the government on recycling waste paper. The study looks at handmade paper as the sustainable technology option and the various paper recycling processes and programmes in existence.

The first step towards paper recycling is to rethink of paper as a resource. The second step is to reduce its consumption, the third is to reuse it to the fullest extent and the fourth involves its proper disposal for recycling. Guidelines have been given on how a paper recycling policy can be framed at the workplace, at home, at organisational levels and government levels. The study is expected to encourage and inspire a lot of institutions in following Eco-friendly systems for waste paper management.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Small and Medium Scale Industries:
Study of CSR practices in small and medium scale Industries in Pune
By Mr. Anil Vishram Revenkar

Mr. Anil Revenkar is involved in social and developmental communication and has scripted, produced and directed films which have won critical acclaim. He has also been involved with a number of NGOs and has worked on various development and health issues

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro-enterprises constitute over 95 percent of all enterprises and account for two thirds to one half of total non-farm employment and GDP worldwide. In fact Corporate Social Responsibility is primarily regarded as the province of large corporations who have deep pockets. Very little data is available on the work being done by SME's in this area primarily because not much work is being done by them, but the fact is that small businesses have a heightened requirement for good, multi-skilled employees, strong personal relationships and successful local engagement. The argument is that SMEs lack the power to influence governments, dictate standards or financial resources. This report looks into the various perceptions of CSR by SME's in Pune.

The report has brought forth some interesting observations like the general impression among SME's is that following mandatory Government laws makes them socially responsible. A lot of SME's are of the opinion that philanthropy and CSR are one and the same. It has been observed that SME's are at a stage where they are fighting to establish themselves and do not have the manpower or resources to address these issues. Moreover in developing countries like India, they face challenges posed by policy and business environment in which they operate which is changing rapidly as a result of market oriented reform and technological change.

One of the peculiarities about SMEs in India is that their functioning is centered around the role of the owner who in most cases heads the organisation and their CSR policies are centered around his knowledge and interests. It all boils down to the personal interest of the owner. None of the SME's sees any clear benefits by following or practicing CSR. Very few companies had social reports, code of conduct or stated ethical practices. But the study points that many of SME's are involved in some development activity or the other.

Many of the CEO's of these SME's were members of Rotary or Lions clubs and supported various developmental activities initiated by these clubs. Apart from following prescribed government norms, very few of them went overboard to follow ethical practices as they did not have the resources to follow or implement them. Moreover, they did not give much priority for CSR or ethical code of conduct at they were tied down by various constraints ranging from finance, counselling, information technology and marketing.

The study drives home the point that there is a need to popularize the concept of CSR among SMEs and the benefits it can bring for them. The author believes that the Government has a role to play in popularizing CSR practices and calls for the need of developing something called CSR certification and creating incentives for businesses which follow CSR practices.

CSR practices in Industrial Areas of Delhi
By Mr. Tarun Kumar

Mr. Tarun Kumar is an MBA from Aligarh Muslim University and has a masters degree in International trade. He has held very senior positions both in NGOs and Corporate sector and has considerable experience of interactions with SME's. Tarun has also worked on CSR issues with CAF.

The Industrial areas of Delhi which includes Okhla, Naraina, Mayapuri, Wazirpur and Lawrence Road, basically is the home to Small Scale industries in the capital. The study while looking at the CSR practices being followed by SME's focuses on Okhla, which is one of the first industrial estates to be set up in Delhi and India and is regarded as the industrial nerve center of Delhi.

The Okhla industrial area is divided into four phases and houses many industries dealing from manufacturing machines to plastics to chemicals. The third phase of Okhla is an exception in the sense that it houses some big companies like Bharti and Airtel. The study points that a number of SME's in Delhi are aware of CSR practices. This might be due to the fact that they belong to the Capital. Moreover, as many as 40 companies from Okhla are members of Confederation of Indian Industry which exposes them to various aspects of CSR.

While most of them have no particular agenda on CSR, many of them are involved in some development activity like donating clothes or holding blood donation camps etc. But the industry associations of these companies have no guidelines on CSR or any development activity. As far as labour and environmental issues are concerned all of them follow the government guidelines under CEPT which is strictly enforced in the National Capital Region of Delhi.

The study feels that there is scope of taking up the agenda of CSR among these small and medium companies in the capital. The study points that due to the proximity and presence of a number of organisations dealing in CSR, there is a lot of scope of involving the SME associations and sensitizing them on CSR issues and thus take the agenda forward.

Awakening Participation
Guide for Effective Public Hearing Process
Mr. Sharatchandra

The manual was brought out under the BCF Fellowship for Corporate Partnerships. The study was undertaken by H.C Sharatchandra, an MSC in Agriculture from Bangalore University. Mr. Sharatchandra has over 25 years of experience as a researcher, teacher, administrator and consultant.

Public participation in many areas has been accepted as a right in many developed nations the world over. Experiences worldwide indicate that public participation improves the quality of decision-making in a number of ways. It promotes clarity, stability and fairness in laws and institutions and advances a culture of openness and shared responsibilities among different sections of the society. The manual in a nutshell gives an overview of the theory and current practices of the public hearing process with special emphasis on the Indian scenario.

The last three-four decades have brought two major changes in the legal system of almost all the nations of the world. Human rights and environment have been accepted as a fundamental social value. The 1972 Stockholm conference accepted 'right' of environment and was adopted as the first principle in its declaration. The Rio declaration of 1992 has also given emphasis to the issue of public participation. All these treaties have led to a growing emphasis on the involvement of stakeholders at all stages of public administration. This study explores the need for effective public hearing process and the commitment and understanding needed by various stakeholders in this regard.

The manual is developed as a guide at increasing the level of understanding the philosophy and the process among enforcement agencies, members of the public hearing panel, NGOs, industrial representatives and other concerned stakeholders to make the public hearing process effective. The document traces the historical evolution of public participation, the philosophy behind it and the various types of participation and what public participation can achieve The report also underlines the benefits of public participation to the governments, the industry and the citizens.

The study basically underlines the fact that the value and effectiveness of public participation lies in the process and stresses the importance and gives guidelines regarding developing of information and communication guidelines in order to establish clear and uniform procedures for requesting, receiving, processing and disseminating information.

One of the chapters of the study is dedicated to the Indian scenario which brings out the fact that the system is still in its infancy in the country. The study focuses on the environmental public hearing process and the various activities that come under its purview. After a factual analysis of the policy, it points out to the various limitations of the public hearing process and comments on the loopholes. The manual concludes with a chapter on suggestions to the various stakeholders like the implementing authorities, the government, the industry, the NGOs and citizens on the issues they need to address and the steps they need to take to make public hearing more effective.

GOOD BOARDS DO NOT JUST HAPPEN...
The Role of The Board in the Indian Voluntary Sector -
A Resource Manual
Aarti Madhusudan

This study was undertaken by Aarti Madhusudan under the Business & Community Foundation Fellowship for the year 2001-2002. Aarthi has a Masters degree in social work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and has done her M.Phil in psychiatric social work from NIMHANS, Bangalore.

The Indian voluntary sector is undergoing a period of transition. As the number of organisations within the sector continue to increase and the participation from the public gains momentum, the sector is faced with new challenges. Among these are the critical issues of sustainability of the organisations and viability of individual programmes within them. With the global recession and the prevailing economic conditions, national and international grants have become uncertain and inconsistent. This has led to many organisations seeking indigenous support and looking towards the general Indian public for contributions.

Due to all this, there is greater consciousness among a number of voluntary organisations to maintain public credibility and faith. The boards of these organisations are beginning to pay greater attention to demonstrate their accountability to all their stakeholders. This manual looks at what is the role of the board in this context.

The manual gives us an insight into the legal frame work governing the voluntary sector in India and the rights duties and responsibilities of the Board members under The societies registration activities, the Indian trust activities and companies activities. Apart from this it looks at the various models of non-profit governance and the current status of governance in the Indian Voluntary Sector and compares it with Corporate Governance.

The document then draws upon the experience and attitudes of both CEOs and Board Members of organisations towards board governance issues. The final chapter of the manual, evaluates the role of the Board in the Indian voluntary sector, looks at the CEO perspectives and Board members perspective on governance and comes out with concrete recommendations. It includes resources that will enable boards and CEOs to obtain greater clarity about their roles and responsibilities as it will enable them to critique their own functioning and provide opportunities for improvement and learning.