What Are Some Truly Impactful CSR Initiatives You've Seen in Action?

I would like to hear about some innovative and interesting corporate social responsibility initiatives by large and small companies. Not the stuff where the company just donates something, but interesting ideas that have created an immediate or sustained change. The discussion is inspired by something I bumped into: AOL. They started an initiative where they would create a "creative" space for people, and people would just come in and create whatever they wanted to—draw, paint, sing, dance... anything. Any other examples you know of?

In my last company, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was one of the key agendas set by our Managing Director. Some of the initiatives we undertook included:

- Organizing blood donation camps within the company. Since we were a BPO, the young staff actively participated in these camps.
- Partnering with an NGO to build a school for underprivileged children. We provided PCs with multimedia content to enhance their learning experience.
- Arranging regular trips for the children to visit our company premises in different batches, allowing them to have a day of interaction with everyone.
- Implementing a voluntary agreement where a certain amount, ranging from Rs.100 to Rs.500, was deducted from the staff's salaries monthly and contributed towards the underprivileged children's education.
- Encouraging our staff to visit the school regularly to witness firsthand how their contributions were making a positive impact.
- Showcasing the students' talents at the company's annual function through performances like skits, dances, and song competitions. One student even received a letter of invitation and scholarship from the Indian film industry.

These examples represent only a fraction of the work we did with the NGO. I would love to hear about the experiences of others as well.

Regards,
Archna

In Wipro Infotech at Gachibowli, Hyderabad, some staff are going to a nearby school and teaching spoken English to the rural children. They conduct three classes weekly for students in the 6th to 8th standard. I was truly impressed by the efforts of the Wipro employees in contributing to society. This exemplifies real Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

My CSR Initiatives

I have also initiated CSR programs by donating furniture to a school, organizing medical camps for the working class, and conducting AIDS awareness programs exclusively in Hyderabad. Currently, I have organized a blood donation camp as part of our CSR activities.

Regards

Here are a few CSR activities by different companies:

School-on-Wheels: Springer, one of the largest publishers for Science and Technological journals, sponsors a program called "School-on-Wheels" for children at construction sites, slum areas, and other underdeveloped areas. This program offers a bus, books, teaching materials, and volunteers who teach these students. Generally, the volunteers are employees and interns of Springer. This program is governed by an NGO called 'Door-Step School'. This NGO appoints volunteers to the areas identified to impart education. Crest, a Springer company based in Pune, has printed and distributed books for the students. This program has been running for more than the last three years.

Rainwater Harvest Program: Electronic Data Systems used to run a program called Global Volunteers. This program identified a sustainable project locally in every city where EDS had offices, across the globe. They promoted these programs to be run and managed by the employees, training them for it. EDS arranged a Rainwater Harvest program in Pune. A group of employees was trained on rainwater harvesting and worked on an area to make it ready for cultivation. They further trained employees on rebuilding a school on the outskirts of the city. This program was completely managed by the employees who also donated books and computers.

Regards,

At the University of Bolton, UK, students are encouraged to go to schools and teach kids. Also, some staff act as advisors to Young Enterprisers (Welcome to Young Enterprise <link updated to site home> (Search On Cite | Search On Google)). A number of companies provide space to students to take part in the Young Enterprise Scheme, in addition to encouraging staff to act as advisors.

I know of some organizations in India helping plant trees, clean parks of unwanted plastic waste, etc. I wonder if a scheme such as the Young Enterprise can be started by CiteHR staff!!

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Most of the discussion is based on Charity/Philanthropy; CSR is far from this. CSR must be based on sustainability parameters. Companies like HZL and Tata are actively working on this. For example, at HZL in Rajasthan, we are promoting more than 3000 SHGs of women through various income generation activities, supporting 1000 farmers with modern agriculture practices, ensuring 100% vaccination of animals, providing vocational training and jobs to local unemployed youth, developing local infrastructure, ensuring safe drinking water parameters, adopting ICDS centers, providing mid-day meals, implementing computer education programs, and more. We are currently running over 50 projects in focused areas such as Health & Hygiene, Education, Sustainable Livelihood, Social Mobilization, and Infrastructure Work.

All the aforementioned work is based on the felt needs of the community and contributes to the overall quality of life of the villagers.

Archana, good work. I hope you can also implement these initiatives in your current company. Your quote is commendable.

Dear All,

Corporate Social Responsibility: A Broad Perspective

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a very vast subject. It is akin to the adoption of a village, where all the basic amenities are provided by the government with limited resources. In other words, an organization would adopt a particular village and provide for adult education, safe drinking water, fluoride checks, conduct medical camps and provide treatment, and create awareness regarding HIV/AIDS and malnutrition. They may also organize eye camps, blood donation drives, and first aid in emergencies.

Some organizations also encourage self-help groups for women to support their daily livelihoods through cottage industries, tailoring, and other small business promotions, providing necessary financial help. They create separate annual budgets for Corporate Social Responsibility.

There may be more initiatives beyond the ones mentioned above. We have implemented all these in our organization.

Regards

Aligning CSR with Business Goals

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be aligned with the business; only then will it be beneficial. What you take from society, you give back many times over.

In our company, we have adopted government schools and strive to provide the students with basic amenities such as drinking water, sanitation facilities, PCs, and extra special coaching for weak students.

Regards,
Prabha

Nowadays, the government has instructed corporate bodies to spend 0.5% to 5% of their profits on CSR activities.

In Future Group, we have something called the HappYness Committee. They carry out socially responsible events and activities on behalf of the entire store. Recently, they organized a sit-and-draw competition for specially-abled children and displayed their drawings in an exhibition. They also engage in community service, including blood donation camps, to make this a sustainable practice in the east.

Regards,
Chaityparna

Indeed, it's great to hear about the various initiatives taken by different companies. In fact, I would like to take it one step further by sharing that our company (a specialty retail outlet) is headquartered in the USA, with its supply chain spanning across different countries, including South Asia. CSR is embedded in our corporate pillars with the motto "Do What's Right."

Our focus ranges from sustainability and maintaining a transparent supply chain to developing climate strategies and upholding human rights. We also run education programs for women workers in our factories, address issues like trafficking and child labor, and empower communities by offering sustainable employment opportunities that utilize their skills. The list of our efforts goes on.

Please let me know if you need further assistance or information.

Fantastic... I didn't know there was a government policy for CSR - thanks, Bhaskar. It's interesting to note the Andhra Pradesh initiative of naming schools by sponsor companies. I wonder if they can extend this to villages, where companies would adopt villages and the village would be called Tata-Tilakpur or Birla-Mirzapur.

Ideas for CSR Initiatives

Any ideas in your head that can be great CSR initiatives? I can think of an entrepreneurial one. I feel one of the major issues in India and many developing nations is food. If a company could emerge that would create subsidized clean food distributed through stalls or vans, with a big hoarding of the sponsor company name, I think this would help on various levels. People would feel better if they eat better. With such tough competition, the local food vendors and restaurants would be forced to improve their quality level, thus enhancing the overall food quality and hygiene of food products. But of course, success would depend on the company organizing these CSR events and the level of monitoring the sponsor company is willing to take up.

Another idea is creating camps for pregnant women. Recently, I came across a pregnant woman who was seriously ill because of a lack of proper nutrition. The problem is not that they do not have food; it's a lack of proper information and the will to buy supplemental medicines, which are extremely crucial for the proper development of the baby. If companies can organize camps where such supplemental medicines and information are provided for free, it would seriously help.

Any other ideas?

No, I didn't mean "Free Food" - I meant subsidized quality hygienic food. It's nice to hear such real-life stories of discovery. It's a great initiative by Andhra Pradesh - it has recently been one of the top developing states. I spent a few years of my childhood in Hyderabad, and from what I hear - it has completely changed in the last decade.

Regards,
Sid

It's my privilege to share the experiences of working outside our country and seeing the real sense of corporate and social responsibilities. Let me share the novel idea of what Korean people do as part of these responsibilities.

Korean Corporate Social Responsibility Practices

Each and every employee of private/public companies has to serve society for approximately 20 hours a year. All the social work performed by the group of people is photographed as clear evidence of participation, and they report it to the local authority. We, as Indian nationals working here, also take part in these activities.

Community Clean-Up Initiatives

On such occasions, Korean people identify designated public areas and proceed to clean them with all necessary equipment such as hand gloves, chimta, gunny bags, big plastic bags, etc. After cleaning, they gather for dinner as a group to enjoy the evening. Moreover, the offices are cleaned by individual employees of the company, irrespective of their positions. Only common areas and toilets are cleaned by paid workers.

Regards,
Prem Kumar
South Korea