Ms Sheena Kapoor of ICICI Lombard

To want to feel included is a basic human need, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gives us the opportunity to work with our employees, local communities and humanity at large to build an inclusive and sustainable society. In a world where organisations find themselves facing constraints brought on by depleting resources, business policies that take into account the critical area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) pave a path of transparency, diversity and inclusiveness.

A significant initiative by the Government of India was the introduction of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, that mandates companies with a certain turnover, net worth or profits to spend at least 2% of their average net profits in the preceding three years on CSR activities. Since then, CSR initiatives in India have seen a momentous growth. Today CSR has become an essential aspect of the corporate world. These activities in India are focused on various social and environmental issues such as education, skill development, healthcare, rural development and environmental conservation. Public sector companies have also been leading several of these large scale initiatives. The Government’s focus on CSR has encouraged companies to contribute to society and the environment, thus looking beyond their immediate business interests.

Rising CSR demand:

Companies are increasingly realising the importance of giving back to society. As a result, several corporate houses and conglomerates in India have taken up the CSR mandate across social causes, leading to environmental sustainability, community development and a positive impact on the society. The Government of India’s initiatives like the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, Make in India, and Namami Gange have also garnered great support from various corporate houses.

Today, companies are mindful of the well-being of the communities in which they operate and wish to build a sustainable future for all their stakeholders. We, as a nation, have come a long way;

· Collaborations – Collaborating with NGOs and social organisations helps in identifying areas for maximum impact and in addressing complex social problems at the grassroots level.

· Skill Development – Providing training and skill development uplifts people by improving their standard of living and enhances their employment opportunities.

· Environment Sustainability – Companies are eagerly adopting green technology, renewable energy, better waste management practices, and afforestation to reduce their carbon footprint.

· Health & Hygiene – We have several corporate houses from various sectors contributing towards promoting the importance, and improving the overall health of people across urban and rural areas of India.

· Education – Education is one key area where companies today are making a great impact- right from providing scholarships and building schools & colleges, to supporting educational programs for children.

· Social Impact – Companies are increasingly focusing on social impact initiatives such as supporting community development and addressing poverty and inequality.

· Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) – We have seen several companies taking steps in promoting DEI within their organisation, such as increasing diversity in their workforce, providing equal pay for equal work and addressing and sensitising employees to create a bias-free work environment.

· Reporting and transparency – With CSR awareness and government’s support, we have seen a surge in companies reporting on their CSR activities, including the CSR progress and impact- thereby, providing transparency and accountability to stakeholders.

Corporate Social Responsibility as a foundational step in building a modern and sustained society:

· The pandemic highlighted the need to ensure support of vulnerable communities. To effectively distribute resources and reach a wider population, we saw companies in India collaborate with NGOs and government agencies.

· Companies all over India encouraged their employees to participate in CSR activities, including volunteering for relief efforts. This also helped in boosting employee morale and engagement.

· 2020 highlighted the need for sustainable practices, and led to companies increasing their focus on sustainability-related CSR activities such as waste reduction and energy conservation.

Key developments in CSR:

Over the years, CSR has evolved from a task-oriented mandate to a more strategic and meaningful partnership aimed at the development of the community.

· Health and education continue to receive the highest share of CSR spending in India

· Thanks to the adoption of technology in CSR, companies are using digital platforms to implement CSR initiatives and engage with their stakeholders.

· There has been increased collaboration with government agencies.

· Employee volunteering has emerged as an important component of CSR activities in India.

· To help understand the return on investment, impact assessment has become critical for all CSR activities.

Creating a cohesive environment for all stakeholders through CSR:

As a responsible corporate, we are committed to making the world a safer and healthier place. One of our biggest community initiative- Caring Hands, focuses on employee volunteering to support visually impaired children and empower them to lead better lives. Under Caring Hands, eye check-up camps are conducted in municipal/govt. schools. the tests are performed by Ophthalmologists. Employees volunteer for scouting schools, taking permission from authorities, arranging the doctor etc. Once the tests are performed, all those kids who require corrective lenses are provided with the same. Spectacles are made by Dr. Agarwals Eye Hospital. The initiative is implemented across various locations of the country on a single day of the year known as Caring Hands Day. The initiative started in the year 2011. Since the inception, the initiative has reached out to more than 400000 beneficiaries. Similarly, under our Ride to Safety initiative, Under Ride to Safety, educational sessions are taken for school children and their parents. The sessions majorly focus on road safety rules, regulation and importance of wearing helmets for kids as well as parents both. After the sessions, ISI marked helmets are given free of cost to parents and children. The initiative is implemented in 12 cities of the country namely Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Banglore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Patna, Agartala, Ludhiana and Nagpur. Niranjali initiatives we have implemented dedicated programmes that promote road safety with the former, and health, hygiene and overall wellness of citizens with the latter initiative. In FY2021, we embarked on a pilot exercise to uplift the Primary Health Centres (PHC) in rural locations by providing medical equipment to PHCs in UP, MP, West Bengal, and Uttarakhand. The intent was to reduce the transfer of medical cases to district hospitals. The equipment were given in FY21 and FY23 and more than 15,000 people benefitted through this. Further, we launched a pilot environmental sustainability programme involving the installation of solar panels in the schools in-line with India’s net-zero ambitions. Solar panels have been installed in 95 schools till date.

Main locations of the installation are Mumbai, Patna and Agartala. We have touched over 1 million lives through our CSR initiatives till FY2023.

As a brand with customer centricity at its core, and our brand philosophy of Nibhaye Vaade, we help our customers fulfil their promises to their loved ones. Our marketing campaigns are also driven by this philosophy and holistic approach that takes into account the Environmental, Social and Governance aspects. On World Heart Day last year, we launched a compelling campaign #LearnCPRSaveALife with Emraan Hashmi and also encouraged our employees to learn how to administer CPR by conducting an in-house demonstartion. The objective was to demystify the myths around CPR. Similarly, this year in March we celebrated Women’s Month and gave an opportunity to all women across India to avail a complimentary Health check-up and RSA (Roadside assistance). For their empowerment, we organised Financial Literacy workshops for our women agents & brokers. To spread Insurance awareness in rural regions of Bihar, we also conducted Financial Literacy workshops for women in association with IRDAI & Jeevika representatives (Didi).

Sustainability is at the core of our growth strategy and we are constantly trying to create a cohesive environment wherein all our stakeholders can excel and achieve societal goals. Time and again it has been proven that CSR will play an imperative role for companies in building credibility amongst their stakeholders. The best organisations have recognised this and have integrated CSR into their operational endeavour. This realisation bodes well for both the corporate world and society at large- as this makes the world a better and more equitable place. Personally, I believe that when we become a better version of ourselves, our environment, society and nation also becomes better. After all, whether it is our family or our company, as an individual it’s our responsibility to ensure that nobody gets left behind or forgotten.