Profit cannot be the only purpose of business. Smart CEOs are realising that, taken in the right spirit, CSR has the capacity of making firms humane
On a recent Saturday morning at 9 am, Wipro Chairman Azim Premji walked into the JN Tata Auditorium at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore to hand out the Earthian awards to students from around the country. For over a decade Wipro has been advocating quality education in schools. Four years ago it added ecology to its social agenda. The Earthian awards, given to students for writing a paper on sustainability, is one way in which Wipro has been trying to build awareness about tackling environmental issues among the youth of this country.
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Many other companies are following a similar approach, that is, look for a distinct fit with their core business. For instance, Tata Motors started a safe driving programme. ITC went in and realigned its supply chain to help farmers. HUL works with children in schools and mothers through health clinics to educate them about hygiene behaviour. Their aim is to change the hygiene behaviour of 1 billion consumers in Asia, Africa and Latin America by educating them about the benefits of hand washing at key times. Wipro has chosen education as its area of focus.
For instance, the firm has helped build an MIS platform for an NGO that managed remand homes across seven states. This helps the NGO capture data on the condition of every home while presenting the findings to the state, rather than rely on anecdotal evidence. It took two executives from Edelweiss’ in-house business solutions a year to build this low-cost platform.
(This story appears in the 22 March, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)