The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : CII lays stress on social responsibility

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Friday, Dec 09, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

CII lays stress on social responsibility

Special Correspondent

It makes sound business sense for a company to invest in community development, says Venu Srinivasan

READYING THE ROAD MAP: Venu Srinivasan, MD, Sundaram Clayton Limited (standing), Kishore A. Chaukar, Managing Director, Tata Industries Limited (left), and Yohei Sasakawa, president, Nippon Foundation, at Social Summit-2005. — Photo: K. Pichum ani

CHENNAI: The Confederation of Indian Industry has taken up the ambitious task of making corporate social responsibility (CSR) an integral part of a company's functioning.

As a first step, it has made `implementing CSR as a business strategy — a roadmap for effective and sustainable penetration,' its theme for the seventh social summit: 2005. "This is a very small beginning... We have just started talking," said Venu Srinivasan, who heads CII-HRD and social infrastructure development council.

He wanted the involvement of individuals at all levels in the company and said it made sound business sense for the firm to invest in community development.

Mr. Srinivasan recalled how the CII promoted total quality management at a time when quality was not even talked about in the country, and made it into a watchword. "The whole effort now is to have the same kind of movement in CSR."

Mr. Srinivsan, Managing Director, Sundaram Clayton, said his company "typically set apart five per cent" of its net profit for social development programmes. "Not all of this is directly run by us. We contribute to other non-governmental organisations. We probably spend about two per cent directly." There were many companies, large and small, which had some CSR programme. The CII would provide a forum, where the companies with significant experience in CSR could share their experience and help the newer ones take up projects.

But the CII was aware that "one size does not fit all." Hence, any new project would be sensitive to the needs of the community/village.

"Contribute beyond what is expected of us," said Kishore A Chaukar, Managing Director, Tata Industries, in his keynote address.

If a company merely followed the stipulations laid down under the various Acts, he doubted if it could qualify as CSR.

Mr. Chaukar said the CSR was not a charity to be done when a company made a profit. "People do not like charity," he said. "This is not a cost; it is an investment. If you treat this as an investment, a lot of love and care goes into it."

Yohei Sasakawa, chairman, Nippon Foundation, who lit a traditional lamp to mark the inauguration of the two-day conference, said that by the year-end, leprosy would be eliminated in the country. But the 11 million people, cured of the disease, needed to earn a decent living. Now most of them made ends meet by begging. Those cured were capable of a variety of tasks and could be trained in many trades.

The Foundation planned a meeting in New Delhi for December 19 with the participation of representatives of 700 colonies of the leprosy affected. There could be 1,000 such colonies in the country. The corporates should help those who had been cured of the disease.

"I have 11 million brothers and sisters in India," he said in Japanese. "I would like to ask you for help [to rehabilitate them]," he said.

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