CSR Dashboard

Category: Sectors

  • IIT Madras – JK Fenner developing biodegradable alternative to rubber

    IIT Madras – JK Fenner developing biodegradable alternative to rubber

    Biodegradable rubber to be developed by IIT Madras – JK Fenner will help boost sustainability and environmental degradation

    Indian Institue of Technology (IIT) Madras and JK Fenner (India) Limited have partnered to develop a biodegradable alternative to rubber. As part of its CSR initiative, JK Fenner would fund the project.

    The objective is to make the finished rubber product biodegradable quicker. Synthetic rubbers are also not biodegradable due to their structural feature, which consists of carbon-carbon single bonds in the backbone.

    An IIT Madras research team headed by Prof R Dhamodharan, Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras, will research and develop practical, biodegradable molecular bridges as an alternative. Speaking about this CSR Partnership with IIT Madras, Nagaraju Srirama, President and Director, JK Fenner (India) Limited, said, “JK Fenner India Limited is happy to partner with IIT Madras, the premier research institute in the country for developing the next generation rubber which is going to be biodegradable and the environment- friendly. This research will set a new direction in the rubber industry (belts/hoses), which will be environmentally friendly and support our initiative towards a sustainable future.”

    Elaborating on the scope of their research, Principal Investigator Prof R Dhamodharan, Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras, said, “The structure of the polymer to address these issues should be amenable to the ‘standard curing procedure’ established in the rubber industry. The polymer and the ‘crosslinker’ or the ‘bridge molecule’ used in the curing should also be designed with structural features that would make it suitable for biodegradation.”

  • Byju’s to teach English to 35 lakh students under CSR

    Byju’s to teach English to 35 lakh students under CSR

    Byju’s education will impart English language skills to 35 lakh students

    Andhra Pradesh Government has signed an MoU with Byju’s to impart spoken English training to students of class 4 to class 8 in state-run schools. Byju’s education will impart English language skills to 35 lakh students under its CSR initiative, state Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana has announced.

    The minister said the government would launch 884 new junior colleges in the state from the current academic year, adding that it may review its decision to convert 25 junior colleges into girls only if technical problems arise.

    AP government proposes to upgrade schools up to class 10 as junior colleges in line with the government’s decision to have two junior colleges in each Mandal. There are 679 mandals in the state.

  • UP Govt and Vedanta join forces to address malnourishment

    UP Govt and Vedanta join forces to address malnourishment

    The five-month project aims to improve nutritional and health status of the targeted children through nutritious food

    Vedanta Ltd has joined hands with the Uttar Pradesh government reaffirming its commitment to combat and eradicate malnourishment from the state by the year 2024.

      Vedanta’s philanthropic arm, The Anil Agarwal Foundation plans to end all forms of malnutrition, including stunting and wasting in children under five years of age, and address the nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating women through its flagship CSR Project Nand Ghar, an official statement said.

      Nand Ghar has partnered with Mealmile Nutrients, as a part of its thematic interventions on the right nutrition. Initiating a pilot project, the partnership is targeting to improvise the nutritional levels of 3000 malnourished children in the Araji line block of Varanasi.

      Under the pilot, a Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in the form of a paste, manufactured by Mealmile Nutrients is being distributed by the district administration to each of the household having malnourished children in Varanasi.

      The project aims to potentially improve the nutritional and health status of the targeted children by ensuring access to nutritious food. The ongoing pilot project is five months long and should be eventually assessed by the district administration.

      On the occasion, Vedanta Resources Director Priya Agarwal said: “Project Nand Ghar is committed towards PM’s vision of a malnourishment-free India. It is our chairman’s dream to see no child goes to bed hungry. This partnership with the Government of Uttar Pradesh will strengthen our commitment to combat malnourishment among children and ensure a healthy future for them.”

      The District Magistrate of Varanasi, Kaushal Raj Sharma said: “Malnourishment suppresses the development and growth of children. Our primary focus is to provide the necessary nourishment to the children so that they get the opportunity to grow to their full potential. With this partnership we shall ensure proper nourishment for the holistic development of the children, hence the nation.”

      Currently, there are 950 Nand Ghars in the state of Uttar Pradesh, directly impacting the lives of 40,000 children and 30,000 women.

  • Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India kickstarts week-long national environment campaign

    Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India kickstarts week-long national environment campaign

    As part of this campaign, the company will undertake plantation of over 44,000 saplings across its dealerships and office premises in India along with other activities.

    Reaffirming the need for sustainable existence in harmony with nature through transformative on-ground changes, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI)on Sunday on the occasion of World Environment Day kickstarted its week-long National Environment Campaign.

      The campaign, which will end on June 11, was kicked off by the company’s Managing Director, President and CEO Atsushi Ogata with a tree-plantation ceremony organised at Future Honda, Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) dealership.

      Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, Ogata said Honda aims for a circular society to achieve zero environmental impact by year 2050. In this direction, the company’s three key pillars of carbon neutrality, clean energy and resource circulation will enable Honda’s vision to realize carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities Honda is involved in by 2050.

      “Therefore, reinforcing these goals each year through our week-long sensitization campaign, we come together to strengthen our commitment towards conservation of our one & only – Mother Earth,” he added.

      Takeshi Kobayashi, Director, Sales & Marketing and other senior officials were present at the event.

      As part of this campaign, the company will undertake plantation of over 44000 saplings across its dealerships and office premises in India along with other activities.

      Also, during the week free of cost PUC check-ups will be conducted in collaboration with Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) for all the customers visiting HMSI authorized dealership network, among other activities.

      With an aim to bring a holistic understanding on environment protection, Honda will engage customer groups & personnel at over 6000 dealership network including HMSI associates at all its office locations and manufacturing plants in Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan) Narsapura (Karnataka) and Vithalapur (Gujarat).

      The week-long national campaign is a synergy between UNEP’s 2022 global theme of ‘Only One Earth’ and ‘Honda’s vision to realize carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities Honda is involved in by 2050.’

      To promote a greener cover around their surroundings, customers visiting the dealerships will be gifted free plant saplings as well. Additionally, as part of HMSI’s responsibility to support our business partners in reducing their environmental footprint, the concept of Green Factory, Green Dealer and Green Supplier aims for a Cleaner, Greener and Brighter outlook.

      Further instilling awareness to reinforce the campaign’s message during the environment week celebration, dealership personnel will sensitize the customers via awareness dockets for greener practices to all the customers.

  • Nicktoons Motu & Patlu join UN Earth Champion Afroz Shah for Mumbai beach clean-up

    Nicktoons Motu & Patlu join UN Earth Champion Afroz Shah for Mumbai beach clean-up

    This initiative aims to sensitise children about littering in public spaces, including beaches, and the impact of plastic usage on environment and marine life.

    On World Environment Day, Nicktoons Motu Patlu teamed up with Afroz Shah, UNEP Champion of the Earth for a beach cleanup at Versova Beach as part of its ongoing campaign, #OnlyOneEarth with the United Nations in India.

      The programme aims to raise awareness on ways individual action can help protect our planet and its ecosystems. The beach cleaning programme, organised by the Afroz Shah Foundation, saw volunteers across age groups collect waste from Versova beach to prevent litter from reaching our oceans and harming marine animals.

      The volunteer effort gave young people and children a chance to demonstrate their love and care for the planet Earth, its environment and biodiversity, including oceans and its life, the UN body said in a statement.

      Commenting on the participation from Motu & Patlu, Afroz Shah said, “It is important to remember that there is no Planet B, and therefore we must protect the one we have for the future. It’s time we look at our actions and adopt sustainable practices to reduce our carbon footprint. I truly believe children are critical agents of change and can make a difference through everyday actions. And encouragement from their favourite Nickelodeon characters will only inspire them to be the change leaders they are!”

      Nickelodeon has consistently strived to instill positive behavioral change amongst children and in shaping their values by leveraging the influence of Nicktoons among kids. This initiative also aims to sensitise children about littering in public spaces, including beaches, and the impact of plastic usage on environment and marine life.

     Afroz Shah, the founder of the Afroz Shah Foundation, is a UNEP Champion of the Earth and a young change-maker reclaiming beaches, oceans, rivers, and mangroves from trash and apathy.

  • IndiGo takes innovative step to reduce water concumption in flights

    IndiGo takes innovative step to reduce water concumption in flights

    IndiGo has successfully conducted trials with a new water faucet in 200 flights which reduced water consumption by 5.4 litres per hour.

    Leading carrier IndiGo on Sunday said it has successfully conducted trials with a new water faucet in 200 flights which reduced water consumption by 5.4 litres per hour.

      “For an average length 138 min flight (as per our trials conducted onboard), we saved 12.42 Ltr of water per flight,” the company said in a statement.

      IndiGo currently operates 1500 daily flights with an average flight duration of 98 minutes. This new installation will reduce water consumption by 8.82 litres per flight, enabling overall water savings of 13230 litres per day.

      The airline is implementing innovative measures to reduce water and fuel consumption on flights on the occasion of world environment day.

      According to IndiGo, this modification will also solve the challenge of water quantity in long flights. The reduced need for uplifting water in shorter flights will also contribute to fuel savings during operations, reducing carbon emissions by 930.75 Kg CO2/m3 per year.

      The airline has been working towards an integrated sustainable approach which can help them with day- to- day operations. IndiGo will be the first airline globally to make these changes for water conservation on board the aircraft.

      IndiGo President and Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said, “As a leading airline, we have a special responsibility towards the environment and ESG is therefore one of our top corporate goals. We are in the process of institutionalising a sustainable approach to operations over the last few years, where-in sustainability is being integrated with day-to-day operations.”

      “With this new initiative, we to conserve water and significantly reduce carbon emissions through fuel savings. These consistent initiatives will contribute to a healthy ecosystem for our future generations,” he added.

      Recently, IndiGo published its first ESG Report, IndiGo Green, to share company’s outlook towards good governance and an overview of the environmental and social performance.

      The airline has already registered a reduction of 1,478,359 tonnes of carbon emissions from 2014-15 to 2020-21 fiscal years. In 2022-23, the airline aims to reduce CO2 emission by 18% per ASK when compared to 2015-16, the statement added.

  • IIFL Foundation launches Rajasthan’s first agri drone

    IIFL Foundation launches Rajasthan’s first agri drone

    This is IIFL Foundation’s second drone initiative after the successful launch of Maharashtra’s first drone-based last mile vaccine delivery in Palghar district.

    IIFL Foundation has launched an agricultural drone at Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology (MPUAT), Rajasthan in order to boost research work.

      “This is also one of India’s first agricultural drone initiatives by a CSR foundation,” the IIFL Foundation claimed in a statement.

      The custom built agricultural drone has been given to MPUAT for research and educational purpose, it said.

      The custom made 2 meter wide, battery powered drone can spray over an area of 1 acre in less than 3 minutes. An android phone is mounted to its wireless remote that allows easy navigation. The structure comprises of 6 arms, 6 propellers and 4 spraying nozzles which can easily cover large farm areas in few hours that takes a day or 2 for manual spraying, it said.

      The drone was launched by MPAUT Vice Chancellor Narendra Singh Rathod, IIFL Foundation Director Madhu Jain, RNT Medical College (Udaipur) Principal Lakhan Poswal, at the instructional farm in MPUAT’s campus, Udaipur, in presence of Farmers.

      MPUAT Vice Chancellor said, “We are highly grateful to IIFL Foundation for choosing our University to grant such an innovation. Of all the technological innovations that have been made in agriculture, drone based services is definitely the next best step.”

      Currently, the drone will be used to spray insecticides, pesticides and other liquid based supplementary nutrition to the crops. In coming time we shall certainly enhance the technology with research and contribution of our students, he said.

      IIFL Foundation Director Madhu Jain said the agricultural drone is an innovation that shall allow farmers to save time spent on manual spraying, avoid over exertion in the extreme hot climate & also safeguard them against any illness arising out from over-exposure to pesticides and insecticides.

      This is IIFL Foundation’s second drone initiative after the successful launch of Maharashtra’s first drone-based last mile vaccine delivery in Palghar district. The project was done in partnership with Ministry of Health and Government of Maharashtra. It became India’s first such innovation with a payload capacity of 5 kg and operating within a radius of 25 km, delivering life saving vaccines at the earliest.

  • UP Deputy CM launches HCL Samuday crafts by rural women artisans for sale on Flipkart

    UP Deputy CM launches HCL Samuday crafts by rural women artisans for sale on Flipkart

    The Foundation unveils Samuday Crafts – a range of handmade products by rural women artisans on the e-commerce platform. All products will be available on the Flipkart website: https://bit.ly/3lBtUea

    Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Saturday unveiled ‘Samuday Crafts’, a range of handmade products made by 500 rural women artisans under a CSR initiative by HCL Foundation in partnership with Flipkart Samarth.

      During the event, an exclusive range of home decor products namely ‘Alankaar’ was also launched. All products will be available on the Flipkart website: https://bit.ly/3lBtUea.

      Samuday Crafts enables rural artisans to produce and sell products in the categories of home décor, lifestyle, and apparel.

      It offers a range of crafts like Taat embroidery, natural fiber-based crafts (Moonj, Kans, and Wheat Grass), hand embroidery (chikankari), block-printing, and tie and dye.

      The price range of these products starts from Rs 200 and goes up to Rs 3,500.

      “HCL Foundation’s partnership with Flipkart will further help rural women artisans to reach a much wider audience through their handicrafts. I would like to congratulate them for this initiative,” Maurya, who is also UP Rural Development Minister, said on the occasion.

      The state government has always supported handicrafts and “we are committed to support replication of such cluster development models in other parts of the state,” he said.

      The UP Deputy CM further said that the Uttar Pradesh government is working in collaboration with HCL Foundation in 11 blocks of the Hardoi district in six areas of rural development including health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation, infrastructure and livelihood.

      Through the livelihood intervention, over 22000 rural women have been able to strengthen the financial condition of their family, he added.

      HCL Foundation under its flagship program HCL Samuday, has partnered with Flipkart Samarth to provide livelihood opportunities to rural women in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh by reviving existing crafts and skilling through training programs. As part of this initiative, HCL Samuday unveiled Samuday Crafts.

      Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Rural Development Vijay Laxmi Gautam, Agriculture Production Commissioner Additional Chief Secretary in Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Manoj Kumar Singh as well as HCL Foundation Project Director Alok Varma and Flipkart Group Director – Government affairs Tushar Mukherjee were also present on the occasion.

      HCL Foundation Project Director Alok Varma said the handicraft sector provides an opportunity to create an alternate source of income for rural women, skilled in making traditional handicraft products.

      Since 2015, as part of its livelihood interventions, HCL Samuday has supported 22,000 women with a range of livelihood opportunities. While close to 2,000 women artisans have benefitted from additional income through our efforts, we realized that the potential could be much higher if we are able to connect them directly to the consumers.

      “Our partnership with Flipkart Samarth is a step in this direction and can be truly transformational for these artisans. This association will help showcase the ingenuity of skilled artisans on a global platform, resulting in increased acknowledgment and remuneration.

      “We expect that the partnership will help artisans to make sales of around Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per month directly,” he said.

      Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, said Flipkart’s Samarth initiative was launched in 2019 to support under-served communities, artisans, weavers and craftsmen and provide them access to a national market, using the power of e-commerce.

      “Through this initiative, we have been able to support millions of livelihoods engaged with this program across the country. Under this partnership with HCL Samuday, we are committed to extending the opportunities of the digital economy to these talented women artisans, support their financial independence and build visibility for their local crafts,” he said.

      Working together as a group since 2017, these rural women artisans have been enabled to generate revenue of Rs 3.5 Cr in the last five years, helping them individually earn an average income of Rs 2500 to Rs. 3000 per month. This additional income is empowering the rural women in the district with a sense of financial security while helping them become earning members of the household.

      This is a comprehensive livelihood upliftment initiative where women are empowered, not only through skill development on handicrafts but also on financial literacy, design and marketing linkages. They also benefit from health initiatives under HCL Samuday, thus leading to holistic transformation.

      To ensure that rural women refine their craft-making skills, HCL Foundation, over the years, has partnered with Craftizens, Kadam, and Rang Sutra to provide skill training to artisans in multiple crafts. Artisans have also been supported to showcase their work in various exhibitions such as Dastakar, Delhi Haat, Jaipur Lifestyles Festivals, and Heritage, etc.

  • Learning to ride safe on the Honda way

    Learning to ride safe on the Honda way

    With this campaign, Honda aims to make children safety ambassadors of tomorrow and help adults understand the importance of using the roads safely.

    Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) has targeted schools in India to spread its National Road Safety Awareness Campaign and the need for road safety awareness among citizens.

      A three-day camp was held at the Radha Krishna Public School in Ghaziabad, where over 2100 school students and staff members learnt about safe riding practices.

      Speaking on HMSI’s commitment to sensitising India on road safety, Prabhu Nagaraj, Operating Officer – Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd., said, “Road safety education is education essential for developing a road safety mindset. Continuing to strengthen further our commitment to building a safer India on roads, we have resumed our on-ground road safety training – National Road Safety Awareness Campaign”.

      He said that with this campaign, Honda aims to make children safety ambassadors of tomorrow and help adults understand the importance of using the roads safely.

      “Honda will strive for zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050”, a company statement has announced.

      Fulfilling its corporate social responsibility (CSR), HMSI has promoted road safety in India since its start in 2001. Today, working towards realising Honda’s global safety vision, HMSI’s road safety awareness initiative has already spread to over 45 lac Indians. It’s skilled safety instructors conduct daily programmes at its ten adopted traffic parks across India and 7 Safety Driving Education Centers (SDEC).

      HMSI’s proprietary virtual riding simulator increases the risk-prediction ability of riders. At the same time, new customers to are given predelivery safety advice (PDSA) before they start riding at every dealership across India.

  • Quess partners with SMC to rid menstruation taboo

    Quess partners with SMC to rid menstruation taboo

    This collaboration is a step toward impacting the female workforce participation within Quess, enabling awareness of sustainable products as well as facilitating a safe and hygienic work environment for all gendered employees and their families.

    Quess Corp, India’s leading business service provider, has entered into a corporate partnership with Sustainable Menstruation Coalition (SMC), a global coalition aiming to eradicate period poverty.

      The partnership aims to positively impact over 400,000 plus Quess associates, 3000 plus corporate clients, 7000 plus core employees, and two million plus employee family ecosystem through company-wide menstruation awareness campaigns encouraging behavioural change and education on a wide scale.

      The Sustainable Menstruation Coalition is a strategic alliance of companies and NGOs that uses innovative financing and on-ground activation to empower menstruators to choose sustainable menstrual hygiene products that benefit their health and wellbeing. Through this collaboration, Quess Corp and SMC will together tackle workplace stigma and taboos and promote sustainable menstruation practices among the workforce and their larger ecosystems to impact health, sustainability goals, and gender parity at the workplace.

      Quess aims to become a Period Victory workplace which provides access to sustainable menstruation products and celebrates dignified menstruation free of shame or stigma. This collaboration is a step toward impacting the female workforce participation within Quess, enabling awareness of sustainable products as well as facilitating a safe and hygienic work environment for all gendered employees and their families. Further, this partnership extends to schools and educational institutes as part of Quess Corp’s CSR arm, Careworks Foundation (CWF).

      Lohit Bhatia, President of Workforce Management, Quess Corp, spoke on the partnership and said, “We believe that social security can only be achieved through formal employment. This is what workers of all classes need, including women. One of the biggest deterrents for women entering the workforce is the discontinuation of education when they hit puberty due to a lack of toilets in public schools or access to hygienic menstruation products.

      Something as natural as periods cannot put a girl child’s access to education and future employment at risk. We are confident that through this partnership, we should be able to make a difference in the lives of several little girls who aspire for a financially secure future.”

      Reports maintain that 64% of Indian women do not have access to menstrual hygiene products, while 23 million Indian girls drop out of school annually after they start their period. It is also estimated that women in India miss 50 days of work a year due to their menstrual cycles. The scale of unawareness and lack of access to hygienic health accessories contributes to the low participation of women in the workforce as these factor into the education of girls and, consequently, the employment of women in the workforce.

      “Even in our workforce, we have been striving to improve women’s participation and seeing a quarter-on-quarter increase in their enrolment. To continue this momentum till it reaches the desired level, steps like creating awareness and giving access to hygienic menstruation products will go a long way”, added Bhatia.

      The Sustainable Menstruation Coalition (SMC) aims to empower menstruators in India to gain awareness of menstrual hygiene practices by adopting sustainable menstruation products. The coalition intends to positively impact the reduction of waste and greenhouse gas emissions to provide sustainable menstrual products to 100 million menstruators across India by 2030.

      Imran Wali Ahmad, Managing Director, TrueFootprint & Founding Member, SMC, added, “As the non-profit Project Drawdown highlights, one of the most impactful solutions for climate change lies in girls’ education; one of the biggest barriers identified is poor menstrual hygiene practices. We are hopeful that with the support of like-minded institutions like Quess, we should be able to reach our common goal of providing sustainable menstrual products to 100 million women and girls across India in the next seven years, in alignment with the UN’s 2030 SDG targets.”

      As part of the initiative, SMC has actioned a baseline survey with female employees at Quess to understand their comfort level, menstrual knowledge, and access to period products. An awareness program specialised in the survey findings will be undertaken to sensitise menstruators about period hygiene and introduce them to sustainable/alternate products.

      All genders of the workforce will be a part of this program to encourage continuous learning of the menstrual landscape and normalise the phenomenon. Further, knowledge dissemination through sensitisation seminars, workshops, and donation campaigns will also be undertaken to aid menstruators outside the company.