IndiaCSR News Network
“CSR is not a practice but a tradition in the Tata group and is embedded in our corporate DNA. It is the group’s business approach that creates long-term stakeholder value by balancing economic, environmental and social factors.”- Dr. Mukund Rajan, Member – Group Executive Council and Brand Custodian, Tata Sons
BANGALORE: Tata companies spent Rs. 660 Crores in 2013-14 in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities,which include a wide range of programmes in skills development, livelihoods, education, health and nutrition, bio-diversity and disaster relief.
Commenting on the Tata companies’ CSR spend, Dr. Mukund Rajan, Member – Group Executive Council and Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, said, “CSR is not a practice but a tradition in the Tata group and is embedded in our corporate DNA. It is the group’s business approach that creates long-term stakeholder value by balancing economic, environmental and social factors.” Dr. Rajan,further added, “In the last three years, we have been spending at an average of Rs. 1000 crores per annum between the Tata trusts and our companies. The specific figure for 2013-14 for the Tata companies is Rs.660 crores. In the last decade, our spend on CSR activities, between the Tata trusts and the Tata companies, has been in excess of Rs. 8000 crores.”
While each Tata company implements its own CSR programme, Tata Sons has recently established the Tata Sustainability Group (TSG). TheTSG will guide, support, and provide thought leadership to all Tata companies in embedding sustainability in their business strategies. TSG has also focused on volunteering programmes for Tata companies. The pool of Tata volunteers at present comprises 25,000 employees in 150companies, across 60 countries and 540 locations.
66 percent of the equity of Tata Sons, the promoter holding company, is held by Tata trusts, thereby returning wealth to the society, in keeping with Jamsetji Tata’s belief: In a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder in business, but is in fact the very purpose of its existence.
The Tata group’s core purpose is to improve the quality of life of the communities it serves globally, through long-term stakeholder value creation. Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata group is a global enterprise headquartered in India, and comprises over 100 operating companies in seven business sectors: communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. Tata companies have operations in more than 100 countries across six continents, and export products and services to over 150 countries. The revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $96.79 billion (around Rs527,047 crore) in 2012-13, with 62.7 percent of this coming from businesses outside India. Tata companies employ over 540,000 people worldwide. Good corporate citizenship is part of the Tata group’s DNA. Sixty-six percent of the equity of Tata Sons, the promoter holding company, is held by philanthropic trusts, thereby returning wealth to society. As a result of this
unique ownership structure and ethos of serving the community, the Tata name has been respected for more than 140 years and is trusted for its adherence to strong values and business ethics.Each Tata company or enterprise operates independently and has its own board of directors and shareholders, to whom it is answerable. There are 32 publicly-listed Tata enterprises and they have a combined market capitalisation of about $129.62 billion (as on July 10, 2014), and a shareholder base of 3.9 million. Tata companies with significant scale include Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Teleservices, Titan, Tata Communications and Indian Hotels.
