BY Rusen Kumar
NEW DELHI (India CSR): ACC Limited, synonymous with cement in India for the past 85 years, has spent a whopping amount of Rs. 35.95 crores as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) for the period between January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021.
ACC’s total CSR expenditure during the year has amounted to Rs. 35.95 Crore. This was 2.03% of the average net profit of the last three (3) years, its annual report said.
Its Community development projects benefitted over 5 Lakh people in more than 150 villages and nine (9) municipal areas across the country.
ACC conducted its social development interventions through the ACC TRUST.
The usual community development programmes were continued with vigour during the year, which also saw a widening of the scope of these projects.
This year, special focus was given to sustainable livelihood, malnutrition mitigation, water conservation and combating the COVID-19 pandemic situation along with initiatives on the regular CSR thematic areas of Sustainable Livelihood, Quality of Education and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Health‑Hygiene).
These programmes are following Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, and are in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The sustainable livelihood (DISHA) initiative benefitted more than 44,000 lives, including youth, women and farmers.
ACC’s agriculture-related initiatives have helped 5,470 farmers to reduce input costs and increase agricultural production.
1,643 youths were provided with skill enhancement training and made employable. Women Self-help Groups (SHGs) were created, which provided continued guidance and bank linkages. 16,000 women have been associated with 1,529 SHGs and 4,497 SHG members were provided microenterprise development training during the year.
Education initiatives around the Company’s plants reached 25,000 students in 2021. Digital education, smart classes and interactive kiosks, learning aided the students to learn in a better way. More than 1,200 Vidyasarathi scholarships were provided to students for higher education.
ACC supports seven (7) government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) under the public-private partnership scheme with the Government of India.
WASH initiatives addressed community requirements for safe drinking water and better health through malnutrition eradication, health camps and waste management in collaboration with municipal bodies.
57 water conservation structures were created in villages across plant locations to conserve water and ensure its availability during lean periods for irrigation and drinking.
The Company also helped recharge defunct borewells, dry wells and in-situ moisture conservation, which increases farm yields.
ACC’s initiatives to eradicate malnutrition helped more than 20,000 children and provided them access to better health and nutrition through 330 Anganwadi centres supported by the Company. General and special health camps benefited about 10,000 community members.
Through the ART Centre, the Company provided valuable support to more than 900 patients through OPD counselling, testing and treatment for HIV/ AIDS; 1,000 truck drivers benefited through the health.
The CSR & Sustainability Committee is split into two (2) separate Committees i.e. CSR Committee and Sustainability Committee with effect from
January 1, 2022.
The CSR Committee comprises of four (4) members of which two (2) are Independent Directors. The Committee is chaired by Shailesh Haribhakti (Independent Director).During the year under review, the other members of the Committee were Ms Falguni Nayar (Independent Director), Neeraj Akhoury (Non-Executive Director) and Sridhar Balakrishnan (MD & CEO).
The Committee met thrice (3) during the reporting period. In compliance with Section 135 of the Act read with the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 as amended, the Company has set up CSR Committee and statutory disclosures with respect to the CSR Committee and an Annual Report on CSR Activities.
The CSR Committee has decided not to accept any sitting fees and pursuant thereto, no sitting fees are paid to the Members of the CSR Committee for attending CSR Committee Meetings.
The Company spent an amount of Rs. 35.95 Crore on development projects as mentioned below:
Sl. No. – Focus Areas Expenditure – (in Crore)
- ACC DISHA: for youth employability 3.47
- ACC Swavlamban: focusing on women empowerment and livelihood 2.27
- ACC LEISA: for farmer’s livelihood – Low External Input for Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) 4.56
- ACC Vidya Utkarsh: quality of education in government schools 4.49
- ACC Vidya Saarathi: student scholarships 1.81
- ACC Arogyam: preventive, promotive and curative healthcare 12.19
- ACC Sampoorna Swachhata: towards open defecation free villages 3.10
- ACC Sanrakshit Paryavaran: solar, biodiversity and soil and water conservation 1.41
- ACC Drona: to promote rural sports and traditional Indian culture 0.95
- Impact Assessment 0.14
- Overheads 1.56
Total 35.95
CSR in India
In India, Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 (‘Act’) mandates every company have a net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more, or a turnover of Rs. 1000 crore or more, or net profit of Rs. 5 crores or more during the immediately preceding financial year to undertake Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
CSR of Indian companies is not limited to philanthropy but encompasses holistic community development, institution-building and sustainability-related initiatives. The company’s CSR Policy aims to provide a dedicated approach to community development in the areas of water conservation, health and hygiene, skill development, education, social advancement, gender equality, empowerment of women, ensuring environmental sustainability and rural development projects.
Companies are required to deliver long-term sustainable growth while driving change on urgent issues like climate and nature, social inequality, and health and wellbeing. India needs to bridge the divide to a fairer, more socially inclusive world. A India where we all live with, rather than at the expense of, nature and the environment.
Also Read: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Hindustan Unilever spends Rs. 143 Crore on social development
Also Read: Hindustan Unilever spends 2.04% on CSR – India CSR Network
