India CSR News Network
MUMBAI: Real Estate sector is evolving on a large scale, rapid urbanization in the cities and outskirts has validated a space for all the players to lead the way, and has widened the scope of social responsibility across the sector.
The concept of corporate social responsibility aims to examine the role of business in society, and to maximize the positive societal outcomes of business activity. Businesses not only need to fulfil their economic obligations, but also have to be socially responsible to stay competitive.
Tata Housing has been the key proponent of green initiatives and has pioneered sustainable green developments at a time when such a concept did not exist. As a responsible corporate citizen, all projects of Tata Housing are sustainable green developments under the guidelines of Indian Green Building Council. All the initiatives undertaken by the company are based on the three key pillars of innovation, sustainability and quality.
The Company has adopted policies and management systems focusing on the carbon abatement, natural resource conservation, water use efficiency in construction, waste reduction and energy efficiency. The Company believes in adopting latest eco-friendly technologies in construction and aims to be water positive and carbon neutral by 2017-18. Company has mapped the social and business challenges and created a space for CSR intervention.
Tata Housing spent more than 3% of its average net profit on CSR initiatives. Skill development, Education, Sanitation, Water and Bio-diversity conservation are its focused CSR intervention areas. The company closely engages with communities around the company’s project sites, focusing on Affirmative Action for SC and STs, Vocational Skill Development in construction related trades, Educational Development, Environmental Sustainability and Community Infrastructure Development.
In 2012, the company launched Samarth’ initiative in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of skilling the youth in India and till date has provided skill development training to a total of 10,000 youth by the end of 2014-15 and aims to train 100,000 socio-economically backward youth across the nation by 2024. Tata Housing has recently provided training in Painting (construction related) to 30 differently-abled youth and all the 30 have received employment in the industry, it targets to train at least 100 such youth every year in construction related Painting trades.
Key CSR initiatives of the company include:
- Development of SCs and STs: TAAP-Tata Affirmative Action Programme
- Educational Development: SRIJAN-Enlightening minds, empowering masses
- Skill development: SAMARTH-Enhancing employability, enabling people
- Infrastructure, Community Care Initiatives: SPARSH-Enriching lives, expanding avenues
- Toilets & Sanitation: SWACHH-Clean Toilets, Green Homes
- Employee Volunteering:-Synergizers-Supporting Communities, Spreading Smiles
- Environmental initiatives: BiG-Beautiful is Green
TAAP-Tata Affirmative Action Programme: Under TAAP, the company is trying to ensure all round development of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities of India under different initiatives aligned with Employment, Education, Employability and Entrepreneurship. As a matter of policy, the company positively discriminates against SC/ST candidates and all other things being equal gives preference to SC/ST candidates in employment. As regards education, like earlier years, during the year 2012-13 too, 2 high value scholarships of Rs 70 thousand each were provided to SC/ST students for higher technical education through Foundation for Academic Excellence and Access.
1021 scheduled caste (SC) and 1599 scheduled tribe (ST) students were benefited directly or indirectly through our various interventions in 34 schools across India. 500 SC/ST candidates were provided skill development training in various constructions related and vocational trades during the year 2012-13. More than half of them have already been gainfully employed/started their enterprises/income level enhanced. At least one SC entrepreneur has done business worth more than Rs 10 million with the Company during the year 2012-13. Tata Housing has been providing entrepreneurship development training to potential youths in partnership with Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad too.
SRIJAN-Enlightening minds, empowering masses: Tata Housing impart remedial coaching, provide supplementary tutorials, enhance educational infrastructures, up-grade school buildings, create recreational facilities in schools and provide necessary reading & writing materials to needy students. They also provide scholarships to students in need. They are careful that children at the construction sites get the right type of opportunity and environment for studying. We believe that good Health and Education plays a major role in empowering people. Our educational development programmes at our construction sites or in the extended key communities ensures holistic development of the students with focus on the creation of a more evolved and nurturing environment. We achieve this by providing support and concentrating on areas like hygiene, sanitation, medical aid, and food, wherever required, so that learning becomes truly an enriching experience. Our educational initiatives has been branded as SRIJAN for greater visibility among the stakeholders. Under SRIJAN the Company has touched more than 6400 students (including 2620 SC/ST candidates) in 34 schools across India.
SAMARTH-Enhancing employability, enabling people: Tata Housing has been providing people with employability skill development training and entrepreneurship development training in partnership with various non-government organizations (NGOs), government institutions and professional bodies. The company understands that training is just a means to create sustainable livelihood, and in this regard we just not train, but monitor, motivate and handhold to ensure that people get actual employment-self-employed or wage employed.
SPARSH-Enriching lives, expanding avenues: Under SPARSH, Tata Housing undertakes several community infrastructure projects across India. During the year 2013-14 alone it has undertaken 20 such community projects. In one such partnership with UMEED child development centre, it has been able to address issues concerning developmental disabilities among 10 thousand children indirectly. Helping Odisha cyclone victims, Uttarakhand victims, Solar Street Lights for people, development of roads, ponds and community halls etc are other examples of sparsh intervention.
SWACHH-Clean Toilets, Green Homes: Under SWACHH, the neighbourhood sanitation initiatives, Tata Housing has been driving behavioural changes concerning toilets and sanitation, among the communities across India. As a part of this initiative, it has created awareness among thousands of people and has constructed, free of cost, 3 hundred toilets in 2013-14 at homes of poor people, who cannot afford toilets at homes.
Synergizers-Supporting Communities, Spreading Smiles: Tata Housing has a great tradition of employee volunteering in socially useful activities. The Company encourages its employees to get involved in volunteering activities and the employee volunteering programme of the Company has been branded as synergizers. This is a platform where the employees join hands and participate in socially useful volunteering events.
Beautiful Is Green (BIG) : Tata Housing unveiled its Green CSR Campaign Beautiful Is Green (BIG) in November last year, which was an extremely engaging initiative. Over 1000 people pledged to live a greener tomorrow. People who sign their green mantra and resolution on a large board, along with purchase saplings at the event. The Company is committed to environment excellence across its value chain. In addition to minimizing & mitigating value chain impact on environment, it also strives to rejuvenate the environment by bio-diversity conservation across the geographies of India. It minimizes the environmental impact of its operations by adopting sustainable construction practices and creating climate change awareness among all its stakeholders.
(Based on information provided by the Tata Housing)
Twitter handle: @TataCompanies
