VAPI: UPL Limited has been conferred with the prestigious India CSR Innovative Project of the Year [Large Impact] – Environment – UPL Social Forestry. The award was received by UPL Ltd at the CSR Community Initiative Awards 2018 during the India CSR Leadership Summit held at New Delhi on April 27, 2018.
On behalf of UPL Ltd, the award was received by Rishi Pathania, Head – CSR and Natha Dodia, Manager – CSR from Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, Author, Thinker, Secretary General, Indian Steel Association and Former DG & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and Rusen Kumar, Founder and Managing Editor of India CSR Network.
UPL Ltd was recognised for its unique CSR Project – UPL Social Forestry par excellence that is improving the local ecology, conserving the environment and improve quality of life of surrounding populace, who have close economic and cultural links with nature.
UPL Social Forestry is part of Nature conservation initiative at UPL Ltd called as UPL Vasudha which means the Mother Earth, the giver of wealth. UPL Social Forestry aims at conserving environment and improving quality of life of flora and fauna. Under UPL Social Forestry, the community and other stakeholders are partnered to create forest in village common land, government land and Panchayat land.
Project aims at raising forest and thereby creating bio-diversity sites close to community. Social Forestry also formally recognizes the local communities’ rights to forest resources and encourages community participation in the management and ownership of natural resources.
The UPL Social Forestry is an innovative and first of its kind socio-environmental CSR project in India. Under the project a total 71,351 plants were planted and is being properly maintained at different community sites which covers 163.73 acres of community land. UPL also planted 1,20,000 Mangrove plants spread across 60 acres of land in the coastal belt in Vagra block. Innovatively, UPL adopted different participatory approach to execute the UPL Social Forestry that has led to sustain the plantation and project.
This annual CSR forum provides a unique opportunity to the leaders and organizations with their operations in India, to talk and showcase the work being carried out in CSR domain and how it forms an integral part of the company’s contribution to society. The Summit is designed to celebrate five years of CSR Law of India and with the deep belief that business responsibility has immense potential to transform the society.
