Mandatory CSR has come a long way since its inception in India almost a decade ago. It has evolved from isolated donations to charities to a potential catalyst for social transformation and economic empowerment through well researched and scientifically designed interventions. A wonderful example of such an intervention is Cleantech Solar’s rural project in Beed, Maharashtra. When the company set up its 30MWp plant at Beed in August 2021, it was keen to undertake community development activities. Based on their detailed consultations with local communities and partnership with Maharashtra based NGO Dilasa, the project was launched in December 2021.
Dilasa’s impact assessment after one year revealed impressive results that include rejuvenation of a 7km long local stream; fodder cultivation on forest areas and wasteland directly benefitting 100 farmers; promotion of hoticulture by grafting of 7400 saplings; seedling distribution for kitchen gardening to 200 women which ensured proper nutrition and even extra income for a few; provision of 100 female and 10 male goats to women of selected villages; establishment of two community centres one of which promotes micro entrepreneurship activities including bee keeping, goat rearing, modern agricultural techniques, etc.
In this interview with TheCSRUniverse, Ms Savitha Ram Mohan, Environment & Social Manager – India & Southeast Asia, Cleantech Solar discusses the success of this project, the various steps of planning and implementation, their partnership with Dilasa, the key learnings and how they align their social commitments with their overall vision for the future.
Q. Congratulations on the success of Cleantech Solar’s CSR initiatives in Beed, Maharashtra. What was the motivation to take up a large-scale project in the very first year of starting operations in the district?
A. Cleantech Solar is fully committed to achieving the highest standards of Health, Safety, Security, Environment (HSSE) and Social Performance (SP) as an integral part of our business. As a part of its commitment to sustainability, the company endeavours to support community projects with an aim tomake a positive contribution to society and has thus been undertaking various CSR initiatives since 2020. The CSR project undertaken in Beed, Maharashtra, located near Cleantech Solar’s solar project is an example of such an initiative. This is also aligned with our sustainability development goal related to Clean Water and Sanitation (UN SDG 6) as well as Gender Equality(UN SDG 5).
Q. Building trust with local communities is crucial to the success of any development initiative. Could you elaborate on how the community consultations were initiated and how did you maintain a constructive dialogue as the project progressed?
A. Community consultations were initiated early on during the Environment and Social Impact Assessment process for the open access solar project at Beed, Maharashtra and further during the stakeholder engagement plan preparation process, which happened almost eight months before the CSR project commenced. The consultation process involved interaction with various relevant stakeholders including the local villagers, non-profit organisations, government officials and landowners. Feedback from the mentioned consultations acted as a critical input towards identifying and defining the subject of the CSR program.
Further, we provided employment to some of the villagers as security guards at our Beed site, which created livelihood opportunities for the villagers. This created a certain degree of trust, but it was Dilasa’s intervention and hand-holding support extended to women and men of local villages that established a deeper connect. Moreover, as the CSR project implementation commenced, the communities were kept informed at each stage and their feedback was taken. As they started witnessing the benefits trickle in gradually, they realised that Cleantech Solar had created a significant positive impact on their livelihoods and therefore lives, establishing trust in the company’s intentions and efforts.
Q. What factors led you to bring Dilasa on board as your implementation partner? Do you have certain parameters or procedures that are followed to finalise your partners?
A. Dilasa was identified as our implementation partner after a multi-stage selection process of local NGOs that was approved by our investors. Dilasa was selected as it had already created a deep impact in other parts of Maharashtra, had a strong connect with local communities and had a thorough understanding of the scientific and technological issues around rainwater-based groundwater recharging techniques and management, in addition to meeting our UN SDG and Environment and Social Management System (ESMS) requirements.
Cleantech Solar has clearly defined procedures and processes for all business activities as outlined in our ESMS document. We undertake projects and partner with agencies that are aligned with our UN SDG commitments and our ESMS Framework.
Q. What led you to broaden the scope of this project and include aspects of social welfare and assistance for livelihood?
A. The original scope included provision of water for drought-prone villages, accompanied by livelihood development measures as well as empowerment of local women. Therefore, there was no broadening of scope.
Q. What was the budget for implementing the overall program? Do you have plans to replicate this model around other sites of operation?
A. The budget for the program was arrived at based on the project objectives as well as the desired outcome in line with our CSR commitment and supporting strategy.We would consider replicating this model for similar needs and opportunities during identification of potential CSR initiatives in the future given the success and the positive impact created by this project.
Q. What were the key points of learning from this project that you would like to share with other organizations who intend to do similar work?
A. Some of the key learnings from this project have been:
- Identifying the right non-profit as the implementation partner is critical for project success as they need to have a thorough understanding of the tasks, have the ability to implement them efficiently, adhere to timelines and ensure accountability
- Understanding that CSR programs need to involve local communities as co-owners of the program rather than just beneficiaries and engage with them early on, from the program design phase through the implementation phase. The community-led development approach was helpful as they took ownership of the project and felt accountable for achieving results in the activities and livelihood support given to them
- Identifying the most critical need of the community and enabling access to the same has a deeper impact than funding non-essential activities. In this program, we identified water as the most important requirement and focused on the same
- Setting up clear targets and in-process outcome measurement indicators is essential to track program performance for costs and timeline.
Q. How do such initiatives align with your overall goals as a business organisation?
A. Such initiatives are identified after gathering a good understanding of the social environment around our projects and assets. This helps us recognise the issues our stakeholders face or the benefits they can reap from such initiatives. Managing these issues and benefits effectively ensures that the communities we operate in trust us and help achieve our business goals besides creating a positive perception in the eyes of the stakeholders.
Q. Your work involves providing clean energy solutions to corporates. To what extent do your CSR initiatives enrich your value proposition to potential clients?
A. We endeavour to choose CSR initiatives to maintain relationships with stakeholders to unlock growth opportunities for the business and create a positive legacy for society. The intent is to understand the needs of society. In general, we have seen such initiatives leading to respectful engagement with all those involved including the neighboring community and the client. These initiatives also help us ensure that we attract clients who are like-minded, care for the environment and society, and are willing to align with international standards and best practices.
