Ms Alka Talwar is the brain behind Tata Chemicals' Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm which has been consistently raising the bar for the Indian corporates. The Indian global company with interests in chemicals, crop protection and specialty chemistry products recorded a grand CSR performance by spending 175 % of prescribed CSR budget in the year 2019-20.
Much of the credit goes to Talwar who currently holds the position of Chief - CSR and Sustainability Officer at Tata Chemicals Limited.Ms Talwar has been working with the company in various roles for over 30 years now. She has been leading the company’s CSR models that go far beyond the mandatory provisions while ensuring that company’s CSR activities are aligned with United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
In this interview with TheCSRUniverse, Talwar shares how she took a two-pronged approach to integrate COVID support initiatives in her CSR agenda. She details out the ways her team handled the CSR project implementation challenges posed by the COVID outbreak and quick adoption of digital mode to continue community support while sticking adhering to the COVID protocols.
She also talks about CSR policies that can
help strengthen the impact and also the scope of collective corporate approach
towards making CSR scalable and more effective.
Interview
Highlights
- COVID
Relief: We have adopted a two-pronged approach to
tackle this unprecedented situation. One intervention focuses on supporting the
government and the other one on supporting the local communities.
- Tackling
COVID challenges: We are
moving many of our programs to digital mode in rural areas.
- New
CSR opportunities: Corporates
can invest their CSR spends in skilling and upskilling youths, especially from
the vulnerable communities to empower them and make them employment ready.
- Thoughts on CSR policies: It is
imperative for corporates to take on that responsibility and become the change
makers in the society. Just investing is not enough but the intent is critical
to drive the development of the communities and build a sustainable
environment.
- CSR Policy suggestion: There should be flexibility in the use of funds. The current mandate of
spending 2% shifts the focus on spending rather than efficacy of the CSR
projects. The companies may choose to spend less in one year and more in the
other as per the needs and requirement of the project plan.
- CSR suggestions for Corporates: corporates need to
join hands and take up collaborative projects which will enhance the scale of
the project. Exchange of learning & experiences among the corporates would
help identify successful CSR model and good practices.
Scroll down to read the full interview:
Full Interview
with Ms Alka Talwar, Chief - CSR and Sustainability Officer at Tata Chemicals
Limited
Q: How has CSR implementation at
Tata Chemicals have been impacteddue to COIVD pandemic?
A:Tata Chemicals for decades has worked towards
driving prosperity of the communities. While this pandemic unleashed its
effects across the globe, we did not let it deter us from continuing our CSR
efforts.The COVID pandemic has brought a shift in the focus
areas of interventions. We have adopted a two-pronged approach to tackle
this unprecedented situation. One intervention focuses on supporting the
government and the other one on supporting the local communities.
Further,
the ongoing CSR programs which needed direct interaction with the people have
been kept on hold due to the lockdown and to avoid the risk of infections to
our frontline workers and our community.
Q: Can you share details of your key COVID relief support for community?
A: The immediate priority was the relief support to the local
communities during lockdown. We supported over 53000 people from vulnerable
communities with dry ration kits.
We manufactured and
supplied more than 1.18 million litres of disinfectant to the Government of
Gujarat and 600,000 litres to BMC, Mumbai.
At our
manufacturing locations in Cuddalore and Sriperimbudur, we supported the
government health services with medical equipment and PPEs. We augmented the capacity of Mithapur Hospital and
set up temporary isolation ward with about 100 beds.
We engaged the women from Self Help Groups and
artisans associated with our Okhai initiative to produce over 2.3 lakh masks in
Mithapur and Cuddalore for distribution to police and local communities,
providing livelihood to and financially empowering 275 women, in times of
crisis.
Q: How are you continuing your CSR
activities while adhering to the COVID protocols?
A: We are moving many of our programs to digital mode in rural areas.
We started online education classes for students studying in standards 7th to 10th in schools of Okhamandal taluka. Digital financial training - "Hu Pan Digital", was conducted for 137 SHGs Members. Online training program were arranged for farmers for creating awareness on agriculture practices.
We started online admission process and preparation for online exam of Technical Training Institute in all trades. We carried out online demand survey for the watershed structures and started thecivil work with safety precautions.
We also conducted digital
trainings and provided market linkage support to people who are part of the
entrepreneurship development program. Our social enterprise, Okhai launched marketplace
model during the lockdown to support artisan groups pan India to sell their
products online.
We are
maintaining community connects and engagement throughvirtual connects, small
group meetings, phone calls and Whatsapp calls. We are also tapping on the
community based organisations (CBOs)viz SHGs, ASHA workers, SMCs, village youth
volunteers, entrepreneurs etc in planning & monitoring of the CSR projects
and to reach out to the community.
All the field
staff has been advised to follow the local government guidelines on movement in
the CSR geographic regions and follow the safety protocols.
Q: What are the key emerging CSR
opportunities and needs in the COVID scenario?
A: The global health crisis has evidently brought into
focus the need forimproved health services and improving awareness among
community for healthy practices.
In
addition, due to the large number of people who have returned from the cities
to the rural areas, there is a pressing need to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities
to them.
According
to a joint report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Asian
Development Bank (ADB ), 41 lakh youths in India have lost their jobs due to
the pandemic. This reflects a major opportunity for India Inc. Corporates can invest their CSR spends in skilling and upskilling youths,
especially from the vulnerable communities to empower them and make them
employment ready.
Another emerging CSR opportunity is moving from a linear economy to fostering circular economy
Another emerging CSR opportunity is moving from a linear economy to fostering circular economy. With a greater stress on safety and hygiene during COVID-19, there has been an upsurge in the use of plastics, primarily in the form of masks, protective gears and shields. Recycling of this waste is critical for the health of the environment and corporates can emerge as the drivers for a sustainable change.
Q: What is the budget outlay for
your CSR activities in the financial year 2020-21?
A:Our budget outlay for the financial year 2020-21 is
about 18Cr.
Q: How your company’s focus area
for CSR has evolved over the last 4-5 years?
A: Since the
inception of Tata Chemicals and TCSRD, a holistic approach has always been the
way forward for us. We have adopted a participatory approach in designing need-based
CSR programmes. These are implemented through Tata Chemicals Society for Rural
Development (TCSRD), Okhai Centre for Empowerment, Uday Foundation, Ncourage
Social Enterprise Foundation and in partnership with various government and
non-government institutions.
Our CSR priorities are mainly;
- Enriching the quality of life by creating
sustainable livelihoods
- Maintaining and conserving environment and
bio-diversity
- Enabling the aspects of health, sanitation,
nutrition, education
- Building Social Capital for long-term
sustainability
In the last few years, to further our efforts and reach to a larger
community, we have created two centers of excellence - Centre of Excellence for
Sustainable Agriculture & Farm Excellence (C-SAFE) and Centre for Sustainable Conservation Action
for Protection of Ecosystems of the Seas (C-SCAPES), which focus on scientific
research, piloting models, advocacy, capacity building and field implementation
through multi stakeholder engagement.
To create self-sustaining models of development, we have set up social
enterprises, Okhai and Ncourage Social Enterprise Foundation. Both these organizations help in creating
livelihood options for the communities.
Q: The CSR has fundamentally
changed after the CSR was made mandatory by Companies Act 2013. It has been 7
years since then. What are your thoughts on CSR laws in India?
A: India is the first country to legally make
corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandatory and it has been a
groundbreaking decision. Many more companies now are contributing to community
development. The CSR law promotes the
development of the economy and the citizens. It is imperative for corporates to
take on that responsibility and become the change makers in the society.
While this was mandated seven years ago, we have a long way to go since companies need to ensure that these programmes are making a real difference. Just investing is not enough but the intent is critical to drive the development of the communities and build a sustainable environment.
Q: What can be
the changes in the current CSR law/provisions that can help
corporates in being more productive and effective in implementation of
their CSR activities?
A: One
suggestion is that there should be flexibility in the use of funds. The current
mandate of spending 2% shifts the focus on spending rather than efficacy of the
CSR projects. The companies may choose to spend
less in one year and more in the other as per the needs and requirement of the
project plan.
In addition, the
government has to ensure that there is a system to measure the effectiveness of
the CSR initiatives to gauge how citizens as well as the environment are
benefitting.
Q: What are your
suggestions and message to your corporate colleagues on building a strong
CSR environment in the country?
A: My message is that the corporates need to join hands and take up collaborative projects which will enhance the scale of the project.Exchange of learning & experiences among the corporates would help identify successful CSR model and good practices.
The companies which have recently
initiated CSR, should look CSR as an important pillar for long term sustainable
business growth.
