Brig Rajiv Williams is Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Jindal Stainless. In this interview with TheCSRUnvierse, Brig Williams talks on the core CSR philosophy at his company and key CSR focus areas towards helping communities.
He details out COVID related measures that the company took as its CSR initiatives to help distressed people and affected communities. Brig Williams also shares his thoughts on the CSR laws in India, effective ways of CSR implementation and much more…
Scroll down to read interview excerpts with Brig Rajiv Williams, CSR Head, Jindal Stainless.
Interview Highlights:
- CSR laws in India should not be limited to being government legislation but an integral business aspect for companies
- CSR focus at Jindal Stainless is on Women Empowerment, Education and Skill Development, Integrated Health Care, Environment Sustainability, Community Development, and Integrated Farming
- Amid the COVID pandemic, healthcare and upskilling, especially in rural India, are areas demanding immediate attention.
- A large part of the CSR budget has been devoted to ‘PM CARES’ and to State Disaster Management Authorities. Nevertheless, none of the ongoing projects have been stalled.
- CSR projects should not exclusively be linked to the business of corporations, but should be driven by the needs of communities located around the operational locations.
- It is important for CSR to have a robust monitoring, evaluation and a reporting framework. The projects should be designed in such a way that even when a partner is implementing a project, the CSR team in location is part of the project management team.
Interview with Brig Rajiv Williams, CSR Head, Jindal Stainless
Q: The CSR planning and implementation has evolved in India since it was made mandatory by Companies Act 2013. What are your thoughts on CSR laws in India?
A: Sustainability and CSR are the foundational principles of growth, development, and good business. This has been well-encapsulated in Jindal Stainless’ vision statement - "Improving lives through trustworthy and innovative stain-less solutions."
Although essential, I believe that CSR laws in India should not be limited to being government legislation but an integral business aspect for companies. The Companies Act 2013 laid down ways to streamline CSR practices and manage CSR spending by the corporate sector. The government continues to improve and fine tune policies which further motivates corporates to contribute to the society in a meaningful way. With a philosophy of improving lives, Jindal Stainless has embedded social responsibility in its activities and company culture, and strives to develop a robust ecosystem that nurtures inclusive growth.
Q: What is your focus while designing your CSR programmes?
A: Our Company is proud of being an enabler of sustainable community development. Through its endeavours, Jindal Stainless creates opportunities for its people to get connected with each other and the community at large.
It aims to provide a platform that empowers the community through need-based programmes, making beneficiaries self-reliant through a process of direct intervention. The Company focuses on going ‘Beyond Business Responsibilities’, stressing on the importance of seeing a change in lives of communities around its plant locations as well as other geographies. Some of the key focus areas are Women Empowerment, Education and Skill Development, Integrated Health Care, Environment Sustainability, Community Development, and Integrated Farming.
Q: COVID crisis has thrown challenges for CSR activities as well. What are the key initiatives you have taken to support the fight against the pandemic?
A: COVID-19 has devastated lives in India and around the world, while tossing economic activity across the globe. Since the start of the pandemic, we have been committed to doing our bit in order to support our employees and people at large and help them sail through these trying times. To combat this pandemic, we planned rehabilitation in phases-
- Preparatory Phase - Awareness
- Anticipated Migration Phase - Dry rations and food support
- Long term Phase –
- Supporting medical institutions
- Supporting frontline workers and community members with essential supplies
- Enabling assistive digital technology in areas of tele-medicine and consultation
- Supporting vulnerable sections, with no stable incomes, by improved access to food and essential resources
We offered food, medical, and sanitation supplies to migrants and daily wage workers during the lockdown period, and also to families in several places, including Delhi-NCR and our neighbouring communities in our plant locations- Hisar (Haryana) and Jajpur (Odisha). Additionally, we provided food to affected communities through community kitchens run both by the Delhi Government and NGOs. We also arranged for buses to ferry migrant workers to their homes in other parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Q: What have been your health-related initiatives related to COVID 19?
A: We took multiple initiatives on this front. To support COVID-positive patients, a 125-bed isolation ward and two negative pressure isolation rooms were dedicated at Jindal Institute of Medical Sciences (JIMS), Hisar.
With an armamentarium of 150 ICU beds, 60 ventilators, 250 monitors, 300 syringe pumps, the hospital continues to support the administration in managing medical exigency arising out of the pandemic. Free telephonic consultation was also started for OPD patients to check the spread of the pandemic.
JSL Foundation, the CSR arm of Jindal Stainless, has been supplying in-house manufactured 3 ply face masks to hospitals and communities in Delhi, Hisar and Jajpur. Self Help Groups promoted by Jindal Stainless Foundation in Jajpur have also been mobilized for making masks in the comfort of their homes, enabling them to upskill and earn at the same time. Our plant in Hisar is continuously producing and supplying industrial and medical oxygen to Jindal Institute of Medical Sciences and Agroha Medical College in Haryana for medical emergencies.
Q: You also supported farmers during lockdown. How did you do it?
A:We also initiated steps to mitigate problems of farmers during the lockdown phase. Some of the problems include threat of crop ready to be harvested with limited or no labor available, logistical support, marketing support, lack of pesticides, fungicides and seeds for planting during the present kharif crop plantation season, limited time period available for such planting, etc.
We have been engaged with both the Government of Odisha and Haryana, besides others, to support the farmers. In the process, our partner "Gram Unnati Foundation" has been licensed to procure directly from farmers and mitigate their distress sale problems. To understand the needs of farmers urgently requiring agricultural inputs, we organized a massive outreach campaign with Bayer Crop Sciences. Working with the local district administrations, we organized required stocks and delivered inputs at farmers’ door steps in safe and sanitized conditions. Additionally, during the early lockdown stage, we teamed up with the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board to supply 2,000 kgs of fresh vegetables daily to community kitchens serving food to the most affected by the lockdown.
Q: What are the key emerging CSR opportunities and needs in the COVID scenario?
A: Despite government’s ardent efforts, the pandemic has affected nearly 80% and 54% jobs in the urban and rural economies, respectively (according to Indian Society of Labour Economics). At the same time, an alarming gap in healthcare infrastructure has been observed during this pandemic. Healthcare and upskilling, especially in rural India, are areas demanding immediate attention. Support for innovation and technology development will make healthcare infrastructure robust and affordable. Similarly, focus on upskilling masses will help youth earn better opportunities and livelihoods.
Q: What are the challenges you have faced while implementing your COVID related CSR initiatives?
A: With lockdowns and movement restrictions in place, we faced major challenges at the operational and logistical ends during the initial period of our relief work. Gradually, with administration’s cooperation and better coordination, the situation improved and we were able to deliver supplies to people efficiently. Maintaining social distancing was another challenge during supply distribution due to low awareness among beneficiaries. However, with our consistent efforts, people started realising the importance of social distancing and we were able to execute our work smoothly.
An impending challenge for local administration is the selective reverse migration. There is an immediate need to train migrants in jobs which are local and will contribute in managing economic growth, supply chain, agriculture extension services, product value addition management, etc. This will have a direct impact on employment generation in the country.
Q: What is the budget outlay for your CSR activities in the financial year 2020-21?
A: A large part of the CSR budget has been devoted to ‘PM CARES’ and to the State Disaster Management Authorities. Nevertheless, none of our projects have been stalled. This was only possible because the projects are built on ‘community ownership’ and ‘entrepreneurial activity’ models, which have driven and empowered communities to start their own businesses. Hence, when the pandemic hit our budget, we did not face any difficulty as we had planned the transition phase over time, counting in community support.
Q: How your company’s focus area for CSR has evolved over the last 4-5 years?
A:Over the years, JSL Foundation has focused on activities which have a far-reaching impact on communities and beneficiaries. A testimony to this approach is ‘Project Disha’. Through this project, we try to promote gender equality and women empowerment by training women in hard skills like stainless steel fabrication. Similarly, under ‘Krishi Unnati’ project, we support farmers in doubling their income by investing in innovative technology. These efforts not just help the beneficiaries, but also build capacity for others to get benefitted.
CSR, by definition, has a lot to do with the ‘Triple Bottom Line Accounting Framework, which incorporates three dimensions of performance: ‘Social, Environmental and Financial’, commonly referred to as the 3Ps - ‘People, Planet and Profit’. When we deep dive into the rudiments of engagement, the ‘Social’ aspect remains central in the sustainable development agenda, because the other 2Ps-‘Planet’ and ‘Profit’- have a direct impact on the first ‘P’-People. At Jindal Stainless, we believe that it is all about a continuing commitment to behave ethically and contribute towards the overall economic growth by improving lives of the workforce, their families, communities, and societies at large.
Q: What would be your advice to your corporate colleagues on building a strong CSR environment in the country?
A: Corporate Social Responsibility is a strategic approach towards sustainable community development and is crucial for inclusive growth. I believe that CSR projects should not exclusively be linked to the business of corporations, but should be driven by the needs of communities located around the operational locations. In case of manufacturing, priority must be given to the people around the plant locations, followed by areas of influence along the supply chains, and then the outer tier.
Also, it is equally important to have a robust monitoring, evaluation and a reporting framework. Hence, the projects should be designed in such a way that even when a partner is implementing a project, the CSR team in location is part of the project management team. This way, the partners are in sync and help achieve targeted outcomes.
CSR helps in tethering the organisations together. A small CSR activity in a year which involves your employees will also help in creating cohesive dynamics among them. This not only helps establish your company as a responsible corporate citizen, but also helps in making our society better and stronger.
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