SunTec Business Solutions, a global leader in relationship-based pricing and billing solutions, extends its influence beyond the corporate world to make a profound difference in communities and environmental sustainability. In this interview, we engage with Ms. Divya VS, Product Owner and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), SunTec, who sheds light on the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, particularly through its CSR initiative known as SNEHA (Sustainable Nurturing through Education and Health Activities).
Further, she provides profound insights into how SunTec's CSR initiatives have brought about remarkable transformations. Their support extends to uplifting tribal communities, nurturing the education and health of support staff families, and even sponsoring the education of 100 children from families undergoing palliative care. As she passionately states, 'The impact of our initiatives transcends words; it's a testament to our commitment to creating a better world.'
Read the full interview below to learn about SunTec's impactful CSR journey.
Q&A
Q.What is the overarching mission that drives SunTec's CSR initiatives, and how does that contribute to enhancing community life where the company operates?
A.SunTec’s CSR team operates under the name SNEHA (Sustainable Nurturing through Education and Health Activities). SNEHA is committed to support deserving causes that deal specifically with education, health, and the environment.
One of the key project areasfor us is the SunTecoffice locality projects, wherein we work for the betterment of schools in the radius of 5 kms of our campus. We help developthe schoolinfrastructure as well as the amenities for children.
We also appoint support staff mostly from our campus locality.This initiative involves providing school kits for the children of our support staff every year, giving scholarships including cash prize and other festive celebrations with them. We also distribute saplings and seeds to the children,so they can plant them in nearby areas, thus encouraging a greener life.
Q.Could you detail the core themes guiding SunTec's CSR efforts, including social obligations, community enhancement, and sustainability? Also, can you provide insights into the geographic scope and the count of beneficiaries impacted by each initiative?
A.We recognize that our operations have an impact on the communities and the environment in which we operate. Therefore, we are committed to espouse social and charitable causes as well as run our operations in an environmentally sustainable manner. Ourobjective include:
- To meet the social obligations of SunTec and ouremployees along with our business interests.
- To help improve the quality of life of the people living in the areas in which SunTec operates.
- To instill a sense of achievement among SunTec employees.
The scope of our activities and its impact are detailed in the table below:
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Key project area
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Details
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Scope
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Count of beneficiaries and their impact
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Support homes and orphanages
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Supporting with essential items, groceries as well as infrastructure support
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Trivandrum, Kochi, Chennai, Bangalore
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7 orphanages, approx. 400 beneficiaries.
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SunTec office locality projects
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Upliftment of the communities in and around our office
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1. Employment opportunities at our campus
2. Support the schools within 5 KM radius of our campus.
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1. 110 people local people employed
2. 10 schools around our Trivandrum campus with 600 students
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Programs to support the families and children of our support staff
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1. School kit distribution: Books, stationery, school bag, cash vouchers for purchase of uniforms and other necessities.
2. Scholarships: Awarded to students from Class 1 onwards and covers professional courses also. There are three categories based on academic performance.
3. Course fee sponsorships: SunTec bears the fee for the entire professional course if the student secures a merit based admission.
4. Program for the staff: Provision of grocery kits, vouchers, and other gifts to the staff on important festivals.
5. Medical support: Available for all staff and dependent family members. Long term treatments for physical and mental illnesses also covered
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1. Support staff of all locations in India - Trivandrum, Kochi, Chennai, and Bangalore are covered.
2. Children / grandchildren of support staff are covered under this initiative.
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1. We have nearly 110 support staff across all offices.
2. The count of children / grandchildren is around 80 every year.
3. On an average there are 2 to 3 families every year to whom we provide medical support.
4. One of the children of our support staff who was a beneficiary of our support staff program completed her engineering and has joined SunTec as a Software Engineer This is one of the biggest achievements of our CSR programs.
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Schools and hospitals
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Identify schools that lack proper amenities.
Identify the support that can be extended in the health sector – medicines, equipment etc.
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1. Government schools around office locality and government schools in economically backward areas.
2. Government hospitals and health centers.
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1. We targeted the fishermen community and currently 50 families are the beneficiaries.
2. Provide beds to the government hospitals on demand. We also supply medicines to government hospitals.
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Blood donation
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Conduct frequent blood donation camps.
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We conduct blood donation camps at our campus.
Sponsor the conducting of camps for other agencies like Tejus, Rotary Club etc.
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Support during blood shortages in government run hospitals.
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Fishermen community/tribal areas/villages/ skill development programs
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Identify the challenges of various communities. Identify the skill development programs that can be initiated.
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Tribal community in Wayanad, Ranni, (Agasthya hills), and Fishermen community areas in Kerala.
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Nearly 36 families benefited from drinking water and nearly 100 families received medicines. They also benefited from wells and toilets that we built for them along with installation of street lights.
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Go green
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Environment initiatives with employee involvement.
Activities in new office premises. Restoration of lakes and ponds.
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Green initiatives within SunTec campus and beach cleaning activities.
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Restoration of green cover through Miyawaki project in the SunTec Trivandrum campus. Rainwater harvesting in the campus to protect the natural ecosystem to a certain extent. Plantation drives outside the campus.
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Q. How does SunTec's commitment to social and charitable causes resonate with its commitment to adhering to the best corporate governance codes?
A.Theproject selection for our CSR programs goes through thorough analysis without any personal influences in finalizing the project, keeping the process fair. Once a project is finalized, the planning, budgeting and execution is done by the CSR volunteers, and it is done with full transparency. Volunteers are fully responsible for each project, and we keep a continuous association with the project thereafter. Each project is treated with full seriousness, discipline and diligence of a corporate project and the Project Lead is accountable for the activities of that project. These principles of Fairness, Transparency, Responsibility, and Accountability resonate with our corporate governance codes.
Q. What assistance do you offer to children of palliative care patients?
A.We conduct a sponsorship throughan NGO, Pallium India. The children from families who undergo palliative care go through tough times both financially and emotionally. Through Pallium India, we sponsor the education of 100 children every year.
Q. How do the company's eco-initiatives like Miyawaki forest, Earth Hour, Go Green, and zero-plastic reflect its sustainability commitment? And how are they shaping employee behavior towards a greener workplace?
A. Important events like World Environment Day, Earth Day, Forest Day, Earth Hour etc. are celebrated and employees are encouraged to observe these days. We organize various awareness programs such as a quiz, suggestion box for best practices, etc.
Further our office premises in Trivandrumis a plastic-free zone, thus setting standards for ouremployees to follow. We even conduct beach cleaning drivesto collect plastic waste, encouraging employees to avoid plastic usage wherever possible. TheMiyawaki forest in our Trivandrum campus (we have planted the saplings) would play a great role in compensating for the green cover lost due to the campus construction while also protecting the green cover in the area where we operate.
Q.The collaborative project with IIM-Kozhikodeto provide clean water to a tribal colony is impressive. Could you shed light on the challenges faced and the transformative effects of ensuring sustainable access to clean water for the community?
A. At Uthimoodu, a rural hillside atRanni (incidentally Pathanamthitta district where Ranni falls has the second highest population of tribals in Kerala, after Wayanad), 26 tribal families of ‘Malavedar’ community are settled and faced acute water shortage during summer. They had to fetch water from lowlands with great manual efforts. So, the solution was to construct bore wells at the top of the hill. This project was done jointly by SunTec's SNEHA along with the IIMK-Students group. The construction of the bore well, pumping system, and storage tank was executed with the help of an agency who had the subject matter expertise. This project was completed in a record time of 2-3 months. The joy of the community was beyond words.
Q.Can you share insights into your engagement with tribal communities, particularly in projects like the borewell and clean water initiative? What challenges were encountered, and what successes have been achieved?
A.A team of SNEHA volunteers were sent toWayanadfor a field study to understand their lives. Based on that we devised many schemes with the help of Dr.ArunSinghal, Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission.The doctor along with his wife, were living there along with thetribals. The following were the activities we conducted:
- Provided medical supplies to a hospital which worked near north Kalpetta.
- Provided solar-poweredstreetlights.
- Constructed a well for drinking water.
- Constructed toilets.
Q. Could you provide examples of community engagement initiatives? What innovative tools and methods were employed to foster collaboration with community members?
A. In addition to the above-mentioned community engagement programs, we also took up the DaanUtsav, which was a continuous 12-month program. We provided rice and other basic groceries like pulses, to economically weaker communities living in urban, semi urban, and rural areas. SNEHA volunteers used to personally visit these communities and understand their needs, and hand over the kits to them every month. For many households this was a great relief.
On field analysis and direct engagement with the locals was the best method to assess the ground situation there. We also researched about the area through various sources before we ventured directly.
Q. How do you measure the impact of your initiatives? Are there any key indicators that you follow?
A.We use feedback from the beneficiaries as the yardstickto measure impact.
Q. How does SunTec ensure the scalability and sustainability of its initiatives? Considering this, what are your upcoming goals and aspirations?
A. Most of the projects that SunTec takes up are long-term projects. Once an association is done it is a continuous and long-term association, thereby ensuring sustainability. However, there are a few projects that are currently on hold owing to factors like complete/ partial work from home for 3 years and due to lack of volunteers during Covid.We are now reinitiating some of these projects.
