In this interview with TheCSRUniverse, Ms Sakina Baker, Head-CSR, Bosch Limited speaks on various CSR activities of Bosch India. She also shares her insights on benefits of community engagement while devising social intervention programmes, changing expectations from implementing partners, increasing importance of collaborations, policy level challenges and much more...
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Q: Please tell us about the CSR programmes organization run by Bosch India?
A: Bosch India social engagement aims to make a meaningful and positive impact in society, especially for the underserved. Our focus areas promote social development through need-based vocational training, health & hygiene, education, environment, and integrated village development.
All these initiatives are managed by the CSR division in Bosch Limited, Bosch India Foundation and we are also proud to have Primavera, an employee giving platform that contributes towards some of the most pressing development issues, especially for vulnerable children.
Q: What are your successful CSR programmes in past few years?
A: Most of our CSR programmes are running successfully over the years. Below are the few major areas in which we have been consistently working as part of our CSR mission.
Vocational Training: While job opportunities are being created in the country, a shortage of the right skills among the youth is making it difficult for them to become employable. Over several years, Bosch has focused on skill development through its flagship program “BRIDGE” to support and promote employability. BRIDGE is a job-oriented skilling program focusing on youth from underserved communities, leading them to entry-level jobs in the services sector. Over 40,000 youth have been trained through 600+ BRIDGE centers across India since 2013. Our other skill-based initiatives include artisan training (carpentry, electrical, and plumbing), capacity building of Trainers, promoting skill entrepreneurship, and upgrading ITIs in enhancing the quality of their skilling programs.
Health/Hygiene & Education: Bosch has a very robust child health and development program that focuses on improving health and education of children preferably in government schools across multiple locations in India, benefiting 70,000+ needy students every year, for the community where these children live, several Primary Health Centers (PHC) were upgraded to provide quality healthcare services. In promoting education, Bosch has extended support by setting up science labs, organizing sessions on spoken English, basic computer skills, and focusing on value education for children at a young age. Through Bosch-Akshaya Patra Mid-day Meals Kitchen, 25,000 meals are cooked and served every day to nearly 140+ Government schools in Bangalore.
Neighborhood, Village Development, and Environment: Bosch identifies the pressing needs of the local community residing around its regional locations and co-creates local solutions for them along with other stakeholders. Over years, 29 RO plants were set up in Jaipur benefitting 10,000 families by providing access to clean and safe drinking water, 14 Check Dams were built in Nashik and we also completed the rejuvenation of Shyanumangala Lake in Bidadi Bangalore. Through the Bosch India Foundation, we have focused on integrated village development covering 150+ villages across multiple locations and supported training rural women in setting up SHGs, creating awareness about different health concerns, especially among women, reaching out to farmers on enhancing the quality of produce, etc.
Q: Any special projects run during the COVID pandemic?
A: Yes. COVID-19 outbreak posed a major threat to the lives and livelihood of people across India, and as a responsible corporation, Bosch also pledged support towards the nation’s fight against the pandemic. In addition to contributing to national relief through the PM CARES, Bosch collaborated with various organizations and implemented various relief measures including distribution of cooked meals and dry ration kits benefitting 1.11 lakh migrants and needy people, a manufacturing unit was set up at Bosch to produce 40 lakh face masks for free distribution in communities around its regional locations in India, 57 ventilators were refurbished in record time for COVID case management, supported re-employment of 12,035 migrant workers, trained 3,000+ youth in paramedic skills and 3,000+ cataract surgeries were conducted for the elderly.
Q: What is the CSR vision of is Bosch India and how is it in sync with UNDG (United Nation Development Goals)?
A: The leadership at Bosch has a clear vision of the organization’s social engagement, which is based on the key guiding principles of creating positive storylines, achieving scalability and sustainability, promoting volunteering, and ensuring value addition through its social development interventions. The organization believes in implementing impact interventions based on the needs of the society, looking at long-term sustainability, the possibility of replicability, and scalability through collaboration. Bosch India Social Engagement programs are primarily in alignment with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well Being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals). Not only the leadership but employees across all its locations are actively involved in its giving program and supporting multiple children-based social interventions, especially on education and healthcare.
Q: What are the key challenges that corporations face today towards meeting their CSR goals?
A: CSR program delivery in most cases is based on external factors, ease of working alongside the community and the level of involvement from internal & external stakeholders is crucial. There have been several examples where delivery of goals couldn’t be achieved as per the plan, especially during COVID where other projects meant for the welfare of different beneficiaries took a backseat and most corporates focused on providing support to deal with the pandemic which impacted all and was also the need of the hour. The necessary compliance of CSR in India also limits the creativity of interventions and the reach to a certain extent.
Q: How do you see the role of implementation agencies in CSR project execution? How are their expectations from corporates partners changing?
A: The collaboration of corporate CSR and implementing agencies has led to many success stories that have had greater and far-reaching impact. India, being the only country with a formal CSR law, has lots to replicate, scale, and sustain which will help these implementing agencies in delivering the best while adapting to changing situations and incorporating technology. They also need to bring innovation but at the same time remain conscious of and rooted to ground realities and the often-changing local situations.
Implementing agencies today expect more support from the corporations beyond funding. They seek opportunities of building their capacity through better use of technology, innovation, skills, and expertise that will help enhance their work on-ground and be at par with any professionally managed entity. Co-creation and cross-collaborative approach from corporate are accepted and appreciated.
Q: How the corporate world is moving towards ensuing reduction of carbon footprints/ emissions?
A: While businesses are doing their bit in ensuring responsibility towards environment protection, CSR has also started looking at angles of analyzing and supporting projects that are not detrimental to the environment. Many organizations have started incorporating environment sustainability as one of the focus areas for CSR. They are looking at ways how CSR projects don’t adversely impact the environment and natural habitat. They are even investing in several environmentally sustainable initiatives. The space one occupies in social development space through CSR has become an integral part of the EGS framework of corporations.
Q: What are your thoughts on nature conservancy becoming an integrated feature of the CSR activities and goals?
A: Not necessarily, it would depend on the CSR focus areas that the corporates plan or are working on. However, it should be looked at and adopted even if it is only awareness building on this topic to start with.
Q: Any policy level suggestions that can further strengthen the CSR culture/work in India?
A: While trying to streamline the CSR processes and correct spending in India, the Government also needs to ensure that the policy and the changes made therein are uniformly understood. The ambiguity around the law is detrimental to the existence of small grass-root organizations who need handholding in getting connected to corporates not only for financial support but also for capacity building, where corporates may have a big role to play.
Q: Your message to CSR fraternity.
A: Corporations should not decide anything for the community without the community. The need of the community varies, and one solution/intervention may not be fit for all. Involving the community also makes the sustainability of the intervention more possible and adds responsibility to the community to maintain and sustain it.
