As Corporate social responsibility (CSR) transcends from a compliance-driven obligation to a strategic imperative, Godrej Enterprises Group stands out as a company that seamlessly integrates business growth with societal impact. With a legacy rooted in sustainability and shared value, Godrej has been at the forefront of initiatives spanning employability, education, healthcare, and environmental conservation.
In this conversation with TheCSRUniverse, Ashwini Deodeshmukh, Head of CSR & Sustainability Reporting at Godrej Enterprises Group, sheds light on the company’s overarching CSR vision, its alignment with business objectives, and the tangible outcomes of key programs. She provides an update on the DISHA Training Programme, which has equipped thousands of youth with industry-relevant skills, and highlights G&B’s contributions to education, including digitalization and infrastructure development in schools.
The discussion also explores the company’s efforts in strengthening primary healthcare, water security, and environmental sustainability, emphasizing community engagement as a cornerstone of CSR success. Ashwini further shares insights into the evolving CSR landscape, emerging challenges, and policy recommendations to enhance corporate contributions to social development.
Read on to discover how Godrej Enterprises Group is shaping a sustainable and inclusive future through its CSR initiatives:
Q. We’d like you to take us over the overarching CSR vision and focus areas for Godrej Enterprises Group. How do they align with the company’s core mission and objectives?
A. Our CSR vision is anchored in the concept of shared value which integrates business success with societal progress. The focus areas are employability& community development covering 4 areas of education, Health & Sanitation, livelihood generation and environment sustainability. These initiatives align with our Good & Green philosophy which focuses on protecting people and the planet while creating value for shareholders. Prioritising projects such as skill development, rural livelihoods, water security, and education infrastructure, ensures a multi-pronged approach to create long-term societal impact while driving inclusive development.
Q. We spoke about the DISHA Training Programme in our previous interaction. Can you provide an update on its progress and impact? How is the company moving towards the goal of providing 200,000 industry-aligned training opportunities and what specific skills and industries are being targeted?
A. DISHA – Enabling Employability initiative has been our flagship program since start our Good & Green initiative in FY 2011. In first 10 years of the program we trained around 1.6 lacs youth (as on March 2021) in sales, service, interiors, building construction, manufacturing trades, technical training, and digital skills. In this journey we have partnered with 88 Vocational Training Institutes (VTIs) and 24 government VTIs across 22 states to ensure maximum reach across the country.
Encouraged by the impressive social returns we saw for the program the company has committed to continue the Skilling journey with target to train another 1 lac youth by 2032. Wherein the focus will be to train youth in trades having higher market potential, advance skills, skills for emerging markets and Digital skills, leading to better employment conversion and salary scales for the trainees
Examples: Considering the increase in cooling requirements in India, we will continue to focus on program for RAC technicians and increase its reach in tier 2 and tier 3 towns. To enable the large scale RE programs of the nation, our DISHA program will have special focus on training Solar technicians in remote locations across India. The Building automation sector will be supported with niche programs like trainings for installation of Digital locks.
Since 2021 we have also forayed into Digital training linked with manufacturing sector. The program bridges the digital skills gap in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and last 3 years has equipping over 600 students with future-ready capabilities. The digital courses offered under the DISHA program include robotics, automation, business analytics, digital marketing, and e-commerce. While robotics and automation courses are for engineering students, the others are open to fresh graduates from any stream. The courses combine theoretical learning with practical on-site training for comprehensive skill development.
Q. Education is a significant focus of your CSR efforts. Could you discuss some of the educational programs you’ve implemented in the recent past and their outcomes?
A. Godrej has significantly advanced education through infrastructure development across 46 schools, including digitalisation and solar-powered electricity for 18 schools in Maharashtra. Specialised programs like STEM learning, Digital boards and the Innovative English learning have been introduced to enrich learning. We also invest in infrastructure upgrades and upskill teachers tofoster better teacher-student interaction.
Our softer interventions in areas of functional literacy and English learning had a wide spread impact covering around 1750 + students at Goa and 1050 + students at Khalapur Maharashtra. The Read aloud program at Goa was aimed to bridge the learning outcome gap observed in primary grade students due to break in formal schooling during COVID period. The Karadhi Path Fun while Learning English was targeted to mid school students to overcome the fear of English.
In past few years we are also focusing on Early Childhood Education as well and have worked with 4 Aanganwadis. Our future plan is to work on initiatives to create strong bridge from education to employment and to successfully implement NEP in schools around our factory locations.
Q. You have also made efforts to support primary healthcare infrastructure. What specific projects has Godrej undertaken in this area, and what have been the most significant challenges and successes?
A. We have upgraded 4 primary health centres in Khalapur and Shirwal, integrating TB detection capabilities and operation theatres for family planning. Additionally, we have established safe drinking water filtration units for communities. These initiatives have significantly improved healthcare accessibility in rural areas.
In Goa over the years, we have worked very closely with Madkai PHC for infrastructure upgradation right from BP machine to installation of TruenatTB detection machine. Our focus is to improve the facilities at smaller PHCs and the sub centers to reduce to load on larger HUB PHCs.
Q. How does the company integrate environmental conservation into its CSR strategy? Can you share some examples of initiatives aimed at protecting water bodies and safeguarding rural communities against environmental shocks?
A. Godrej Enterprises Group integrates environmental conservation through water security projects, rejuvenating ponds, building check dams, and wastewater treatment systems.
Under Environment Sustainability vertical of our community development program. Our major focus area is to work toward water security for villages around our plant locations. Under this vertical we work wholistically towards enhancing water availability in the region, access to clean water, water demand management as well as wastewater management.
In last 3 years:
- We have worked on 4.6-acre pond at Chunni Kalan (Punjab), increasing the water capacity of pond by 16 million liters, basic treatment of wastewater coming into the pond andcreating recreational spaces for the community to enjoy the water body.
- We have worked on 2 wastewater management projects at Shirwal (Maharashtra) which has helped in diversion of wastewater from the village going into the freshwater stream. With these two projects we help in treating 1 lac liters of water per day.
- The Pond rejuvenation projects at Chennai are majorly targeted for better water management of run-offs and in past 3 years we have worked 4 small ponds
These projects not only address immediate water needs but also create sustainable ecosystems and enhance community resilience against future climate calamities.
Q. Engaging local communities is often key to the success of CSR programs. How do you ensure that community voices are heard and integrated into your project planning and implementation?
A. We ensure community involvement by partnering with local stakeholders, NGOs, and panchayats. For all programs ranging from pond rejuvenation to career guidance for students of secondary school are designed with active community participation. Structured pre-project engagements like need assessment, meetings with key stakeholders, surveys, and focus group discussions help to gather community needs and preferences.
Institution building and local capacity building are the main stay of our projects which enable local voices to shape project goals, fostering ownership and ensuring that initiatives align with the communities’ unique needs.
During implementation, volunteer opportunities are provided to the community members to participate in project activities. Community events are woven into the project design to keep the community at large informed and engaged. Also, regular meetings are held with key stakeholders to provide regular updates on project progress, milestones, and challenges to ensure transparency and accountability.
Q. The CSR landscape is ever evolving. What are the challenges that you have come across in the recent past, and how have you adapted your strategies to address these challenges?
A. At the outset I would like to commend the effort of the Indian Government in the design and deployment of CSR policy. The Regular Updates and Amendments though poses a challenge for the corporates, have helped to address emerging challenges and opportunities. Increased level of Engagement with stakeholders, including industry, NGOs, and experts, have helped to refine CSR policies and ensure their effectiveness. Mandated CSR Reporting and Independent CSR Audits Encourage transparency, authenticity and effectiveness of CSR spending.
These efforts of the government have helped create a more structured and accountable CSR environment, promoting transparency, partnerships, and excellence in CSR practices. With 10 years of CSR existence, we see some unique challenges in the CSR landscape of India:
- With volume of projects going up an acute Lack of CSR expertise is felt in the sector. Though a lot of NGOs and professionals are there in the country it’s still very challenging to mould them in CSR way of working. To overcome this challenge, we regularly have capacity building programs for our NGO partners and expose our internal team to new models of CSR program planning and implementation.
- Compliance burden has increased with stringent reporting and disclosure requirements which can be overwhelming for companies, especially small and medium-sized companies with smaller CSR team. At Godrej, we have tried to ease the burden by going in for a specialized CSR software which helps us to plan, implement and monitor our projects spread across the country.
Q. Given your experience in the field, what policy recommendations would you make to government agencies to support and enhance corporate CSR efforts? Are there any suggestions or tips you would like to share with other stakeholders in similar development domains as Godrej?
A. In our recent projects we have collaborated very effectively with the local government bodies and built projects which will enhance effectiveness of the development plan drawn at the village / block or district level.
In future we look forward to the Government support in:
- Developing Inclusive Policy Frameworks: Frameworks that incorporate the perspectives and expertise of multiple stakeholders. This will save efforts required to align different stakeholders to larger common goals.
- Support Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives: Initiatives that bring together government agencies, businesses, and civil society to address complex development challenges. This will help in pooling resources to solve larger problems rather than working on piece meal basis.
- Provide capacity-building support to NGOs, community organizations, and other stakeholders. This will help to create common pool of well-trained CSR professionals.
For the corporates and the NGOs, my recommendations are very simple:
1. Establish clear goals, objectives, and expected outcomes for collaborative initiatives.
2. Foster open communication, trust, and mutual respect among stakeholders.
3. Develop joint monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track progress and impact. Lastly,
4. Emphasize capacity building and knowledge sharing to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of collaborative initiatives.
Q. Looking ahead, what are some of the new initiatives or expansions Godrej Enterprises Group is planning to further its commitment to social and environmental sustainability? How do you envision the company’s role in driving collective growth in the coming years?
A. Looking ahead, we will continue scaling our programs with our shared value approach. Strengthening partnerships with non-profits and communities will be at the core of this growth. We aim to expand our vocational training programs, increase water conservation efforts, and develop new community development models. We will also focus on scaling women-led enterprises, fostering digital inclusion, and advancing sustainable communities.
x
