NGOs,
Media, competition, governments & UN wants to know
what is the CSR Budget of a corporate. And the CSR Issues
a corporate supports and of course the locations where
they spend money.
Do
they ask how many people a particular corporate employees
?
And therefore how many children whose parents work is
corporates get money for education, food, lifestyle ?
And how many supply chain people and their families benefit
from a corporate ?
And how much money a corporate pays to government through
taxes ?
And how many people were benefieries when a corporate
building, plant, service station was constructed ?
And how many grocers or malls benefit because they get
income by selling products of a company ?
And how many advertising & PR agencies plus consultants
& market research companies benefit because a corporate
needs their services. Same with auditors and others.
Nobody
wants (or even thinks) to know this because they think
corporate makes money.
Corporate makes products or offer services and earns money
by selling it to consumers, customers ...
Corporates earn money. If a corporate is making money
then the corporate is like a money making machine with
no concern for consumers, customers, clients .... they
want money. But corporates dont do that. They spend money
in advertising & PR to attract attention of consumers.
It is money spend in accounting terms, but it is money
invested in management thinking.
In
1999, we
were new and like all, we equated CSR to Corporate Social
Responsibility.
Then we were aksed to do researh by a BIG bank in India
on how much corporates in India spend on CSR.
We studied corporates across the world to know whether
the Multi National Companies which are headquartered in
other countries invest on CSR, whether their issue focus
is same across the world or it changes countrywise because
social challenges differ
countrywise.
Then
we realised that a corporate has
to be sustainable first.
So S is Sustainability.
Then we saw that some corporates are almost like get money
whichever way, not earn money.
Whether is is corruption or not showing income in balance
sheet or getting and spending money in cash
So came R as Reputation
So in 2010, we equated CSR to
Corporate Sustainability & Reputation
Then
came 28.8.2013, when founder Sanjay Kumud Moreshwar Bapat
had an almost fatal accident.
He was in IICU for 5 days, then ICU for about 10 days.
He was given oxygen therapy.
This
accident was good because his vision (not eye vision by
world vision) changed.
As a social enterpreneur recognised by Ashoka in 2005-08
period, he had spent money employing social workers, studying
social sector limiting only to NGOs, corporates, limited
number of fudning agencies, partly UN and governments
of India at the centre, state & UT level.
But
accident changed his thinking.
He realised his school mates & college mates came
and stayed at night because his elder son Rohan has disability
issues, Bhau (his father) was 81 years and younger son
Aum was in 11th standard. So Rohini, his wife had to manage
all these plus additional responsibility of her husband
Sanjay. And add to it, her commitment to Hindustan Unilever
where employees used to volunteer in Municiapal Schools
in Mumbai on 15th October every year and she needed to
take not just government permissions but see how without
Sanjay she can do 50 plus schools on 1 day.
So
value of individuals which are human friends came into
picture. Plus her friends used to accompany her when Sanjay
was taken by ambulance to Oxygen therapy room for almost
10 days.
And
NGO took Rohan to their hostel on 28th August itself.
Corporates like HSBC, Glenmark, Vodafone continued with
us.
Mastek Foundation, Adfactors PR, Venkat and not to be
named philanthropist gave financial support.
All
this changed the thinking of founder about CSR and then
he thought CSR for corporates is myopic thinking.
CSR is Conscience Sustainability & Reputation
So whether you are a corporate or NGO or Funding Agency
or Philanthropist or Celebrity or Doctor or Hospital or
Wardboy or Nurse or Receptionist or Security person ...
you have an important role in the world because all organisations
use machines but employ humans. Therefore Conscience of
people working in for profits, not for profits, governments
... is first. Then Sustainability & Reputation together
because they are together.
When in need, Reputation helps Sustainability was seen
in invidual accident case of founder.
And Sutainability is critical for all because then only
corporates can grow, NGOs can grow ... |
