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 ... |
