Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Corporate Social Responsibility Mosaic:

New Age Models and Practices

Date: 31 January 2018

KNOWLEDGE PARTNER SUPPORTED BY

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies Bajaj Electrical Foundation

Bajaj Electrical Ltd.

Prepared by:

Ms. Usha Maheshwari, Additional Director; Ms. Aneeha Neeraja Rajan, Assistant Manager

Bomabay Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Mr. Rahul Rahangdale, Mr. Prashant Barehla - Students

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

AGENDA

Time Topics Speakers

09.30am Registration

09.55 Welcome Address Mr. Vijay Srirangan, Director General, Bombay Chamber

10.00 Introduction

Corporate Social Responsibility

Mosaic: New Age Models & Practices

Dr. Meena Galliara, Director, Jasani Center for Social Entrepreneurship

& Sustainability Management, NMIMS, Co- Chairperson - CSR

Committee, Bombay Chamber & Invitee to the Board, Bombay Chamber

10.15 Panel Discussion 1

The role of Board in CSR -

Boardroom leadership - A Game

Changer

Moderator:

Mr. Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group &

Member of Sustainability Committee, Bombay Chamber

Panelist:

Mr. R. Mukundan, Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Ltd & Past

President, Bombay Chamber

Dr. Meena Galliara

11.30 Tea Break


CSR: Navigating between Rhetoric

& Reality –

CSR as a means to achieve

sustainable development

Engaging SME's to Jump on the

CSR Band-wagon

Moderator:

Dr. Meena Galliara

Panelist:

Mr. Anirban Ghosh

Ms. Pearl Tiwari, President (CSR & Sustainability), Ambuja Cements

Ltd. & Chairperson, CSR Committee, Bombay Chamber.

Mr. Amit Sarda, MD, Soulflower Co. Ltd. & Invitee to the Board,

Bombay Chamber

1.15pm Lunch


Partnership: Creating Synergy for a

Better Future

Navigating Challenges to a

successful corporate-NGO, corporate-

corporate, Corporate - Government

partnership

The future of Corporate- NGO

Partnership

Moderator:

Ms. Pearl Tiwari

Panelist:

Ms. Priya Khan, OSD to CM, Government of Maharashtra

Ms. Sharon Weir, Co-Founder, 4th wheel Social Impact

Ms. Madhura Talegaonkar, CSR Head – Bajaj Electricals Ltd.

3.15 Tea Break


Measuring Effectiveness of CSR

Programmes

Strategies and challenges to

measure impact

Moderator:

Ms. Sharon Weir

Panelist:

Ms. Anagha Mahajani, Genaral Manager, CSR, Ambuja Cement

Foundation.

Mr. Karthikeyan Elangeswaran, Director of Operations, Impact

Management Consulting, Sustainable Square

Ms. Cocky Van Dam, Impact Manager, Naz Foundation

4.45 Vote of Thanks

SPEAKER PROFILE

Mr. R. Mukundan, Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Ltd & Past

President, Bombay Chamber - Mr. R. Mukundan, Managing Director &

CEO of Tata Chemicals Limited, joined Tata Administrative Service in 1990,

after completion of MBA from FMS, Delhi University. He is an Engineer

from IIT, Roorkee and an Alumnus of Havard Business School. During his

27 year career with Tata Group, he has held various responsibilities across the Chemical,

Automotive and Hospitality sectors of the Tata Group. He serves on Executive Committees of

various industry forums viz. Confederation of Indian Industry, Bombay Chamber of Commerce

& Industry, Employers‟ Federation of India, All India Management Association etc.

Ms. Pearl Tiwari, President (CSR & Sustainability), Ambuja Cements

Ltd., Director & Chief Executive, Ambuja Cement Foundation &

Chairperson, CSR Committee, Bombay Chamber. - In a professional

career spanning almost 30 years, Pearl has been associated with the not-for-

profit, educational and corporate sectors. A post-graduate from the

prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Pearl‟s early job profiles

ensured a close association with urban and rural development issues, inclusive development and

as faculty at TISS before joining the corporate sector. Mid-career, she completed the Executive

Education course in CSR from the Harvard Business School in 2008. Pearl joined Ambuja in

2000 and ever since has been at the helm of nurturing the Ambuja Cement Foundation that has

expanded from a fledging team to over 450 development professionals it now boasts of today,

with a pan-India presence active in 22 locations across 11 states. A large part of the past 16 years

has been spent in steering the CSR initiatives to make it an integral part of the Company‟s

strategy. This work has borne fruit as evident from the evolved process to plan and implement

CSR, fulfilling aspirations of the community and other stakeholders while remaining relevant to

the business. Community development is closely linked to sustainability and hence a consistent

focus on managing water resources, enhancing livelihoods and raising the bar in human

development of communities. Ambuja‟s CSR efforts has been recognised widely and the recent

years has seen a slew of national and international awards for CSR and water management,

bestowed by different chambers of commerce and other organisations of repute.

Dr. Meena Galliara, Director, Jasani Center for Social

Entrepreneurship & Sustainability Management, NMIMS, Co-

Chairperson- CSR Committee & Invitee to the Board, Bombay

Chamber - Dr. Meena A. Galliara is currently appointed as a Professor &

Director, Jasani Centre for Social Entrepreneurship & Sustainability

Management at NMIMS, Mumbai. Prior to this assignment she was a full time faculty with Tata

Institute of Social Sciences. As an academician she has authored and co-authored research

publications in the area of CSR, social entrepreneurship and NGO management. In recognition

of her contribution to the field of CSR and social entrepreneurship she has received a few

national and international awards. She is also a Trustee of International Resources for Fairer

Trade (IRFT) and Co-Chairman of CSR Committee in Bombay Chamber of Commerce and

Industry as well as Member of UNGC Global Compact Framework (Western Region).

Mr. Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group &

Member of Sustainability Committee, Bombay Chamber – Mr .Anirban

Ghosh has worked with the USD 19 billion Mahindra Group since 1999

where he is currently the Group‟s Chief Sustainability Officer. He leads the

strategy and implementation of the Group‟s sustainability drive. He has

shaped Mahindra‟s award winning sustainability framework and has been acknowledged as

“Distinguished Chief Sustainability Officer” Mr. Ghosh has held roles in Sales, Marketing and

Strategy in Mahindra‟s farm business and has been the President of Mahindra USA. He has

created strategies leading to Mahindra becoming the largest tractor company in the world and

expanding beyond farm equipment into the entire agricultural value chain. He has also led an

impactful project in which the income of 20,000 rural Indians more than doubled in 5 years. He

has served on the committees of many Industry Associations in India and USA, including the

Board of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, USA. He has been a guest lecturer at

business schools in India and enjoys music, travelling, cricket and tennis.

Ms. Madhura Talegaonkar, CSR Head – Bajaj Electricals Ltd. A

Corporate Social Responsibility Expert with 15 years of experience

Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) and

volunteering. At present she is the Head CSR at Bajaj Electricals Ltd., where

Corporate Responsibility encompasses Sustainability, Diversity,

Volunteering and Community Investment Initiatives and reports to the CMD. Her previous

experiences include working and consulting Investment Bank, Media House and other corporates

on CSR. She started her career by working at the Grassroots with national and international Non

Profit Organizations of repute and gained expertise in her domain through the body of work

spread over one and a half decade. She is invited as a subject matter expert and is a distinguished

speaker. She has won several accolades and awards such as the most talented CSR leaders and

most Impactful leaders at the World CSR Congress 2015 & 2016. Under her leadership Bajaj

Electricals Ltd. has won the CSR Leadership Award at the National CSR leadership Congress

and recently Bajaj Electricals Ltd. was awarded The Golden Peacock Award for excellence in

Corporate Social Responsibility 2016. The CSR projects received recognition from the Industry

and the Government. She has a Master‟s degree in Political Science, Studied law and

Management of Non Profit Organizations. She has travelled extensively in India and outside and

has passion to bring about positive change in the Society.

Ms. Sharon Weir, Co-Founder, 4th wheel Social Impact – Ms. Sharon

has a MSc. in Development Studies from School of Oriental and African

Studies, University of London. She co-founded in 4th heel Social Impact in

2010 and has designed and implemented more than 60 research, evaluation

and communication projects for various Government departments, NGOs

and Corporates. Her experience in undertaking rural research projects and devising

implementation strategies for development projects is coupled with a passion for developing

monitoring and evaluation systems for social programs. Sharon is responsible for all projects

undertaken at 4th Wheel and focuses on research design, service development and business

strategy. She has been part of several CSR and social development events in the country,

including the consultation on „CSR in Gujarat‟ organised by Government of Gujarat. She has

been part of developing and delivering more than 40 trainings and workshops across India for

several NGOs, social enterprises and Corporates.

Ms. Priya Khan, OSD to CM, Government of Maharashtra - Ms. Priya

Khan, the Officer on Special Duty to the Hon‟ble Chief Minister of

Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, oversees the select social sector

policies. Prior to this role, she has helmed the think tank, Socio Political and

Research Kendra (SPARK) which analyzed the state budget and government

policies and has more than 12 years of experience in the same. She spearheads the Chief

Minister‟s Fellowship Program in Maharashtra which is a first of its kind initiative to involve the

youth in policy making and implementation. Taking ahead the vision of „Collective

Development‟ of Hon‟ble Chief Minister, Ms. Priya Khan is leading „Sahabhag‟, the Social

Responsibility Cell of Maharashtra to synergizes the efforts of government, corporates, donor

foundations, NGOs and communities for sustainable interventions in education, health,

agriculture, water, livelihoods and other sectors

Mr. Amit Sarda, MD, Soulflower Co. Ltd. & Invitee to the Board,

Bombay Chamber - Managing Director of Soulflower, Amit Sarda is

credited with pioneering the concept of natural skin and hair care in India. At

a time when aroma, natural soaps and oil blends for hair and skin were

considered to be an upper class indulgence, he launched the Soulflower

brand which became immensely popular among a growing section of the society that was

becoming conscious of wellness and personal care. Mr. Sarda who started the apparel brand Ruf

& Tuf at the age of 16 holds the unique distinction of being one of the youngest CEOs of a BSE

listed company. Soulflower delivers its products to over a thousand towns every month making it

the widest distributed personal skin and hair care brand in India via e-commerce. Prior to

entering the e-commerce, Mr. Sarda‟s conviction in the brand and its value offering opened

doors for Soulflower to be retailed through leading retail giants including Shoppers Stop,

Westside among others. He is presently the President of „Young Entrepreneurs‟ Society (YES)‟.

The forum invites young industrialists and executives to come together on a common platform to

share ideas and help shape the future of India's economy and growth. One of the most unique

program in the country, Shadow the Leader program with Bombay Chambers of Commerce

where the leaders from billion dollar and cutting edge corporations shadow the coming

entrepreneurs and executives to bring in more sustainable organization. This program is not only

creating more sustainable entrepreneur & corporate but also supporting 100 of kids with their

education. He also started the „Soulflower Leadership Program‟ where bright minds across the

country come together to work on live projects.

Anagha Mahajani, General Manager (Program Research& Monitoring),

Ambuja Cement Foundation. – Ms. Anagha is a General Manager and Head,

Program Research and Monitoring at Ambuja Cement Foundation, the CSR

arm of Ambuja Cements Limited. She is a Senior Developmentprofessional

with about 25 years of versatile experience in the Social Development Sector,

with significant contributions in perspective building, design & development of social

development projects, strategies and implementation plans. She is a Post graduate from the

prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and has obtained professional training in

management and research. She has had a valued association with TISS as a faculty with Urban &

Rural Community Development (URCD) department. At ACF, she has been responsible for

drivingevidence based practice in development programs with a focus on access and equity

promoted through livelihood and social development programs.

Karthikeyan Elangeswaran, Director of Operations, Impact Management

Consulting, and Sustainable Square - Mr. Karthik is a Senior Advisor in

Sustainability and Social Investment. His passion lies in contributing to

advance sustainability and social investment practices through consciously

implementing practical approaches. Educated on CSR and Sustainability

Management in England, University of Bradford. He has spent the last 5 years solely developing

strategies, frameworks and sustainability impact tools, in various different sectors such as Oil

and Gas, Banking, and Shipping and Transportation, as well as various different geographical

locations such as India, Middle East, UK, Europe and USA. His most notable clients include

Pepsi, SIEMENS, Aqaba Container Terminal, Bank Muscat, Ambuja Cements Foundation and

NGOs in education and healthcare sector-Pratham, Masoom, Spinal Foundation and many more.

Mr. Karthik holds a Master in Business Administration – Sustainability Management from the

University of Bradford, as well as several other certifications such as Lead Auditor 14001

Environmental Management Systems (Certified by IEMA-UK), Sustainability Assurance

Practitioner (Certified by Accountability and CII – India, ITC), and SROI (Social Return on

Investment, Certified by Social Value).

Ms. Cocky Van Dam, Impact Manager, Naz Foundation - Ms. Cocky van

Dam is Impact Manager in The Naz Foundation (India) Trust. Trained as a

sports coach, she has over thirty year of experience in using sport as a tool

for social and personal change in various settings and countries. She is

passionate about working on issues as sexual reproductive health and rights,

gender, human rights, and youth and women‟s leadership. Since 2012 she has been leading

monitoring and evaluation teams within NGO's in Kenya and India with a particular expertise in

sport for development

INAUGURAL SESSION

The CSR Committee of the Bombay Chamber organized a panel discussions on Corporate Social

Responsibility Mosaic: New Age Models and Practices at Ruby Boardroom on 31st January

2018. Ms. Usha Maheshwari, Additional Director, Bombay Chamber welcomed speakers and

delegates. Mr. Vijay Srirangan, Director General, Bombay Chamber introduced the Chamber and

the milestone achieved by the Chamber. The program was well attended by the various member

and other organizations.

Dr. Meena Galliara, Director, Jasani Center for Social Entrepreneurship & Sustainability

Management, NMIMS, Co- Chairperson - CSR Committee, Bombay Chamber & Invitee to the

Board, Bombay Chamber delivered an Inaugural Address and presented the perspective on CSR

funding and usage of funds at national level. Ms. Galliara shared the theme and objective of the

program on Corporate Social Responsibility Mosaic: New Age Models and Practices.

PANEL DISCUSSION 1

The first panel discussion was themed as “The role of boards in CSR”. Mr. Anirban Ghosh was

moderator for the panel; Mr. R Mukundan and Ms. Meena Galliara were panelists in this

discussion.

Corporate Social Responsibility can be defined as a management concept where good business is

not only seen as maximization of shareholder value. It is about the management of a company‟s

impact on its stakeholders, the environment, and the community in which it operates. It is more

than just a philanthropic activity for some charitable causes. It is about the integrity with which a

company governs itself, how it fulfils its mission, the value it has, what it wants to stand for, and

how it engages with transparency. The corporations have to move beyond the financial bottom-

line to the social and environmental bottom-line.

If one looks at the government spending in the areas of education and health, for education the

government is spending 3.2% of their GDP and for health only 1.5% of the GDP. Thus there is a

need for the private players to come into picture and try to fill this gap. Though no doubt the

CSR funding is increasing every year: 2014-15: 8860 crores, 2015-16 : 9800 crores, 2016: 17 :

10000 crores. Corporates are spending their CSR money in different areas such as education,

health, livelihoods, waste management etc. We should be more concerned about the

transformation rather than the transaction. Few of the states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh have

created CSR council, under which it‟s mandatory to give 1% of their CSR money to the council.

CSR sector projects are doing well in states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, due to the presence of large

number of industries, NGO‟s, more opportunities and advocacy.

Major areas such as urban slum development, hunger and malnutrition are being sidelined. The

quality of the CSR projects should be the concern of the society, it should not be just for the

purpose of doing. Corporations also need to think again whether the benefits of their projects is

reaching to the poorest, or their activities are limited to their nearby geographical locations. We

also need to find measuring and evaluating tools and techniques which can monitor the quality of

change.

As it is being said by Milton Freidman Business of business is to do business nut not the

irresponsible business. In order to achieve sustainable development goals private companies need

to adopt inclusive business. CSR should be seen just like another business which you need to

invest, apply models of project management, finance management and expect a return on it. But

it would be social return rather than the capital return. Therefore, CSR needs to be part of the

DNA of an organization for the organization to understand and institutionalize concepts.

PANEL DISCUSSION 2

CSR: Navigating between Rhetoric & Reality, This panel was moderated by Dr. Meena Galliara

and Mr. Aniraban Ghosh, Ms. Pearl Tiwari and Mr. Amit Sarda were the panelists for this

discussion.

Corporate Social Responsibility in terms of Sustainable Development can be defined as “the

continuing commitment of business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development

while improving the quality of life of their workforce and their families as well as the local

community, society at large.”

Businesses need to be developed which are not in search of more and more profits but also are

ethically and socially responsible in their practice. As progress and growth are very subjective in

their nature so they can be perceived and measured in various ways. These two are important

development factors which need to be governed with an eye on the social good. Efforts should be

made that organisations use commerce, science, and technology which can contribute towards

the achievement of sustainable development goals. Corporations need to join hands with the

community and undertake development activities.

Businesses need to identify the needs of the society and nation according to the changing times.

Talking about Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., it manufactured Jeeps when Indian Army was in the

need, produced tractors when farmers were in the need. Employees of the organization need to

make difference and contribute, which will lead not only to the organizational Rise but also

enable stakeholders to Rise. Companies need to create value for all stakeholders, as no company

wants to be irresponsible. Businesses need to vision sustainable plans for at least next 20 or 30

years in terms of energy efficiency, raw material usage or production techniques. Cement

manufacturing industries produce a huge amount of carbon, as there is no substitute for cement

and our nation being in the development stage still needs quality infrastructural development. So

challenges lie as to how companies can offset toxic emissions and reduce carbon footprints. The

foremost objective of these kind of industries is to identify who are their neighbors and major

stakeholders, where is there plant located, how can they reduce the impact of their emissions

from the environment and the neighboring community. Recycling and reuse of water as a part of

their process can lead to the improvement in the quality of water. Traditional knowledge of

people can be brought into use.

Current time demands the use of efficient tools and techniques to measure and monitor the social

impact. Methods need to be developed for articulating social outcomes irrespective of outputs.

Massive organizations need to promote employee volunteering, as being adopted by Mahindra &

Mahindra Ltd. Multinationals need to check that how can they drive sustainable development

through Corporate Social Responsibility mechanism. Organisations need to recheck that the

areas which are of their concern, either they are one of the SDGs or not. CSR money alone

cannot lead to the achievement of SDGs driving social responsibility, there is an urgent need to

make entire business process sustainable and ethical. For example, if we want to reduce Hunger,

it cannot be reduced by just only making soup kitchens. Necessary steps need to be taken to

increase crop productivity, innovative techniques need to be brought into use, such as micro-

irrigation which can reduce the wastage of 70% of fresh water. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd

through one of its initiative started recycling of old vehicles which are usually parked in police

stations.

Design thinking should be brought in use as a method of development which should be equally

profitable and responsible. SME‟s which are small enterprise may not have macro plans in CSR

as they don‟t have enough funds but still, they can create a huge impact. They need to have

strong core values such as compassion, love, and gratitude. Need to define future to become

prosper and better. Social responsibility of SME‟s largely depends on the founder‟s outlook.

The decision regarding the formation of Foundation or to carry on CSR internally mainly

depends on the organization. Many companies like Ambuja Cement, Pearl, and RPG etc have

formed foundations to carry out their CSR activities and achieve their goals. Foundation receives

seed funding from the parent organization which is more than or up to 2% of their profits. Other

types of funding may be through the crowdfunding, several small organization contributing as a

pool. Few organizations have opted for creating a foundation in order to overcome the issues

related to NGO‟s partnerships, collaboration with different sector NGO‟s to carry out concerned

area tasks. Developing of the foundation was considered feasible by big organizations to create

an impact at a larger level, as compared to the internal processes. Foundations as organizations

recruit professionals from development sector empower them with necessary skills and resources

to achieve organizational goals. Managerial expertise, when applied on the grounds, with down

to top approach, brings remarkable results. Better articulation of CSR work, how much rupee

worth of activity is being carried out, what all activities are being carried out in different areas,

efficient monitoring and evaluation tools, can lead to enormous achievements. As the

administration cost which amounts to around 40-60% of the funds. So it‟s better for the

newcomers to save this cost by combining with these foundations, identifying their main

stakeholders for whom they want to work. As for IT companies, their main stakeholders are their

employees so their CSR activity may be aligned with their employees. The pool of different

companies can come together, for eg five Automobile companies came together in Pune to build

a park, which can serve as space for the children to play, senior citizens to roam around, will

furtherly improve the air quality of the area around, appealing to the organization's public image.

So these organizations divided their expenditures viz. one paying for the salaries of the

employees, other paying for the maintenance cost and rest paying for several other costs

involved.

Mapping of the different organizations needs to be done, in which key areas they are functioning,

what the activities are being done by them as a part of CSR. There should not be an overlap of

activities being done by the organizations. If possible an online dashboard or channel can be

created that can keep the record of various CSR activities being performed by the various

organizations in different areas.

Organisations should not be limited to straight-jacketed CSR functions, they should adopt

inclusive business models. As CSR funding alone can‟t lead to the achievement of the SDG‟s

goal. Strong institutions with proper structures need to be built. CSR needs to be seen as other

businesses taking a return on investment factor into consideration but socially, thinking about

outcomes rather than outputs, using project management approach similar to traditional

businesses.

So, discussion stresses that the market economy has to address the unsustainable outcomes like

climate change, persistent poverty and abuse of human rights that have emerged as a result of

earlier business practices. The purpose of tomorrow‟s global economy should be to provide ever

better goods and services in a way that is profitable, ethical and respects the environment,

individuals, and the communities in which it operates.‟

PANEL DISCUSSION 3

The third panel discussion was themed as “Partnership: Creating synergy for a Better future”.

Ms. Pearl Tiwari was moderator for the panel and Ms. Priya Khan, Ms. Sharon Weir and Ms.

Madhura Talegaonkar were panelists in this discussion.

Ms. Pearl started the discussion by providing emphasis on importance of partnership in the CSR.

Partnerships is all about collaborating, cooperation to bring about a mutual interest. Partnerships

are integral to CSR as none of us can do all the things. For implementation and measurement

again the partnerships become very important. Partnerships are key to bring about the 2% usage.

Ms. Madhura described about various legacy program taken up by Bajaj Electricals such tobacco

free India. Bridge gap program of Bajaj, Bajaj has been operating its CSR programs Pan India,

even the rural parts of the country in collaboration with government especially for electrification.

Sharon described partnership as competency collaboration, as all stakeholders have different

competencies and also another important partnership is community partnership. NGOs have

mission which is more streamlined with social development. NGOs have people who are trained

and have empathy to work with communities. Data, Vision and technology can together leverage

the partnership to bring about a great change.

Ms. Khan started with introducing about a government initiative which provides a platform to

various agencies to come together and join hands called Sahbhag. Sahbhag is about social

responsibility of everyone rather than restricting it to just corporate social responsibility.

Sahbhag is bridging the gap between corporates, NGOs, Government and various other agencies

to bring them to one platform.

Multidisciplinary approach is important to bring about a change. Partnerships shouldn‟t be seen

as silos but a System approach.

Panel also discussed importance of Data for assessing the project. Target oriented approach is

important to strengthen the partnership. Community of practices where several organization sit

down together to really talk about what they are doing. This kind of brainstorming can really

help to arrive at a solution.

We don‟t want corporate just to give the cheque but corporate should involve itself into grass

root levels. Corporates should collaborate rather than compete in social responsibility.

Training and advocacy and Shared values can be an Idea to create synergetic partnership; PVR

Films and Mission India have joined hands to do this. Boards and visions of companies can

foster partnership among corporates.

JP Morgan and Goldman Sach‟s have pooled their resources for Skill India initiative. Pooling

resources can be a very good idea to take up any shared initiative. Partnerships also leads to a lot

of knowledge sharing as various partners come together and learn a lot from others too.

Bajaj Electrical and other corporates have come together to save the mangroves in Mumbai area.

We can even think of Corporate to Corporate, NGO to NGO and Govt. to Govt. partnership

rather than systemic approach. Tech companies can also pool their resources for the cause of

Digital Literacy in fact Zensar, Amdocs and Cybage have already done this.

Government and Corporates should also give emphasis on monitoring of projects. One of the

great ideas can be to bring the partners together for monitoring the ongoing projects.

Panel reiterated importance of data and technology for partnership, NITI Aayog is also working

towards achieving this milestone. Partnering with government and agencies for future

development plan is something important. Panel came to conclusion that Government should

map the areas that are important to work upon and then bring in the interested player and chart

out the plan. There are challenges when companies collaborate with each other. Competitive

spirit sometimes do not allow corporates to come together and this challenge needs to be

addressed. CSR also provides visibility to corporate houses and that becomes another reason that

corporates do not come together and partner. Panel also emphasized on Sustainability of

partnership that can long last and could create an impact. Panel concluded on need of visibility

and confidence among the partners to bring about the best practices that could bring a social

change.

PANEL DISCUSSION 4

The fourth and final panel discussion was themed as “Measuring the Effectiveness of CSR

Programs”. Ms. Sharon Weir was moderator for the panel and Ms. Anagha Mahajani, Mr.

Kathikeyan Elangeswaran and Ms. Cocky Van Dam were panelists in this discussion.

The moderator started with opening a question to panel about why do we measure CSR

programs? She sought answer whether it is to Prove or Improve or for Learning or for

Accountability.

Moderator also sought opinions of panel on Evaluation study e.g. Use of tools for evaluation:

Interview, survey, one to one interview, Group discussions.

Mr. Kathikeyan who is from an Impact Assessment Company said that they focus on outcome,

Participatory approaches and Group discussions for impact assessment. They also take expert

advice on various matter pertinent to measurement of effectiveness. Ms. Anagha described the

issue of water and how they used secondary data for carrying out studies. She emphasized on use

of in-depth unstructured interview, focused group discussions as important tool for monitoring

and evaluation. While Ms. Cocky believed on change in attitude of people can be an indicator for

evaluation.

The moderator took the discussion to how Impact has become important recently in Social

Responsibility and Ms. Anagha Started speaking about accountability, today CSR has become

strategic, unlike earlier when it used to be philanthropic. Another reason is peer pressure

according to Kathikeyan, which is competition among the private player. Impact assessment are

going towards Exit strategy or Scalability. Monitoring „only inputs‟ is not the right way, there

should be a focus on monitoring the output which is actually a challenging job for an

organization. Monitoring is a crux and it should be a day to day strategy imbibed in the Project

of any foundation. Data is another very important thing that should be incorporated in the

monitoring. Panel reiterated the about importance of data many a times during the discussion.

The panel discussion now shifted to whom to be listened while measuring impact. Ms. Cocky

answered that Indicators around knowledge and attitude are very important to be taken into

account while measuring impact. Because stakeholders are not going to tell you that you have

done something bad or you could have done this other way. We cannot undermine opinion of

any stakeholders. Impact also depends on geography of operation. The management might be

interested get the best out of the impact areas, so idea should be to have a critical eye and then

decide whom to take for measurement of impact assessment. Regular feedback loops with

community are necessary, it is our responsibility to empower community to give critical

feedback. Panel also discussed on maintaining the sustainability even after two years of

completion of the project.

In the end panel discussed the challenges faced post evaluation. Monitoring should be merged

with the program rather than thinking about it as separate process. Monitoring and evaluation

should be strategic to the project. Idea like Change is gradual is self-congratulating thing CSR

teams should look at evaluating the people who are not happy, that can make a big help.

Systemic Reviews and evidence based tests can be a great leap forward for carrying out

monitoring and evaluation. Panel concluded on how to use sample size for monitoring and

evaluation and use of technology in monitoring e.g. use of apps.

The event witnessed some of the best panel discussions with some of the best people engaged in

the CSR domain in the country. The discussions ended with conclusions and one of the reasons

of it was healthy discussion among various stakeholder working mutually in order to achieve

height in the social responsibility domain.

FEEDBACK

Overall feedback from the delegates and Panel members was overwhelming and encouraging.

The delegates admired the panel members and the perspectives shared the panelists. We

received request for organizing regular sessions of this kind.

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ABOUT BOMBAY CHAMBER

Established in 1836, the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one of the oldest

Chambers in the Country. Bombay Chamber has an illustrious history of 182 years. It is

registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 (Section 25 of The Companies Act, 1956)

a non-profit organization.

The Chamber can boast not only of its longevity but also of its impeccable lineage. With more

than 3500 prime companies as its members, the Chamber represents the cream of Indian

Industry, Commerce and Services. The Chamber uniquely represents large and medium sized

corporations, banking and financial institutions, professional consulting companies and a large

number of multinationals. While the name `Bombay Chamber' conjures images of an

organization representing exclusively a city-based membership, in reality it represents a wide

spectrum of highly reputed and professionally run companies which are based in the city of

Mumbai, but whose manufacturing facilities and commercial influence spread not only all over

India but also internationally.

Over the past few years the Bombay Chamber has moved somewhat from the traditional role

of advocacy with Government and facilitating trade and Industry to play a larger role of

"Corporate as a Citizen".

TEAM MEMBERS

Ms. Pearl Tiwari, Chairperson, CSR Committee, Bombay Chamber

Dr. Meena Galliara, Co- Chairperson- CSR Committee & Invitee to the Board,

Bombay Chamber

Ms. Usha Maheshwari, Additional Director , Bombay Chamber

Ms. Aneeha Neeraja Rajan, Assitatant Manager, Bombay Chmaber

Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Documents

Transcript of Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry