There is a need for partnerships among corporate enterprises, non-governmental organisations and the government to create social impact through CSR activities, said S Sivakumar, Chairman, Technico Agri Sciences, ITC.

Addressing a CSR conference on ‘Synergy for Maximising Social Impact’ organised by the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday, he said that to create more equitable wealth, all stakeholders need to collaborate — government for scale, NGOs for empowerment and social mobility, and businesses to create financial and project management capability and also innovation.

“There is also a need for a fourth partner — technology and scientific establishments, for providing evidence-based interventions. But it is easier said than done,” he added.

According to him, for partnerships to work ,it is important to factor in prejudices, work culture and processes before collaborating. This can be overcome by engagements among stakeholders and creating a sense of ownership towards the project. There is also a need for regular review processes for removing roadblocks to ensure progress. Finally, what is critical is a party that can take responsibility of the outcome and orchestrate the partnership to work towards a goal.

Mukund Rajan, Chief Ethics Officer and Chairman, Tata Global Sustainability Council, Tata Sons, said the challenge with CSR also lies with how to be environmentally sustainable. There is a lot of pressure on the environment from growing population, urbanisation and climate change.

“Corporates should recognise these challenges and make real investment to address climate change.

“It will drive innovation and give rise to new business opportunities and models. We are already seeing this in shared economy initiatives, in terms of transportation and roof-top solar.”

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