Csr Activities of Hul

VIRAJ TAMHANE _____________________________________________________________________________________________ HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED Meeting Everyday Needs of People bothwhere _____________________________________________________________________________________________ CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is rooted in its Corporate Purpose the belief that to practise requires the highest well-worns of corporate behavior towards our employees, consumers and the societies and world in which we live.HULs CSR philosophy is imbed in its perpetration to entirely stakeholders &8212 consumers, employees, the environment and the society that the organization operates in. HUL believes that it is this commitment which forget deliver sustainable, profitable growth. HULs key CSR initiatorys are undertaken with a long-term view. Initiatives that are sustainable open long-term benefits and an ongoing business l ine purpose linked to them is accorded priority focus.As early as in the 1950s, HUL concentrate on import substitution when balance of payments was an issue. Since the 1980s, most of HULs investments control been in designated backward areas and correct-industry districts, spreading industrialization. HUL has revived sick industries and has actual topical anesthetic entrepreneurship Furthering this rich tradition of contributing to the community, HUL is focusing on health hygiene bringing up, women authorizement, and piss man seasonment.In addition to these important platforms, HUL is managewise touch in a estimate of community promote activities, like providing audio-visual packages for basic education in primary schools, education and rehabilitation of supernumerary or underprivileged children, finagle for the destitute and HIV-positive, and bucolic development. In recognition of these initiatives, HUL received the prestigious TERI-CSR spare Award for the yr 2 002-03 from The Energy and Re characters Institute (TERI). As is well-known, TERI, which was established in 1974, is world famous for its commitment to and initiatives in every aspect of sustainable development.Among HULs study CSR initiatives are PROJECT SHAKTI Changing Lives in Rural India envision Shakti is HULs untaught initiative, which targets small villages with population of less than 2000 people or less. It seeks to empower underprivileged country women by providing income- generating opportunities. proposal Shakti overly aims to improve the standard of living of the rural community, by providing health and hygiene education. In general, rural women in India are underprivileged and need a sustainable source of income. NGOs, governmental bodies and other institutions have been taping to improve the status of rural women.Project Shakti is a pioneering effort in creating livelihoods for rural women, organized in Self-Help convocations (SHGs), and meliorate living s tandards in rural India. Project Shakti provides critically needed superfluous income to these women and their families, by equipping and training them to become an extended arm of the comp some(prenominal)s operation. Started in 2001, Project Shakti has already been extended to about 20000 villages in 196 districts in 11 States Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.The respective state governments and several NGOs are actively involved in the initiative. Project Shakti already has about 6200 women entrepreneurs in its fold. A usual Shakti entrepreneur earns a sustainable income of about Rs. 1, 000 per month, which is double their average firm income. Project Shakti is thusly creating opportunities for rural women to live in improved conditions and with dignity, opus improving the overall standard of living in their families. In addition, it involves health and hygiene programmes, which helper to improve the standard of living of the rural community.The projects electron orbit already covers about 15 gazillion rural populations. Plans are also beingness drawn up to bring in partners involved in agriculture, health, insurance and education to catalyze overall rural development. HULs vision for Project Shakti is to scale it up across the country, applications programme 100,000 villages and touching the lives of 100 million rural consumers by 2005. LIFEBUOY SWASTHYA CHETANA Health & ampere Hygiene preparation Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana is the hotshot largest rural health and hygiene educational programme ever undertaken in India.Its heading is to educate people about basic hygienic habits. It has been developed around the insight that people mistakenly believe visible uncontaminating is safe clean. The programme establishes the existence of invisible germs and the associated risk of infection. In India this is important, because diarrhea, caused by inv isible germs, is the second largest cause of death among children below the age of 5. The project go away help number incidence of such diseases, by raising awareness of preventive hygienic practices. The campaign has been divided into variant phases.In the initial phase, a Health Development Facilitator (HDF) and an assistant initiates contact and interacts with students and influencers of the community, like village community representatives, medical practitioners, school teachers etc. A number of tools like a pictorial story in a append chart format, a Glo-germ demonstration, and a quiz with attractive prizes to honor the message are used. The Glo-Germ demonstration is a unique tool to take up unseen germs visible and emphasizing the need to get hold of hygienic practices. The prime(prenominal) interaction with students is then replicated with the rest of the community.Subsequently, follow-up visits and communication are undertaken at periodic intervals which reinforce th e message and learnings. Started in 2002, the programme has as of now covered about 15000 villages in 8 states &8212 Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra it has already touched about 70 million people, imparting hygiene education to over 25 million children. The vision of this on-going project is to make a billion Indians feel safe and secure by focusing on their health and hygiene needs.FAIR & LOVELY FOUNDATION Economic authority of Women The Fair & agreeable cosmos is HULs initiative which aims at stinting empowerment of women across India. It aims to achieve this through providing information, resources, inputs and support in the areas of education, career and go-ahead. It specifically targets women from low- income groups in rural as well as urban India. Fair & Lovely, as a brand, stands on the economic renowned Indian women, from various walks of life, as its advisors. Among them are educationists, NGO activists, physicians.The Foundation is implementing its activities in draw with state governments. In India, low-income families, albeit unwillingly, tend to discriminate against fille children, in providing opportunities for education and enterprise, because of resource constraints. The support provided by Fair & Lovely Foundation will help girl children avail opportunities of higher(prenominal) education and acquires skills in appropriate professions. Launched in 2003, Fair & Lovely Foundation seeks to impact the lives of women. This will be done through scholarships and enterprise initiatives.For career guidance, it seeks to touch millions of aspiring women and students in an ongoing programme, currently covering three states and all main metros in the country. GREENING BARRENS &8212 body of water system system supply saving and Harvesting HULs Water Conservation and Harvesting project has two major objectives a) to reduce water usage in its own operations and rem edy sub-soil water tables at its own sites through the principles of 5R &8212 reduce, reuse, recycle, recover and renew b) help nigh villages to implement appropriate models of watershed development.Water scarcity is one of the biggest crises veneer India in terms of spread and severity. Water preservation and harvesting in HULs own operations will help conserve and regenerate this unparalleled resource. An attendant benefit will be reduction in the consumption of energy that would have been spent in converting and using that water. The support to communities in developing watersheds will help in the economic development of areas adjacent to HUL sites. Water management is a focus area for all HUL factories. Water conservation has been made one of the key performance indicators of an HUL manufactory.Through a series of technology innovations and novel processing routes HUL has reduced its ground water consumption by over 50%. HUL has also applied technologies that recycle wastew ater water after treatment 70% of HUL sites are now zero discharge sites. There are many other measures &8212 Reverse Osmosis Plants and solar Evaporation Ponds to name a few. A simultaneous benefit is saving in energy that otherwise would have been consumed in drawing, pumping or converting water into steam &8212 HULs energy consumption per unit of production has come downwardly by 61% since 1996.Since 2003, all HUL sites have begun to harvest rain water. pelting water falling on factory premises is accumulated in ponds, thereby renewing sub-soil water tables. HUL is also committed to extending its efforts on water management to the larger community, and has engaged in community projects in water adjacent to manufacturing sites. The Khamgaon soap factory is located in a run dry and arid region of Maharashtra and gets limited rainfall. Seven years back the factory started a pilot on Watershed Management on a 5-hectare plot to prevent soil degradation and conserve water.The effort s have resulted in the creation of a green belt, which is the only visible green flake in the area. The 5-hectare green belt is now a veritable wood of about 6300 trees, including over 1400 ornamental vegetations and over 600 fruit- bearing plants. There has also been a remarkable improvement in the quality of soil, and meaningful conservation of water. This has been documented in a booklet, Greening Barrens, so that industry, government bodies and communities adopt this widely.Encouraged by the results, HUL has extended the model to a neighboring village, Parkhed, in association with the TERI and the Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation. The community at Parkhed has already constructed 37 check dams. More than 20,000 saplings have been planted during the 2003 monsoon. For the first time, villagers were able to collect water and utilize it for irrigation military position monsoon. The initiative received appreciation at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.I n association with an NGO, Vanrai, HULs Silvassa manufacturing hub (in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli) too has embarked on a long-term project of water harvesting, which aims to dramatically change water availability, taking it up to year-round availability from 4 months at present. At Karchond village, near the Silvassa site, the community has built 18 bunds. Seven of them are on a river running through the village, and 11 smaller ones at contrary water run-off points. This has enabled the community to sow a second crop, thereby importantly increasing their incomes.Through an Integrated Village Development Programme, the projects ambit also includes deputy income-generating activities through SHGs, forestry management, education of children, nutrition. HULs vision is to continuously innovate technologies to further reduce water consumption and further increase conservation in its operations. Simultaneously, HUL sites will progressively help communities, wherever r equired, to develop watersheds. HAPPY HOMES Special Education & Rehabilitation Under the Happy Homes initiative, HUL supports special education and ehabilitation of children with challenge. ASHA DAAN The initiative began in 1976, when HUL supported Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity to set up Asha Daan, a home(a) in Mumbai for abandoned, challenged children, and the destitute. Subsequently, Asha Daan has also become a home to the HIV- positive. The objective in supporting Asha Daan was and continues to be to share the originations prosperity in supporting the Mothers mission of serving the poorest of the poor.Asha Daan has been set up on a 72,500-square feet plot belonging to HUL, in the heart of Mumbai city. HUL bears the working capital and revenue expenses for maintenance, upkeep and security of the premises. The destitute and the HIV-positive are provided with food, shelter and medicinal drug for the last few days of their lives. The needs of the abandoned chal lenged children are also met through special classes of basic skills, physiotherapy and, if possible, corrective surgery. At any point of time, it takes care of over 300 infants, destitute men and women and HIV-positive patients.ANKUR In 1993, HULs Doom Dooma Plantation Division set up Ankur, a middle for special education of challenged children. The center takes care of children with challenges, aged between 5 and 15 years. Ankur provides educational, vocational and recreational activities to over 35 children with a site of challenges, including sight or hearing impairment, polio related disabilities, cerebral paralyse and severe learning difficulties. These physically and mentally challenged children are taught skills, such as cookery, painting, embroidery, bamboo crafts, weaving, stitching, etc. epending on their aptitudes. The center has rehabilitated 10 children, including self-employment for 6 children by providing them with shops, and 3 girls have been provided employment as creche attendants. It has also moved to figure schools 18 children. Since inception it has covered about 80 children. Ankur received the Lawrie Group World aware Award for Social Progress in 1999 from HRH Princess regal in London. KAPPAGAM Encouraged by Ankurs conquest, Kappagam (shelter), the second center for special education of challenged children, was set up in 1998 on HUL Plantations in southern India.It has 17 children. The focus of Kappagam is the same as that of Ankur. The center has 17 children, being taught self-help skills, useful vocational activities like making of paper covers, greeting cards, neglige papers, fancy stationery, and napkins, b get ons made out of coconut leaves, candles, and also some home care products. About 12 of the children have become relatively independent by earning through crafts learnt at the center. Since inception, it has covered about 28 children. ANBAGAMYet some other day care center, Anbagam (shelter of love), has been started i n 2003 also in the South India Plantations. It takes care of 11 children. Besides medical care and meals, they too are being taught skills such that they can become self-reliant and mere(a) studies. Over 20,000 individuals have benefitted from the Happy Homes initiatives since inception. HUL is wholeheartedly involved with all quadruplet centers and will continue to be involved in the future. Among HULs other significant CSR initiatives are YASHODADHAMHUL has doctored a village in the Bhachau Taluka of Gujarats Kachchh district. The village, which has been named Yashodadham, was dedicated to its 1100 residents in December 2002. The residents belong to Nani Chirai village, which was completely ruin by the devastating seism of January 2001. Yashodadham, spread over 25 acres, comprises 289 homes. HUL has also provided a school building, an undivided playground for children and a multi-purpose community center, including a creche, health center, and community room and village admin istration office.All the structures are earthquake and cyclone-resistant. Space has been left all along the village for parks and public squares, where villagers subsequently will plant trees. Each house is of 400 sq. ft. built-up area, with running water and electricity, in a 1600 sq. ft. plot. As desired by the villagers, the design and foundation of houses and the plot size is such that they have the scope to build extra rooms in the future. HUL has constructed both an underground reservoir and an overhead tank for water.HUL, which had launched immediate accompaniment after the quake in areas adjacent to its Kandla Exports factory, subsequently decided to reconstruct a village, which was completely wrecked. The objective was to help a completely wrecked village, because such settlements had the greatest need for help. Forty such villages were inspected, around Kandla factory, and Nani Chirai was chosen. VINDHYA vale In 2002, the company took up a project in Madhya Pradesh, which will impact the entire states rural population.The mainstay of Madhya Pradeshs economy is agriculture. Prosperity thus means increasing the income of farmers and small town and village entrepreneurs engaged in agro-processing and cottage industries. This is where HUL is contributing its expertise. It has helped the state government create Vindhya Valley, an umbrella brand, and support software for its merchandiseing, manufacturing and distribution. The state government has been substantially investing every year to finance small town and village entrepreneurs.But the lack of marketing skills and market access denied them the desired success and eventually resulted in most of these ventures neat unsustainable. The launch of Vindhya Valley, with support software from HUL, is helping overcome the impediment. It is a unfeignedly unique and sustainable form of livelihood generation. This has resulted as of now in the establishment of 20 small units, based in rural areas, providing s ubscribe engagement to about 1000 families involved in the production of spices, honey, papad, pickles, agarbatti etc.The success of Vindhya Valley has been recognized by various state governments. HUL has recently begun work with the Karnataka Government in similar projects to improve the income and quality of life of rural communities. An umbrella brand, Stree Shakti, is being created for Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The initiative will generate higher sales and higher returns for the SHGs. In its business operations and in its principles and practices, Hindustan Lever thus straddles the Indian corporate world, single-mindedly identifying itself with Indian aspirations and needs in every walk of life.