You are on page 1of 33

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN IT / ITES SECTOR

Group 3 Section B

Submitted to: Dr. Mousumi Sengupta

Submitted by:
Maheshwari M, (16081)
Manel Srikant Nayak, (16082)
M C Nithin Medappa, (16083)
Meghana Banka, (16084)
Mohammed Azka, (16085)
Nagendra R, (16086)
Naman Gupta, (16087)
Neha Gupta, (16088)
Nidhi S S, (16089)
Nishanth Adyanthaya, (16090)
Contents

Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 1
1. Introduction to the concept of CSR and its significance......................................................... 2
2. Brief about IT/ITES sector...................................................................................................... 4
3. Global CSR practices in the IT/ITES sector ........................................................................... 6
CISCO ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Microsoft ................................................................................................................................. 8
4. CSR practices in India in the sector allocated ...................................................................... 11
Infosys ................................................................................................................................... 11
Wipro Cares .......................................................................................................................... 13
Tata consultancy services: .................................................................................................... 19
5. Prospects and challenges (sector-specific)............................................................................ 28
Prospects ................................................................................................................................... 28
Challenges ................................................................................................................................. 29
6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 30
7. Recommendation from the group ......................................................................................... 30
8. Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 31

Figure 1 CSR: Phases of Evolution (Jana Foundation, 2014) (Shodhganga, 2012) ....................... 2
Figure 2 CSR Perspective (Jana Foundation, 2014) ....................................................................... 3
Figure 3 Segments of Indias IT Sector (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2015)........................... 5
Figure 4 Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility (Cisco, 2015) ...................................................... 8
Figure 5. Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry......................................................................................... 20
Figure 6 TCS Sahyadri Park, Hinewadi, Pune (TCS, 2016)......................................................... 25
Figure 7. TCS Energy Efficiency (TCS, 2016)............................................................................. 26
Figure 8. Results of responsible, effective usage of energy (TCS, 2016) .................................... 26
Figure 9. TCS water conservation (Water Management, n.d.) ..................................................... 27
1. Introduction to the concept of CSR and its significance

Corporate social responsibility has evolved multiple times in the last decade and there are several
definitions of CSR which are universally accepted. Each definition identifies the impacts of
business on its environment and the stakeholders involved in running the business and what is
expected from the business apart from profit maximization. The questions also arise, as to what is
given in return to the stakeholder and the environment in the whole process of making the business
profitable. Over the last decade the term CSR has gained immense importance in the business
scape as well as in academics and social sector.

There are many overlapping concepts which have emerged and are incorporated into CSR (EY
and PHD Chamber, 2013). Although the roots of CSR lie in philanthropic activities (such as
donations, charity, relief work, etc.) of corporations, globally, the concept of CSR has evolved and
now encompasses all related concepts such as triple bottom line, corporate citizenship,
philanthropy, strategic philanthropy, shared value, corporate sustainability and business
responsibility (PwC, 2013).

In India the, CSR was traditionally seen as philanthropic activity, but has now moved to
institutional and community development. The global practices has affected the CSR in India,
though still largely it is community development but has now become strategic in nature (PwC,
2013). The Companies Act, 2013 has defined CSR specifically and provided mandates that are
required by the companies to follow and ensure better transparency and disclosures. The main
focus is the communities and environment, but the companies must make CSR as the part of its
core operations and integral part of the companys processes.

As per the companies Act, clause 135, CSR is applicable to companies with turnover more than
1,000 crore annually or with net worth of 500 crore or with net profit greater than 500 crore, they
are also required to set up a CSR committee and spend as much as 2 percent of the three year
average profit on CSR activities (PwC, 2013).

Phase 1 (1850- Phase 2 (1914- Phase 4 (1990


Phase 3 (1960-90
1914 1960) onwards)

Dominated by independence Mixed and from


culture, religion, strugge was socialist kind of philanthrophic
tradition predomiant in economy CSR to strategic
philanthrophy by india shift from self CSR
industries corporates were regulation to Corporates are
establishing legal and public now accountable
scholls, colleges reglation to its
and training socio-economic stakeholders
institutes development was mandatory
crucial disclosures for
transparency

Figure 1 CSR: Phases of Evolution (Jana Foundation, 2014) (Shodhganga, 2012)


Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability:

Sustainability is defined by Brundtland Report of 1987 as development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (GH,
Brundtland, and World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). The sustainability
approach envisages balance of the social, economic and environmental development and how
companies can play a major role. The nine principles of national voluntary guidelines encompass
all concepts that are now under corporate social responsibility, i.e. accountability, transparency,
restoring environment, duty towards all stakeholders, inclusive growth and equitable development
etc. (MCA, GoI, 2011).

According to business This perspective focuses it says that all the


Eco-Social Perspective
Business Perspective

Right Based Perspectie


perspective CSR is not on the integration of stakeholders be it
merely philanthropic social and environmental primary, secondary or
activities but now they are development for the long tertiary level, all must
business strategies. run sustainability of the know about the business
According to new CSR business and increased processes and its impacts
strategies, it improves the association with the on them and the society,
profits of the company, CSR community and its is their right to know
amlgamated with development of the and also it is compay's
sustainability principles environment responsibiltiy to protect
reduces the over all costs the stakeholders and
of business operationa and environment.
increase profits

Figure 2 CSR Perspective (Jana Foundation, 2014)

Significance and importance of CSR:

Corporate social responsibility has now been an important business practices of an organization.
Every company now see CSR as a reputation and goodwill building activity. When a company
carries on CSR activity the image of the company in the eyes of the public enhances which inclines
them towards the public. In other ways we can say that CSR activities can also be a means of
marketing the company in the market making it more ethical and socially relevant in the society.

The organization uses the resources of the society such as human resources, land, and also damages
the environment by emitting toxic substances which can harm the ecological balance of the
environment so it is necessary for the company to make good for the damages caused by it. The
six main components of CSR implementation are as follows.

1. CSR assessment
2. CSR strategy
3. CSR commitments
4. Implementation plan and action
5. Verification and evaluation of the result.
6. Refinement.
CSR for the primary stakeholders can help in many ways to the overall development of the
company:

1. For Employees: It strengthens the relationship between companies and primary


stakeholders i.e. employees, it also provides satisfaction to the employees that their
company is ethical and motivates them. It also fosters a positive working environment for
its employees.
2. Companys corporate image: a company with good CSR is always preferred by the
consumers and their products are more likely to be purchased the consumers (Corporate
Responsibility Watch, 2014)
3. Better and more media coverage: a good CSR program invites positive media coverage
and this benefits the company giving intangible benefits in the short term which later gives
monetary benefits to the company in terms of profit maximization.
4. Communities also welcome companies with good CSR practices and hence it becomes
easier for companies to operate in those areas (PwC, 2013).
5. Communities become part of the companys business processes and sometimes supplies
the raw materials as well.
6. Attracts and retain investors- the investors who pool in their money to the company will
want to know if their money is being used in the right manner and also being used for the
social cause. The investors will be encouraged to invest in a company which is socially
empathetic.

2. Brief about IT/ITES sector

Information technology industry in India has played a significant role in driving India globally.
One of the most significant growth contributor for the Indian economy is the Indian IT industry.
The Indian IT industry has played a noteworthy role in transforming Indias image from a slow
moving governmental economy to a land of pioneering entrepreneurs. Indian IT companies like
TCS, Wipro, and Infosys are among the top 500 companies worldwide which are providing world
class technology solutions and business services (Ficci, 2016). India is also gaining importance in
terms of intellectual capital with several global IT firms setting up their innovation centres in India
(India Brand Equity Foundation, 2016).

Indian information technology industry accounts for approximately 67 per cent of the US$ 124-
130 billion market. Hence India is the world's largest sourcing destination for the information
technology (IT) industry. The Indian IT industry employs about 10 million employees. (India
Brand Equity Foundation, 2016)

The Indian IT and ITeS industry is divided into four major segments (India Brand Equity
Foundation, 2016)
IT & ITES Sector

Software products
Business Process
IT Services Hardware & engineering
services Management

During FY Since the With 3.1


2015 the penetration of million jobs it
market size personal is the largest
The revenue
was USD computers is segment
generated
75.83 billion rising in India, from exports The revenue
The major the domestic that comes
is over 79%
vertical of IT market is from the
During FY export market
sector is experiencing 2015 the
BFSI growth is around 85%
market size During FY
The revenue In FY 2015 the
is USD 24.11 2015 the
that comes market size
billion market size
the export was 17.91 was USD
market is billion 28.15 billion
over 67%

Figure 3 Segments of Indias IT Sector (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2015)

Market Size: For the financial year 2016-17 the Indian IT sector is expected to grow at a rate of
12-14 per cent. By 2025 the Indian IT sector is also expected triple its current annual revenue to
reach US$ 350 billion. India with more than 4200 start-ups ranks third among global start-up
ecosystems. By 2018, Indias internet economy is expected to touch 10 trillion (US$ 146.72
billion), accounting for 5 per cent of the countrys GDP. The main drivers for the continued growth
of data center co-location and hosting market in India are increased penetration of internet
(including in rural areas) and rapid emergence of e-commerce. By 2020, India's business to
business (B2B) e-commerce market is expected to reach US$ 700 billion whereas the business to
consumer (B2C) e-commerce market is expected to reach US$ 102 billion. (India Brand Equity
Foundation, 2016).

Major developments in the Indian IT and ITeS sector

1. Google Station, a new Wi-Fi platform launched by Google will facilitate install Wi-Fi hot
spots in places like malls, cafes, universities which are frequently visited by a large number
of people. (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2016)
2. Jio Digital India Startup Fund, a 5,000 crore fund will be used by Reliance Industries Ltd
(RIL) to invest in technology based startups and RIL plans to set up entrepreneurship hubs
in key cities and towns. (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2016)
3. MobiKwik, Gurgaon-based digital wallet start-up owned and operated by One MobiKwik
Systems Private Limited, has raised US$ 40 million from a South African payments
technology company Nasdaq-listed firm Net1. (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2016)
4. Infosys Ltd, Indias top IT Company has bought a minority stake in Whoop, a US-based
start-up that makes activity trackers worn by athletes worth US$ 3 million. (India Brand
Equity Foundation, 2016)
5. Microsoft Ventures with a vision to create a viable and profitable business out of the
booming start-up sector in India in the next 5 years is planning to incubate 500 start-ups in
India (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2016)
6. As a part of Government of India's Digital India initiative, Nasscom Foundation, a non-
profit organisation which is a part of Nasscom to establish 25 National Digital Literacy
Mission (NDLM) centers in 12 cities across India has partnered with SAP India. (India
Brand Equity Foundation, 2016)

3. Global CSR practices in the IT/ITES sector

The European Union (EU) has given a widely cited definition of CSR in the business & social
context. It describes CSR as the concept that an enterprise is accountable for its impact on all
relevant stakeholders. It is the continuing commitment by business to behave fairly and
responsibly, and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the
work force and their families as well as of the local community and society at large (Ernst &
Young, 2013).

Many companies have integrated socially responsible business practices realizing the importance
and the long term benefit of being socially responsible. To maximize the companys overall impact
on the stakeholders and society while considering environment and overall sustainability is the
basic objective of CSR. (Ernst & Young, 2013).

Some existing CSR policy initiatives across countries

Governments are aware of the national competitive advantages from a responsible business sector
as the significance of being socially responsible is being recognized worldwide. The benefits of
implementing CSR initiatives are being realized by large organizations. (Ernst & Young, 2013).

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a pioneer in


developing the concept of CSR. In 1976, OECD has established a set of guidelines for
multinational corporations. To encourage the contribution of MNCs to economic and social
progress and to improve the investment climate was the main purpose of the guidelines (Ernst &
Young, 2013).

To encourage CSR reporting several efforts have been taken by various governments such as
incentivizing companies who take measures such as mandating CSR reporting or by voluntarily
reporting their CSR activities. The British Companies Act in the year 2006 directed all companies
listed in the UK to include information about their CSR activities in their annual reports (Ernst &
Young, 2013)

A regulation was passed in the year 2007 by the Malaysian government to mandate all publicly
listed companies to publish their CSR initiatives in their annual reports on a comply or explain
basis.

In 2009 Denmark asked all the state-owned companies and companies with total assets of more
than 19 million, revenues more than 38 million and more than 250 employees to compulsorily
have CSR reporting and also asked them to report their social initiatives in their annual financial
reports (Ernst & Young, 2013).

A law called Grenelle II was passed in France which mandated all companies listed on French
stock exchanges to provide integrated sustainability and financial reporting of their CSR
initiatives. The listed companies have to also provide report of their subsidiaries located in France.
The unlisted companies with sales revenue of more than 400 million and more than 2,000
employees have to also give CSR reporting in their annual reports (Ernst & Young, 2013).

Emerging markets such as Brazil, China and South Africa also involve CSR activities in their
businesses to promote credibility, endurance & transparency. The companies in these countries
have become front liners in CSR reporting. Through the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange
China has also encouraged CSR reporting (Ernst & Young, 2013).

CISCO
CISCO is in the IT sector form the past 30 years and provides broad range solutions to its clients
including networking technologies. Cisco now also provides end to end solutions to clients
including security, collaboration, mobility, cloud, video and analytics (Cisco, 2015). Cisco reports
as per GRI G4 guidelines. Following are the major focus areas and Cisco does CSR in:
Data security, digital rights and privacy are the major concern and they also fight with US department of justice in the case of
storing emails by Microsoft
They have also opened up ethics helpline where their employees can raise ethical questions and the company can address it
Governance They also follow code of business conduct where strict ethical standards are to be maintained by the employess of the
company
and Ethics

Their new people strategy focus on satifying employee experience and fair appraisals and performance management
through sync up. it is also rated among the top 100 companies to work for.
They have also developed programs and training to develop leaders for tomorrow and people who have taken them have
been benefitted from those programs
People

Annual "global hunger relief program", where they have fed food to atleast 700 million people through employee donations
completed 145,000 hours of employee volunteer teaching Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and made
5,500 visits to patients through its collaborative technologies, theu also benefitted 150,000 patients through Jordan
Healthcare Initiative.
Society "Labor Link" platform enables Cisco to reach 250,000 factory and farm workers, trained them

As much as 71.9 pecent of the enerygy they use comes from renewable sources of electricity, spent $16 Million on
renewable energy in their EnerygyOps program
11,718 metric tones of waste was collected by Cisco from its customers to reuse and recycling in its initiative to reduce
waste. they used 25 % of this returned waste to produce new products
Environment They are working n a 100 % product return program along with its suppliers and customers

they have established a GHG emission reduction for their suppliers as well and hand hold them in technology and other
aspects to attain that
Cisco has engaged it's suppliers employees to complete the " corporate human rights training (81% participation to date)"
Supply Chain

Figure 4 Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility (Cisco, 2015)

Microsoft
Microsoft is a technology company whose mission is to enable every person and every
organization on the planet to accomplish more. Building best-in-class platforms and productivity
services for a mobile-first, cloud-first world is what Microsoft believes in and that is the approach
Microsoft has taken.
People: Empowering Communities

Microsoft is devoted to applying technology, talent, and financial resources to enable communities
everywhere on the planet where our employees, partners, and customers live and work.
Microsoft Youthspark

Microsoft Youth Spark is an initiative which is present at the global level of the company .The
initiative is to use the power of technology to unite the youth around the world through
employment, education and entrepreneurship opportunities. YouthSpark was started by Microsoft
in 2012.Their main aim was to create opportunities for 300 million youth by 2015. Microsoft
created opportunities for over 80 million youth in the year 2015 and met their three-year goal. In
3-years they created opportunities for more than 307 million youth in total. Looking into the future,
Microsoft plans to continue the YouthSpark initiative with a sharpened focus on increasing access
for the youth to computer science education on a global scale.

Employee Giving and Volunteerism

Outside USA, employees can make use of their three paid days to volunteer in their local
communities. In the US, Microsoft Employee Giving Program gives money, gifts or incentives to
the employee for the number of hours they volunteered .This amounted up to $15,000 annually. In
2015, they increased their company volunteer match to $25 per hour .For example, four hours of
volunteer time resulted in a $100 donation from Microsoft to the nonprofit. 67 percent of
Microsofts US employees participated in the Employee Giving Program in the year 2015.
Microsoft encourages employees to volunteer, by maintaining a database of volunteer
opportunities. An organized Day of Caring for team-based group volunteer efforts for employees
around the Seattle area and many other locations are also hosted by the company. Through their
TEALS Program they actively recruit employees to participate as volunteer computer science
educators. In the year 2015 they took up a new step to match their employees technical expertise
with nonprofit needs for technology support which was called Tech Talent for Good and was
launched with a varied number of divisions in Washington State.

Environment: Product

Driving Energy Efficiency in and with Our Services and Devices.

Microsoft is dedicated to increasing the amount of computing power per unit of energy that
is being consumed by the services and devices that are being offered by Microsoft. They
make sure that each new enhancement offers energy efficiency power management tools
including a new energy saver mode that has been added to Windows 10.
Cloud and Azure
Microsoft is a service provider .Organizations are offered a carbon-efficient and carbon
neutral substitute to running their own private data centers by the company. Microsoft
cloud service for Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Dynamics
CRM capabilities helps organizations in reducing energy use and releases of carbon by 30
to 90 percent per user versus running on-premises.
With Microsoft Azure, businesses can choose Microsoft carbon neutral data centers for
on-demand computing and storage, which helps in saving energy costs and in reducing
their companys carbon footprint .It also decreases the capital costs that are associated
while procuring the hardware and infrastructure.
Microsoft states that organizations that capitalize on Microsoft Azure will be able to
produce information and data as resources to help service increasing populations more
proficiently and with less waste.
Design for Green Devices
To take care of sustainability in packaging, Microsoft has designed packaging for Xbox
One, Surface, and their hardware peripherals to decrease the use of materials and substitute
plastics with paperboard packaging and materials from sugarcane waste. Microsoft has also
set standards of a minimum of 50 percent recycled content (25 percent of which must be
post-consumer) for paperboard packaging and a minimum of 25 percent post-consumer
content for rigid plastic packaging.
Device Take-Back and Recycling
Microsoft is extremely dedicated to meet and go beyond the government standards on
taking-back and responsible recycling or disposal of electronics, batteries, and packaging.
The company is a member of more than 145 government-mandated recycling schemes and
producer responsibility organizations worldwide. It also offers a number of voluntary take-
back and recycling programs, including incentives to bring used electronics to Microsoft
Stores for recycling.
Waste and Water
Microsofts operations are generally not water demanding. Only some of the datacenters depend
on water for cooling. Microsoft has worked to eliminate the effects of data center water use by
using recycled municipal waste water in some water-deficient locations such as San Antonio,
Texas.
Other than the datacenters, Microsoft continues to capitalize in water-saving structures in
Microsoft office buildings and campuses and also in smart landscape irrigation practices to
conserve water.

Microsofts Real Estate and Facilities teams, globally implement waste minimization programs.
These programs include office supply reuse, recycling, and in many cases, composting programs.
Among their undertakings, they reduced, reused, or recycled 99 percent of the waste from the
Redmond, Washington dining facilities. This was done by switching to compostable tableware,
administering aggressive recycling programs, and adapting their menu to get the most from each
item of food served.

Partnerships

Public Policy Engagement on Climate and Energy

Microsoft recognized the need to work to address global environmental challenges especially with
their broad partnerships globally .Microsofts Climate Change Policy Statement recognizes that
climate change is a serious challenge that requires a comprehensive and global response from all
sectors of society. Microsoft is working to develop public policies that promote the use of
information and communication technology (ICT), to advance energy efficiency, branch
innovation and economic opportunity, and contribute to practical strategies for explaining climate
change. For the past six years, their annual Global Public Policy Agenda has included a section
supporting government policies that support technological advances and innovation to reduce
energy use and limit the effects of climate change.

4. CSR practices in India in the sector allocated

The top IT and ITE companies of india are Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCT) and Wipro.
Their CSR practices are discussed below:

Infosys

Infosys foundation was established in 1996 as a not for profit org committed towards CSR In all
its outlook with regard to activities. It partnership with various NGOs in India to do something
towards the very much required development of sustainability of the society and community as a
whole

Focus areas (Committee-Infosys, 2015)

Hunger, poverty, malnutrition and health- Aims to eradicate the same though tying up
with various NGOs and foundations
Education- Aims at providing the sort of employment that would enhance vocational
skills especially among women in India.
Rural development projects- Providing accessibility to drinking water, sanitation, power
and livelihoods
Gender equality and empowerment of women-By setting up homes, hostels and day care
centers for women and orphans
Sustainability of the Environment Balance of the ecology, protection of flora and
welfare of animals.
Healthcare (Infosys, n.d.)
Infosys gives prime importance to all sorts of access to the primary care of health, creating
awareness of the necessary hygiene and cleanliness, and also focuses on healing of patients that
demand the necessary attention. Since its beginning in the year in the in 1996, the Infosys
Foundation has built many wards, constructed a lot of dharmashalas (rest houses), and apart from
that has also provided clinical equipment to various hospitals throughout India.

Vision for our country which is blind-free

This Foundation collaborating with various NGOs aims to provide help which is financial in nature
to the less privileged society. The Foundation has begun the construction of a hospital. It aims to
give free surgeries every year in India and organizes training programs in many areas that are
associated with field called ophthalmology.

Caring for the ill:

The foundation has collaborated with the reputed SVIRHC, which has contributed immensely
towards leprosy reduction. So far it has treated many leprosy patients, many tuberculosis patients,
and has conducted free eye operations as well.
Good treatment for the neurological and psychiatric problems

NIMHANS can be considered as a splendid institution that offers excellent care for all of its
patients who are problematic from the various neurological and psychiatric pain and problems.
The Foundation has offered assistance financially, making way for all sorts of high quality of high
education and healthcare which is for those patients who would be needing it the most in our
country.

Education

It is really pretty much sad to note that millions of children are dropping out of schools for reasons
mostly financial. Foundation promotes the very necessary required education which is primary
among the children who are underprivileged through its various partnerships which are global
Providing mentorship to upcoming science brains

The sole aim of having the students encouraged to undertake their further studies and the required
research across various disciplines, mostly in fields such as maths, the Foundation has done its
little best by partnering with the reputed CMI.. The various so called grants which are from this
Foundation has made the institution to widen its necessary infrastructure apart from the various
necessities which are basic for all the pupils.

Giving for engineering students the required boost up

The Foundation created in the year September 2014, the Spark-IT program is aimed especially for
the engineering students of the country, the course which is of 3 months aimed to provide training
of communication and technology skills to all those who performed really well which is
exceptionally brilliant, in terms of academics.

The program got a huge response which called attention throughout India. It has also tied up with
many institutes in prominent cities in India like Hyderabad, Delhi and Pune in order to gain a
greater frequency and reach.

Reducing classroom hunger

One of the best manner to reduce the dropping out rates in schools, Infosys believes, is by
providing food to its students so that they need not struggle to work and earn much to make
payment for their meals that they eat. Placed in the Forest of Bannerghatta area in Bangalore, the
Sri Ramakrishna Vidya Kendra is on a good mission to give an end to hunger in classroom for kids
belonging BPL group as well to the tribal local community which resides nearby.

Destitute care

Infosys believes that handholding and training which is vocational, help the destitute in society to
live a life with dignity and also deserve a decent livelihood. It collaborates with various NGOs to
support the various destitute women, girls and children in India. The Foundation gives support for
the various programs in area which is rural of this NGOs across our country.
Support, handholding for the devdasi community

A main aim of the foundation is to reduce the varied exploitation which is experienced by devadasi
community in the society and ensure they are rehabilitated by giving them with many more growth
scope. To make them go through a good transformation into an all new life, it has tied up with the
NJMO, wherein all the kids of devdasis are given medical facilities and necessary schooling.

Helping the many minds that are disturbed

SATHI lends a handholding to castaway as well as for children in streets. The Foundation in itself
takes pride in being a main contributor to the NGO, providing say, financial, emotional and all
other required support. With providing its shelters across the main cities in India, SATHI has done
an excellent job in rehabilitating many children in India.

Stepping stones for the programme called VISHWAS

Based in Gurugram VISHWAS very well meets the needs of poor communities of the society.
VISHWAS and Foundation of Infy joined hands to give the necessary primary education for many
children, including those children who are born with certain disabilities. This collaboration
provides its little bit of handholding under its community initiatives covering fields such as
hygiene, education, health etc.
Rural development

The mental health and emotional health of the citizens dwelling rural areas ensures the required
sustainable development. The Infosys Foundation works with the governing body to achieve the
required developing objectives. They undertake construction of infrastructural projects such as
road , provide electricity, and undertake the rehabilitation of the victims who are affected by flood
in rural areas.

Bringing to focus: Mental health

There is an acute need of necessary physicians and the increasing money for of medication have
made scores of mental people who have not been given medication. The Chittaprakasha Charitable
Trust provides centres for the rehabilitation of those mentally challenged who dont have homes.
The Foundation has gone a long way by helping in the building construction at Chittadama.

Good standards for the underprivileged children with regard to education

Agastya Foundation, which began because of a group of mathematicians, educators, scientists,


pretty much imbibes creativity and supports the inculcation of really good knowledge of science
among the pupils. Agastya along with Foundation have brought a whole new higher standards of
education for Indias less privileged by giving them with all sorts of mobile labs, training seminars
etc.

Wipro Cares

Wipro cares is a Trust established in the year 2001 that endeavors to work with communities in
proximity with Wipros center of operations. It aspires to address major issues ranging from
community relief and rehabilitation in times of disasters to education opportunities, health and
wellness programs for the needy. The program makes sure that their social initiatives reaches every
level of the society that needs our help. It is currently engaged in 16 projects across India. Through
seven of its health care projects in four states of India Wipro Cares is providing more than 75000
people in 53 villages access to primary health care.

Wipro Cares is a non-profit trust a sincere initiative by Wiproites to make enthralling and
channelized contributions in the areas of education, community service projects and social
development, continually (Wipro, 2015) (Wipro, 2015).

Education (Wipro, 2014-2015)

Education is the key which can open doors for many unprivileged children. Keeping this in mind,
Wipro Cares focuses on meeting the educational needs of the urban poor along with other
initiatives.
This program is based on three guiding principles:
It must contribute to systemic or institutional improvement in education.
It should address the needs of underserved and underprivileged sections.

In all cases, the work must be deep and meaningful.

Santoor Womens Scholarship

Wipro Consumer Care and Wipro Cares started Santoor Scholarship program. It aims to support
girls who are willing to pursue higher education after grade 12 and belong to disadvantaged
financial background. With 900 scholarships to offer across the states of Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana, the program will be launched in 2016-17. The program occurs once a year
and selected girls will be supported for the whole tenure of their higher education. The support
also covers tuition fees and incidental expenses. Besides students who are inclined towards
professional courses or those who intend to pursue higher education in the field of humanities,
liberal arts and sciences are strongly encouraged to apply.

Watis

Wipro Applying Thought in Schools (WATIS) is an initiative to work on building capacity in


school education reform in India. Since its inception, WATIS in collaboration with 35
organizations has helped in the improvement of school education. Six new partners have been
added in Assam, Koppal in Karnataka, Hyderabad, Kerala and Mumbai during 2014-2015.

In addition Door Steps School a partner of Wipro in Pune, runs mobile units that provides
schooling to children of migrant laborers who work in construction sites in the city.

Wase

The Wipro Academy of Software Excellence (WASE) program is initiated to help Science
graduates pursue Masters degree in Software Engineering (M.Tech). This program is run in
association with the Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani, India. This unique
program is a blend of exhaustive academic exposure with practical professional learning at the
workplace. WISTA another program run by Wipro in partnership with Vellore Institute of
Technology (VIT) for science graduates without a mathematics background. Since its inception in
1995, 50000 students have graduated from the WASE and WISTA programs with an MS degree
in Software Engineering.

Mission10X

With a goal to improve education in Indias engineering colleges Mission10X was started in 2007.
In the last six years it has reached out to nearly 26,313 faculty members across 1300+ engineering
colleges in 27 states. They work to improve curricular activities and increase faculty capacity. It
has also worked in creating a substantial on-line resource base which is expanding.

Other Education Projects undertaken by Wipro Cares:

Magic Bus, Bangalore

The Magic Bus project started in October 2013 and is working with 500 children around Sarjapur
area in Bangalore.

Objective:

Sensitization of around 500 children in and around Sarjapur area on importance of education,
gender issues and health hygiene.

Twenty youth leaders from the community would be trained and assisted to take up leadership
roles in the community.

With the help of mentoring model and a sport-based curriculum,


Magic Bus enables poor families to move out of poverty. It engages
children and makes sure that they make the right choices to lead a
dignified lives as adults.

Young people from their communities, volunteer to work with


Magic Bus. They are trained to become able Community Youth
Leaders and mentor children in the community and as well become
role model for the children of the community.

Door Step School, Pune

In Pune, Wipro Cares in association with a NGO Door Step School initiated a project Parivartan
to train teachers to help migrant children.
Door Step Schools (DSS) takes initiatives to provide education at
the door steps of children who cannot afford regular schools.
Informal classes is being conducted by DSS in Pune with the
intention of easing the progression of these children into regular
schools. DSS with the help of Parivartan wanted to grow its
teaching faculty through training of teachers. Parivartan selects
women from financially weak families to undergo training.

Towards Future, Kolkata

Wipro Cares is involved with an NGO named Towards Future to provide learning opportunities
children of urban poor and also provide nutrition supplements.

The project Back to Future supported by Wipro is a learning


centre which helps underprivileged migrant children of lobors in
the village of Kalikapura near Salt Lake in Kolkata. The center
divide the children into different groups depending on their
learning level.

Each group is then taken care to maximize their learning. Their


aim is to prepare children for regular school when they return to
their native village. The center also makes efforts to educate
parents in the field of hygiene and nutrition.

In 2014, a noteworthy new initiative on Children with Disability was taken. Through this
program 1350 underprivileged children with disability were provided educational and
rehabilitative needs cities of Bangalore, Pune, Jaipur and Hyderabad.

It focuses on early intervention and inclusive education:

The first element is crucial in the battle against disability as early actions help prevent many
subsequent complications.

The second element underpins the principle that children with disability must grow in a school
environment that empowers them by helping integrate with the mainstream.

Healthcare

Primary Health Care Is The Most Importance Aspect of an Individuals Life. In India, Nearly 600
Million people are deprived of affordable and of good quality basic health care. Wipro focuses on
the health needs of its immediate communities around the major centers of our operations.

Wipro Cares with its partners engages to make sure the delivery good quality primary health care
services to underserved communities covering 53 villages across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh & Uttarakhand. Wipro follows an integrated approach to educate these communities on
developing a higher degree of self-reliance to handle their own primary health care needs while
delivery of regular health services.

Projects undertaken:

Arogya Jyoti
Project Sanjeevani
Tumkur Healthcare Project
Hygienic Sanitation Facilities, Bengaluru
Mysuru Healthcare Project
Amalner Healthcare Project
Hindupur Healthcare Project

Environment

In the 21st century one of the defining challenges facing humanity is the ecological sustainability.
The trajectory of our development will be determined by managing the issues of water scarcity,
climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity.

Wipros engages these issues by adopting dual approaches. The approaches are as follows:
Continually improving the energy, water, waste and biodiversity footprint of our business
operations.
Engaging on community-level actions and advocacy on these issues.

The projects undertaken by Wipro are as follows:

Participative Community Water Program

This Program is started an area which was completely dependent on groundwater i.e., Sarjapur
area in Bangalore. The initiative involves improving the nearby communities in a unique citizen-
led governance model of groundwater. The project includes developing an in depth groundwater
aquifer map for a 33 sq km area around Sarjapur campus. This map will facilitate collective
decision making on management of groundwater in a scientific manner.

Butterfly Park

The twin goals of creating biodiversity in their urban campuses and also using it for education is
addressed by Wipros biodiversity program. Wipros first project of a unique Butterfly Park is in
the Electronic City campus in Bangalore. The first phase has been completed in Wipros Pune
campus with a tripling of the number of native species from 59 to 167. A larger purpose of
education on biodiversity will be achieved by both these projects.
Renewable Energy (RE) Solutions

One of the pivotal element in tackling climate change is development of renewable energy (RE)
solutions. At Wipro, almost 20% of the electricity comes from renewable energy, thus reducing its
electricity footprint.

Management of Urban Solid Waste

In recent time Efficient and effective management of urban solid waste is a drastic problem to face
in all our cities. With the use of right technology, active participation of civil society and good
governance has shown some success, the work of the informal sector unrecognized. Wipro initiated
a project in Bangalore to provide skills to 260 workers in the informal sector of waste along with
access to better nutrition, safety gear and health insurance.

Disaster Rehabilitation

At the time of disaster, everybody wants to help the affected people and provide relief.
Unfortunately most of this support is directed towards or restricted to relief. Once the relief support
is over, the affected people needs sustained support to rebuild their lives.

The program started by Wipro focuses on long-term rehabilitation of affected communities after a
natural disaster. Wipro believes that the affected people have the best knowledge of what they
need to become independent. Wipro first engages with the affected communities to understand
their needs and then provides support.

Over the last 14 years, Wipro has helped the tsunami, flood and earthquake victims rebuild their
lives. Wipro has undertaken two other projects along with the existing project in Vanavil. The
other two projects are Uttarakhand flood disaster in 2013 and Odisha which were hit by cyclone.

Uttarakhand Floods Project Unnati

A multi-day cloudburst which centered the North Indian state of Uttarakhand caused devastating
floods and landslides in the country and is the worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
According to Uttarakhand government, more than 5,700 people were "presumed dead. This total
included 934 local residents. Unnati is being implemented through the organization Shri
Bhuvneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA) at Uttarkashi.

Wipro restored and strengthened the livelihood of 1,000 families by promotion of organic farming-
cash crops, vegetables, poultry, bee-keeping, floriculture, dairy, promotion of fruit orchard and
establishment of cold store in the targeted blocks of Uttarkashi district.

Odisha Floods Project

A severe cyclonic storm named as Phailin with wind speed of more than 220 kms per hour hit
Odisha which affected 1,36,86,368 population belonging to 10,053 villages, 1960 GPs and 42
urban local bodies (ULBs) of 143 blocks of 16 districts of the state. The cyclone was so severe
that it necessitated evacuation of 10, 41,394 populations from the cyclone affected areas and were
placed in the cyclone shelters. The cyclonic storm Phailin and the subsequent floods caused
immense damage to the boats of fishermen in coastal areas of Ganjam. The fishing communities
of this area faced huge losses and lost their only source of livelihood by losing their boats and nets
due to the cyclone.

The objectives of the Odisha Floods Project are:

To work for the restoration of livelihood and income augmentation of affected fishing
communities through fishing
To help build the capacities of the vulnerable fishing communities with information on
various technological advances and government schemes

Outcomes

250 families of the fishermen community improve their livelihood options


Fishing communities build their knowledge and capacities.

Tata consultancy services:

In a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder, but is, in fact, the very purpose
of its existence.

-Jamsetji Tata (Founder, Tata group) (Tata Steel, 2016)

Tata group, founded in 1868 by Jamsetji Tata is one of the oldest conglomerates in India. The
group, since its inception, has grown to be an internationally recognised and respected brand and
is currently one of the largest conglomerates in India. In 2014-15, Tata group earned an overall
revenue of around $108.78 billion. Mr. Cyrus Pallonji Mistry took over from Mr. Ratan Tata in
the year 2012, as the current chairman of the Tata group.
Figure 5. Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry

Over 600,000 people are collectively employed by the Tata group under a total of 58 subsidiary
companies and 30 publicly-listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of about
$134 billion (as on March 31, 2015). Every Tata company, under the guidance and supervision of
its own board of directors and shareholders or enterprise, operates independently. Some popular
names under the Tata umbrella include Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Teleservices, Titan, Tata
Power, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Titan among others. (Tata Group, n.d.)

TCS is an Indian multinational Information Technology company which provides IT and business
solutions along with consulting services across the globe. It has 230 offices across 46 countries
and 147 delivery centres in 21 countries. It was founded by a division of Tata sons limited in 1968,
which is a holding company under the Tata group. It currently owns close to 75% of the company.

TCS is currently headquartered at Mumbai. A subsidiary of the Tata group, it is currently one of
the biggest companies in India with a market capitalization of over $80 Billion and also the world's
10th largest IT services provider, measured in terms of revenues. TCS is currently amongst what
is called the Big four most valuable global IT services brands. (Tata Consultancy Services, 2016)

CSR at TCS:

On April 16, 2014, the CSR committee of the Board was constituted at TCS. This committee was
set up with the purpose of recommending a CSR policy to the board, as well as informing them
about the expenditure. They committee also monitors the CSR policy every now and then,
evaluating the impact of the activities and to what extent they impact the quality of life of various
stakeholders and the societal obligation of the company. (TCS, 2016)

Around two-thirds of the equity of Tata Sons Ltd is held by various philanthropic trusts, the largest
being the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which has developed leading educational
institutes in the country. They also provide aid and assistance to various non-government
organizations working in the areas of education, healthcare and livelihoods. A major part of the
dividend paid out by TCS each year goes to Trusts and the philanthropic work carried out. At TCS,
it is a tremendous source of pride that their efforts and contribution to the companys success has
also benefited the society on such a large scale. (TCS, 2016)
A brief introduction to the CSR practices:

Tata Consultancy Services Limited, in their CSR activities, make use of technology as a key
enabler not only to assist and resolve business challenges that are faced by social organizations,
but also to tackle certain development issues faced by diverse communities globally.

The CSR committee of the Board was constituted on April 16, 2014. The Committee is responsible
for recommending to the board a CSR policy as well as the expenditure, monitoring the CSR policy
from time to time, overseeing the activities impacting the quality of life of various stakeholders
and overseeing the Company's corporate and societal obligations.

TCS publishes Sustainability Reports annually in conformance to the G3.1 Sustainability


Reporting Guidelines published by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

The core themes for TCS' CSR programmes are:


1. Education & Skill Development
2. Health
3. Environment

CSR initiatives at TCS

TCS Maitree:

TCS Maitree is basically at its core a human resources activity within TCS and is based on the
philosophy of Together, Caring and Sharing where the essence of the program is to come together;
care and share in the spirit of friendship within the TCS community, and then reach out with the
same spirit to the less privileged.. Under this initiative, the Company has successfully developed
a volunteer-driven, meaningful activities for TCS associates & their families in the domain of
associate engagement and community services. TCS has grown tenfold in the last decade with the
workforce spread out across the globe. During the year 72,179 TCS associates volunteered 121,525
hours in CSR activities.
Deploying a sustainable model to improve healthcare and education system has always been a
priority to TCS. While implementing this in their initiative, they also focused on the environment
and economic empowerment in rural areas across India is an objective TCS is trying to achieve
through its CSR initiatives. Also, more than 550 children are given lessons on conversational
English, Science and Mathematics. 45 women were trained by the TCS associates in making eco-
friendly jute bags, to improve the livelihood of women in the Panvel are, under the 'Women
Empowerment Program'.

TCS Purpose4Life: Launched in March 2013 with the aim of providing a platform for scaling up
socially relevant concepts in the areas of health, education the program allowed the employees to
dedicate themselves to social causes. The associates can pledge their social contribution in terms
of volunteering hours in the areas of Health, Education and Environment. The members form
teams in which even family members can be included. (TCS, 2016)

CSR practices in TCS:

In TCS usually, Programs under Education include IT enabled modules and advisory systems for
learning and creating an interest and enabling an interest in IT.

1. Education, Employability and Society:


BPS Employability Program
TCS decided to start a program in order to hone and develop the skills of economically and socially
disadvantages in 2010, for BPS jobs based on the companys requirements. To this end, TCS
launched an effective training program to increase the employability of candidates. This was
achieved by putting in around 80 - 100 hours of interactive content designed to improve
employability by training marginalised youth across India.
EDUCATION and EMPLOYABILITY
Adult Literacy Program:
TCS designed their Computer-Based Functional Literacy
(CBFL) software in order to promote Adult Literacy and is
currently available in 9 Indian languages. The programme
has currently reached a total of 231,178 beneficiaries.
According to TCS, the innovative combination of the theories
of Cognition, Language and Communication with IT will
make the programme far more effective.It is also available in
3 foreign languages namely Moore (West Africa), Northern
Sotho (South Africa) and Arabic.

UDAAN, helping Kashmiri youth:


TCS identified growing unemployability among the Kashmiri youth as a
major issue. To resolve this, they signed an MOU with the National Skill
Development Corporation in order to increase employability among
youth from the region. TCS was the first company in India to get into
such an arrangement with the government. Kashmiri youth were
exposed to the Indian industry making them more employable.

Empower:
In FY16, over 1200 beneficiaries received training under the
programme. The objective is to develop skills, enhancing capacity and
developing capabilities of its support staff across the TCS offices
located across the globe. Under the programme, the employees are
trained in basic computer skills, taught spoken English and other
relevant soft skills particular to the job. (Education & Skills, n.d.)

Advanced Computer Training Center (ACTC) for the


visually impaired:
Skill deficit among the visually impaired is one of the major reasons
leading to their unemployability in India. Addressing this, TCS created IT-
enabled vocational courses that give much attention to current
Industrial practices and requirements. This was done under TCS Maitree,
in addition to training in personality development and corporate
etiquette. The Advanced Computer Training Center for Visually Impaired
(ACTC) has trained 156 individuals through its inception, while also
helping 119 candidates get employed across different companies. 5 of
these trainees are pursuing their higher studies.

IT Employability Program
TCS' Affirmative Action approach has incorporated a focus on improving the employability quotient of
socially and economically backward students from rural engineering colleges. In 2014, TCS launched on a
new initiative to promote employability within IT. Students in the 5th semester of four engineering colleges
across India received training through a specially designed module which was of 200 hours to promote
employability in the IT sector. In FY 15, 295 Students have completed this program and from among them
105 students got placed in various Corporates including TCS.
SOCIAL
Rural IT Quiz:
8,000 schools participated in the 15th edition of the Rural
IT Quiz was conducted across India in various states. TCS
has partnered with the Government of Karnataka to start
India's first Rural IT Quiz in 2000. It aims at increasing IT
awareness among students from rural areas, developing
interest and building their confidence. The Rural IT Quiz
currently reaches rural students in across India.

TCS Sanitation Project:


TCS pledged INR 100 crore to the 'Swachh Bharat, Swachh
Vidyalaya Abhiyan' on a national level, with an objective
of building dedicated sanitation facilities for girl students
in various adopted government schools across the
country. The program is being rolled-out in a phase-wise
manner, with 860 schools targeted in Phase-1.

Road Safety Campaign:


It is an annual two week campaign, which has a host of
different activities targeted at its employees and a few
other stakeholders. The program has activities ranging
from display of informative banners, screening of
movies, training for associates as well as contract drivers,
information mailers and various contests were
organized.
You have got a ticket!!- Dummy Challan activity was an
instant hit at every location. It was a fun filled activity
where challans were given to those who did not follow
the basic road rules and those who followed safety rules
were given a rose with a Safety Pledge. With the intent
to inculcate Road Safety as a culture in its prospective
employees, in 2015, the Road Safety campaign was
expanded beyond TCS and to schools, associates
children and educational institutes from where TCS
recruits. (TCS, 2016)
2. Energy:

TCS has its primary source of electricity is the grid, with diesel generator sets used for back-up
power supply during power outages. Some TCS offices have provision for roof-top solar energy
generation, and at some offices green power is procured through open access (hydroelectric or
wind power). The total electricity consumed in FY 2016 is 592,323 MWh (2,312,683 GJ). The
total direct energy consumption by primary energy sources is 277,391 GJ from fuel consumption
in owned vehicles, diesel consumption in diesel generators, combustion of cooking gas, and space
heating. (TCS, 2016)

TCS Sahyadri Park, located in Rajiv Gandhi Technology Park (Hinjewadi, Pune), is designed to
accommodate over 25,000 software professionals. The campus spans over an area of 48 acres. The
LEED Gold certified facility conserves energy by promoting the maximum use of natural day light,
naturally ventilated open spaces, energy efficiency utilities and lighting fixtures and use of solar
energy resources. Provision for sewage treatment and recycling helps the campus become a zero
water discharge site. (Corp. Responsibility, n.d.)

Figure 6 TCS Sahyadri Park, Hinewadi, Pune (TCS, 2016)

TCS strives to manage its energy and carbon footprint focusing on four key levers green
buildings, green IT, operational efficiency, and renewable energy. The diagram below gives a
proper picture of the same.
Figure 7. TCS Energy Efficiency (TCS, 2016)

The combined GHG emission (Scope 1 + Scope 2) was 1.69 tCO2e/FTE in FY 2016 as compared
to 1.82 tCO2e/FTE in the last financial year; 43.6% less than the baseline year 2008 and 7% less
than the last reporting year. The results are indicated in the diagram below:

Figure 8. Results of responsible, effective usage of energy (TCS, 2016)


3. Water:

No natural water source is directly impacted due to water consumption by TCS. Water efficiency
measures, from campus design to improved awareness, have helped reduce the specific fresh water
consumption by 15% over the baseline year (FY 2008). TCS has been able to maintain freshwater
consumption levels despite the increase in campus based operations. (Water Management, n.d.)

Figure 9. TCS water conservation (Water Management, n.d.)

Few other CSR activities

Assisting NGOs: The Tech CSR team in India has been instrumental in leveraging core
competencies and capabilities like feasibility assessment, business & process analysis,
prioritization of aspirations, for social programs and initiatives. A lot of NGOs struggle in
functioning like a corporate type entity. TCS uses IT to assist such organizations in analyzing and
identifying areas of improvement and suggesting processes and systems to increase the
organizations' efficiency. This has assisted NGOs in highlighting increased visibility of their
program activities and initiatives - to their teams, management and donors. This in turn translates
into enhancement of NGOs overall experience due to increase in efficiency, credibility and
accountability which is substantiated by fact based statistics.

Health and Healthcare: In FY15 the Tech CSR Team had focused on assisting different health
based initiatives for organizations like the Retina India Foundation (Indian Retina Repository) and
Operation Smile (Patient Management System). The same team also went ahead and prepared a
Case Management System which will go a long way in assisting Justice and Care in tracking
human trafficking cases.

TCS has provided an integrated Hospital Management System and the necessary IT infrastructure,
free of cost to the Cancer Institute at Chennai. This includes a comprehensive and fully integrated
web-based solution as well making the functioning more efficient. TCS is continuing to support
the Institute by continuously enhancing the system in alignment with the needs of Cancer Institute.
A new module to support the Chemotherapy function is also under development. This year saw an
increase of 37% in the laboratory investigations being reported in the system, a direct result of the
automation of laboratory equipment interface with the Hospital Management System.
In China, one out of approximately every 600 new born babies suffers from cleftings. Often, these
children have difficulty in eating, speaking, hearing and/or breathing properly. Currently, it is
estimated that there are 2.5 million children in China suffering from cleftings. TCS associates have
designed and implemented a comprehensive IT system for Operation Smile China, which provides
free surgeries to young patients with cleft palates. (TCS, 2016)

5. Prospects and challenges (sector-specific)


Prospects

In todays market IT companies have been facing a lot of competition from their competitors and
each one of them are moving head to head and there exist a cut throat competition between them.
Companies now have shifted their focus from profit making and now have been also throwing
light on CSR activities which gives them an edge over others.

The law framed by the government making CSR mandate may appear to be an extra buck on backs
of the company. Since there exist competition the companies cannot shell out a lot of money only
on CSR so as to appear socially ethical in the eyes of the society. It has to meet its day today
commitments as well. So maintaining a right balance between the profits and CSR is a great deal
of challenge to the company.

Incorporating CSR helps the company to resolve some of the stringent challenges and problems
such as the employee turnover rates, subsidies from the government, customer retention and
royalty, competitive operations and so on. Thus when companies implement CSR activities it can
reduce the unforeseen risks such as the employee dissatisfaction as it makes the employees to stay
in a company which is socially ethical. And also problems like customer dissatisfaction and
competition.

The following are the prospects of CSR:

1. A Real avenue- the companies act not just mentions the quantum of money which has to
be spent but it also mentions in what areas it can spend it.
2. Law and regulatory standards: the company act makes it mandatory for the Indian
companies to achieve the objective of its act by implementing CSR. The prescribed class
of companies will require to spend their portion of profits on the CSR activities. By making
CSR compulsory it brings in uniformity among the companys in the CSR initiative.
3. Limited integration of decision making: by making CSR an important functional area, a
separate team of experts are needed to handle the CSR issues which will not affect the
corporate decision making and also in turn helps in boosting up the performance of the
company.
4. Reputation management: after introducing the CSR brackets the companies are actively
involving in the CSR activities which were once neglected by them. This has helped them
to promote their company on a social grounds and also in improving their goodwill.
5. New customers and markets: by means to fulfill the CSR requirements in the avenues
mentioned by the schedule 7 of the companies act, 2013, the companies now will find a
new market which was untapped earlier by them which gives them new customers and
market.
6. Long run competitive advantage: the socially responsible strategies are combined with the
corporate strategies which gives results which sky rockets the image of the company which
builds the image and reputation of the company. The formulation of the CSR strategies
influences the opportunities, skills, corporation merits and company structure which
directly or indirectly helps the company to gain competitive advantage.
7. CSR Disclosure an opportunity: this clause helps the company to showcase their efforts
towards the society at large and also by maximizing the shareholders wealth. This will help
the company to seek response from the various stake holders in the form of government
support, customer satisfaction, etc.

Conclusion: CSR plays a vital role the development of the world today and can act as a catalyst
for sustainable development. As CSR is a dynamic and ever evolving concept it has many
definitions and interpretations. CSR may be defined as various activities undertaken by the firm
reflecting its responsiveness towards various stakeholders such as employees, customers, society
at large etc. Corporate Social Responsibility is a bridge to integrate and synthesize the different
sections of the society (MCA, GoI, 2011)

Challenges

Now as per the companies act, clause 135, it is mandatory that companies keep the interests of the
various stakeholders of the society and keep the environment safe. Given that India is such a huge
country with a myriad of cultures, religions, traditions, languages across its length and breadth
poses a greater challenge in understanding the impact of business on the people and environment.
This is one of the biggest challenge that is faced by any company when they begin to develop any
CSR strategy.

Challenges of sustainable development: in line with the Paris agreement on climate change
COP-21, all the companies have a greater responsibility to reduce their environmental
footprint and become sustainable, i.e. to reduce their carbon foot print, waste, water, energy
along with stakeholder management. As large firms have greater responsibility to take care
of the environment to ensure sustainability. Though IT firms do not have a profound impact
on the environment, but given their size and growth, their overall carbon foot print is high
and to reduce their carbon footprint to zero level is one of the major challenge.
As per Wipro sustainability report 2014-15, the compelling challenges of CSR initiatives
include sustainable development, combating climate change, biodiversity and ozone
depletion (Wipro, 2015).
Another challenge is unemployment: there has been a skill gap between information
technology and employment as more so in youth. This is a challenge that companies have
identified and are gearing up to address (Cisco, 2015).
AS per GRI G4 guidelines, inclusion of suppliers and their continuous improvement is
another challenge that IT companies face
The global challenges of maintaining larger ecosystems along with communities, also to
comply with the government regulations and policies will require a focused approach from
the industry and corporate bodies. Preserving local ecosystem and habitat is one of the
major challenge that corporates face, while in their pursuit of sustainability as each location
and community has its own characteristics and problems that they face. To address the
companies/corporates would require intense stakeholder engagement and local knowledge
to address the issues and achieve overall development to reach its CSR goals (Infosys,
2016).

6. Conclusion

Corporate social responsibility has emerged as a major area for companies to work on to not only
improve their sustainability and keep stakeholders happy but also improve upon the businesses
also (i.e. profitability). IT sector has huge impact on the environment, as globally it employees
millions of people and they travel from home to work, from one part of the globe to another, huge
IT parks all have impact on the environment and add up to waste and GHG1 emissions.

IT companies must understand that without sustainable environment and resilient communities the
goal is not achieved. They should strive to become zero Impact companies, zero waste, for e.g.
Infosyss Mysuru campus is zero waste campus. Hence companies can work to improve their CSR
in all aspects.

7. Recommendation from the group

Reforestation

As a part of CSR activity, companies can replant tress at reforestation project in state or national
parks. It is the easiest way to combat climate change. Deforestation is causing more than 15% of
the global carbon emission. Leaders around the globe have recognized the importance of forests
and summits like G-20, Paris Climate change conference, UNFCC are trying to control carbon
emission and global warming (UN, 2010).

Savvy Skill Kit

Employees from an organization can come together and form groups & raise money for charity of
their choice through donating their time and expertise knowledge to create online portal to track
donation, to promote the cause to potential supporters.

Ethics in It

Data security and privacy is a major challenge in IT. The companies have to implement practices
to increase the stake-holders value. At every level, the company expects its partners to meet high
ethical standards. CISCOs code of business conduct are available in more than 15 languages. All
the companies should promote responsible business practices and report the issues and concerns

1
GHG- Green House Gas
to ethics officers. As a part of Corporate Governance, the companies have to be very transparent
about their CSR activities (Cisco, 2015).

8. Bibliography

(2015, August). Retrieved from India Brand Equity Foundation:


http://www.ibef.org/download/IT-and-ITeS-August-2015.pdf
(2016). Retrieved from Ficci: http://ficci.in/sector/21/project_docs/ficci_website_content_-it.pdf
(2016, October). Retrieved from India Brand Equity Foundation:
http://www.ibef.org/industry/information-technology-india.aspx
(2016, 10 23). Retrieved from Tata Steel: http://www.tatasteel.com/investors/annual-report-
2011-12/html/sustainability_mission.html
Cisco. (2015). 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. San Jose: Cisco.
Cisco. (2015). Focus Area: Governance and Ethics. Retrieved from Cisco:
http://csr.cisco.com/pages/governance-and-ethics
Committee-Infosys, C. (2015). Infosys. Retrieved from www.infosys.com:
https://www.infosys.com/investors/corporate-governance/Documents/corporate-social-
responsibility-policy.pdf
Corp. Responsibility. (n.d.). Retrieved from TCS: .
http://www.tcs.com/about/corp_responsibility/corporate-social-
responsibility/Pages/default.aspx
Corporate Responsibility Watch. (2014). Corporate Responsibility Watch. Retrieved from
Corporate Responsibility Watch:
http://www.corporatewatch.in/component/content/article/78-info-page/72-introduction-
to-csr.html
Ernst & Young. (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility in India, Potential to contribute
towards inclusive social development. Retrieved from
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-Government-and-Public-Sector-
Corporate-Social-Responsibility-in-India/$File/EY-Corporate-Social-Responsibility-in-
India.pdf
EY and PHD Chamber. (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility in India: Global CSR Summit
2013 An Agenda for Inclusive Growth. Global CSR Summit 2013 An Agenda for
Inclusive Growth (pp. 9-10). EY.
GH, Brundtland, and World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Our
common future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development.
Oxford University.
Infosys. (2016). Sustainability report 2015-16. Bangalore: Infosys.
Infosys. (n.d.). Infosys. Retrieved from www.infosys.com: https://www.infosys.com/infosys-
foundation/initiatives/
Jana Foundation. (2014). Evolution of CSR in India. Bangalore: Jana Urban Foundation.
MCA, GoI. (2011). Ministry of Corporate affairs, Government of India, Corporate social
responsibility voluntary guidelines. New Delhi: GoI.
MCA, GoI. (2011). National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental & Economic
Responsibilities of Business. New Delhi: Government of India.
PwC. (2013). Handbook on Corporate Social Responsibility in India. Gurgaon:
PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited.
Shodhganga. (2012). CSR in the world and India. Retrieved from Shodhganaga:
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/15950/12/12_chapter%203.pdf
Tata Consultancy Services. (2016, 10 23). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Consultancy_Services
Tata Group. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Group
TCS. (2016). Carbon Energy Management. Retrieved from Reducing Carbon and Energy:
http://180.87.41.34/corporate-sustainability/carbon-energy-management
TCS. (2016). Corp. Sustainability. Retrieved from TCS:
http://www.tcs.com/about/corp_responsibility/cs-report/Documents/GRI-2014-
Sustainability-Report-071015.pdf
UN. (2010). Reforestation: the easiest way to combat climate change. Retrieved from UN
Department of Economic and Social Affairs:
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/forest/reforestation-the-easiest.html
Water Management. (n.d.). Retrieved from 180.87.41.34(TCS): http://180.87.41.34/corporate-
sustainability/water-management
Wipro. (2014-2015). Wipro Annual report. Retrieved from
http://www.wipro.com/microsite/annualreport/2014-15/annexure-f-corporate-social-
responsibility-report.html
Wipro. (2015). Wipro. Retrieved from http://www.wipro.com/: http://www.wipro.com/about-
Wipro/sustainability/
Wipro. (2015). Wipro Sustainability Report. Bangalore: Wipro.
Wipro. (2015). Wipro.org. Retrieved from http://wipro.org/community/

You might also like