- Mrs. Arathi Shetty, Avashya Foundation
While profits are still vital for a company’s growth, a company’s responsibility towards society sets it apart. From a macro perspective, a socially responsible organisation attracts more customers and shareholders alike, positively enriching the company.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by definition is an organisation’s duty towards dealing with its environmental and societal impacts in a sustainable and ethical way—in other words giving back to society.
Moreover, with the enforcement of the Companies Act in 2014, it has become mandatory for companies with an annual turnover of INR 1000 crore to actively invest 2% of their profits in CSR—making India the first nation to make it mandatory. While this is a commendable approach, many organisations fail to understand the concept of CSR and are unable to reach new beneficiaries.
We, at Allcargo, have always understood the importance of being socially vocal and active. Our community development initiatives under the aegis of the Avashya Foundation include over 30 projects spanned across our key focus areas—Environment, Education, Women Empowerment, Disaster Relief, Healthcare, and Sports.
We strive to uphold our vision statement to take each CSR initiative beyond philanthropy and promote people-centric development with the active participation of the community at all levels. We also aim to collaborate with organisations and partners to actively reach out to the underprivileged in society through systematic intervention programmes.
Going beyond what is expected of us, we take immense pride in our decision to invest 3.8% of our annual average net profit to our community outreach programmes against the mandated 2%. Some of the projects that we have introduced under each sector are Maitree, under Environment, and Disha Seed and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra under Education. We have also initiated Anemia Control under Women Empowerment and Jeevan and Drushti under Healthcare.
With a team specialised in CSR, we understand the importance and impact of collaboration for enabling deeper penetration of our initiatives for the needy. Our work with the Saad Foundation for Drushti and the Diganta Swaraj for Maitree are a few of our ventures with channel partners. By collaborating with more corporates and partners, we can expect a reduction in duplication of efforts where the same set of beneficiaries are reached, leading to no impact whatsoever.
We need to understand that, for CSR to be effective in its true form, we as organisations need to step out of the ‘writing a check to be absolved of the corporate citizenship commitments’ phase and become closely involved with CSR initiatives. This not only makes community service an integral part of the company’s DNA but also instills a deeper involvement with the society—thus making companies more responsible as well as retaining a positive brand image.
This sense prevails deep within the organisation and I always encourage the people of Allcargo that one does not need to move mountains to reach out to the lesser privileged. Start small and reach out to the people around you who need a small boost to realise their dreams. Charity indeed starts at home.
Driven by a philosophy of inclusive community development that actually involves beneficiaries in the process, the Avashya Foundation is always on the lookout for opportunities to touch lives and make a positive impact. Backed by an expert team, a reliable network of partners and an inherent desire to give back to society, the Avashya Foundation has been spearheading numerous initiatives across its focus areas. Here’s a glimpse into its activities and achievements:
