Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility in India Putting SocialEconomic Development on a Fast TrackFour years ago, Reliance Industries Ltd. launched a countrywide initiative known as Project Drishti, to restore the eye-sights of visually challenged Indians from the economically weaker sections of the society. This project, started by one of Indias corporate giants has brightened up the lives of over 5000 people so far. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) defined as the ethical behavior of a company towards the society, manifests itself in the form of such noble programs initiated by for-profit organizations. CSR has become increasingly prominent in the Indian corporate scenario because organizations have realized that besides growing their businesses it is also vital to build trustworthy and sustainable relationships with the community at large. This is one of the key drivers of CSR programs. Another reason fuelling this rapid adoption of CSR is the state of the Indian society. Though India is one of the fastest growing economies, socio-economic problems like poverty, illiteracy, lack of healthcare etc. are still ubiquitous and the government has limited resources to tackle these challenges. This scenario has opened up several areas for businesses to contribute towards social development. CSR is not a new concept in India. Corporates like the Tata Group, the Aditya Birla Group, and Indian Oil Corporation, to name a few, have been involved in serving the community ever since their inception. Many other organizations have been doing their part for the society through donations and charity events. Today, CSR in India has gone beyond merely charity and donations, and is approached in a more organized fashion. It has become an integral part of the corporate strategy. Companies have CSR teams that devise specific policies, strategies and goals for their CSR programs and set aside budgets to support them. These programs, in many cases, are based on a clearly defined social philosophy or are closely aligned with the companies business expertise. Employees become the backbone of these initiatives and volunteer their time and contribute their skills, to implement them. CSR Programs could range from overall development of a community to supporting specific causes like education, environment, healthcare etc.

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Corporate social responsibilityFor example, organizations like Bharath Petroleum Corporation Limited, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, and Hindustan Unilever Limited, adopt villages where they focus on holistic development. They provide better medical and sanitation facilities, build schools and houses, and help the villagers become self-reliant by teaching them vocational and business skills. On the other hand GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals CSR programs primarily focus on health and healthy living. They work in tribal villages where they provide medical check-up and treatment, health camps and health awareness programs. They also provide money, medicines and equipment to non-profit organizations that work towards improving health and education in under-served communities. Many CSR initiatives are executed by corporates in partnership with Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) who are well versed in working with the local communities and are experts in tackling specific social problems. For example, SAP India in partnership with Hope Foundation, an NGO that works for the betterment of the poor and the needy throughout India, has been working on short and long-term rebuilding initiatives for the tsunami victims. Together, they also started The SAP Labs Center of HOPE in Bangalore, a home for street children, where they provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education. CSR has come a long way in India. From responsive activities to sustainable initiatives, corporates have clearly exhibited their ability to make a significant difference in the society and improve the overall quality of life. In the current social situation in India, it is difficult for one single entity to bring about change, as the scale is enormous. Corporates have the expertise, strategic thinking, manpower and money to facilitate extensive social change. Effective partnerships between corporates, NGOs and the government will place Indias social development on a faster track.

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Defining CSRCSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society- Mallen Baker CSR includes the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time" Carroll and Buchholtz Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large- Lord Holme and Richard Watts Operating a business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business- Business for Social Responsibility A concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment. A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis- European Commission Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Ideally, CSR policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms- Wikipedia Corporate Social Responsibility would mean the compulsory integration of every Corporate functioning with the social, ethical, legal and ecological responsibilities and liabilities associated with all such corporate functioning. Amitabh Thakur, President, CSR(India), Lucknow

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Why Corporate Social Responsibility shall be compulsory?The practice of CSR is much debated. There are various points of views as regards CSR. In fact many of these views are often contradictory and opposed to each other. A major school of thought says that there is a strong business case for CSR, in that corporations benefit in multiple ways in the long run if they properly follow the basic rules related to CSR. But juxtapose this with what the critics say. They argue that CSR distracts the corporate organizations from the fundamental economic role of businesses. Then there is a third view point saying that CSR is nothing more than some kind of superficial window-dressing. A radical view brings in some inherent motive to this entire exercise by saying that it is nothing but an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments vis-a-vis the powerful multinational corporations. There are many reasons assigned for CSR becoming so important today. Firstly, in the increasingly conscience-focused marketplaces of today, the demand for more ethical business processes and actions is increasing, putting in more and more pressure on industry to improve business ethics through new public initiatives and laws. A CSR program can be an aid to recruitment and retention particularly within the competitive graduate student market because the newer generation of potential recruits are rather sensitive to a firm's CSR policy. CSR is also perceived as being related to managing risk because required CSR activities always send positive signals to regulators, courts, governments and media and help the corporation offset these legal and regulatory risks. Finally, CSR can also play a role in building customer loyalty based on distinctive ethical values, thus getting transformed into its unique selling proposition. The other view opposing CSR says that corporation's prime purpose is to maximize returns to its shareholders, hence they are only responsible to these shareholders and not to society as a whole. Thus while they need to obey the laws of the land, they do not have any other obligation in the form of CSR to society at large. An equally vehement view opposing CSR says that it is fundamentally and inherently incongruent with the very nature and purpose of business, and is thus a hindrance to free trade. They argue that such kind of neo-liberalism is actually opposed to the well-being of society. They go further to declare that such policies are a hindrance to human freedom. But the majority of individuals and organizations operate in between these extreme views. This includes most of the religious and cultural traditions.4

Corporate social responsibilityAt this point, I find it pertinent to state that all these viewpoints have come from the perspective of the corporate world. But today it is more important to look into the matter from the point of the view of the society and the government, the two externally placed stake-holders who often get sidelined by the corporate. In fact the time has come when these two stakeholders shall come forth and exert their needs and requirements in very clear terms with no uncertainty. This is because the interests of the business groups will always be slanted, self centered and biased. To them the prime motive (and often the singular reason) for business would be profit, which they try to present as the interest of their primary stakeholders, viz. the shareholders. But the government and the society are much bigger and much more important entities than these small number of shareholders. Hence naturally each business needs to conform to the various corporate social responsibilities, including also the rules and regulations of the State where they are operating. It would only be the government and the society which can be a neutral observer and a fair judge to what exactly a corporate shall be expected to do and how a business needs to be carried out. This is because each business ultimately takes its resources from the society and from its external atmosphere and hence it needs to be completely responsible to the society. With changing times, when the resources are getting scarcer and the fine ecological balances are getting disturbed, making the entire atmosphere highly fragile, these needs and requirements just can nor be ignored at any cost. Any mishandling in this regards will be disastrous having its long-term effects on the ecology, the atmosphere and the society. Such a situation can no longer be tolerated, just for the cause of a few corporate interests. Thus, today the Corporate Social responsibility can no longer remain at the fringes as a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. But today, CSR would mean the compulsory integration of every corporate functioning with the social, ethical, legal and ecological responsibilities and liabilities associated with all such corporate functioning. No more optional and self-guided aspects of CSR but some kind of integrative, innate and forceful responsibility imposed on all these corporate is the need of the hour. Amitabh Thakur, President, CSR(India), Lucknow

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Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in IndiaCSR is not new to India, companies like TATA and BIRLA have been imbibing the case for social good in their operations for decades long before CSR become a popular cause. Inspite of having such life size successful examples, CSR in India is in a very nascent stage. It is still one of the least understood initiatives in the Indian development sector. It is followed by a handful of public companies as dictated by the very basis of their existence, and by a few private companies, with international shareholding as this is the practice followed by them in their respective foreign country. Thus the situation is far from perfect as the emphasis is not on social good but rather on a policy that needs to be implemented. A lack of understanding, inadequately trained personnel, non availability of authentic data and specific information on the kinds of CSR activities, coverage, policy etc. further adds to the reach and effectiveness of CSR programmes. But the situation is changing. And CSR is coming out of the purview of doing social good and is fast becoming a business necessity. The business case for CSR is gaining ground and corporate houses are realising that what is good for workers their community, health, and environment is also good for the business. Corporate Social Responsibility Practices - the survey on CSR is timely and apt. The survey is expected to facilitate formation of an alliance of CSR initiatives so that such initiatives can be further stream lined, focused and converged to a powerful force of intervention. One of the major objectives of the survey is to bring out in open the current status of CSR thereby giving both the NGOs and the common man an understanding of the various initiatives undertaken by corporates and the role that is played by the government in the field. The survey underlines the various issues - current CSR policies, major stakeholders - their current and future plans, geographical areas covered, role of civil society and government, challenges, recommendations etc.

www.timesfoundation.indiatimes.com

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Corporate Social Responsibility / Human Resourceindian companies are now expected to discharge their stakeholder responsibilities and societal obligations, along with their shareholder-wealth maximisation goal. Nearly all leading corporates in India are involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in areas like education, health, livelihood creation, skill development, and empowerment of weaker sections of the society. Notable efforts have come from the Tata Group, Infosys, Bharti Enterprises, ITC Welcome group, Indian Oil Corporation among others. India has been named among the top ten Asian countries paying increasing importance towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure norms. India was ranked fourth in the list, according to social enterprise CSR Asia's Asian Sustainability Ranking (ASR), released in October 2009. Although corporate India is involved in CSR activities, the central government is working on a framework for quantifying the CSR initiatives of companies to promote them further. According to Minister for Corporate Affairs, Mr Salman Khurshid, one of the ways to attract companies towards CSR work is to develop a system of CSR credits, similar to the system of carbon credits which are given to companies for green initiatives. Moreover, in 2009, the government made it mandatory for all public sector oil companies to spend 2 per cent of their net profits on corporate social responsibility. Besides the private sector, the government is also ensuring that the public sector companies participate actively in CSR initiatives. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has prepared guidelines for central public sector enterprises to take up important corporate social responsibility projects to be funded by 2-5 per cent of the company's net profits According to a National Geographic survey which studied 17,000 consumers in 17 countries, Indians are the most eco-friendly consumers in the world. India topped the Consumer Greendex, where consumers were asked about energy use and conservation, transportation choices, food sources, the relative use of green products versus traditional products, attitudes towards the environment and sustainability and knowledge of environmental issues.7

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Reliance Industries and two Tata Group firmsTata Motors and Tata Steelare the country's most admired companies for their corporate social responsibility initiatives, according to a Nielsen survey released in May 2009. As part of its Corporate Service Corps (CSC) programme, IBM has joined hands with the Tribal Development Department of Gujarat for a development project aimed at upliftment of tribals in the Sasan area of Gir forest. The financial services sector is going green in a steady manner. With an eye on preserving energy, companies have started easing the carbon footprint in their offices. The year 2009 witnessed initiatives including application of renewable energy technologies, moving to paperless operations and recognition of environmental standards. Efforts by companies such as HSBC India, Max New York Life and Standard Chartered Bank have ensured that the green movement has kept its momentum by asking their customers to shift to e-statements and e-receipts. State-owned Navratna company, Coal India Ltd (CIL) will invest US$ 67.5 million in 2010-11 on social and environmental causes. Public sector aluminium company NALCO has contributed US$ 3.23 million for development work in Orissa's Koraput district as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

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Criticisms and concernsCritics of CSR as well as proponents debate a number of concerns related to it. These include CSR's relationship to the fundamental purpose and nature of business and questionable motives for engaging in CSR, including concerns about insincerity and hypocrisy.

Nature of businessMilton Friedman and others have argued that a corporation's purpose is to maximize returns to its shareholders, and that since only people can have social responsibilities, corporations are only responsible to their shareholders and not to society as a whole. Although they accept that corporations should obey the laws of the countries within which they work, they assert that corporations have no other obligation to society. Some people perceive CSR as incongruent with the very nature and purpose of business, and indeed a hindrance to free trade. Those who assert that CSR is contrasting with capitalism and are in favor of neoliberalism argue that improvements in health, longevity and/or infant mortality have been created by economic growth attributed to free enterprise. Critics of this argument perceive neoliberalism as opposed to the well-being of society and a hindrance to human freedom. They claim that the type of capitalism practiced in many developing countries is a form of economic and cultural imperialism, noting that these countries usually have fewer labour protections, and thus their citizens are at a higher risk of exploitation by multinational corporations. A wide variety of individuals and organizations operate in between these poles. For example, the REALeadership Alliance asserts that the business of leadership (be it corporate or otherwise) is to change the world for the better. Many religious and cultural traditions hold that the economy exists to serve human beings, so all economic entities have an obligation to society (see for exampleEconomic Justice for All). Moreover, as discussed above, many CSR proponents point out that CSR can significantly improve long-term corporate profitability because it reduces risks and inefficiencies while offering a host of potential benefits such as enhanced brand reputation and employee engagement.

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Corporate social responsibility MotivesSome critics believe that CSR programs are undertaken by companies such as British American Tobacco (BAT), the petroleum giant BP (well-known for its high-profile advertising campaigns on environmental aspects of its operations), and McDonald's (see below) to distract the public from ethical questions posed by their core operations. They argue that some corporations start CSR programs for the commercial benefit they enjoy through raising their reputation with the public or with government. They suggest that corporations which exist solely to maximize profits are unable to advance the interests of society as a whole. Another concern is that sometimes companies claim to promote CSR and be committed to sustainable development but simultaneously engaging in harmful business practices. For example, since the 1970s, the McDonald's Corporation's association with Ronald McDonald House has been viewed as CSR and relationship marketing. More recently, as CSR has become mainstream, the company has beefed up its CSR programs related to its labor, environmental and other practices. All the same, in McDonald's Restaurants v Morris & Steel, Lord Justices Pill, May and Keane ruled that it was fair comment to say that McDonald's employees worldwide 'do badly in terms of pay and conditions' and true that 'if one eats enough McDonald's food, one's diet may well become high in fat etc., with the very real risk of heart disease.'

Royal Dutch Shell has a much-publicized CSR policy and was a pioneer in triple bottom line reporting, but this did not prevent the 2004 scandal concerning its misreporting of oil reserves, which seriously damaged its reputation and led to charges of hypocrisy. Since then, the Shell Foundation has become involved in many projects across the world, including a partnership with Marks and Spencer (UK) in three flower and fruit growing communities across Africa

Critics concerned with corporate hypocrisy and insincerity generally suggest that better governmental and international regulation and enforcement, rather than voluntary measures, are necessary to ensure that companies behave in a socially responsible manner. Others, such as Patricia Werhane, argue that CSR should be considered more as a corporate moral responsibility, and limit the reach of CSR by10

Corporate social responsibilityfocusing more on direct impacts of the organization as viewed through a systems perspective to identify stakeholders.

Ethical consumerismThe rise in popularity of ethical consumerism over the last two decades can be linked to the rise of CSR. As global population increases, so does the pressure on limited natural resources required to meet rising consumer demand (Grace and Cohen 2005, 147). Industrialization, in many developing countries, is booming as a result of both technology and globalization. Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental and social implications of their day-to-day consumer decisions and are therefore beginning to make purchasing decisions related to their environmental and ethical concerns. However, this practice is far from consistent or universal.

Globalization and market forcesAs corporations pursue growth through globalization, they have encountered new challenges that impose limits to their growth and potential profits. Government regulations, tariffs, environmental restrictions and varying standards of what constitutes "labor exploitation" are problems that can cost organizations millions of dollars. Some view ethical issues as simply a costly hindrance, while some companies use CSR methodologies as a strategic tactic to gain public support for their presence in global markets, helping them sustain a competitive advantage by using their social contributions to provide a subconscious level of advertising. (Fry, Keim, Meiners 1986, 105) Global competition places a particular pressure on multinational corporations to examine not only their own labor practices, but those of their entire supply chain, from a CSR perspective.

Social awareness and educationThe role among corporate stakeholders is to work collectively to pressure corporations that are changing. Shareholders and investors themselves, through socially responsible investing are exerting pressure on corporations to behave responsibly. Non-governmental organizations are also taking an increasing role, leveraging the power of the media and the Internet to increase their scrutiny11

Corporate social responsibilityand collective activism around corporate behavior. Through education and dialogue, the development of community in holding businesses responsible for their actions is growing.

Ethics trainingThe rise of ethics training inside corporations, some of it required by government regulation, is another driver credited with changing the behavior and culture of corporations. The aim of such training is to help employees make ethical decisions when the answers are unclear. Tullberg believes that humans are built with the capacity to cheat and manipulate, a view taken from (Trivers 1971, 1985), hence the need for learning normative values and rules in human behavior . The most direct benefit is reducing the likelihood of "dirty hands" (Grace and Cohen 2005), fines and damaged reputations for breaching laws or moral norms. Organizations also see secondary benefit in increasing employee loyalty and pride in the organization. Caterpillar and Best Buy are examples of organizations that have taken such steps.

Increasingly, companies are becoming interested in processes that can add visibility to their CSR policies and activities. One method that is gaining increasing popularity is the use of well-grounded training programs, where CSR is a major issue, and business simulations can play a part in this.

One relevant documentary is The Corporation, the history of organizations and their growth in power is discussed. Corporate social responsibility, what a company does to in trying to benefit society, versus corporate moral responsibility (CMR), what a company should morally do, are both important topics to consider when looking at ethics in CSR. For example, Ray Anderson, in The Corporation, takes a CMR perspective in order to do what is moral and he begins to shift his company's focus towards the biosphere by utilizing carpets in sections so that they will sustain for longer periods. This is Anderson thinking in terms of Garret Hardin's "The Tragedy of the Commons," where if people do not pay attention to the private ways in which we use public resources, people will eventually lose those public resources.12


Laws and regulationAnother driver of CSR is the role of independent mediators, particularly the government, in ensuring that corporations are prevented from harming the broader social good, including people and the environment. CSR critics such as Robert Reich argue that governments should set the agenda for social responsibility by the way of laws and regulation that will allow a business to conduct themselves responsibly.

The issues surrounding government regulation pose several problems. Regulation in itself is unable to cover every aspect in detail of a corporation's operations. This leads to burdensome legal processes bogged down in interpretations of the law and debatable grey areas (Sacconi 2004). For example, General Electric failed to clean up the Hudson River after contaminating it with organic pollutants. The company continues to argue via the legal process on assignment of liability, while the cleanup remains stagnant. (Sullivan & Schiafo 2005).

The second issue is the financial burden that regulation can place on a nation's economy. This view shared by Bulkeley, who cites the Australian federal government's actions to avoid compliance with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, on the concerns of economic loss and national interest. The Australian government took the position that signing the Kyoto Pact would have caused more significant economic losses for Australia than for any other OECD nation (Bulkeley 2001, pg 436). On the change of government following the election in November 2007, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the ratification immediately after assuming office on 3 December 2007, just before the meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Critics of CSR also point out that organisations pay taxes to government to ensure that society and the environment are not adversely affected by business activities.

Denmark has a law on CSR. On 16 December 2008, the Danish parliament adopted a bill making it mandatory for the 1100 largest Danish companies, investors and state-owned companies to include information on corporate social responsibility13

Corporate social responsibility(CSR) in their annual financial reports. The reporting requirements became effective on 1 January 2009. The required information includes:

information on the companies policies for CSR or socially responsible investments (SRI) information on how such policies are implemented in practice, and information on what results have been obtained so far and managements expectations for the future with regard to CSR/SRI.

CSR/SRI is still voluntary in Denmark, but if a company has no policy on this it must state its positioning on CSR in their annual financial report.

Crises and their consequencesOften it takes a crisis to precipitate attention to CSR. One of the most active stands against environmental management is the CERES Principles that resulted after the Exxon Valdez incident in Alaska in 1989 (Grace and Cohen 2006). Other examples include the lead poisoning paint used by toy giant Mattel, which required a recall of millions of toys globally and caused the company to initiate new risk management and quality control processes. In another example, Magellan Metals in the West Australian town of Esperance was responsible for lead contamination killing thousands of birds in the area. The company had to cease business immediately and work with independent regulatory bodies to execute a cleanup. Odwalla also experienced a crisis with sales dropping 90%, and the company's stock price dropping 34% due to several cases of E. Coli spread through Odwalla apple juice. The company ordered a recall of all apple or carrot juice products and introduced a new process called "flash pasteurization" as well as maintaining lines of communication constantly open with customers.

Stakeholder prioritiesIncreasingly, corporations are motivated to become more socially responsible because their most important stakeholders expect them to understand and address the social and community issues that are relevant to them. Understanding what causes are important to employees is usually the first priority because of the many14

Corporate social responsibilityinterrelated business benefits that can be derived from increased employee engagement (i.e. more loyalty, improved recruitment, increased retention, higher productivity, and so on). Key external stakeholders include customers, consumers, investors (particularly institutional investors), communities in the areas where the corporation operates its facilities, regulators, academics, and the media.

Efforts to implement CSRA very large number of social and voluntary organizations are contributing to the field of Corporate social responsibility by making it an important agenda where they clearly harp for all the corporate bodies to adhere to the morns of CSR at all costs. In fact, these voluntary organizations always go on devising newer and more pragmatic/stringent norms of application of the requirements of Corporate social responsibility. Exemplas (lead partner Equal) Community Action Dacorum (lead partner IiC Hertfordshire) Council for Voluntary Service St Albans District BITC - Business In the Community CSR (India)- a subsidiary of IRDS, a Lucknow based Voluntary organization.

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Observations from Full O Dreamz CSR Rating of India's 500 largest companies: Most companies are not doing any CSR Many companies are only making token gestures towards CSR in tangential ways such as donations to charitable trusts or NGOs, sponsorship of events, etc. Most companies believe that charity and philanthropy equals to CSR; very few companies are using their core competence to benefit the community. Most companies use CSR as a marketing tool to further spread the word about their business. For instance, donation of a token amount to some cause on purchase of a particular product. The fact that companies are hiring advertising agencies for their CSR further highlights this. Only Few Indian companies (from this study) publish a Corporate Sustainability Report to measure and assess the impact of their business on the environment . Very few companies openly state the processes followed by them, the damage caused by these processes, and the steps taken to minimize this damage. Very few companies state how much they spend on CSR. There is no mention of the amount spent in any of their balance sheets or annual reports. Most companies just list and describe their CSR activities and seem to be spending minimal amounts on CSR. Very few companies are engaged in CSR activities in the local communities where they are based. Very few companies have a clearly defined CSR philosophy. Most implement their CSR in an ad-hoc manner, unconnected with their business process. Most companies spread their CSR funds thinly across many activities, thus16

Corporate social responsibilitysomewhere losing the purpose of undertaking that activity. Most companies appear reluctant to themselves fulfill their CSR unless it is mandatory by law. Generally speaking, most companies seem either unaware or dont care about CSR. However, all companies can be considered to be an upward learning curve with respect to CSR and it is expected that the situation will improve.

www.fullodreamz.com/

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Case study of Corporate Social Responsibility at ONGC Ltd.IntroductionIn May 2006, ONGC Ltd. (ONGC), a major Indian public sector company in the petroleum industry, received the 'Golden Jubilee Award for Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies - 2006', at the 7th International Conference on Corporate Governance organized by the World Council for Corporate Governance3. Since its inception, ONGC had regularly contributed to various CSR initiatives in the areas of health, education, infrastructure, and culture. In 2003, it decided to allocate 0.75% of its net profit each year for various socio-economic developmental programs undertaken by the company. In 2004, it drafted a Corporate Citizenship Policy - a written guideline which was to provide a direction to the company's CSR initiatives. With growing globalization, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) had been increasing in importance as it helped organizations to improve their relationships with local communities, increase brand value, and build a good corporate image for themselves. Also, the socio-economic developmental activities undertaken by companies increased the purchasing power of the community, leading to an expansion in their market size.

Background NoteONGC's origin can be traced to the mid-1950s. After India achieved independence, the development of the petroleum industry was an important issue for the Government of India (GoI). It was crucial not only for the industrial development of the country but also for strategic reasons. Till 1955, exploration for hydrocarbon resources within the country's boundaries was mainly undertaken by private oil companies like Assam Oil Company6, Burmah Oil Company7 (both of which operated in Assam), and the Indo-Stanvac Petroleum project8 (in West Bengal). In 1955, the GoI decided to undertake exploration and production activities for oil and natural gas resources in different regions of the country. In 1959, with the Oil and Natural Gas Commission Act 1959, the Commission18

Corporate social responsibilitybecame a statutory body. Its main objectives were "to plan, promote, organize, and implement programs for development of petroleum resources and the production and sale of petroleum and petroleum products." In 1991, as part of the liberalization initiatives of the GoI, core sectors like petroleum were deregulated and de-licensed. Consequently, in 1993, the Oil and Natural Gas Commission was converted into a public limited company, ONGC Ltd., under the Company's Act, 1956.

CSR at ONGCThe mission of ONGC stated that the company would have an "abiding commitment to health, safety, and environment to enrich quality of community life."And this mission was reflected in its CSR activities. CSR at ONGC began as a philanthropic activity where the company contributed to several socio-economic developmental programs like building schools and hospitals, developing agriculture and cottage industry, building infrastructure facilities, etc., around its areas of operation on an ad hoc basis.

Corporate Level ProgramsONGC's CSR programs at the corporate level focused on disaster relief management and water management projects. When disasters struck India, ONGC provided relief and helped state and central governments in rehabilitating those affected. For example, when a heavy cyclone hit the eastern state of Orissa in 1999, the company provided immediate relief like food, drinking water, temporary shelters, medicine, clothing, etc. ONGC doctors provided medical treatment round the clock. The company also contributed Rs. 80 million toward the Prime Minister's relief fund and took steps to rehabilitate the cyclone victims...

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Corporate social responsibility Work Center Level & Community Development ProgramsONGC was involved in various community development programs like promoting literacy and higher education by providing grants or scholarships to the economically disadvantaged, donating money for the construction and renovation of schools, promoting healthcare by organizing medical camps, eye camps, through mobile dispensaries, etc...

ONGC-PURAIn 2003, Dr. A. P. J Abdul Kalam, President of India, put forth the concept of PURA - 'Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas'. This aimed to bridge the urban-rural gap through a balanced socio-economic development program. The main idea was to provide four major connectivities -physical (transportation and power), electronic (communication network through telecom, the Internet, and IT services), knowledge (institutions and vocational training centers), and economic empowerment (through overall socio-economic development) - to rural communities..

Environment Protection ProgramsONGC took several measures to reduce pollution and support conservation of resources through the utilization of waste. The company formulated its Environment Policy as early as 1983 and adopted environment protection as one of its objectives in 1988. It even created a separate department called the Department of Environment (DoE) to ensure that environmental safeguards were in place. The environment policy of the company made it mandatory to submit an "environmental impact assessment report"to the DoE at the time of project formulation.

SafetyONGC set up the Institute of Petroleum Safety, Health and Environment management (IPSHEM) in 1989 with the objective of improving the safety, health, and environment standards in the Indian petroleum industry. The institute offered training courses in safety and environment management and a special training program for off-shore personnel...

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Corporate social responsibility Other CSR InitiativesONGC also participated in promoting sports and games like cricket, football, hockey, athletics, basketball, chess, golf, billiards, and volleyball in India. In 2004, it received the "Best Corporate Initiative in Sports"award from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)..

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Corporate social responsibility

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