Definition: Corporate social responsibility refers to a sustainable business model where the company is accountable and responsible towards the social, cultural, environmental and economic aspects of the society. The companies cannot solely function for profit generation, it also needs to contribute to society and the public.
An organization operating in a country is recognized as its corporate citizen. Therefore, the company needs to fulfil its duties towards the nation in the form of CSR.
Content: Case Study on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Case Study on ‘Havells India Limited’
To understand more about corporate social responsibility, we have picked up the case study of a well-known Indian FMEG (Fast Moving Electrical Goods) brand. Yes, we are talking about Havells India Limited which is recognized worldwide for its excellent product quality and service.
About the Brand
Havells India Limited, a leading manufacturer of FMEG and power distribution equipment, is a globally renowned Indian brand today.
The owner of the company, Qimat Rai Gupta, acquired a small electrical goods company named Havells in the year 1971, under the QRG Group. He had a vision of converting this small business into a superior electrical goods manufacturing plant in India.
The brand, since then, saw several mergers and acquisitions to become a global FMEG leader. In the year 2015, Havells successfully acquired a place in the world’s top five lighting companies.
The company runs more than 500 exclusive brand showrooms across the globe, under the name ‘Havells Galaxy’. It has also pioneered the doorstep service concept in FMEG market facilitated through ‘Havells Connect’.
The brand is presently valued at USD 1.4 billion, which shows the success and growth of the company from a local brand to becoming a global entity.
Vision
The company had a broad view of manufacturing high-quality products to attain consumer satisfaction by adopting fair trade practices. The company’s vision reads:
Mission
The mission of the company is well framed, including the key focus areas of the brand. It highlights the company’s goals of ethically attaining its vision, becoming a globally recognized brand, technological advancement, and establishing strong public relations. The brand quotes its mission as:
Values
The company has proceeded with superior values and ethics as mentioned below:
- Customer Delight: Havells prioritize customer satisfaction by exceeding their expectations, to deliver a delightful experience.
- Leadership by Example: The brand has believed in setting examples by developing mutual trust and thus, laying down business and transaction standards.
- Integrity and Transparency: The company clearly stated its vision of carrying out business operations ethically and maintaining transparency in all its dealings.
- Pursuit of Excellence: Havells strive for constant learning to excel in the field and to ensure the rigorous improvement of the brand, its people, services and products.
Motto
The brand philosophy of Havells was to manufacture premium quality electrical goods in India and selling it globally.
Moreover, the company’s eco-friendly approach, exploration of its highest potential and consumer contentment strategy, made it stand out from its competitors.
Havells India’s Mid-Day Meal Program
In the year 2004, Havells researched to find out the logic behind unavailability of sufficient human resource for its Alwar Plant. It encountered the problems of poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy in the region.
The study showed that children work in the farms instead of going to school, to earn a living. It was a challenging task for the families of Alwar, Rajasthan to get sufficient meals twice a day, which made them starve and malnourished. The most affected of all were the children of this region.
Havells decided to deal with this situation by aiming at ‘Zero Hunger’ in the Alwar region. The brand joined hands with the Rajasthan government to initiate a mid-day meal program in various government schools of the district.
The food is prepared in the company’s state-of-the-art kitchen spread across 4 acres of area, engaging a workforce of 160 people. Havells made sure to give its best by ensuring proper control over procurement of grocery, food preparation, raw material storage and supply of prepared meals to schools.
The brand made sure that the diet chart approved by the government is strictly followed and proper hygiene and food quality are maintained.
Havells initially served 1500 students of 5 schools, and later the number increased to 60000 children studying in 693 schools in the Alwar district.
The principal idea behind this program was to motivate children to go to school by providing them with a nutritious, hygienic and fresh food as an afternoon meal daily. This initiative had met two primary CSR goals, i.e., child education and malnutrition.
Impact of Havells MDM Program
The mid-day meal program brought a significant improvement in the conditions of the people in Alwar. It improved the overall health of the children and thus, transformed their lives by directing them towards a better future.
Let us now go through the other positive effects of this program:
- Higher Enrolment Rate: The children who were unable to get proper meals at home were fascinated by the mid-day meals, provided at the school premises. Thus, there was a remarkable increase in new admissions in government schools.
- Develops Academic Interest and Improves Concentration: The mid-day meal kept the students well-fed, which made them more active and attentive in the classroom.
- Better Academic Performance: With the rise in student’s concentration level, their interest and willingness towards learning also increased.
- Reduced Dropout Rate of Schools: There was a gradual decrease in the students turnover and transition in the Alwar’s government schools since the children cherished going to schools now.
- Enhanced Nutritional Intake: The Body Mass Index (BMI) determines the health conditions of a person. MDM program ensured a nutritional meal for the kids, which improved their BMI within five years.
- Decreased Teachers’ Burden: Since the company had taken the responsibility of providing mid-day meals to the students, the teachers can utilize their time in academic activities.
Havells Other Corporate Social Responsibility Activities
The company came up with many different CSR activities to confront the various social and environmental issues. Some of these are as follows:
WASH (Water, Health and Hygiene) Program
To improve the sanitation condition, Havells constructed more than 4000 eco-friendly bio-toilets in around 400 government schools, across the Alwar district, under the WASH (Water, Health and Hygiene) program. These toilets used the technology of DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization) to transform human waste into water and biogas, with the help of special bacteria.
Sensitization Workshops
The brand organized workshops for the students, teachers and parents to spread awareness about the WASH program. The primary objective of this activity was to educate people and bring about a change in their perception and behaviour towards cleanliness and hygiene. The company also invested in the maintenance and cleaning of the bio-toilets.
Preserving Heritage
The company connected with the AKFI (Aga Khan Foundation India) to donate funds for the construction of the Humayun’s Tomb Interpretation Center at Delhi; and also for the preservation of the ‘Sabz Burj’, a national monument in Delhi.
First ‘Water Positive Company’
Being responsible towards water conservation, Havells made sure that all its plants are installed with the modern water harvesting systems and zero discharge facilities. The company’s constant monitoring, measuring and controlling has decreased its water consumption to an optimum level.
Tree Plantation
Havells has also contributed towards environment protection by creating a ‘Kanya Upvan’, for planting a tree on birth of a girl child, in Alwar, Rajasthan. Moreover, the brand has planted more than one lakh trees in Bhopal and Neemrana. Along with fifty thousand plus trees in Alwar and Baddi.
Bench Donation
The company has also innovatively utilized its wooden scrap for manufacturing furniture. This furniture is donated to government schools for better infrastructure. Havells has given out more than 2000 set of benches till date, to the schools in Neemrana, Alwar and Haridwar.
Skill Development
The brand has focused more on the growth of the nation’s children and youth. Thus, it has opened Electrical Skill Development Center at ITI, technical schools located at Nagaon, Assam and Pusa, Delhi. It also funded the construction of two classrooms at ITI located in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.
Health Care
Havells adopted two children suffering from genetic disorder ‘thalassemia’ and funded their expensive ‘Bone Marrow Transplant’ procedure. The company also provided complete financial assistance for their treatment.
Kerala Relief Fund
In the year 2018, Kerala was struck by worst flood situations. The employees and dealers of the Havells India Ltd. contributed towards Kerela Distress Relief Fund, a sum of rupees five crores for the flood victims.
Brand Objectives
The primary goal of the CSR programs run by Havells was to build a superior and robust image of the brand. The company aimed to connect with the consumers by accomplishing its social responsibilities towards local communities, people and environmental conservation.
Havells also focused on attaining sustainability by improving the living standards, shielding environment, reducing the emission of CO2 and endeavouring beneficial solutions to the market.
The company has taken the business ethics and CSR to the next level by introducing a range of non-radioactive and energy-efficient products.
Tabassum Parveen says
Very helpful knowledge