CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF ADITYA BIRLA GROUP

WHAT IS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business/ Responsible Business)[ is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. The goal of CSR is to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere who may also be considered as stakeholders. The term "corporate social responsibility" came into common use in the late 1960s and early 1970s after many multinational corporations formed the term stakeholder, meaning those on whom an organization's activities have an impact. It was used to describe corporate owners beyond shareholders as a result of an influential book by R. Edward Freeman, Strategic management: a stakeholder approach in 1984. Proponents argue that corporations make more long term profits by operating with a perspective, while critics argue that CSR distracts from the economic role of businesses. Others argue CSR is merely window-dressing, or an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations.

VISION

To actively contribute to the social and economic development of the communities in which we operate. In doing so, build a better, sustainable way of life for the weaker sections of society and raise the country's human development index.

HOW ADITYA BIRLA GROUP MAKES A DIFFERENCE ?

Corporate social responsibility was textured in the groups value system even before CSR found a place incorporate lexicon With regard to CSR the company believed in investing a part of its profits beyond business for the larger good of the society While carrying forward this philosophy, our legendary leader, Mr. Aditya Birla, weaved in the concept of 'sustainable livelihood', which transcended cheque book philanthropy. In his view, it was unwise to keep on giving endlessly. Instead, he felt that channelizing resources to ensure that people have the wherewithal to make both ends meet would be more productive. He would say, "Give a hungry man fish for a day, he will eat it and the next day, he would be hungry again. Instead, if you taught him how to fish, he would be able to feed himself and his family for a lifetime." Taking these practices forward, our chairman Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, institutionalized the concept of triple bottom line accountability represented by economic success, our community work is a way of telling the people among whom we operate that We Care.

THE STRATEGY The projects are carried out under the aegis of the "Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development", led by Mrs. Rajashree Birla. The Centre provides the strategic direction, and the thrust areas for the work ensuring performance management as well. The main focus is on the all-round development of the communities around the groups plants located mostly in distant rural areas and tribal belts. All their Group companies-Grasim, Hindalco, Aditya Birla Nuvo and UltraTech have Rural Development Cells, which are the implementation bodies. Their partners in development are government bodies, district authorities, village panchayats and the end beneficiaries the villagers. The Government has, in their 5-year plans, special funds earmarked for human development and the company recourse to many of these. At the same time, the company networks and collaborates with like-minded bilateral and unilateral agencies to share ideas, draw from each other's experiences, and ensure that efforts are not duplicated. At another level, this provides a platform for advocacy.

PROJECT IDENTIFICATION MECHANISM (HOW THE PROJECTS ARE PLANNED) All projects are planned in a participatory manner, in consultation with the community, literally sitting with them, and gauging their basic needs. They take recourse to "participatory rural appraisal", which is a mapping process. Subsequently, based on a consensus and in discussion with the village panchayats, they then prioritize requirements. And thus a project is born. Implementation is the responsibility of the community and the groups team, as is the monitoring of milestones and the other aspects. Monitoring entails physical verification of the progress and the actual output of the project. Village meetings are held periodically to elicit feedback on the benefits of our community programmes and the areas where these need to be beefed up. The company tries and ensures that while in the short term they have to do enormous hand-holding, the projects become sustainable by the beneficiaries over the long haul. Once this stage is reached, the company withdraws. In this way they do not build a culture of dependence, instead they make the villagers self-reliant.

THE GEOGRAPHIC REACH , ANNUAL SPENDS The footprint of the community work straddles 3,000 villages across the length and breadth of our country. They reach out to more than 7 million people annually. Over 60 per cent of these live below the poverty line and belong to scheduled castes and tribes. The Group spends in excess of Rs. 130 crore annually, inclusive of the running of 18 hospitals and 42 schools. The Group transcends the conventional barriers of business and reaches out to the marginalized as a matter of duty and to bring in a more equitable society.

MAIN FOCUS AREAS

1. EDUCATION Formal and non-formal education, adult education Scholarships for girls, merit scholarships and technical education for boys Distance education Girl child education Digital literacy / computer education

2. HEALTH CARE AND FAMILY WELFARE Pulse polio programme Mobile clinics doctors' visits General and multi-specialty medical camps, cleft lips Reproductive and child health care, supplementary nutrition / mid-day meal projects Safe drinking water, sanitation household toilets, community hospitals HIV / AIDS, cancer, TB awareness and prevention camps Blood donation Responsible parenting

3. SOCIAL CAUSES Widow re-marriage / dowry-less mass marriages Social security (insurance) Culture and sports Women empowerment

4. INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT Community centers Schools in villages Health care centers and hospitals Roads Homes for the homeless Rural electrification Irrigation and water storage structures

5. SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD Self-help groups (microfinance for women and farmers) Integrated agriculture development Integrated livestock development Watershed management Microenterprise development Skill development / vocational training through Aditya Birla Technology Park for integrated training programme and VT centers at most of our plants in collaboration with ITIs

THE GROUPS PARTNERS

WHO, Australia India Council, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, CII, European Union (EU), British Council, City& Guilds (UK), Global Compact Network, International Rotary Club, NSDC, FICCI, NABARD, NACO, CARE, IGNOU, Aide et Action, SEWA, BAIF, MYRADA, Basix,CARD, Art of Living Foundation, Smile Foundation, Maya Foundation, Childline India Foundation, local NGOs, District Development Offices, Central and State governments.