Statue of Unity

The data shows a total of ₹ 155.78 crore was spent on national heritage initiatives in FY17, compared to ₹ 46.51
crore in FY16. “The reason for a spike is increased investment by PSUs, which have spent 70% of the ₹ 156 crore.
Government policies have created an enabling environment for this sector, as in the case of Statue of Unity project.
The national heritage category was introduced into the CSR rules in order to bring businesses within the
development ambit, and allow them to work for national development programmes.
It has been observed that the number of projects undertaken by corporates have reduced but the scale of
projects has inflated. This trend clearly shows the strategic focus to create bigger impacts than scattered
influences. Another trend is the increased involvement of NGOs and other social sector players for
implementation of CSR projects.

CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming an integral part of many companies’ policies. Understanding the
four levels of CSR shows that the practise offers benefits, not only to workers and the community, but also the
company itself, and the country in which it operates. This is why it is often in the government’s interest to encourage
these programs.
India
The Companies Act, 2013 provides for CSR under section 135. According to Companies Act 2013, companies with
an annual turnover of 1,000 crore INR and more, or a net worth of 500 crore INR and more, or a net profit of five
crore INR and more are required to spend at least 2% of their average net profit in the previous three years on CSR
activities.
The Board of Directors of every company for which the CSR provisions apply must ensure that the company spends
in every financial year at least 2% of its average net profits made during the immediately preceding three financial
years as per its CSR policy. If the company has not completed three financial years since its incorporation, it must
spend 2% of its average net profits made during the immediately preceding financial years as per its CSR policy.

WHY CSR
Firms that develop strong reputations create a high level of trust with their stakeholders where trust is a substitute for
a governance mechanism because fewer protective tools are needed. Consequently, CSR enhances reputation of the
firm and lowers transaction costs, which offers performance-related advantages.

● CSR improves the public image by publicising the efforts towards a better society and increasing

their chance of becoming favourable in the eyes of consumers.

● CSR increases media coverage as media visibility throws a positive light on the organisation.

● CSR enhances the company’s brand value by building a socially strong relationship with customers.

● CSR helps companies to stand out from the competition when companies are involved in any kind

of community.

● Managers should continue practicing social and environmental involvement and introducing CSR

initiatives as these activities lead to greater profitability, although indirectly.

● CSR initiatives must be implemented into a business strategy and communicated to the external

stakeholders by changing the brand’s perception and help to reap financial benefits in the short term.
 ● Managers should consider CSR initiatives as antecedents to enhanced brand value and corporate reputation

as both represent brand-related intangible assets and contribute to a company’s competitive advantage in a

market.

Role of the Board of Directors in implementing CSR is as follows:

approve the CSR policy for the Company.

only those activities must be undertaken which are mentioned in the policy.
the company spends in every financial year, a minimum of 2% of the average net profits made during the three
immediately preceding financial years as per CSR policy.
The Board’s Report shall disclose:

● CSR Committee’s composition

● The contents of CSR Policy

● the reasons for the unspent amount, and details of the transfer of unspent amount relating to an

ongoing project to a specified fund (transfer within a period of six months from the expiry of the

financial year).

A company can transfer unspent CSR amount to the following specified funds:Prime Minister’s National Relief

Fund, fund is initiated by the central government concerning socio-economic development, relief and welfare of

the scheduled caste, minorities, tribes, women and other backward classes, universities and laboratories, In case

of the unspent amount relating to an ongoing project under the company’s CSR policy, the company will transfer

the unspent amount to an exclusive account to be opened by a company, known as ‘Unspent Corporate Social

Responsibility Account’, in any scheduled bank within 30 days from the end of the financial year. The company

must use the funds in the ‘Unspent Corporate Social Responsibility Account’ towards its obligations under the

CSR policy within a period of three financial years from the date of the transfer.

In a case where the company fails to utilise the funds at the end of the three financial years, the funds should be

transferred to the specified fund mentioned above within a period of 30 days upon completion of the third financial

year.

Every company to which CSR provision are applicable must constitute a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Committee. The CSR Committee should consist of three or more directors, out of which at least one director
must be an independent director. The CSR Committee will formulate and recommend a CSR policy to the

Board. CSR policy shall point out the activities to be undertaken by the company as enumerated in Schedule VII

of the Act. recommend the amount of expenditure to be incurred on the CSR activities to be undertaken by the

company. monitor the CSR policy of the Company from time to time, establish a transparent controlling

mechanism for the implementation of the CSR projects or programs or activities undertaken by the company.

Activities which may be included by companies in their Corporate Social Responsibility Policies

Activities relating to:—

1 [(i) eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, 2 [promoting health care including preventive health] and

sanitation 3[Including contribution to the Swatch Bharat Kosh set-up by the Central Government for the

promotion of sanitation] and making available safe drinking water;

(ii) promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing vocation skills especially

among children, women, elderly, and the differently abled and livelihood enhancement projects;

(iii) promoting gender equality, empowering women, setting up homes and hostels for women and orphans;

setting up old age homes, day care centres and such other facilities for senior citizens and measures for reducing

inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups;

(iv) ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare,

agroforestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining quality of soil, air and water 4 [including

contribution to the Clean Ganga Fund set-up by the Central Government for rejuvenation of river Ganga];

(v) protection of national heritage, art and culture including restoration of buildings and sites of historical

importance and works of art; setting up public libraries; promotion and development of traditional arts and

handicrafts;

(vi) measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents,5[Central Armed Police

Forces (CAPE) and Central Para Military Forces (CPMF) veterans, and their dependents including windows];
(vii) training to promote rural sports, nationally recognised sports, paralympic sports and Olympic sports;

(viii) contribution to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund or 6 [Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and

Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) or] any other fund set up by the Central Government

for socio-economic development and relief and welfare of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, other

backward classes, minorities and women;

7[(ix) (a) Contribution to incubators or research and development projects in the field of science,technology,

engineering and medicine, funded by Central Government or State Government or Public Sector Undertaking or

any agency of the Central Government or State Government; and

(b) Contributions to public funded Universities; Indian Institute of Technology (IITs); National Laboratories and

autonomous bodies established under Department of Atomic Energy (DAE); Department of Biotechnology

(DBT); Department of Science and Technology (DST); Department of Pharmaceuticals; Ministry of Ayurveda,

Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH); Ministry of Electronics and Information

Technology and other bodies, namely Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO); Indian

Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Council of

Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), engaged in conducting research in science, technology, engineering

and medicine aimed at promoting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)]

(x) rural development projects.]

1[(xi) slum are development.Explanation.— For the purposes of this item, the term ‘slum area’ shall mean any

area declared as such by the Central Government or any State Government or any other competent authority

under any law for the time being in force.]

2 [(xii) disaster management, including relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction activities.]

CSR LifeCycle
1. Development of CSR Policy

Beyond simply complying with the Companies Act and other guidelines, a CSR policy should reflect a long-term
strategy aligned with the company’s mission statement, vision, and priorities. It should define areas of thematic
focus and provide a strategy for monitoring progress.
1. Baseline and needs analysis

Analysing on-the-ground conditions helps to prioritize needs and establish a baseline with which to measure the
impact of interventions. Such studies provide an understanding of the local demographic and social characteristics,
provide information on existing programs and resources, and enable mapping of problems and identification of key
indicators.
1. Project development

identifying commonalities between the thematic areas identified in the company’s CSR policy and the community
priorities. With such commonalities serving as target areas, the company can identify positive and negative trends
for goal setting. This should include objectives as per the baseline study, clearly defined benchmarks, and relevant
qualitative and quantitative indicators.
1. Monitoring

real-time and mid-term monitoring. Real-time monitoring allows identification of issues and problems as they arise.
It ensures the availability of necessary resources in the right quantity and time in the field, and helps keep projects
on time and within budget. Similarly, mid-term evaluations help ensure that projects yield the expected outcomes by
allowing for modification based on changing circumstances or new knowledge.
1. Evaluation

measure impact and promote their good works. It also provides an opportunity to learn from successes and
challenges and incorporate learnings into future CSR projects. Ideally, an independent third party conducts the
impact assessment on a project-by-project basis. Such assessments should include site visits by the team and
implementing agency, and measure changes in previously identified indicators.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Impact assessment assures that the CSR projects being undertaken by a company have projected measurable
outcomes. It tells if the objectives set were actually met. Optimal usage of CSR expenditure is another motive of
companies that conduct Impact assessments. Moreover, it has led to companies building stronger CSR programs as
now they are bound to evaluate the projects they undertake. At maximum, companies can either spend 5% of their
CSR expenditure or INR 50 lakh on impact assessment. They have to go with whichever amount comes out to be
lesser.
The CSR amendment has thrown a focus on the need for companies to define and measure the impact of their larger
CSR programs. Here are the most important points you must know:

● Impact assessment is only mandatory for companies with CSR obligations of INR10 crore with projects of
INR1 crore or more.
● Companies can set aside a maximum of 5% of the CSR spent or INR 50 Lakh – whichever is lesser – for
impact assessment.
 ● Impact assessment needs to be done before the completion of one year since the end of the project. For
example, if your CSR project was completed in April 2020, your impact assessment process for the same
should begin in May 2021.
● The assessment report which will be produced at the end of the process will be annexed to the company’s
annual report on CSR.
● The impact assessments must be undertaken by an independent agency.

SDG

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted on 25 September 2015 by 193 countries to end poverty,
protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. These goals
focus on mobilising efforts globally to end poverty and create a life of dignity and opportunity for all. A total of
17 SDGs aim at 169 targets are set to be achieved by 2030. The goals take a pragmatic approach for sustainable
growth at all levels encompassing a model
of holistic development of society and the planet. However, achievement of the goals may not be possible with
government initiatives alone, it needs a high level collaboration between the government, private sector and the
civil society.
The CSR regulation sets a broad framework and gives direction for better sustainable future and the SDGs set
tangible well defined targets to measure the outcome of activities. SDGs have more opportunities for private
sector participation. The goals bring together players from all sectors for pursuing the common vision of
sustainable development and address the socio-economic and environmental challenges.
The business community needs to strategise itself for achieving SDGs via CSR as a catalyst of shared growth.
The innovation in the CSR initiatives and a foresight of the impacts created are key founding blocks that a
company can dwell upon while working towards SDGs. It is only through an active and holistically planned CSR
programme that an effective positive social impact can be created. National and multi-national companies can
contribute towards these goals by utilising not just their capital but also their reach, resources, technology,
research, knowledge and innovation.
The national development agenda is closely linked to SDGs supported by a complex framework of central and state
policies and procedures. The Government of India is aggressively trying to integrate the national agenda with SDG
by taking many measurable actions. Similarly, private sector and the civil societies have been actively working on
developmental challenges and have slowly started looking at ways to integrate it with the target and indicator based
approach of the SDGs. Some of the private sector initiatives such as integrated watershed management, skill
development and projects on hygiene and sanitation can be closely linked with the SDGs and work on the target
based approach. Public and private sector approaches to achieve the SDG targets complement each other and have a
good scope to converge and achieve bigger impact by collaboration.

SDG 2023 Report

Under current trends, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, and only about one third of
countries will meet the target to halve national poverty levels. Shockingly, the world is back at hunger levels not
seen since 2005, and food prices remain higher in more countries than in the period 2015–2019. The way things are
going, it will take 286 years to close gender gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws. And in
education, the impacts of years of underinvestment and learning losses are such that, by 2030, some 84 million
children will be out of school and 300 million children or young people attending school will leave unable to read
and write.

The latest global-level data and assessments from custodian agencies1 paint a concerning picture: of the
approximately 140 targets that can be evaluated, half of them show moderate or severe deviations from the desired
trajectory. Furthermore, more than 30 percent of these targets have experienced no progress or, even worse,
regression below the 2015 baseline. This assessment underscores the urgent need for intensified efforts to ensure the
SDGs stay on course and progress towards a sustainable future for all.

SDG and HR

SDG 3 Good health and well being

SDG 8 promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent
work

SDG 16 Peace and Justice

Disasters due to absence ESG’

BP Oil Spill

An explosion at the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig led to over 130 million gallons of crude oil to spill into the Gulf
of Mexico, off the coast of the US. 11 workers and millions of marine animals lost their lives due to this oil spill,
making this one of the worst environmental disasters to date. It is estimated that BP has spent over $65 billion
towards cleanup, compensation and legal fees related to this oil spill. The disaster sparked a series of regulatory
actions including first, a review of the regulatory environment that allowed the disaster to occur, followed by
reforms that introduced new environment and safety regulations. The BP oil spill is a striking example of how our
reckless pursuit for resources can have extreme impacts on biodiversity.

The Chernobyl Disaster

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in Ukraine, releasing large amounts of radioactive matter into the
atmosphere. 31 people died as a direct cause of this accident and many developed serious radiation illnesses. The
disaster showed that pollution has no borders, leading to debate and action within the international community.
Today, the disaster is widely cited as a warning of the consequences that can be caused by nuclear fission energy.

The Rana Plaza Incident

In 2013, the Rana Plaza building, which housed 5 garment factories, collapsed, killing 1,132 people and injuring
2,500 more. It is said that the building’s condition was a cause of worry to the workers, yet no actions were taken.
This incident brought to light the extremely poor working conditions of supply chain workers, especially in the
developing world. It sparked a conversation about multinationals being more accountable to the worker conditions
and rights for the employees in their supply chains.

ESG

While there may be no precise commonly accepted definition of ESG, it is broadly speaking a constellation of
corporate performance metrics across three non-financial dimensions: E - the impact on the environment, S - the
impact on social institutions and human relationships, and G – the way in which an organization governs itself
and makes decisions.

1. Environmental. These criteria may include corporate climate policies, energy use, waste management
and treatment of animals.
2. Social. These criteria cover the company's relationship with stakeholders other than investors, such as
 employees or community members. Meeting ESG's social criteria may involve implementing diversity,
equity and inclusion initiatives, making donations, encouraging employees to volunteer and engaging
in supply chain sustainability and ethics practices.
3. Governance. These criteria hold companies to ethical accounting and financial reporting standards and
also include factors such as board diversity, executive compensation and rules on ethical business
practices.

ESG vs CSR

Corporate sustainability encompasses the business practices that keep a business going and perpetuate its success.
More specifically, it involves the coordination and management of environmental, social and financial demands to
ensure a business is responsible, ethical and continually successful. Sustainability lets companies meet present needs
without compromising the ability of the business to meet its needs in the future.

Sustainability is the umbrella that both ESG and CSR fall under and contribute to. ESG and CSR are both ways that
businesses can demonstrate their commitment to sustainable business practices. CSR can be seen as the idealistic,
big-picture perspective on sustainability, and ESG as the practical, detail-oriented perspective.

CSR is a self-regulated strategy employed by organizations to have a positive impact on society.

CSR helps a company to:

● Communicate its sustainability commitments

● Build a responsible business reputation
● Increase brand credibility
● Increase customer loyalty
● Attract and retain better talent
ESG, on the other hand, takes it one step further by measuring these efforts at a more precise assessment, often
demanded by investors. It helps companies set measurable goals to show their process and where they are on their
sustainability journeys. Stakeholders today do not want impressive sounding targets. What they really want is to
understand the company. So do not shy away from reporting the goals that have not yet been met. Instead, be
transparent with where you have excelled but also where you have opportunities to improve.
ESG helps a company with:

● Meet existing and upcoming regulations and demands

● Respond to climate change and other societal risks
● Gaining true insights into the company’s risks and opportunities
● Become more attractive to investors
● Unlock competitive value
● Build trust among stakeholders such as investors and customers
● Eliminate greenwashing
Triple Bottom Line

Business firms are placing increasing emphasis on their ongoing “sustainability,” which implies a simultaneous
focus on economic, social, and environmental performance. A growing majority of organizations have embraced
triple bottom line public reporting, alternately termed corporate responsibility or sustainability reporting, and many
vie for industry, national, and international honors awarded to the world’s “most sustainable” firms.

Back in the 1990s, Elkington predicted that corporations would become much more influential in shaping the
modern world than governmental entities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). He also knew that consumers
would play a significant role in pressuring businesses to make more ethical decisions with regards to social morality
and environmental sustainability. Elkington described his triple bottom line as a win-win-win scenario for businesses
to underscore the societal good that could be derived from ethical business practices.**

In the triple bottom line concept, the “people” refers to all possible stakeholders. This includes the company’s
employees and shareholders, as well as its customers, affected communities and people at every stage of the supply
line. It even includes future generations that may feel the impact of the company’s doings. The people, planet and
profit theory holds that a business must ensure that all people affected by it will benefit in some way. this might
mean paying adequate compensation, ensuring safe working conditions and even encouraging employees to
understand the value of their work.

a company’s profitability was supported by its commitment to sustainable environmental practices and policies.
Some companies have committed to net-zero emissions. This means they engage in environmentally positive
activities designed to remove as much carbon dioxide as their environmentally negative activities contribute. Other
companies go a step further by embracing a regenerative impact (such as through a commitment to reforestation).

Profit: a company has a negative economic impact if it uses child labor or if it involves unsafe working conditions.
In contrast, a company has a positive economic impact if it contributes good jobs to the local economy or
encourages tourism to the area. It is also important that a corporation pay taxes in a responsible manner.

Of course, corporations must also remain profitable or else they will go out of business. Yet, these profits should not
come at the expense of the company’s social, environmental or economic obligations. Like a three-legged stool, each
component—people, planet and profit—is equally important and necessary.

This three conceptions framework holds a number of implications for the HRM function in an organization that is
intent on building thinking, dialogue, and action toward TBL sustainability. Key HR processes could be instrumental
in helping to build consensus on the general conception of sustainability within an organization, and could help to
build momentum for change by leveraging the alignment dimensions identified in our framework.
BRSR Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)

With sustainable development and the climate change movement gaining momentum, the sustainability reporting
landscape is changing rapidly around the globe. The push from investors has further accelerated this movement, and
it is now incumbent on companies to report their sustainability performance in order to maintain transparency with
stakeholders. ESG reporting in India started in 2009 with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) issuing the
Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility as the first step towards mainstreaming the concept of
business responsibility.

In November 2018, the MCA constituted a Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting (the Committee) to
finalise business responsibility reporting formats for listed and unlisted companies, based on the framework of the
NGRBC. Reporting is mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies (by market capitalisation) from FY2022–23,
while disclosure is voluntary for FY2021–22.

The BRSR seeks disclosures from listed entities on their performance against the nine principles of the ‘National
Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct’ (NGBRCs) and reporting under each principle is divided into
essential and leadership indicators. The essential indicators are required to be reported on a mandatory basis while
the reporting of leadership indicators is on a voluntary basis.

India: Key ESG Regulation

Currently, the top 1,000 listed companies in India are required to publish a Business Responsibility Report (BRR) as
a part of their annual corporate reporting. BRR reports detail a company's actions and metrics related to
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), in a new Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)
format specified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Other listed companies may submit the
BRR or BSRS voluntarily

Enacted: May 5, 2021, takes effect after financial reporting year 2021-22

Over the past decade, India has gradually evolved its corporate ESG reporting regulations into last year's
introduction of the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) report. The BSRS is a new Indian
ESG report standard that builds on the Business Responsibility Report (BRR) format originally mandated in 2012.

BSRS reports are now mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies in India by market capitalisation from
FY2022–23.

The BSRS report is designed around nine principles outlined by SEBI, developed to align with the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

​ Principle 1: Businesses should conduct and govern themselves with integrity, and in a manner that is
ethical, transparent and accountable
​ Principle 2: Businesses should provide goods and services in a manner that is sustainable and safe
​ Principle 3: Businesses should respect and promote the well-being of all employees, including those in their
value chains
​ Principle 4: Businesses should respect the interests of and be responsive to all its stakeholders
​ Principle 5: Businesses should respect and promote human rights
​ Principle 6: Businesses should respect and make efforts to protect and restore the environment
​ Principle 7: Businesses, when engaging in influencing public and regulatory policy, should do so in a
manner that is responsible and transparent
​ Principle 8: Businesses should promote inclusive growth and equitable development
​ Principle 9: Businesses should engage with and provide value to their consumers in a responsible manner

BSRS ESG reports are divided into three sections:

​ General disclosures: The section contains details of the listed entity; products and services; operations;
employees; holding, subsidiary and associate companies (including joint ventures); corporate social
responsibility (CSR); and transparency and disclosure compliances
​ Management and process disclosures: This section requires information related to a company's policy and
management processes; governance; leadership and oversight
 ​ Principle performance disclosures: This section requires companies to report on ESG KPIs in alignment
with the nine outlined BSRS principles. KPIs are grouped into two categories: (1) essential indicators
(mandatory to report) and (2) leadership indicators (voluntary to report)

Examples of BSRS KPIs include energy usage, GHG emissions, water consumption and withdrawal, employee
well-being, worker health and safety, human rights protections, and anti-corruption and bribery controls.

A. Scope of ESG (Identifying What Belongs Under E, S and G) While there may be no precise commonly accepted
definition of ESG, it is broadly speaking a constellation of corporate performance metrics across three non-financial
dimensions:

E - theimpact on the environment,

S - the impact on social institutions and human relationships, and

G – the way in which an organization governs itself and makes decisions.

Today, most publicly traded companies are being evaluated and rated on their ESG performance

by various third-party organizations.3 The rating scales and methodologies employed by ESG

reporting providers vary significantly. Generally speaking, however, their goal is the same: to

gather and share data regarding corporations’ impact on the environment and society and the

effectiveness with which they govern themselves. These data, in turn, are considered by investors, who use them to
determine in which companies to invest. As a consequence, many companies have sought to improve their ESG
performance to both enhance their reputation and strengthen their access to capital markets.

B. How Is ESG Different from CSR?

In many ways, ESG is an outgrowth of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR arose out of

the desire for companies to demonstrate good corporate citizenship through activities such as

volunteering in the community, recycling, and working to reduce their environmental footprint

on society. In many cases, however, the CSR activities were independent add-ons that were

separate and apart from the organization’s business activities. As such, CSR was often not a

measurable, organized, or well-funded program within companies.

ESG differs in at least three ways. First, whereas CSR disclosures did not garner much attention

on the part of large shareholders, it is those very same large investors that are driving much of the ESG disclosures.
In fact, a recent survey indicated that investors were looking to increase their access to companies’ Chief
Sustainability Officers.7 Second, because CSR disclosures were not viewed as material to investment decisions,
there was little demand for a uniform disclosure regime. Investor scrutiny on ESG performance, on the other hand,
creates an increasing need for rigor and consistency in ESG disclosures (although, as discussed below, consistency
has to date been elusive). Third, the increased attention by investors on ESG, as opposed to CSR, forces companies
to weave ESG into their business strategies. This requires companies to think carefully about their role in society
and develop strategies to lessen or remediate any harm their business causes (even if unintended) or find ways to
channel business operations to positively address a societal need.