CSR Today August 2014 issue by Rajesh Tiwari

publisher’s note

Subtle, Sustained, Scrutinized

I Rajesh Tiwari Publisher rt@iccsr.org

The true success of any company’s efforts in the area of CSR has to hinge not on the amount it has spent but on the real impact it has had on the ground.

t was heartening to read a recent report in the newspapers. I say heartening because it is rare to come across an Indian corporate that over-performs in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). According to the news report, the Tata Group had pumped in Rs. 1000 crore towards CSR activities in the fiscal 2013-14. As per the law, every company that has a net worth equal to or in excess of Rs 500 crore or a turnover equal to or in excess of Rs 1000 crore or a net profit equal to or in excess of Rs 5 crore has to mandatorily spend 2 percent of its average net profits of the last 3 years on specified CSR activities. In the case of Tata, the spend was way above this 2 percent threshold. Through its efforts, the diversified multinational conglomerate has certainly displayed a strong commitment towards sustainability. Tata’s action is definitely laudable. However, we should not be carried away just by the numbers. The true success of any company’s efforts in the area of CSR has to hinge not on the amount it has spent but on the real impact it has had on the ground. The triumph of any CSR project has to depend on the number of lives it has touched or on the significant benefits it has had on the environment. In other words, we should celebrate and raise a toast only if the success of these initiatives is measured and the final numbers gives us a reason to rejoice. While the very premise on which CSR is based centers around benefits for both the business and community, it is often seen that the takeaway for the latter are abysmal. This is simply because the impact is neither gauged nor measured. For any corporate

undertaking a CSR activity, it is therefore of prime importance to have measurability built into the initiative from the word ‘go.’ Every project needs to have a system or process in place to measure basic parameters such as – How are the funds being disbursed? Who are the beneficiaries of the initiative How many are the beneficiaries? Such an approach would be a win-win situation for all the stakeholders. While it would enable the corporate to plug leakages and utilize its funds to the max, it will also translate into maximum impact on the ground. As CSR is still an emerging discipline in India, enterprises also need to be wary when promoting their actions in this area. There are chances of companies going overboard in marketing such initiatives, which then overshadows the good. Critics have slammed such companies claiming that they spend too little to get too much mileage for their brand out of it. It is often seen that corporates adhere to CSR only when the going is good. As soon as the going gets tough (during an economic slowdown, for instance), they dump it. There are few companies for whom CSR is imbibed in the DNA. This issue’s cover story focuses on UTC, a multinational conglomerate which leads the way when it comes to doing CSR. It does the way it should be done – in a subtle and sustained manner with strong elements of scrutiny built into it. Before I sign off, another bit of information from the news story – TCS, the crown jewel of the Tata empire, lags when it comes to meeting CSR requirements. The IT giant spent a paltry Rs 93 crore (a measly 0.48 percent of its profits) on CSR.

August 2014 | CSR Today | 1

Contents

august 2014 | vol. 02 | issue 08 Printer and Publisher: Rajesh Tiwari EDITORIAL Consulting Editor: Y Singh INDIAN CENTRE FOR CSR ADVISORY BOARD Pankaj Pachauri, Ted McFarland, Mag. Martin Neureiter, Chandir Gidwani, Lou Altman, Kingshuk Nag, Toby Webb, Anil Bajpai, Nikos Avlonas, Rajesh Tiwari, Satish Jha, Amit Chatterjee, Jitendra Bhargava, Namita Vikas, Dinesh N. Awasthi, Kapil Dev, Dr. Kamal Kant Dwivedi, Sanjiv Kaura, Suhel Seth PRODUCTION, CIRCULATION AND LOGISTICS Hardik C HEAD OFFICE CSR Today Indian Centre for CSR, 601, 6th Floor, Technocity, Plot No. X4/5 A, TTC Industrial Area Mahape, Navi Mumbai- 400701 (India). Tel: +91 22 2778 8481 / 82 Fax: +91 22 2496 6803 Email: editor@csrtoday.net Website: www.iccsr.org

10 cover story Impact Investing

For UTC, the $62 billion multinational conglomerate, social responsibility is a top-down approach. The company realizes the strong impact such spending has not only on society but also on its own brand, visibility, product development strategy, and employee engagement.

sustainability column

sustainability capital

08 Corporations Only can Save Earth

33 Sunny Outlook for Microgrids

sustainability

36 The Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

15 New Tech Spurs Water Recycling

csr society

CSR capital 38 Real Economic Payoff From

20 Development Sustainable Only With Effective Public Sector

42 Philips’ EcoDesign Pays Off

18 The World Cup and Brazil

Infrastructure

CSR LEADERSHIP

CASE STUDY 26 How Asda is Making Fresh Efforts to Protect Produce

PUNE Assistant Vice President: Neha Garg MUMBAI Vice President: Chaitali Chatterjee Circulation: C.R. Tiwari To Advertise: Email: ak@iccsr.org Mobile: 09899780277 Printed, Published and Edited by Rajesh Tiwari on behalf of Indian Centre For Corporate Social Resposibility, Printed at Jayant Printery, 352/54, J.S.S. Road, Murlidhar Temple Compound, Near Thakurdwar Post Office, Mumbai 400 002 and Published from Indian Centre For Corporate Social Resposibility, 106/A, Nirman Kendra, Plot No.3, Dr. E. Morses Road, Mahalaxmi Estate, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai 400 011. Editor: Rajesh Tiwari Disclaimer

22 From Trash to Treasure 24 Sky’s the Limit

REGIONAL OFFICES NEW DELHI Regional Director: V Chopra Sr. Vice President: Abhay Kumar Vice President: Bhanu Pratap Singh

REGULARS

01 Publisher’s note 03 CSR News 44 Book Review

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The publisher, authors and contributors reserve their rights in regards to copyright of their work. No part of this work covered by the copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the written consent. The publisher, contributors, editors and related parties are not responsible in any way for the actions or results taken by any person, organisation or any party on basis of reading information, stories or contributions in this publication, website or related product. Reasonable care is taken to ensure that CSR Today articles and other information on the web site are up-to-date and accurate as possible, as of the time of publication, but no responsibility can be taken by CSR Today for any errors or omissions contained herein.

CSR News Promotion of Certain Sports is CSR

Photo Courtesy: www.parisreccenter.com

he government has said social welfare expenditure by companies towards promotion of sports like the rural and national sports would be considered as a CSR activity. Under the new Companies Act, certain class of profitable entities are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, a report by PTI said. “Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 that indicates a list of CSR activities includes `training to promote rural sports, nationally recognised sports, paralympic sports and olympic sports,” Minister of State for Corporate Affair Nirmala Sitharaman informed Rajya Sabha in a written reply. On a query about the amount spent by companies for CSR activities, the Minister noted that the rules for the same have come into force only recently in April and “details about the amount spent by the companies under CSR would be available only after the mandatory disclosures of CSR spend are made by the companies, which would be due withing six months after completion of financial year 2014-15”.

Budget Dashes India Inc’s Tax Break Hopes

n what could be a dampener for India Inc, Budget 2014-15 has clarified that CSR spend made by companies in line with new Company Law obligations will not be entitled for income tax deduction (under Section 37). This clarification has dashed the hopes of Corporate India, which had in the run-up to the Budget urged the Government to allow tax deduction on their Corporate Social Responsibility spend mandated under Company Law, a report in Business Line said. “Expenditure on CSR is a mandatory

requirement under the new Companies Act, 2013. However, tax and company law are at the crossroads on this aspect and Budget 2014 proposes that the expenditure incurred for complying with the CSR obligations will not be allowable under Section 37 of the income tax law,” Pranay Bhatia, Partner, BDO India LLP told Business Line. However, this disallowance of expenses under Section 37 is applicable only if the expenditure is otherwise not allowable under other provisions of the income tax law, he said.

Infosys to Spend Rs 240 cr on CSR

ndia’s second largest IT firm Infosys said it will contribute Rs 240 crore this fiscal to its philanthropic arm, Infosys Foundation, for funding corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. The Bangalore-based firm has already contributed USD 8 million (Rs 48 crore) in the first quarter ended June 30, 2014, to Infosys Foundation. “It will work out to around Rs 240 crore. As of now, we have contributed Rs 48 crore in the first quarter,” InfosysCFO Rajiv Bansal told reporters, according to a report in The Economic Times. Infosys is one of the first Indian companies to contribute to CSR activities as per the New Companies Act. Under the New Companies Act, large companies need to spend at least 2 per cent of their average net profit for immediately preceding three financial years on CSR activities. “We are happy to be fulfilling the social responsibility of Infosys. The Infosys Foundation creates opportunities and strives towards a more equitable society,” Infosys CEO and MD S D Shibulal said. Established in 1996, Infosys Foundation works in the areas of healthcare, education, culture, destitute care and rural development. The Foundation had taken up relief work at various calamity-affected areas of Tamil Nadu, Andaman Islands,Kutch, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. It has also set up more than 50,000 school libraries across Karnataka. August 2014 | CSR Today | 3

CSR | NEWS

Skills Ministry

he government is in the process of notifying a new skills ministry and a portion of the CSR budget of industries could be channelled into providing training to Indians, minister for skill development Sarbananda Sonowal said on Monday. “We are in the process of activating the ministry of skill development and are currently consulting with all major stakeholders including the private sector,” Sonowal, who is also minister for entrepreneurship, youth affairs and sports, told a National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) conference in New Delhi. “We believe an effective and sustainable partnership between private and public sector would be crucial for this ambitious mission to be achieved.” It is necessary to ensure that industry be made a major partner in the government’s Skilling India mission, a plan to train 500 million people by 2022 that the government believes would provide a job-ready workforce to several industry segments, he said. The minister said the implementation of the new companies law can provide employability-linked skill development and is an item that qualifies as approved expenditure under CSR, a report in Mint said.

Fin Min Wants Banks to be Exempt From CSR Spend

ndian banks, particularly those owned by the government and facing an urgent need to raise capital, could get some relief, a report in The Times of India said. The finance ministry has written to the corporate affairs ministry, asking the latter to exempt banks from the corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) spending mandated by the Companies Act. The Act, which came into effect from the current financial year, mandates companies to spend at least two per cent of their average net profit for the immediately preceding three financial years on CSR activities. The CSR provisions within the Act are applicable to companies that have annual turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more.

Almost all commercial banks have made profits of more than Rs 5 crore in the past three financial years. The Act also requires companies to set up CSR committees comprising their board members, including at least one independent director, the report said. Profitability growth of bank groups differed significantly last financial year. The new private banks were able to maintain a healthy growth rate of 19.7 per cent in their profit after tax during 2013-14, compared to a contraction of 30.7 per cent in the net profits of public-sector banks during the year. According to the finance ministry, since the country is considered a bank-led economy and as the economy is not doing well, banks should be exempted from spending on CSR activities till the economic conditions improve, the report added.

Centre to Start CSR Course From October

ith corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities made compulsory by the government of India from the current financial year, the Union ministry of corporate affairs has rolled out a first of its kind short-term course in CSR to create certified experts in the field. The course, designed by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) and called ‘IICA Certificate Programme in CSR (ICP-CSR)’, is being launched simultaneously in 10 states including Bihar. The first batch will comprise 300 students in which about 60-80 seats have been allocated for students of Bihar region including Jharkhand. ADRI will facilitate the programme in Bihar region. 4 | CSR Today | August 2014

“Graduates from any recognized university with at least 50% aggregate can apply for the course till July 31 and an entrance examination will be held on August 24,” master trainers Abhishek Kumar and Amit Kumar Choubey said at a presser on Monday. They have also helped in designing the all-India course, a report in The Times of India said. The entrance test will have two papers - essay writing and multiplechoice general questions. The social exposure and practical experience will be tested later at interview. The one-year course is to begin in October and the fee for individual Indian applicants is Rs one lakh. “The details of course structure are available on the IICA website – and include nine months theory online and contact classes and three months project work and corporate attachment,” Choubey said

CSR | NEWS

CSR Googly to Tax Some and Spare the Rest

Photo Courtesy: www.talk2runners.com

ndia Inc, which now has to spend on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, may have to bear a heavier tax burden, unless the expenditure is covered by specific provisions of the Income Tax (I-T) Act. The Finance Bill has clarified that such spend will not be treated as business expenditure. If it were treated as business ex-

penditure, it would have directly reduced the taxable profits of the concerned company, a report in The Times of India said. However, tax benefits could be available for certain CSR activities under other sections of the I-T Act. “If the CSR expenditure is covered by the specific sections (Section 30 to 36) of the I-T Act, repairs, depreciation, expenditure on a wide variety

of notified projects including skill development projects, would be allowed under those sections. Accordingly, if the company constructs a vocational training centre as a CSR project, then repairs, depreciation (at 10%) insurance, or interest on borrowings taken to construct such building will now be expressly allowed as deduction,” says Punit Shah, co-head of tax, KPMG. India Inc will, however, face challenges as projects do not get notified on a timely basis. Some notified projects would provide a higher tax benefit. India Inc may also find that making a donation is a hassle-free eligible activity. “The latest draft of DTC issued in April 2014 had said CSR is an appropriation of the profits of a company and, hence, not an allowable deduction. These fears have come true. It would be interesting to see whether this will propel corporates to contribute to notified charitable institutions and claim 50% deduction under section 80-G,” says Sudhir Kapadia, National Tax Leader, EY. Under section 80-G of the I-T Act, the donation is deductible from the taxable income, either in full or to the extent of 50% of the amount.

CII and CSR

onfederation of Indian Industries (CII) recently organized a skills and CSR Conference with the theme “CSR the Game Changer for Skill Development” in the city, a report in The Times of India said. Speaking at the Conference, Atul Garg, past Chairman CII Gujarat State Council said Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has assumed a new meaning in today’s world. It has extended the boundaries of the firm into the society. In recent years, CSR, the social commitment of the companies toward society, is becoming an increasingly important activity to businesses nationally and internationally. He further added that Corporates, through CSR are putting a high impact on society and supporting government directly or indirectly for betterment of society. Himansnshu Upadhyay, Chairman, CII Gujarat State Panel on CSR and Director, Gujarat Gas said “Its not about the Corporate Social Responsibility - its a corporate’s fundamental duty to ensure that a marginal section of the profit earned is spend in the betterment of the society.”

FAQs for CSR Spending

he government may consider introducting FAQs or guidelines for the mandatory spending of 2 per cent of net profit by companies on corporate social responsibility (CSR), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said. Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, he said the law passed by the Parliament mandates companies to spend 2 per cent of the average post-tax profit or net profit of three years on CSR, The Economic Times said in a report. “Now, in the schedule of activities, which have been permitted in Schedule VII, there are several activities that are included in the Income Tax Act as exempted activities. So, if it is spent on those activities, a company under the Income Tax will get an exemption. The exemption provision is under the Income Tax Act and not under the Companies Act,” he said.

Jaitley said if there are suggestions from MPs, at a later stage, the Parliament “may decide to expand that list of the income tax exemptions.” “While as on date no specific tax exemption has been extended to expenditure incurred on specified CSRactivities, spending on several activities like contributions to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, scientific research, rural development projects, skill development projects, agricultural extension projects etc, which find place in Schedule VII, alredy enjoy such exemptions under the Income Tax Act, 1961,” he said. He said based on nature of queries received in future, “the question of introducing FAQs (frequently asked questions) or guidelines may also be considered.” Companies not spending 2 per cent of their profict on CSR will have to give reasons for that. August 2014 | CSR Today | 5

CSR | NEWS

Companies’ CSR Works to be Monitored From Next Year

overnment has said it would start monitoring CSR activities of corporates under the new Companies Act from next year. Certain class of profitable companies are required to shell out at least 2 per cent

of their three-year annual average net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) works. These norms have come into effect from April 1, according to a report in The Economic Times.

“This being the first year of implementation of the provisions, it will be possible to initiate monitoring of the CSR activities under the above provision from next year only,” Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. Companies with a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, at least Rs 500 crore net worth or minimum Rs 5 crore net profit are required to spend on CSR, according to Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. In a separate written statement, Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley said that CSR expenditure has to be calculated on the basis of profit before tax. Noting that there has been an inaccuracy in a reply to a supplementary question on CSR in the Rajya Sabha on July 8, the government said that reference to “profit after tax/post tax profit was meant to refer to profit before tax”.

Tata CSR Spending at Rs 1,000 Crore Per Year

he Tata group spends about Rs. 1,000 crore annually on corporate social responsibility (CSR) work and even has a dedicated unit, Tata Sustainability Group, which addresses key environmental issues related to water, carbon and waste, a top company executive said. “Over the last decade, our spend on CSR activities, between the Tata trusts and the Tata companies, has been in excess of Rs.8,000 crore,” Mukund Rajan, member, group executive council and brand custodian, Tata Sons Ltd, told reporters recently. “In the past three years, we have been trending at an average of Rs.1,000 crore per annum between the trusts and our companies, typically in a 60:40 ratio between the companies and the trusts. The specific figure for 2013-14 for the Tata companies Rs.660 crore,” Rajan said, in a report in Mint. The Tata group, which comprises around 100 companies ended 2013-14 with revenue of around $100 billion, with over 60% coming from outside India. Experts said assuming that the Tata group is making 10% of $100 billion as net profit, the group is investing more than 2% of its profit made out of Indian operations. Raveendra Chittoor, assistant professor of strategy at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, said this focus on CSR could boost the Tata Group’s image with investors and consumers. 6 | CSR Today | August 2014

news digest Odisha to Formulate CSR Policy Soon

he state government of Odisha is planning to formulate a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy, industries minister Debi Prasad Mishra told the assembly. The minister, in a written reply to a question, said Odisha Mining Corporation Limited spent the highest Rs 346.79 crore from 2010-11 to 2012-13 towards CSR. The OMC had nil expenditure in 2013-14, a report in The Times of India said.

27 Lakh Benefited From NPCIL’s CSR

overnment has said more than 27 lakh people living around atomic power plants in the country have been benefited under the CSR of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) in last three years, a report from PTI said. Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh said the NPCIL and other project authorities under the administrative control of Department of Atomic Energy carry out neighborhood welfare activities, wherever mandated, under the CSR, in the surrounding areas of projects in accordance with prevailing guidelines of the government.

Tele Performance’s CSR Efforts

ele performance India’s literacy program for young children in its neighbourhood has been judged the Best Community Spirit Program in the Asia Pacific region by Contact Centre World, a worldwide association focused on propagating best practices in the BPO industry. The literacy program is a part of the CSR efforts of Teleperformance employees, called ‘Citizens of the World’, fuelled by a small voluntary contribution, which in India starts with as little as Rs. 25 per month.

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sustainability column

Corporations Only can Save Earth

We’ve always looked to non-profits and governments to solve our most daunting challenges, when we should be looking to the business sector for solutions, says Alice Korngold.

T Alice Korngold Alice Korngold is a consultant and author. This post originally appeared in Ensia.

8 | CSR Today | August 2014

hirteen months ago, after reading a draft of my book, A Better World, Inc.: How Companies Profit by Solving Global Problems … Where Governments Cannot, a colleague said to me: “Okay, Alice, you provide many great insights and observations, but what’s your big takeaway?” To answer his question I had to zoom way out, and when I did, the answer became glaringly obvious: Only global corporations have the resources, global reach and self-interest to build a better world. Governments are limited by borders, and the international community has failed to come to binding and actionable agreements. Non-governmental organizations and nonprofits have made great strides in advancing the human condition, but lack the resources and scalability sufficient to make transformational progress. My conclusion about corporations rang true based on all of my research, but it startled me to make such a statement – it felt like some sort of heresy. We all know that too often elements of the corporate sector have been responsible for creating the human rights abuses, environmental degradation and economic injustices that plague the world today – and some continue to do so.

Yet, my research provided extensive evidence that some leading companies are finding solutions to the world’s most daunting challenges – and that these multinational corporations have the vast financial, technological and human capital; the global footprint; and the profit incentives and market forces necessary to make change on the level needed as we face so many problems at once, such as climate change, ecosystems degradation and poverty, and issues around education, health care and human rights. NGOs, nonprofits and governments simply do not have all of these. That said, the evidence also shows that companies are only successful in global problem-solving when they partner with NGOs and nonprofits, and sometimes with other companies; engage effectively with stakeholders; recognize that sustainability is a matter for board governance; and commit to accountability and transparency. For example, Allan Pamba’s work at health-care company GlaxoSmithKline – in partnership with telecommunications company Vodafone – is saving the lives of newborns by increasing the uptake of DPT vaccines in Mozambique. By registering pregnant women on the health ministry database when they deliver their babies, alert-

Photo Courtesy: adrianzupp.blogspot.in

sustainability | Column ing the mothers via text messages about the availability and importance of vaccinations, and texting reminders when it’s time for each of the follow-ups for the DPT series, GSK aims to increase the uptake for the third dose from 76 per cent to 86 per cent. “Seven million children die every year before their fifth birthday, many of these from vaccinable diseases,” explains Pamba. “A 10 per cent increase in vaccine uptake could result in hundreds of thousands of lives saved every year.” Through this mobile-enabled vaccination program, GSK and Vodafone are providing a sustainable business solution that involves community health-care workers on the front lines and engages mothers in taking responsibility for saving the lives of their children. Pamba grew up in Kenya and worked in clinical care in the country for government services, mission hospitals and research hospitals. “As a child, I grew up in an environment where all I saw was donated aid,” he says. “I fell into a trap of ‘give me, give me.’ As a young physician I recognized that that doesn’t work. I woke up to the fact that for solutions to be sustainable, you need to earn and buy. That’s why I support this approach. It gives people their dignity.” The GSK and Vodafone model is also good for business. “We are not a charity. We are a business,” Pamba says. “But we measure our success by the volume of medicines and vaccines that we get through into the 50 least developed countries, rather than the profit we make. Our target – set in 2010 – is to grow the volume fivefold by 2015. In the short time that we’ve existed at the company, we’ve become the fastest growing unit at GSK.” For Vodafone, the mobile company generates revenues through text message traffic. So, as you see, companies are not doing good just to be nice. Global problem solving is good for business for three reasons. First, companies like GSK and Vodafone profit, while building their long-term value. Second, companies benefit by mitigating risks. Nike, for example, is investing in the development of a global supply chain of sustainable materials for apparel and footwear since it realizes that the natural materials it had been using in the past are becoming scarcer. Nike’s commitment to sustainable materials is vital for

Non-governmental organizations and nonprofits have made great strides in advancing the human condition, but lack the resources and scalability sufficient to make transformational progress the long-term success of its business while also being good for Earth’s ecosystems. Third, companies benefit by reducing costs. Johnson Controls, for example, is retrofitting old buildings for energy efficiency – buildings such as the Empire State Building in New York City and the Inorbit Mall in Mumbai. Energy efficiency is cost effective for business tenants and so beneficial for commercial real estate companies; it’s also good for the world, especially since 70 per cent of people will live in cities by 2050, and the building sector consumes 40 per cent of the world’s energy. Investors, consumers and employees are rewarding companies for their global problem-solving strategies. Not only are socially responsible investment assets estimated to be as high as $30 trillion, but even mainstream investors are recognizing the importance of companies investing in sustainability. According to the nonprofit sustainability advocacy group Ceres, mutual funds are showing record high support for climate change shareholder resolutions. And consulting firm Ernst & Young’s 2014 proxy preview shows increased investor attention to sustainability and board governance and accountability.

Consumers care as well. Deadly factory fires and other horrendous human rights violations tarnish the reputations of companies, while goodwill is generated by companies such as Unilever, where the CEO Paul Polman has committed the company’s mission and strategy to sustainability. Employees, too, prefer to work with a sense of purpose and for companies that are doing good in the world. None of this is to say that governments and NGOs do not have a role to play in improving the world. Indeed, they also have essential functions. Government needs to set regulatory boundaries and hold companies accountable for their business practices. NGOs and nonprofits have been and will continue to be keepers of the flame, focusing society on pressing issues, providing experience and expertise, and ensuring that all members of society are included. But let me be clear: The biggest opportunity we have to solve our most challenging problems comes from multinational corporations, some of which are becoming the most powerful drivers in building a better world. Source: www.eco-business.com August 2014 | CSR Today | 9

cover story

Vijay Thadani Founder & CEO NIIT

10 | CSR Today | August 2014

cover | story

Impact Investing

“A

t UTC, we make modern life possible,” says the global website of United Technologies Corporation (UTC). With topnotch brands such as Otis, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, and Carrier under its fold, the $62 billion multinational conglomerate sure has a profound impact on billions of lives. This impact, however, does not come at the cost of the environment or ethical practices. When it comes to corporate responsibility, UTC claims to be 100 percent committed. “We support charitable and social causes in the communities where we do business. Everywhere we do business, we apply the highest standards of corporate responsibility and measure success with the same set of ethical, environmental and safety metrics,” the company claims.

To substantiate this claim, CSR Today caught up with Palash Roy Chowdhury, Country Manager – India, Pratt & Whitney (a unit of United Technologies Corporation) and Chair of UTC’s CSR activities in India. In an hour-long candid discussion, Chowdhury shares UTC India’s current CSR action, the way forward, and his own vision for the subject. What is UTC’s philosophy behind its CSR initiatives?

Globally, CSR is an integral part of the company and is at the center of our overall business strategy. For us, CSR is more than charity and donation. Areas of environmental health and safety are of immense importance to us, reducing our carbon footprint and water consumption are equally important. Our CSR also focuses on corpo-

rate ethics -- how we do business around the world. Ensuring employee engagement and talent development also form a part of our CSR. From India’s perspective, we undertake community development services in four areas, namely - education, sustainability, disaster management and community development. It is a comprehensive program and has been a central element of our business strategy for many years. So do you raise funds for the Indian CSR initiatives locally or does the corporate headquarter pitch in?

So far, the funds came from our headquarters but we are increasingly generating funds from our local businesses. It has, therefore, been a mix of both. From a CSR strategy standpoint, the focus is driven from August 2014 | CSR Today | 11

cover | story corporate headquarter. At the local implementation level, there might be some nuances depending on where it is being implemented. For instance, the new 2 percent Act in India is not seen anywhere else, and we need to accordingly adapt our CSR activities here. In other words, the broad areas are mandated by the corporate while individual projects are identified locally. Nevertheless, there are the four key areas of education, community development, sustainability and disaster response that we work on globally.

Project Vidya Supports Education of 800 Children in SOS Villages

TC in partnership with SOS Children’s Villages India, has launched ‘Project Vidya’ to support the education of 800 children living in SOS Children’s Villages, across nine cit-

ies. ‘Project Vidya’ offers children at the SOS Children’s Villages access to quality education, mentoring and additional support to facilitate improved academic performance. This initiative will be instrumental in paving the way toward a sustainable livelihood and financial self-reliance for these children. The initiative will support children between the ages of 4 and 21 years, across the SOS Villages at Faridabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Alibaug (near Mum-

How is UTC India’s CSR structured?

We have established a robust governance structure in UTC. There is a central UTC CSR Council and then there are regional chapters, one each in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. A senior executive of the company chairs each of these chapters and engages employees in the region. It is a democratic, consensus based transparent process. The ideas come from the chapters and passes through a n established set of criteria before we fund it. The charter of the India Corporate & Social Responsibility (CSR) council includes: extending and expanding our

bai), Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Bhubaneshwar and Bhimtal (Uttarakhand). In addition, UTC employees in India will also spend time and share their knowledge and expertise with the children through the company’s employee volunteer program.

CSR activities in India; creating standard work around social responsibility initiatives; approving, monitoring and supporting ongoing activities; driving employee engagement; and enhancing awareness around UTC and the values it stands for. India is the first country to have been mandated a 2 percent spend by corporates on CSR. Corpo-

Pehal - A Community Development Initiative

urgaon, a suburb of Delhi, is home to a huge population (several hundred thousands) of migrants from villages and small towns who live in pitiable and inhuman conditions.

To ensure better quality of life for this huge migrant labour population, United Technologies Corporation along with its charity partner- United Way of Delhi initiated a comprehensive Community Development program- ‘Pehal’ in the latter half of 2012. The program targets around 2000 families of primarily migrant labour (around 10,000 people) inhabiting resettlement/ slum clusters at Chakarpur village in Gurgaon and aims towards holistic development of the targeted community through innovative interventions in the areas of Education, Health and Environment. The program is being implemented on ground by United Way of Delhi along with its community partner Humana People to People India. The multifaceted program has impacted many aspects in the lives of targeted beneficiaries in a positive way such as -- enrolment of out of school community children in bridge courses and their mainstreaming later in government schools; adult literacy; financial literacy and financial inclusion; and health & hygiene initiatives including construction of new community bathrooms

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rates can hate or love this step but they certainly can’t ignore it. What are your views on this move?

We are not driven by the Act as UTC has already been spending on CSR activities for many years. We don’t see this as a burden. It is imbibed into our DNA. We realise that there are multiple benefits from spending on CSR. A company stands to gain in terms of brand, visibility, product development strategy and employee engagement. But would this compulsory spending by corporates alleviate social evils?

When it comes to CSR, there are multiple stakeholders– the government, NGOs and corporates – and all of them have to work together. The idea of the 2 percent spend is a good one. Every corporate should have a moral responsibility to give back to the community. But then the devil is in the detail. As the next step, we need to ensure that it is implemented in the right spirit and the benefits reach the beneficiaries it is intended for. The numbers are huge. Overall, anywhere between Rs 16000 to Rs 20000 crore is expected to be contributed by the corporate sector. The top-ofthe-mind question, therefore, should be around governance – How is the money going to be collected? How will it be disbursed? How will it reach the right people?

cover | story So how according to you, should companies approach CSR?

Corporates are focusing on driving efficiencies in their respective businesses. Why can’t we bring the same level of efficiency and transparency in the NGO sector? What I am seeing today is the lack of measurement and accountability. We are not asking or answering questions such as How many people have been impacted? How do you create programs that put beneficiaries on the path to self sustainability? I feel these are the areas where corporates could and should come in to maximize the impact. It is to the difference between giving a man a fish and teaching him to fish. So making someone self sustainable is a better approach. Providing mid-day meals etc. is a good first step but the sector needs to mature quickly. As a country, however, we should focus on creating worthwhile skills. Today, we are happy to say that we are a young country and we will have a large potential productive workforce of 100 million in the next 10 years. What scares me though is a scenario where we have 50 million people with degrees but without jobs. We need to create avenues that address this. But where can corporates complement the government and NGO sectors?

The government can create policy, and I give a lot of credit to it for doing so. NGOs have domain expertise of working at the grass-root level and they have their role to play. What the corporates bring in is not just the funds but also the governance structure and the bandwidth. Think about the number of people corporates can bring in – 100,000 well-meaning, educated people coupled with technology, process, and management. How is UTC as a corporate focusing on skill enhancement?

We do skill enhancement under community development, which is a big umbrella. Not everyone in India needs to be an engineer or a doctor. Skill development needs to be across the spectrum. We need to create respect for every job, which unfortunately is not there even today. Since indepen-

The government can create policy, and I give a lot of credit to it for doing so. NGOs have domain expertise of working at the grass-root level and they have their role to play. What the corporates bring in is not just the funds but also the governance structure and the bandwidth. Palash Roy Chowdhury Country Manager – India Pratt & Whitney

dence, we have institutionalized some high end skills – CAs, doctors, engineers etc. How come we haven’t institutionalized entrepreneurship? Why aren’t we creating multiple silicon valleys in the country or giving out degrees in Bachelor or Masters of Entrepreneurship? Someone with this degree can then enter the ecosystem, which has availability of funds, to incubate ideas or innovations. These people will in turn create more jobs. In developed countries, 60-70 percent of all jobs are generated by SMEs. This is what creates the bulk of nations’ development. We have to deploy technology to leapfrog in certain sectors. You spoke about the importance of measuring the impact of CSR. What system or process do you have in place for such measurement?

In each of the projects that we undertake, there is a proper due diligence wherein we find out who is the partner, what is his background, do they have the right qualification, what kind of certification do they have etc. Then there is project due diligence, which includes how much money is being spent, who are the beneficiaries, how many of them are there, how will they be benefited, and how will we manage them. In most cases, we try to create a strong measurable impact that becomes self-sustaining over time. Certain companies engaged in manufacturing of cigarettes or alcohol also talk about CSR. Isn’t there a paradox here? Can 2 percent spend yield 98 percent good?

These are valid businesses. As long as there is market demand and they are legal businesses there is no problem. Every business has a negative angle. Tomorrow people could say why is a certain company manufacturing cars as it is leading to so much pollution. This is a completely separate discussion. What needs to be discussed is that if an entity is a profit making business, if the entity is operating in a community then what are its responsibilities and how is it fulfilling them. It is all about moving beyond the company and profitability. August 2014 | CSR Today | 13

cover | story It is extremely important to have a business case around CSR? How do you do it?

which leads to a motivated workforce. It builds employee morale and employee character. This is a significant benefit for us. A responsible organization also gains in brand recognition and value. It motivates us to think innovatively at being more efficient in our processes thereby leading to better systems and products. Not each activity is directly linked to profit but is definitely aligned to the overall growth.

Even sustainability to be sustainable, needs to have a business case. Unless it makes business sense, why would businesses do it? For instance, for us, reducing carbon emissions and reducing effluents directly impact the bottom line. It actually drives innovation, brand recognition and quality. At the end of the day, it has to make business sense.

What challenges do you foresee for your CSR activities in the next 12-18 months?

But is this sense dawning on Indian companies?

It will as they mature. When companies are small, they don’t have the pedigree of spending towards society. They just want to make profits. The government has to create systems and processes so that every organization does it. How do your CSR initiatives link back to your view of them making business sense?

Direct RoI may not be in terms of how much profit you can generate at the end of the day. There are indirect benefits also. For instance, it leads to employee engagement,

Direct RoI may not be in terms of how much profit you can generate at the end of the day. There are indirect benefits also.

Pratt & Whitney Constructs Residential Facility for Girls

I see no challenges. I am very happy as far as UTC is concerned. We have a very robust structure that we have created internally. We are very motivated and engaged. In India we have a little over 6000 employees. Of these, 1500 participated in our CSR activities, which translates into 25 percent of the workforce. So, it doesn’t amount to cutting a cheque and forgetting about it. It is active engagement. As far as India is concerned, the challenge that I see is the implementation of this policy. Nobody is really trained for CSR. We need to have training for CSR and I commend Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee for introducing the country’s first certified course on CSR. We are sending a number of our associates to this course. I am beginning to see a large number of NGOs mushrooming. So regulatory and audit processes also need to be put in place. The other thing that needs to be looked upon is what is acceptable as valid CSR and what is not.

ratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, and its supplier partners donated $113,000 USD (6,705,000 INR) to construct a residential building for underprivileged girls

in cooperation with the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust (KGNMT) in Hyderabad, India. Pratt & Whitney contributed $20,000 USD (1,218,000 INR) in addition to United Technologies Corp.’s (UTC) contribution of $45,000 USD (2,643,000 INR) to build the 6,000 square-foot facility, which provides the girls with furnished dormitories, a study center, e-learning center and playground, while incorporating environmentally-friendly features. The residence will provide local, elementary-age girls in need with a modern home and study resources to help them excel in their education. The facility’s e-learning center will provide the children with access to online educational resources, while its environmentally-friendly features, including a solar water heater and kitchen garden, will foster self-sufficiency. The building includes a rain water harvesting/recharge system and solar water heater that will provide both hot and cold water. Since 2004, Pratt & Whitney has made annual contributions to the Association Saikorian that now total more than $167,000 USD (1,092,000 INR), including this year’s contribution of $19,000 USD. In addition to the annual contribution, Pratt & Whitney has funded major projects at Krushi Home and schools in the village of Gowdavally, Hyderabad.

14 | CSR Today | August 2014

Finally, what is your message for a company that is beginning its journey in CSR?

There are so many aspects to CSR that one needs to prioritize. One is CSR within your own organization, the second is CSR with the community outside and the third is the extension of CSR in your supply base. As you can’t do everything, first do that which has the most impact. As the adage goes, charity begins at home! CSR could begin with creating an ethical enterprise, by making sure that you are light on your footprint, by streamlining the supply base. After that if you have funds and bandwidth, look at things beyond your immediate response.

sustainability

New Tech Spurs Water Recycling Many experts say that while emerging technology is making desalination ever more viable, the economic and environmental costs are still too high by cheryl katz

Photo Courtesy: raygunstudio.blogspot.in

ferry plows along San Francisco Bay, trailing a tail of churned up salt, sand and sludge and further fouling the already murky liquid that John Webley intends to turn into drinking water. But Webley, CEO of a Bay Area start-up working on a new, energy-skimping desalination system, isn’t perturbed. “Look at the color of this intake,” he says, pointing to a tube feeding brown fluid into a device the size of a home furnace. There, through a process called forward osmosis, a novel solution the company developed pulls water molecules across a membrane, leaving salt and impurities behind. When low temperature heat is applied, the bioengineered solution separates out like oil, allowing clean water to be siphoned off. This method uses less than a quarter of the electricity needed for standard desalination, making it easier for the technology to run on renewable power, said Webley. His company, Trevi Systems, recently won an international low-energy desalination competition and is building a pilot solar August 2014 | CSR Today | 15

sustainability plant to desalinate seawater in the United Arab Emirates. With world water demands rising and extreme droughts like the one now gripping California expected to grow more frequent and widespread as the climate warms, drawing fresh water from oceans and other salty sources will be increasingly important. “Eventually, we’ll have to develop new sources of water,” said David Sedlak, a University of California-Berkeley professor of civil and environmental engineering and author of “Water 4.0: The Past, Present and Future of the World’s Most Vital Resource.” Desalination, along with wastewater recycling and capturing and storing rainwater, will be “three main pillars,” he said, to replace “water supplies that are going to become less reliable and less available in the future.” However, desalination is expensive, energy-intensive and can damage marine eco-

thing we can out of re-use and then start talking about other options.” More than 17,000 desalination plants are operating in 150 countries worldwide, a capacity that could nearly double by 2020, according to the United Nations World Water Development Report 2014. Desalination produces 21 billion gallons of water a day, according to the International Desalination Association, providing a crucial water source in arid places such as the Middle East and Australia. Major new desalination facilities are in the works in China, Chile and elsewhere. However, the current standard technology, reverse osmosis – in which highpressure pumps force water through semipermeable membranes to exclude salt and impurities – uses large amounts of energy and has an outsized impact on the environment. These effects include damage to aquatic ecosystems, such as sucking in

Engineers and entrepreneurs across the globe are now trying to devise greener desalination systems. Moreover, while seawater accounts for 60 percent of desalinated water today, Sedlak and others say it’s much more practical and sustainable to desalinate less-salty brackish water and use the technology to recycle wastewater. So companies around the world are working on new technologies that cut desalination costs, reduce environmental impacts and broaden its applications. In addition to removing salt from seawater, technologies such as Trevi’s also can economically cleanse brackish groundwater, industrial effluent and other forms of liquid waste. That includes desalinating sewer water to recharge groundwater aquifers, which it will soon begin doing for a large urban water district in Southern California. “That’s what’s particularly interesting to us – we can run on really, really dirty water,” Webley said. “Where you really should start with this whole thing is, let’s squeeze every16 | CSR Today | August 2014

fish eggs with its intake water; using harsh chemicals to clean membranes and releasing large volumes of highly salty liquid brine back into the water. Costs vary, but the lowest price for desalinated seawater from a reverse osmosis plant is around $750 an acrefoot (325,851 gallons) – more than double the average cost of groundwater. Engineers and entrepreneurs across the globe are now trying to devise greener desalination. Some are inventing new alternatives to traditional reverse osmosis. Among them: Israel, whose own dependence on desalinated water has made it a world leader in the process, has come out with several state-of-the-art technologies, including a novel “semi-batch” reverse osmosis process developed by Desalitech that shrinks energy and brine, and a chemical-free “plant in a box,” produced by IDE Technologies; and Memsys, of Singapore and Germany,

is working on hybrid-thermal membrane technology that is energy-efficient enough to run on solar power. California, currently facing drought, is also leading the way in innovative desalination technology. Credit: nvelichko via Shutterstock In the U.S., water-strapped California leads in both innovations and needs. The largest seawater desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, a $1 billion state-ofthe-art reverse osmosis facility being built near San Diego, is set to begin producing 54 million gallons a day – supplying water to 300,000 residents – in early 2016. At least 15 other desalination plants on the West Coast are in some stage of planning, and some small ones are already operating. But residents’ concerns about the expense and environmental impacts like chemical use and brine disposal problems have slowed down and even halted some recent projects. “Desalination is a really a hot button issue in California – a lot of people oppose it,” said Aaron Mandell, co-founder and chairman of Water FX. Mandell hopes to quell those concerns with his company’s new process using large parabolic mirrors to collect and concentrate the sun’s energy. Inside this solar still, pure water evaporates, while solids remain behind. The system is being tested by a water district in California’s agricultural Central Valley, cleaning irrigation runoff tainted with salts leached from the soil. The demonstration is producing about 14,000 gallons of fresh water a day – a welcome boon to local farmers who received no water from federal allotments this year. The company plans to expand and boost production to 2 million gallons a day early next year. Mandell points out that his salt byproduct is dry and can be mined for useful chemicals, rather than winding up with hazardous brine that’s costly to discard. What’s more, water districts and farms otherwise have to fallow land and lose income to dispose of the brackish effluent now being recycled into new water for crops. “We saw the opportunity to take something that was costing quite a lot of money as a waste product and turn it into some-

Photo Courtesy: shallowbemyname.com

sustainability thing of value,” he said. “In essence, we are tackling both sides of the water problem ... disposal and re-use. “One of our biggest challenges is that we are dealing with a lot of agricultural businesses that still sort of pray for rain. A lot of farmers do really rely on these seasonal water cycles. So getting people to think differently about climate change rather than just seasonal drought is definitely a challenge.” Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Stanford University are working on a new desalinating method using porous carbon aerogel electrodes. The system, which they call flow-through electrode capacitive desalination, or FTECD, removes salt electrically. Although still in the early stages, its developers say the technique requires little equipment or energy, and the system could be scaled to fit any need: from portable personal devices to city water treatment. “In places like California, where there is brackish groundwater in large volumes, FTE-CD can provide potable water at a potentially much lower cost than sea water desalination could achieve,” said co-developer Michael Stadermann, a physical chemist at Lawrence Livermore. “For desalinating brackish water, we predict that this method could be up to five times more energy efficient than reverse osmosis.” One of the hottest new technologies on the bench in laboratories in the U.K., Saudi Arabia and South Korea and elsewhere is one-atom thick, perforated graphene membranes that can cut reverse osmosis desalination to a fraction of its current cost. Developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the membrane’s pores can be tuned to optimize permeability. The hang-up for now is how to mass-produce the material. For urban water needs, even those working on alternative methods say reverse osmosis (RO) likely will remain the top choice for the foreseeable future. “You can talk about some of the other technologies, and I work on some of them,” said Menachem Elimelech, professor of environmental and chemical engineering at Yale University and director of Yale’s Environmental Engineering Program, “but if you

need to produce water for the drinking water supply, I still think RO is the gold standard.” Reverse osmosis has become much more energy-efficient in recent years, and is now near its maximum, Elimelech said. Still, he and others are trying to make further gains by improving membranes. One of the biggest problems is fouling – biofilms that grow on membranes over time, making pumps work harder to force water through. Elimelech is working with nanotechnology to make bacteria-resistant membranes. New methods for recycling energy also cut the electricity needed to pump water through membranes. Manufacturer Energy Recovery Inc. estimates that its piston-like

residents of a county with scarce water resources to feel they have few other options. Much of the world someday may feel that same pinch, making drought-proof water supplies priceless in a parched future. But for now, many experts say, while emerging technology is making desalination ever more viable, the economic and environmental costs are still too high. “There are technologies available to minimize and in some cases eliminate some of the environmental impacts,” said Heather Cooley, director of the water program at the Pacific Institute, a non-profit research organization in Oakland, Calif. Burying water intakes, for instance, keeps marine life out,

pressure exchangers being installed in the new San Diego-area reverse osmosis plant will save 115 kilowatt hours of electricity annually – equivalent to keeping more than 45,000 tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide out of the air. Even so, desalinated water produced by the new plant will cost the San Diego County water district around $2,000 an acre-foot – twice as much as it currently pays for freshwater shipped in from the Colorado River and San Joaquin River Delta. Those sources, however, are over-tapped and growing increasingly unreliable, leaving

and diffusers can dilute brine to safer levels. As for “the other environmental impact: the energy use and the resulting greenhouse gas emission,” Cooley said, technological advances are lowering both, but the question remains, “Are other alternatives available?” Source: www.greenbiz.com Cheryl Katz is a science writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A former staff reporter for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Miami Herald and the Orange County Register, she is now a freelancer specializing in stories about environmental issues and climate change. August 2014 | CSR Today | 17

CSR Society

The World Cup and Brazil Brazil found its flaws pushed into the spotlight as the world tuned in to watch one of the biggest sporting events

18 | CSR Today | August 2014

Photo Courtesy: 1hdwallpapers.com

he FIFA World Cup just concluded. During the mega event, all eyes were on Brazil – and not just on the soccer pitch. Holding court as both a BRIC emerging power and “Fragile Five” economy, Brazil found its flaws pushed into the spotlight as the world tuned in. From the Homeless Workers’ Movement to Operation Stop the World Cup, Brazilian citizens are taking to the streets and social media to protest infrastructure, taxes and corruption. Overall, 61 percent of Brazilians believe the World Cup will have a negative impact on the nation, according to a new Pew Research Study. This activism should come as no surprise – Brazilians index higher than their global peers when it comes to corporate social responsibility (CSR) expectations, and companies need to be mindful when operating in this critical market. In fact, according to the 2013 Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study, Brazilians are more likely than any other

CSR | Society country to want companies to change the way they operate to align with greater societal needs (50 percent vs. 31 percent globally). The study also revealed that although Brazilian citizens are significantly more likely than the global average to have bought a product associated with a social or environmental issue (79 percent vs. 67 percent globally), they’re also more apt to boycott a company they feel has been deceptive (69 percent vs. 55 percent globally).

A vocal population Beyond these higher expectations, the recent protests reflect Brazilian citizens’ willingness to do their homework and voice their opinions on what they find. In 2013, more than half (52 percent) of Brazilians researched a company’s business practices or CSR efforts (vs. 34 percent globally). Going a step further, almost two-thirds told friends and family about a company’s CSR initiatives (64 percent vs. 50 percent globally) and 38 percent gave feedback about those initiatives directly to companies (vs. 32 percent globally).

Social media: An ‘activist tool’ As things heat up outside the stadiums, Brazilians see social media as an effective avenue to make change. A staggering 85 percent (vs. 62 percent globally) are using social media to engage with companies around social and environmental issues. But it’s not all negative; citizens are actually more likely to share the good work companies are doing: 50 percent of Brazilians say they use social media primarily to share positive news about CSR efforts. Their sophisticated view of the world and propensity to take part in the conversation may spur from an activist media set present during Brazil’s authoritarian regime, according to Helio Mattar, president of the Akatu Institute for Conscious Consumption and a founder of the Ethos Institute. When the country went democratic in the 1980s, media turned its focus to social and environmental issues and the actions of companies. Now, citizens continue this conversation using social media. “Brazilians use social media as an activist tool,” said Mattar.

Personal accountability for change Brazilians’ inclination to purchase products with a social or environmental benefit, research company efforts and voice opinions all ladder up to the belief that they themselves hold the key to change and impact. More than any other country, nearly twothirds (57 percent) of Brazilian citizens believe their purchases have a significant positive impact on social and environmental issues (vs. 27 percent globally). On the flip side, only about a quarter (27 percent) believes companies have made significant positive impact. As Brazil continues to be on the world stage with events such as the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, companies must be aware of the unique challenges and expectations of these citizens. Companies that do not take these cultural nuances and

can take part in this conversation not only by providing additional resources, but also by interacting directly with consumers to answer questions or concerns and proactively communicating CSR initiatives and progress. Show impact: Brazilians are most likely to believe they themselves are the key to social and environmental impact. Companies working in Brazil face an uphill battle to show how they can also positively affect these issues. Share what your brand is doing to create impact while demonstrating to Brazilians how their engagement ladders up to larger change. Focus on the right issues: While Brazilians do see economic development as important, they are less likely to think this is the only issue companies should address (27 percent vs. 38 percent globally). Brazilians see education (25 percent vs. 9 percent globally) and the environment (21 percent vs. 19 percent globally) as almost equally important, so

Organizations operating in Brazil must understand that transparency is crucial to success in this market unique expectations into account may find themselves in the crosshairs of a very vocal and empowered group of consumers. Organizations operating in Brazil must understand that transparency is crucial to success in this market. Or as Mattar put it, “Transparency is no longer a choice for companies; it’s a must-do. Companies need to realize that stakeholders are vehicles of communication. Corporate reputation will be increasingly defined by what stakeholders say about a company, and less by what companies want to communicate.”

Insights into action Doing business in Brazil? Arm yourself with the insights and nuances to win the trust and affinity of this group: Engage online: Brazilian consumers are using social media to get information and share opinions with each other. Companies

companies should be prepared to prioritize these areas as well. The current protests only highlight Brazilian citizens’ needs for organizations to address a wider swath of issues. Be upfront: Brazilian citizens are more likely to go the extra mile to research a company’s actions – both the positive and the negative. Be open and transparent about progress around social and environmental issues and don’t be afraid to share the pitfalls and challenges that have prevented your company from pushing these issues even further. In fact, Brazilians are very receptive to learning about your CSR journey – 89 percent of Brazilian citizens believe it’s OK if a company is not perfect, as long as it’s honest about its efforts. Source: www.greenbiz.com Whitney Dailey is a senior insights associate at Cone Communications in Boston. August 2014 | CSR Today | 19

CSR Society

Development Sustainable Only With Effective Public Sector Max Everest-Phillips, director at the UNDP Global Centre on Public Service Excellence in Singapore, speaks to Eco-Business about the role of the public sector in sustainable development

20 | CSR Today | August 2014

ing village to one of the most dynamic cities is a remarkable achievement, he says. The centre has set out to identify the factors that enable an effective public service and build knowledge which it can share with other developing states. In this recent interview, Everest-Philips shares more about the centre’s work, the role of the public service in sustainable development and its relationship with the private sector. Can you tell us more about the Centre and its work since it opened?

Max Everest-Phillips, Director at the UNDP Global Centre on Public Service Excellence in Singapore

the city-state’s success story. Fifty years might seem a long time, but “in the grand scheme of history, it’s a blink of the eye” and Singapore’s development in this span of time from a fish-

The centre is a collaboration between UNDP and the Singapore government and reflects the strong relations but also the recognition of the role that the public service played in Singapore’s success story. We are trying to learn from the Singapore experience and identify what are they key factors for policy excellence in the public service. We’re mandated to do two things. The first is promote evidence and knowledge. Second, is to act as a convening hub to organize meetings, exchange ideas, and

Photo Courtesy: www.eco-business.com

he public sector undeniably has an enormous impact on the lives of citizens, from determining the quality of life, to providing physical infrastructure and access to healthcare, education, and other services. Its performance is firmly tied to a country’s developmental success and this relationship between growth and governance is a central pre-occupation for the UNDP Global Centre on Public Service Excellence in Singapore. Set up in December 2012, the relatively new outfit is a collaborative effort between the Singapore Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to promote innovation in the public sector for developing countries. Nestled in a quiet corner of the sprawling National University of Singapore campus at Kent Ridge, the centre is also tasked with advancing debate and identifying solutions to the public service challenges of the day. Its centre director, Max Everest-Phillips, say that its location in Singapore is key to its work given the role of the public service in

CSR | Society fertilize new thinking on how to improve public service. We came up with a framework with four key areas: 1. How do you get the political leadership to work effectively with the administrative leadership? Whilst in Singapore this works effectively, this is a real source of frustration in many developing countries where both sides are at war with each other. 2. Public service ethos and the intrinsic motivation of public officials . It is critical for the entire way the public service works who gets recruited, promoted, pay structures and so on. 3. The whole question of foresight/long term planning. How can developing countries benefit from the experience of Singapore? Developing countries should be masters of their own future, and to do so you need to be able to predict it, so you can create it. By predicting it, you are creating it, so how to do longterm planning to create resilience, adaptability, a sense of being masters of your own destiny rather than being victims of it. It’s an important transition. 4. Innovation – it’s a problematic term. It is inherently positive, whereas change is more neutral term. When people talk about innovation, it’s really an expectation that what has been done is going to have a positive outcome although that’s not necessarily true. We seek to challenge ways of thinking and provide developing insights. Development work is shifting rapidly from providing money and resources to help low-income countries, to helping them develop their own policy and learn from international experience to gain success. Our role is to help UNDP and the development community make progress in this relationship between governance and economic growth. It’s a fascinating challenge once you start thinking about how the public service makes an enormous impact in everyone’s lives. One key issue is also how to communicate its importance - the image and of the public service tends to be at best somewhat dull and uninspired.

Can you elaborate on the public sector’s role in sustainable development? Does it rank high on the agenda in this region where many countries are still developing?

sustainable development goals. The role of the public service is going to increase in importance. If the centre can contribute to this dialogue, that would be excellent.

The key point is development is not sustainable if you do not have effective policies, or the capacity not just to plan but deliver things efficiently. The key aspect of sustainability is not that it’s effective but that people have faith in it. Research shows that when people have trust that they are being treated fairly by the state, development happens. Beyond that, I think most people are also concerned about issues such as environmental degredation and climate change. I think civil society has been more effective everywhere. If you look back 20 years. there’s been huge progress. The problem is although most people are aware of it, few governments have the political will and ca-

What about the relationship between the public and private sector? How can they work together to achieve shared developmental goals?

The private sector brings resources and technical skills which are crucial for development, as not everything is state-run so it is important to get that relationship working well. There’s a famous quote from (Winston) Churchill: “Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.” When public-private partnerships can be made to work, it is extremely beneficial. At

Getting an effective public service is absolutely essential if you’re going to achieve sustainable development goals pacity to tackle vested interests and create an effective system that promotes development in a way that is sustainable whether environmentally or politically. That is an enormous challenge. There is some residual thinking that countries should grow first, then worry about sustainability. But that has been tempered by much greater awareness. While we’re deeply frustrated by the challenges that remain on poverty and environmental issues, there has been huge progress. Whether the progress is fast enough is indeed the real challenge. The speed of development in Asia is fantastic and the poverty reduction is mind boggling – there are millions lifted out of poverty in the last decade which is a fantastic achievement, but the sustainability of the environment remains a major concern. Getting an effective public service is absolutely essential if you’re going to achieve

the same time, it’s important to look critically at this area because it’s not always successful. In the UK, for example, certain privatepublic projects have been bogged down with legal agreements and documents. There is also concern that a lot of the fiscal burden was shifted to the future, with hospitals being built without the full cost being understood. So there is a complexity and transparency problem. So while the principle is good, I do think that developing countries need a lot of help making sure they are not victims of partnerships that are not working in their interest, or in the interest of development. Getting that right, and helping the public service manage this relationship effectively is a very important function – one that the international community can help to provide. Source: www.eco-business.com August 2014 | CSR Today | 21

CSR Society

From Trash to Treasure We need to extract the value from the waste. It is good for the environment, and it can create new jobs and business opportunities by heather clancy

Even though the term “zero waste” is a common phrase in the green business vernacular, the fact that Eaton needs to define its specific application suggests it is far from a mainstream concept. Here’s a quick primer on why the process of striving for “zero waste” is imperative, even if the goal itself ultimately may be a nirvana we never can reach.

n late June, high-tech company Eaton trumpeted the fact that 39 of its manufacturing facilities globally had reached a zero-waste-to-landfill milestone. To put it another way, the sites collectively since 2010 have eliminated 2,750 metric tons of trash and materials through recycling, reuse and other new processes. Eaton’s definition of zero waste is pretty specific: to earn this status, a site must divert at least 98 percent through reuse, compost-

22 | CSR Today | August 2014

ing, recycling and incineration (more on this last strategy in a moment). “Eaton has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent, indexed to sales, by 2015. Programs such as zerowaste-to-landfill will help us reach this goal,” said Harold Jones, Eaton’s senior vice president for Environment, Health and Safety, in a statement. “It all starts with our employees generating the ideas and enthusiasm to help Eaton do business right.”

The phrase actually can be traced back at least to the 1970s, when chemist Paul Palmer began seeking ways to reuse chemicals produced within the electronics industry. The philosophy looks beyond recycling strategies to policies that minimize resource consumption from the beginning, by encouraging closed-loop product and production designs that stress reuse. While many existing zero waste initiatives include recycling as part of the process, the focus is shifting to emphasize the value that can be derived out of those collected materials – whether it is excess food

Photo Courtesy: utenvironment.org

What is zero waste?

CSR | Society or materials that can find an appropriate second life. Influential entrepreneur and sustainable business strategist William McDonough suggests that moving forward, zero waste strategies should focus on a “cycle of endless resourcefulness.”

Where can a zero waste philosophy have relevance? Product designers, manufacturers, retailers, municipalities and consumers all share responsibility in moving toward zero waste – one reason that reaching zero is a tough act to pull off. Sacrificing materials quality for the sake of minimizing consumption, for example, is a trade-off most consumers will refuse to make. After years of designs that stress “planned obsolence” and upgrade cycles (especially in the technology and electronics worlds), convincing product creators to design for longevity is a big mindshift. Meanwhile, asking manufacturing operations to overhaul processes and systems that have been in place for years just to accommodate some sort of recycled material is something that just won’t happen overnight. The secret lies in focusing less on how much waste can be diverted and more on how it can be used to create value. “In a zero waste world, every material relegated for recycling would have a specific destination, just as those liter-size Pepsi bottles are reprocessed into PET (a solid version of polyester) and then converted into new bottles,” wrote consultant Anthony Zolezzi for GreenBiz. “Another example: Johnson Controls thermostats that have the perfect color and blend of plastics would be continually returned to the company and reused.”

Where has meaningful progress been made? A number of progressive organizations have adopted ambitious zero waste strategies under the guise of new recycling and trash collection programs, including communities such as Seattle, Austin, San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., and companies including Kraft, Procter & Gamble and Walmart.

On the municipal level, this agenda has translated into overhauls of traditional trash hauling and waste management strategies. In San Francisco, for example, the city has banned the use of non-compostable or non-recyclable food containers and mandated the reuse of all construction debris, to name just two specific initiatives. Oakland’s program, adopted back in 2006, seeks to reduce the annual amount of waste sent to landfills to just 40,000 tons by 2020 (compared with 400,000 tons for the benchmark year). It, too, has focused on rethinking how different waste streams are sorted and collected. At the corporate level, big manufacturers are making strides, as it turns out better waste management makes for more efficient facilities. P&G unveiled its first zero-waste-tolandfill facility in North America (in Au-

Reality check: What’s holding back zero waste initiatives? One big impediment centers on the collection process. Getting homeowners and businesses to sort different waste streams for collection, especially for food and organics composting, remains an uphill struggle even in places that support the idea. In San Francisco, which recycles or composts about 80 percent of its garbage – more than double the national average – some businesses were fined for refusing the services. Incentives have been necessary to get people on board. Building on the point about having a “destination” for collected materials, some communities and businesses still use the controversial strategy of incineration to avoid sending things to landfill. It’s telling that Eaton makes a point of saying that it uses this strategy “only if the heat generated by incineration is collected and used in or-

In a zero waste world, every material relegated for recycling would have a specific destination burn, Maine) back in 2010 after achieving that status for eight sites in places such as Belgium, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom. In Maine, about 60 percent of the waste is recycled and the rest is used for energy generation. Walmart’s first step on its journey to zero waste is to divert 100 percent of the waste from its U.S. operations from landfills by 2025, with 2008 as the baseline for progress. As of April, the retailer has achieved this for 81.66 percent of the materials that flow through its stores, clubs and U.S. distribution centers. The total waste generated by its U.S. operations was reduced by 3.3 percent compared with a 2010 baseline. The retailer also has focused on producing more food with fewer resources, a strategy that covers optimizing fertilizer use and embracing sustainably produced palm oil for its private brands.

der to create more energy than was required for the incineration process.” Denmark, one of Europe’s greenest countries, traditionally has burned close to 80 percent of its household waste but it is trying to change this as it reflects its own zero-waste strategy. “We must recycle more and incinerate less,” said Ida Auken, former Minister of the Environment, on announcing this strategy in late 2013. “It is my mission to make Denmark a waste-free society that recycles as many materials as possible. That is why we must sort our trash so we can extract the value from the waste. It is good for the environment, and it can create new jobs and business opportunities.” Editor’s note: Eaton’s zero-waste definition is at least 98 percent diversion, not 80 percent as the article originally stated. Source: www.greenbiz.com August 2014 | CSR Today | 23

CSR Society

Sky’s the Limit Driven by entrepreneurial spirit, international markets and a few FAA-approved projects, the following companies already provide a glimpse into the future use of drones to achieve sustainable business objectives. by garrett hering

nmanned aerial vehicles – or drones – are associated mostly with military operations in remote parts of the world. That’s not surprising, considering their far-reaching impact in the global theater of war. But like many technologies originally 24 | CSR Today | August 2014

AeroVironment

developed for defense – such as jet engines, the Internet and GPS – the possibilities for drones also go well beyond the militaryindustrial complex. In a memo issued July 8, the Federal Aviation Administration clarified the agency’s ongoing ban on the use of drones for busi-

Building on its history as a big supplier of small drones to the Pentagon, AeroVironment’s “Puma” system last month became the first unmanned airborne vehicle approved by the FAA for over-land commercial activity in the United States. While BP Exploration Alaska Inc.’s deployment of the Puma drone to enhance

Photo Courtesy: www.businessinsider.com.au

ness activities without its explicit approval. Its rule-making, expected as early as 2015, is likely to usher in an abundance of unmanned airborne commercial activity. This includes new opportunities to address sustainable business practices in industries as diverse as agriculture, construction, energy, goods transport and telecommunications. Driven by entrepreneurial spirit, international markets and a few FAA-approved projects, the following eight companies already provide a glimpse into the future use of drones to achieve sustainable business objectives.

CSR | Society its extraction of oil in Prudhoe Bay may not conjure images of sustainability, AeroVironment’s chief executive, Tim Conver, claimed the system “is now helping BP manage its extensive Prudhoe Bay field operations in a way that enhances safety, protects the environment, improves productivity and accomplishes activities never before possible.” The small and silent solar-powered drone is well suited for operations in “highly sensitive ecological areas,” according to the company, and has “demonstrated the ability to support wildlife protection, ice floe monitoring, search and rescue and oil-spill response.” In a July 8 conference call with investment analysts, Conver called the FAA’s approval of its drone for BP’s North Slope oil business “a milestone for AeroVironment and for the industry.”

Amazon

Amazon has been developing its drone-delivered Prime Air service with the goal of flying packages to its customers in 30 minutes or less. The Seattlebased company envisions a future with fleets of drones “as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today,” and said it will be ready to launch commercial deliveries by the time the FAA rules are in place. Compared to conventional deliveries by truck today, drones could enable much faster and cleaner Amazon deliveries. Given Amazon’s vast reach, the fuel savings could be immense. Iris drone by 3D Robotics

Cyberhawk Innovations

The Scottish company already operates a fleet of drones for industrial inspections and land surveying on behalf of energy companies in the oil and gas sector and electric power supply in Europe, the Middle East and other locations. Health and safety are among its chief advantages. In the utility industry, for example, Cyberhawk uses drones to inspect power lines, transmission and distribution towers, wind farms, hydroelectric dams and other assets where workers otherwise are exposed to the danger of height.

HoneyComb

Based in Oregon, HoneyComb is launching its “AgDrone,” which looks somewhat like a miniature stealth bomber, to supply aerial imagery for “precision agriculture.” The young company uses data analytics to take measurements, monitor irrigation systems and assess the growth and health of crops. Although the system was designed for agriculture, HoneyComb also is targeting forestry, surveying, wildlife monitoring and other uses.

Insitu

A wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, Insitu appears well on its way to replicating its parent’s pioneering ways – albeit in much smaller dimensions – with its suite of unmanned aircraft systems for land and sea operations. While defense remains a central focus, Insitu’s emerging commercial business segment is developing drones to monitor fish, marine mammals and arctic ice floes, survey pipelines, inspect power lines and assist with forest fires. In September, in an FAA-approved pilot project, ConocoPhillips used four Insitu drones in the Arctic Circle to conduct marine mammal and ice surveys required before drilling on the ocean floor. Amazon envisions a future with fleets of drones “as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today.”

Matternet

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup has a catchy motto: “No roads? There’s a drone for that.” Its focus is using networks of drones to supply only the most critical products – such as food and medical supplies – to areas that do not have decent transportation infrastructure to deliver such essentials. In 2012, the company initiated field trials in communities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic that have been rattled by earthquakes and hurricanes.

Skycatch The Google-backed start-up recently raised more than $13 million in its

effort to bring high-resolution aerial data solutions to construction, farming, mining and solar industries. In solar, where the company has worked with power-plant specialist First Solar Inc. and residential solar services provider SolarCity Corp., Skycatch says it can eliminate manual inspection of massive solar farms with millions of photovoltaic (PV) panels and spread across square miles of terrain. In doing so, the company says it can identify problem panels in 90 percent less time than normally required by equipping its drones with advanced thermography to perform diagnostics.

Titan Aerospace

This New Mexico-based company was purchased outright by Google in April. Although it conceded, “It’s still early days for the technology we’re developing,” the start-up has revealed several areas of focus for its autonomous solar-powered drones, such as “providing Internet connections in remote areas or helping monitor environmental damage like oil spills and deforestation.”

3D Robotics

CEO Chris Anderson, former editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, cofounded 3D Robotics in 2009 with fellow tinkerer Jordi Munoz. Anderson originally got into drones for fun with his kids. He took a deeper dive in his DIYDrones blog, which has grown to become the primary online community for drone enthusiasts. The Berkeley, Calif.-based company believes in both open hardware and software, and its technology is used in farming, ecological study and construction. Its product lineup includes the $750 Iris “quadcopter”, which works with GoPro cameras. Source: www.greenbiz.com Garrett Hering is a San Francisco-based journalist covering energy, technology, business and the environment. Previously he covered solar power for Photon International and Western U.S. energy resources for Energy NewsData. His work also has appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. August 2014 | CSR Today | 25

case study Asda

Asda is Making Fresh

How

Efforts to Protect Produce

With 95 percent of its fresh produce category under threat from the impacts of a changing climate, supermarket chain, Asda, is starting to integrate sustainability into buying decisions in fresh produce by tom idle

26 | CSR Today | August 2014

Photo Courtesy: “Supermarket Maxi” by Macic7 - Own work

ccording to Paul Kelly, Asda’s vice president for corporate affairs, retailers face the perfect storm right now. A changing climate, rising populations and extreme weather events are proving tough obstacles for retailers to jump as they strive to get healthy, sustainable and affordable food onto people’s plates. “It’s the biggest challenge our industry has faced in half a century,” he admits. However, the Walmart-owned U.K. supermarket chain is a step closer to understanding just how high those obstacles actually are – and how they can be overcome. Working with consultants PwC, the business has mapped its entire global fresh produce supply chain. And, using models practiced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it has found that a staggering 95 percent of its fresh produce category is under threat from the impacts of a changing climate. The impacts are already being felt – not just by Asda, but for food businesses the world over. In 2011, the New York-based global agri-business Bunge lost $56 million in one quarter thanks to severe droughts in its main growing regions. In 2012, the U.S. federal government slashed its forecast for drought-hit corn production by 17 percent, sparking fears that we were heading for another major worldwide food crisis. And last year, Freeland NL had to buy its iceberg lettuces from the U.S. for the first time in 30 years because the supply just wasn’t there in Spain and the Netherlands. The worrying thing is, things are likely only to get worse.

Case Study | Asda Demanding consumers Asda, the U.K.’s second largest supermarket chain by market share, should be applauded for taking some action. Driven by a consumer base increasingly demanding that their retailer-of-choice take sustainability issues seriously (its huge green customer panel – the largest of its kind in Europe with 6,000 customers signed up – attests to that), it knows it must act. It is morally unacceptable to its consumers to stand idle. Yes, it could act tactically and try to buy its way out of trouble in the future. And yes, one could argue that the ingenuity, flexibility and capacity of the food supply chain to cope with numerous pressures is likely to insulate consumers. But, as Kelly said, “we cannot be certain, which is why we need to make these studies and review the implications.” “I joined the business seven years ago and we were at the start of a journey,” he said. “We made good progress on dealing with waste, saving energy and being more transparent. But those internal impacts only make up 10 percent of our overall impact as a business. We knew we had to tackle the important impacts in the supply chain.” The retailer, a subsidiary of the U.S. business Walmart since 1999, started working with PwC back in 2012 to really help them understand the full implications of climate change on an important aspect of its offering: fresh food. “We didn’t want to know what was going to happen in 10 years’ time; we needed to understand the clear and present issues of today and how we are going to tackle them,” Kelly said. The result of the last 12 months’ work is a climate resilience framework, designed to map risk across the value chain – from its suppliers to its own stores, depots and warehouses. It offers a way to signpost priorities and help the sustainable business team engage with colleagues facing more traditional operational issues. “We wanted to make this relevant to traders on trading floors, who previously concentrated on lowest cost prices,” said Kelly. It is a truly impressive piece of work that applies a consistent methodology to identify hotspots in the supply chain related to climate risk across a huge range of products. Asda uses these numbers and applies them to sales risk. If a product has a high climate-resilience risk factor, but sales volumes are fairly low, the risk is deemed to be “low.” In fact, the Climate Adaptation Framework, as it is known, has been applied across the company’s entire trading operations – from sourcing to processing and logistics. Will some of its warehouses be disrupted by the types of floods witnessed in the U.K. earlier this year, for example? How might growers in water-scarce regions be educated in smarter irrigation practices? As the infographic below demonstrates, Asda has a strong handle on where it ought to focus its efforts: “Climate change will change growing conditions in markets we source from,” said Kelly. “Couple that with extreme weather events, and it is clear that we must start to plan now; otherwise we will end

up with a huge challenge in delivering affordable food at time when there is even more demand for it.” So, what is Asda going to do to alleviate this risk? The team at Asda must be aware of the magnitude of the fact 95 percent of its fresh food produce is at risk – a third of which is deemed to be at “high risk.” The company’s work with U.K.-based Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) is beginning to bear fruit with more farmers managing water resources more sustainably. And the Sustain & Save Exchange, its online collaboration platform hosted and facilitated by 2degrees, is encouraging suppliers to become more efficient, identify risks and drive out waste to create savings that the suppliers are free to keep and reinvest in further efficiency programs and technologies.

Reengineering relationships But crucially, the commercial team is starting to integrate sustainability into buying decisions in fresh produce. “It’s not about corporate responsibility; this is about doing the right thing,” Kelly said. “It’s about traders protecting P&Ls and making the right decisions for the long-term success of the business.

“We didn’t want to know what was going to happen in 10 years’ time; we needed to understand the clear and present issues of today and how we are going to tackle them” “For traders, it’s about making sure we develop long-term relationships with our stakeholders and reengineer relationships. We are at the start of that journey.” Chris Brown, Asda’s senior director for sustainable business, is clear that this piece of work will be used first to gain first mover advantage. “Once that has happened, we will make our methodology more available,” he told me. Whatever happens next, Kelly acknowledged that a partnership approach across the supply chain will be necessary to work through building up resilience to the risks. He also wants to see customers involved. “The Asda customer increasingly does care,” he said. “93 percent of them say it’s important. They want to see the business adapt to these issues and help them adapt too. “This is a really important piece of work and probably not what you’d expect from Asda.” Mapping the risk of fresh food is just the start. Next up, the more complex, multiple-processed food product lines will be assessed. Source: www.greenbiz.com Tom is a journalist and editor with ten years’ experience writing about the world of sustainable business. This article originally appeared at 2degrees. August 2014 | CSR Today | 27

2014-15 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Indian Centre for CSR, being the pioneer in CSR Training programs has developed special global programs for Indian Corporate to address the growing needs of CSR Compliance and complexities in the evolving world of Sustainability. These courses / Training programs help organizations in sustainment of their competitive advantages and addresses the most important need of their growth. The idea solely aims towards not just helping to compliance but eventually allow corporate to see and evaluate global best practices for enhancing their top line and bottom line. We invite nominations from Executives, NGOs , Corporate, Education Institutions, Government PSUs and other Stakeholders for the Training Courses / Programs for the year 2014-15 TOPIC

DATES

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Certificate Programme on New Companies Act & Designing of CSR Strategies & Reporting

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FACULTY: A) Mr. Rajesh Tiwari, CEO & Director General, ICCSR, A Doctorate in Social Administration from USA, Founder, Tikona Digital Networks Pvt. Ltd. , Ex-Group President of Reliance Industries. Also, worked as Private Secretary to Minister of Information and Broadcasting (Government of India) (B) Shri Ashwani Kumar, Senior Faculty & Advisor, ICCSR, Project Mentor - World Hope Foundation & Ex General Manager(I / c), HSE & CSR, BHEL, ND49 Strategies for NGOs to become Income-Generating Enterprises

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FACULTY: (A) Dr. (Ms) Manjula is the Dean for Management Programs in Indian Centre for CSR. She is a Ph.D in Textiles & Clothing from SNDT Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s University, Mumbai. She is Pan India Faculty for Entrepreneurship & Business Management for Voluntary Service Organizations. She has been dedicated towards the economic empowerment of underprivileged woman through her various training activities at the grass-root. A Post Graduate Diploma holder in CSR and Ethical Business Management from ICCSR, she has carved a place of prominence for herself in Third Sector Fraternity. Faculty on various International and National rostrums, Manjula has represented Indian woman in countries like Japan and United Kingdom. With 40 yrs stint into Social Development and Women Empowerment, she is here to earmark a new beginning towards Social Cause through Corporate Social Responsibility. (B) Arpita Singh is the Certified CSR Trainer, Indian Centre for CSR. She has been awarded MS degree in CSR & Ethical Management from University of Applied Sciences, Vienna and she is the registrar of Iccsr.

2014-15 CALENDAR OF EVENTS TOPIC

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Certificate Program on ISO 26000

25, 26, 27 Sept 2014

Mumbai

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8, 9, 10 Apr 2015

Bangalore

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3, 4, 5 Nov-14

Delhi

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8, 9, 10 Dec-14

Bangalore

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FACULTY: (A) Mr. Martin Neureiter, Chairman of ISO 26000 and the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most acclaimed CSR Guru. He is Corporate Advisory Board Member of ICCSR, founder and CEO of The CSR Company. He is an advisor to Fortune 500 companies ad is scientific head of the postgraduate education at University of Applied Sciences Vienna for CSR and the Convenor within ISO-DEVCO for the Middle East North Africa. He has authored several books on CSR, such as Corporate Social Responsibility Leitlinien und Konzepte in Management published 2004, which was the first German language book on the issue and Handbuch Corporate Citizenship published 2007. (B) Mr. Rajesh Tiwari, CEO & Director General, ICCSR, A Doctorate in Social Administration from USA, Founder, Tikona Digital Networks Pvt. Ltd. , Ex-Group President of Reliance Industries. Also, worked as Private Secretary to Minister of Information and Broadcasting (Government of India) (C) Satish Jha, Advisory Board Member to ICCSR & President and CEO, OLPC India. Mentor of couple of dozen social projects with a focus on technology, business strategies and public policy in the areas of universal access to education, healthcare and bridging the digital divide. (D) Shri Ashwani Kumar, Senior Faculty & Advisor, ICCSR, Project Mentor - World Hope Foundation & Ex General Manager(I / c), HSE & CSR, BHEL, ND49 ICCSRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagship Globally acknowledged Executive Development Program (EDP) on CSR. > Certification Program by CSR Institute, UK (Residential Program)

26, 27, 28, 29 Nov-14

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21, 22, 23, 24 Apr-15

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FACULTY: (A) Tobby Webb, Corporate Advisory Board Member of ICCSR, Chairman, Ethical Corporation, Faculty - Birkbeck, University of London, CSR Advisor to British Government advising the Prime Minister (B) Wayne Dunn, Exec. Dir, CSR Training Institute, Professor of Practice in CSR at McGill, Wayne is an award-winning recognized global expert in CSR. Consulting for major industries, governments and international organizations he has worked on over 60 CSR projects spanning six continents and 2 decades including projects in over a dozen African countries. (C) Mr. Rajesh Tiwari, CEO & Director General, ICCSR, A Doctorate in Social Administration from USA, Founder, Tikona Digital Networks Pvt. Ltd. , Ex-Group President of Reliance Industries. Also, worked as Private Secretary to Minister of Information and Broadcasting (Government of India) Global Best Practices on CSR Strategies & Reporting - Certification Program by Global Faculty

11-Dec-14

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Delhi

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

18-Dec-14

Mumbai

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

20-Dec-14

Ahmedabad

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

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Effective CSR Communication Strategies – An insight into Global Best Practices by International Faculty

17-Jan-15

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INR 19,600

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19-Jan-15

Bangalore

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

22-Jan-15

Mumbai

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

24-Jan-15

Pune

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

FACULTY: (A) Ms. Karin Huber, Advisor, ICCSR, is a Communication Specialist & Certified CSR Manager from University of Vienna, Austria and has Expertise on CSR strategy development, stakeholder communication & involvement, Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Responsible Banking & Investment, Socially Responsible Advertising & Media Psychology. Globally, she is renowned International Faculty on Business Ethics and CSR Communication and Faculty at University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna. (B) Mr. Jitendra Bhargava, Former Executive Director of Air India and author of book, ‘The Descent of Air India’, is known television and radio personality who regularly speaks on matter relating to civil aviation, human resources and corporate matters. Jitendra Bhargava has over 35 years of experience in Public Relations (PR) and Marketing and is considered One of the Best PR Professional in the country today. He is a sought after speaker and is virtually invited from all leading institutions of the country to speak on various topics. Certified Training Program on Environmental Strategies, Management & Reporting – A CSR Perspective

18-Oct-14

Nagpur

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5-Feb-15

Mumbai

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7-Feb-15

Pune

INR 8,900

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18-Feb-15

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20-Feb-15

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FACULTY: (A) Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh, Advisor to ICCSR & Head, University Department of Life Sciences, Mumbai University, is Member of (a) BCUD (Board of Colleges and University Development), (b) Board of Studies in Life Sciences, (c) Academic Council, (e) Faculty of Sciences, (e) Standing Committee for M.M. Sharma Endowment Grants as well as University’s Staff Welfare Committee, and (f) Library Committee of the University. He is also Chairman of the Board of Studies (Ad-hoc) in Environmental Sciences of the University of Mumbai. He is recipient of the prestigious Colombo Plan Award (1993), a Technical Co-operation Award of the United Kingdom. He received in February 2005, the most prestigious LEAD (Leadership in Environment and Development) Fellowship (Cohort 11). Sanjay is the first Teacher of Mumbai University to have been selected for the same. Dr. Sanjay happens to be Founder Trustee and currently Chairman of Konkan Nisarg Manch, an NGO (B) Dr. (Ms) Manjula is the Dean for Management Programs in Indian Centre for CSR. She is a Ph.D in Textiles & Clothing from SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai. She is Pan India Faculty for Entrepreneurship & Business Management for Voluntary Service Organizations. She has been dedicated towards the economic empowerment of underprivileged woman through her various training activities at the grass-root. A Post Graduate Diploma holder in CSR and Ethical Business Management from ICCSR, she has carved a place of prominence for herself in Third Sector Fraternity. Faculty on various International and National rostrums, Manjula has represented Indian woman in countries like Japan and United Kingdom. With 40 yrs stint into Social Development and Women Empowerment, she is here to earmark a new beginning towards Social Cause through Corporate Social Responsibility.

2014-15 CALENDAR OF EVENTS TOPIC

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SECTOR-SPECIFIC CSR & SUSTAINABILITY TRAINING PROGRAMS BY GLOBAL FACULTIES Training aims in Instilling awareness on key sustainability topics and areas of concerns and integrate a “common thinking” on sustainability across different organizations within the Automobile Sector

2-Mar-15

Delhi

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Training aims in Instilling awareness on key sustainability topics and areas of concerns and integrate a “common thinking” on sustainability across different organizations within the Retail Sector

4-Mar-15

Mumbai

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

5-Mar-15

Mumbai

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

7-Mar-15

Pune

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

10-Mar-15

Ahmedabad

INR 19,600

INR 17,600

FACULTY: (A) Irene Daskalakis, Corporate Advisory Board Member of ICCSR. Irene has working experience in the World Bank, European Commission Delegation in Tirana, Albania & executed a project in Public Internal Financial Control, in close consultation with the Albanian Ministry of Finance. Irene has implemented advisory projects, workshops and research in Europe, Middle East, Asia and N. America (U.S.A). Project focus areas include the design of the Corporate Sustainability Strategy, the implementation of Sustainability Assessments and the development of Sustainability Reports (based on the G3 Guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative, UN Global Compact Principles). (B) Dr. Panagiotis Panagiotakopoulos Panagiotis (Panos), Advisor to ICCSR has extensive scientific knowledge in the fields of Sustainability, Environmental Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, EcolabelStrategies and Organizational Development. He is the Faculty at Democritus University of Thrace and National Technical University of Athens. He is Greece’s National Eco-Innovation Expert for OECD, member of the Scientific Committee of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Associate of the Chamber of Environment and Sustainability and a member of the Network of Project Managers in Greece. Dr. P. Panagiotakopoulos has served as assessor of the IPMA International Project Excellence Award, while the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has assigned him as a Quality Control Consultant for its Certified Training Programs in Greece. (C) Mr. Rajesh Tiwari, CEO & Director General, ICCSR, A Doctorate in Social Administration from USA, Founder, Tikona Digital Networks Pvt. Ltd. , Ex-Group President of Reliance Industries. Also, worked as Private Secretary to Minister of Information and Broadcasting (Government of India)

Timings: 9:00 am - 5:30 pm , Registration begins at 8:30 am For Registrations, contact: Dr(Ms) Manujla Jagatramka, Email: mj@iccsr.org, Mobile: +91 7710 841626 OR Ms. Arpita Singh, Email: registrar@iccsr.org, Mobile: 98200 38878 Tel: +91 22 2778 8481 / 82 | Fax: +91 22 2496 6803 | Website: www.iccsr.org 601, 6th Floor, Technocity, Plot No. X4/5 A, TTC Industrial Area Mahape, Navi Mumbai- 400701 (India). • Fees includes lunch, tea, course material etc. • Fees for Residential Programs includes Stay along with other Training facilities. Travel to be organized by the delegate. • Service Tax of 12.36% is applicable extra • Please contact for Group discounts

Training Registration Form Please complete the registration form and send it along with payments to: Indian Centre for CSR, 601, 6th Floor, Technocity, Plot No. X4/5 A, TTC Industrial Area Mahape, Navi Mumbai - 400701 (India). Email: ea@iccsr.org, Tel no: +91 22 2778 8481 / 82, Fax no: +91 22 22204 2368. Website: www.iccsr.org Nomination Details: Program Name: Training Date: City of the Program: 1. Name: Designation: 2. Name: Designation: 3. Name: Designation: Company:

Contact addres:

PAYMENT INFORMATION: Training Fees: Plus Service Tax of 12.36% is applicable: Total amount: Payment can be made in the following ways: (Please tick applicable box)  CHEQUE/DD/Cash at the venue (made out to Indian Centre for CSR) Cheque number Drawn on Bank (Send your Cheque at the above address.)  Bank transfer Bank Name: HDFC Bank Account Name: Indian Centre for CSR Account number: 00012560004973 RTGS/NEFT IFSE: HDFC 0000001 Bank Address: 101-104 Tulsiani Chambers, Free Press Journal Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021 Maharashtra  Online payment: Please go to our website www.iccsr.org for online registration and payment For further queries, contact: Dr(Ms) Manujla Jagatramka, Email: mj@iccsr.org, Mobile: +91 7710 841626 OR Ms. Arpita Singh, Email: registrar@iccsr.org, Mobile: 98200 38878

SUSTAINABILITY CAPITAL

Sunny Outlook for Microgrids The conditions are clearly in place to facilitate mainstream adoption of microgrids that can provide a secure, clean and increasingly affordable complement – or alternative – to the conventional power grid

Photo Courtesy: www.21stcentech.com

by justin gerdes

ver many decades, the centralized power grid – a one-way flow of electricity, generated by large, remote power plants and distributed over miles of transmission lines to homes and businesses – succeeded

in delivering electricity across continents to billions. But in recent years the system’s shortcomings have become increasingly evident. The conventional grid is largely dependent on planet-warming fossil fuels. And because it’s so big and interconnected, it’s vulnerable

to massive disruption by natural disasters and susceptible to physical or cyberattack. In August 2003, 50 million people in parts of Ontario, Canada, and eight U.S. states lost electricity when a sagging power line in a suburb of Cleveland touched an overgrown tree limb and malfunctioned, triggering a cascading sequence of events resulting in the largest blackout in American history. More recently, Superstorm Sandy in the U.S. and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines have shown the havoc extreme weather can wreak. Across the globe, regulators, policy makers and businesses are collaborating on creating a new and better electricity delivery system – one that will be more stable and secure, cleaner and cheaper, and able to accommodate larger shares of variable renewable energy sources. Prepare for the arrival of the renewable energy microgrid.

Trends with benefits Departing from the traditional model, a microgrid is defined by the ability to generate power at or near the point of consumption August 2014 | CSR Today | 33

SUSTAINABILITY | CAPITAL independent of other generators. As the U.S. Department of Energy put it: “A microgrid is a local energy grid with control capability, which means it can disconnect from the traditional grid and operate autonomously.” Most of the time, a microgrid will deliver electricity within its boundary – a military base, say, or university campus – while maintaining a connection to the larger electricity grid. But in an emergency, such as a wildfire, earthquake or hurricane, a microgrid can be safely isolated from the conventional grid and continue to deliver power.

support, or operate independently from, the main electricity grid.

Attractive attributes Sophisticated energy management systems enable project developers today to design microgrids that can bring a diverse mix of distributed energy sources – rooftop solar photovoltaic panels, fuel cells, wind turbines, biomass-fired combined heat and power plants – together with state-of-the-art storage. The result is a small-scale electricity-generating powerhouse that can balance and smooth

Sophisticated energy management systems enable project developers today to design microgrids that can bring a diverse mix of distributed energy sources The precursors to microgrids are simpler systems consisting largely of a central power plant serving a single building or campus with backup provided by diesel generators. But these systems have drawbacks. By relying on a single generator, they are less secure, and because they usually burn fossil fuels to generate electricity, they perpetuate dependence on finite fuels that fluctuate in price and contribute to climate change. Microgrids under development today benefit from two trends: the declining cost of energy storage and the increasing affordability of renewable energy, especially wind and solar power. Lithium-ion battery prices have fallen by 40 percent since 2010. Solar panels are 80 percent cheaper than five years ago. Wind turbine prices have fallen up to 35 percent from their 2008 high. With affordable energy storage, surplus solar or wind electricity can be stored for later use, enabling microgrids to dispatch power as needed and operate around the clock. Taken together, the price reductions make it possible to bring together variable clean energy and storage into renewable energy microgrids that can 34 | CSR Today | August 2014

variations in energy supply; provide services, such as voltage support and frequency regulation, to the conventional grid; and export electricity to the larger grid to make a profit or provide a boost during emergencies. Most notably, it also can keep its operator – whether a university campus, military installation, hospital or other facility – up and running in the event the main grid goes down. “In some of these more forward-thinking microgrid approaches, it’s been resiliency, the availability of the grid for some sort of critical mission” that’s the big draw, said Paul Orzeske, president of Honeywell Building Solutions, which installs and designs systems that enable buildings to operate more efficiently. Orzeske said the microgrid projects Honeywell is designing for its customers place high value on the centralized management of supply and demand. These energy management systems ensure, he said, “that you have very dynamic capability of adjusting the demand if the supply was going to drop off; if the supply hit an economic point where you want to be off the grid; if a storm was coming; if you had an opportunity to

maximize wind resources, and then [re-adjust] when those wind resources went away after an hour or two.”

Where microgrids make sense Microgrids already make sense in areas with high energy prices, in remote locations (such as islands that have historically burned expensive imported diesel fuel for electricity), or facilities, such as military installations, that cannot risk losing power. Take, for example, a project under development on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility is at the end of one branch of Kauai’s electricity distribution system. Eager to clean its power supply and reduce its energy bills – the average retail price of electricity in Hawaii is three times the national average – the Navy installed multiple rooftop solar arrays. But when the Navy later sought permission to connect a large solar array atop a hangar, the local utility, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, resisted on the grounds that electricity generated by the panels could strain its equipment and lead to backfeeding – power flowing in the opposite direction than usual – at the point of interconnection between the base and KIUC grid. The Navy turned to experts at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for a solution, and Honeywell was tasked with designing the energy management system used to smooth the surge and slumps in solar output triggered by passing clouds. The system couples fast controls with a small battery to rapidly respond to variations in the solar power supply. According to Honeywell, discussions are underway to expand and upgrade the energy management system to a cyber-secure microgrid and use the solution at other U.S. military installations to enable greater penetration of renewable energy. In remote areas without reliable access to the conventional grid, microgrids that can reduce consumption of expensive and dirty diesel fuel by substituting renewable energy and storage are also the obvious choice. “If the business case for storage is built on reducing or optimizing the use of diesel fuel, it doesn’t take much to get a positive return on investment (ROI) for a storage asset,” Anissa Dehamna, a senior research analyst

SUSTAINABILITY | CAPITAL with Navigant Research’s Smart Energy practice, recently wrote at Navigant’s blog. “In the case of remote microgrids, the storage system typically provides several benefits: diesel reduction, higher renewables penetration, and improved power quality. Even if the business case is based only on diesel reduction, though, the ROI is still positive in less than four years across all advanced battery chemistries.” In an ironic twist, Bill Siddall, vice president of marketing and sales for microgrid technology supplier TM3 Systems, said his company has been approached to develop microgrids capable of running on renewable energy for the energy sector, including offshore oil and gas drilling platforms. “You would think, ‘Oil and gas, why do they care? They make the fuel, why would they care how much it costs?’” he said. But offshore platforms that are not tied to mainland power grids typically generate electricity by burning huge quantities of natural gas in inefficient gas turbines (PDF). With a microgrid in place, solar panels and wind turbines could be added to the generation mix, and gas turbines would operate at full capacity, boosting efficiency. Energy storage would capture surplus electricity generated by the gas turbines, enabling them to be turned off when not needed, and balance output from the mix of generation sources.

Forecast: Sunny A new Sierra Club report (PDF) estimates that the off-grid, clean energy services market, including so-called “skinny grids” that bundle solar and energy-efficient LED lighting in developing countries, will be worth $12 billion annually by 2030. Navigant Research forecasts that remote microgrids will represent an $8.4 billion industry by 2020, with the largest number of deployments occurring in the developing world and activity increasing in North America and Europe. On the Danish island of Bornholm, isolated in the Baltic Sea, local utility Østkraft A/S is building a showcase microgrid demonstration project incorporating a mix of lowcarbon solutions, including three-dozen wind turbines, biomass-fired district heating plants and a biogas power plant. Renewable energy microgrids are also expected to expand in ar-

eas with universal electricity access, especially in markets such as California where solar and energy storage have taken off. Last fall, Chris Marnay, a microgrid expert recently retired from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s Grid Integration Group, told me: “It’s the facilities that want abnormally high-quality power where we see most of the action at the moment” – military bases, research facilities, and data centers. But the market is tipped to break open to more sectors. GTM Research said U.S. microgrid capacity will exceed 1.8 GW by the end of 2017, up from around 1 GW today, with cities, communities and public institutions fostering the next round of microgrid adoptions. And, according to GTM Research’s Mike Munsell, the share of microgrids that integrate solar “will grow significantly over the next three years.”

U.S. Department of Energy announced $7 million in funding to advance the design of community-scale microgrids with a capacity as large as 10 megawatts, and also recently unveiled a proposal offering $6.5 million in matching grants to technologies that address the challenges of integrating renewable energy and storage into the grid. In California, Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a bill reauthorizing the Self-Generation Incentive Program. Over the next five years, the program will provide $415 million in incentives to microgrid components installed on the customer’s side of the utility meter, including wind turbines, waste heat to power technologies, fuel cells, and advanced energy storage systems. The funding is expected to help California regulators meet the state’s landmark energy storage mandate, which requires investor-owned utilities to add

In remote areas without reliable access to the conventional grid, microgrids that can reduce consumption of expensive and dirty diesel fuel by substituting renewable energy and storage are also the obvious choice “This development is happening whether the utility, or regulator, encourages it or not,” note the authors of a report (PDF) published by the California Public Utilities Commission in April. The report recommends that regulators “consider the utility as a distribution system operator” responsible for ensuring that it can distribute electricity generated on the customer or the utility’s side of the meter. It suggests developing appropriate standards and requirements to ensure that microgrids can reliably and safely interconnect and interact with the grid. And it also encourages regulators to survey the state’s grid to identify locations best suited for microgrids. Getting the policy right is critical, but so too are financial incentives. In February, the

1.3 gigawatts of energy storage to their grids by 2020. Greentech Media’s Eric Wesoff reported that in 2013 more SGIP applications were submitted for energy storage than for any other technology. What the future holds for renewable energy microgrids depends on many variables: regulations, incentives, the future role of the incumbent utilities and more. But if current policy, technology and pricing trends are any indication, the conditions are clearly in place to facilitate mainstream adoption of microgrids that can provide a secure, clean and increasingly affordable complement – or alternative – to the conventional power grid. Source: www.greenbiz.com This article originally appeared at Ensia. August 2014 | CSR Today | 35

SUSTAINABILITY CAPITAL

The Trillion-Dollar Opportunity Peter Lacy, managing director of Accenture’s Asia Pacific Strategy and Sustainability Services, tells Eco-Business why the circular economy will not only help manage the challenges of rapidly growing Asia but also holds trillions of dollars of opportunities for companies.

n a recent interview, Peter Lacy, managing director of Accenture’s Strategy and Sustainability Services in the Asia Pacific region, speaks to EcoBusiness about the “circular advantage” that businesses can enjoy by embracing circular economy thinking, how governments in Asia can support the growth of the movement, and the challenges and opportunities that this new mode of doing business presents.

is to understand which business model is applicable to their own industry and value chain. Examples of possible models include a ‘circular input’ model which involves materials that can be recycled or are biodegradable; the ‘enhanced differentiation’ model in which organisations offer repair, upgrading and refurbishing services for customers; or the ‘sharing platform’ model, which allows users to share goods and services. Once companies have identified a suitable model, appropriate technologies such as digital and social media, or engineering technology can help them develop their circular economy capabilities.

What are the advantages of a circular economy over conventional systems, and how can businesses gain from this?

Firstly, better management of natural resources would help save costs, and allow businesses to reduce their operational expenditure. Second, a circular economy allows you to hedge against increasingly expensive and volatile commodities in the marketplace, thereby minimising risk. Third, it forces you to look closely at the use and disposal of products, and the 36 | CSR Today | August 2014

Peter Lacy, Managing Director, Accenture’s Asia Pacific Strategy and Sustainability Services

needs of consumers at a more granular level. This creates a greater understanding of the consumer, and you are better able to shape value propositions. For companies that want to go down the circular economy route, the key thing

In a recent article you wrote, you mention that the circular economy revolution is being enabled by the digital revolution, and that Accenture has identified 10 disruptive technologies that are driving this. How will these technologies help manage Asia’s rapid growth, and

SUSTAINABILITY | CAPITAL what are the challenges of scaling them up in Asia?

We looked at more than 100 technologies to come to that pool of 10. The spectrum involves everything from mobile to cloud and social technology, through to hybrid areas like 3D Printing or, more classic engineering technologies like the life and material sciences. However, not all of them are cutting edge or rare - 3D printing is quite advanced, but things like mobile penetration and online commerce are very prevalent in Asia already. There are lots of opportunities to pick up some of those trends in Asia and drive them towards a circular economy. Additionally, many circular economy principles such as sharing and resource efficiency are also not alien to Asian economies. I feel positive that much of the technology, infrastructure and principles required for a circular economy can be harnessed in Asia. In Europe, the circular economy is aided by legislation and standards such as the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive, which sets clear targets for resource recovery from vehicles, and pushes producers to manufacture new vehicles also with a view to their recyclability. Are similar standards feasible in emerging Asian economies?

Yes, Europe has been helped to a large extent by having the right policy frameworks and the right set of incentives, especially in terms of putting a price – directly or indirectly – on natural resources. In addition to the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive, there is also the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, and legislation on packaging and packaging waste. I think these policies are absolutely applicable in the Asian economy. You need to find the right policy mix, but I see no reason why it should inhibit competitiveness. If anything, it forces economies as a whole to be more resource efficient, manage risk more effectively, and become more focused on customers’ needs. Countries in

Asia that start to move quickly and effectively towards some of these frameworks will enjoy a comparative advantage in the circular economy. Which Asian economies are further along the road to achieving circular economy frameworks?

Singapore is renowned for focusing on resource efficiency, given its limited resource base and its challenges in waste and water management. The country could look more actively at the circular economy not just as a resource management issue, but also as an area of future comparative advantage, given its status as a major manufacturing base, global port and logistics hub.

ing lend to efforts to address this throwaway culture in everyday life?

I personally believe that although we can rely to a small extent on individual behaviours, there is a real limit to how far you can expect people to modify their behaviours. Rather than relying on this mythical beast of behavioural change, we are far better off creating the right policy structures, and incentivising businesses to innovate products and services that take away the additional labour of behavioural change. We are creating a value chain that is neutral or even better, restorative on sustainability issues. I prefer the idea of re-engineering the system altogether than relying on individuals at the end of the life cycle.

Digital technologies and social media have allowed such movements to go to scale at a level that was not possible in the past, but I do not believe that this is going to be a big, gamechanging proposition One of the biggest opportunities in this area is converting awareness to innovation, and tangible consumer propositions. Singapore can create comparative advantage by incentivising research and development, and creating a framework of policy incentives that put a price on certain commodities, and rewards innovation and efficiency. This will help ensure that Singapore becomes one of the hubs and clusters of innovation on this topic for the region. The circular economy relies heavily on consumers to be active participants in the recycling or waste return process, but everyday life seems to be dominated by a “throwaway” culture. What behavioural insights can circular economy think-

In addition to successful circular economy businesses, ground up movements are increasingly embracing models of free consumption such as repair cafes and freecycling. How will these movements affect the viability of the circular economy?

Digital technologies and social media have allowed such movements to go to scale at a level that was not possible in the past, but I do not believe that this is going to be a big, game-changing proposition. These platforms are also at an interesting intersection with the movement towards currency innovation, such as BitCoin. The combination of technology, the sharing economy and currency innovations make this a very interesting space to watch in the future. Source: http://www.eco-business.com August 2014 | CSR Today | 37

csr capital

Real Economic Payoff from Infrastructure There is a need for innovative ways to fund, build, maintain and operate the vital transportation structures that support economic activity by susanne trimbath

ith the Obama proposal to get some money for infrastructure, it is time to revisit the payoff from investments in transportation. Investments that improve the performance of transportation in the US will pay for themselves in 17 years through increased economic activity and the resulting gains in federal tax revenue. The rate of return for national investments in transportation is 7%, significantly more than the cost of borrowing. Recently released research verbalizes a theory of why the performance of infrastructure matters for the economy. Transportation provides the foundation for all economic activity. Transportation is used to bring labor and inputs to places of production, to deliver final goods and services to end users and to bring customers to the market place. How well is it doing its job? In an economy the size of the US even small improvements can mean big dollar gains. Making the investment to improve transportation performance can result in a mea38 | CSR Today | August 2014

surable return on investment with a payback period that is well short of the life-expectancy of most transportation infrastructure. Just as infrared is the invisible part of the spectrum of light, it often seems that infrastructure is the invisible part of the economy. It has become popular – especially since the turn of the century – to think of the economy as increasingly dependent on the insubstantial and the ethereal – emailing, e-trading, e-commerce. The reality is that all commerce – even e-commerce – eventually depends on transportation infrastructure. After all, someone has to get the computer components from the factory to the e-business; and when the computer hardware breaks down, someone will likely use transportation infrastructure to get to the place of business to fix it. No ecommerce can occur until transportation infrastructure is used to get the equipment to the location where rare earth minerals are extracted and to take those minerals to the factory – usually on another continent – where workers arrive via transportation

infrastructure to build the computers in the first place. In many ways, there can be no commerce – “e“ or otherwise – without bricks-and-mortar infrastructure. Despite repeated outcries for additional funding, transportation spending in the US was more than $100 billion under budget in the first decade of the new century. While there is much debate about how much to spend on transportation, since 1980 (1990), federal spending on transportation in the US has been $152.3 billion ($125.5B) less than budgeted. Federal spending on transportation exceeded budget in only four years: 2011 by $6.5 billion (the most ever), 2012 by $4.4 billion, 1996 by about $3 billion, and 1995 by $50 million. The $10.9 billion spending over-budget in 2011 and 2012 was necessary to fulfill commitments from 2009, when spending was under-budget by an extraordinary $40.7 billion. Excluding 2009, the average annual under budget since 1980 (1990) was $3.5 billion ($3.8 billion). Worse yet, transportation policy has been allowed to stagnate: the strategic eco-

csr | capital Figure 1: Federal Spending Over/Under-Budget 1980-2012 Over/Under Budget 10

Billions

0 1980 -10

20.0% 10.0% 1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

0.0% -10.0%

-20

-20.0% -30.0%

-30

-40.0% -40

-50.0% -60.0%

-50 Dollars

Percent Spending

Data Source: Budget of the United States, Transportation Budget Authority FY 2011, Table 3.1 Outlays by Superfunction and function, updated with Table 5.1 from FY2014 tables; actual spending through 2012. Red on either line indicates spending over budget for that year. Author’s calculations.

nomic goals and performance measures in the Department of Transportation’s 2014 performance plan are nearly identical to the 2002 plan. Economic competitiveness is one of the strategic goals set by the US Department of Transportation (Performance Plan FY2014, available at www.dot.gov). By their definition, economic competitiveness means maximizing the economic returns of the network and keeping the transportation system responsive to consumer needs. This may sound like the kind of initiative that would allow the US to stay globally competitive. However, these strategic goals are little changed from ten years ago; and most of the performance measures in the 2014 economic strategy were the same in 2002. Each strategic goal is also associated with a line-item in the federal budget, making them more than just slogans, making them actual cost centers. Clearly, what the US needs now is better planning and strategic project selection, plus streamlined delivery processes to increase the productivity of infrastructure investment. Most of the existing transportation infrastructure could not handle the coming surge in demand. The surge is not only the result of organic growth in the size of the country, but also from an increase in the fundamental reliance of our economy on

the use of transportation infrastructure. The result will be a nation falling further and further behind our global competitors.Yet, the world that business moves in has changed significantly as has the way that business moves. The service sector – the fastest growing part of the economy – is increasingly dependent on transportation. The services sector has the second fastest growing usage of transportation services (after construction) and remains the fastest growing sector in the US economy. Measuring the economy’s response to a change in the demand for transportation services, DOT-RITA conclude that “an investment in … transportation will have a greater economic impact than an equally sized investment in trade or utilities.” Investments to improve air transportation services would have the biggest economic impact. Except for rail transportation, the impact of improving the nation’s airports is

Table 1: Federal Spending Under-Budget by Decade Decade

Total under spending

1980-1989

$26.9 B

1990-1999

$27.5B

2000-2009

100.7B ($60B w/o 2009*)

*Distribution of some 2009 federal stimulus spending continued into 2013.

bigger than investments in government and information services.

What will it cost? The US has more airports, roads and railways than any other country in the world – only Russia, China and Brazil have more waterways. However, the US is not alone in needing massive investments in infrastructure. The total investment needed for all infrastructures worldwide is estimated at $53 trillion through 2030, with a total of $15.5 trillion just for transportation. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and others estimate a cost equivalent to 3.5% of GDP to improve infrastructure across all sectors – water, energy and transportation. A report from McKinsey Global Institute (McKinsey Infrastructure Practice) calculates that this investment is 60% more than all spending in the last 18 years; and more than the estimated value of today’s worldwide infrastructure. Consulting firm Booz Allen projects the cumulative infrastructure spending needs for the US (and Canada) from 2005 to 2030 to be $936 billion for road and rail and $432 billion for airports and seaports (about $1.4 Trillion total). Dividing this between the US and Canada in proportion to real GDP, just over $1.2 trillion is needed to upgrade the performance of US transportation infrastructure to first class. For the purpose of demonstration, let’s assume that the entire $1.2 trillion is invested in the US in 2014. The latest models demonstrate that the economic gains would begin to appear as higher GDP per capita in 2018. The economy starts 2018 at a level that is higher than it would have been without the investment in infrastructure. By 2025, the economy is larger by an amount greater than the initial investment in 2014. In financial terms, the investment has a 17 year payback period – substantially shorter than the life expectancy of transportation infrastructure. Taking 25% of the gain each year as government revenue (average government tax revenue as a percent of GDP in the US), the cumulative increased tax revenue will exceed the cost by 2025. A standard, basic financial analysis well-understood by August 2014 | CSR Today | 39

csr | capital Figure 2: Department of Transportation Performance Plans 2014 Strategic Goal: Economic Competitiveness

2002 Strategic Goal: Mobility and Economic Gorwth

Maximize Returns on policies and investments Increase travel time reliability in urban areas

Highway Congestion: Reduce travel in congestion in urban areas

Maintain travel time reliability in frieght corridors Achieve initial construction on corridor programs Highway Infrastructure Condition: Maintain pavement performance standards Update air traffic control centers

Commercial airline safety

Maintain airport capacity Maintain Seaway system and lock availability

Maritime Navigation: Seaway system and lock availability

Competitive Air Transportation System: Maintain on-time arrival rate

Maintain on-time arrival rate

Advance US transportation interest abroad: International trips for DOT secreataries, technology transfer

Number of passengers in international markets with open skies agreements

Expand opportunities for Business in the Transportation Sector: Contract awards for small, disadvantaged and women-owned businesses Transit Ridership: Rail stations and bus fleetws ADA compliant; employment sites accessible Performance measures in italics.

both business executives and policy-makers shows a 7% internal rate of return – a number significantly higher than the borrowing costs for financing transportation infrastructure investments in the United States.

Paying For It But what about the rest of the story: where does the initial funding come from to make the needed performance improvements? There is no “free ride” here – the construction and renovation of transportation infrastructure carries a hefty price tag that has to be paid one way or another. The options currently under discussion among researchers and policy makers in the United States are: 1. The status quo – which has not worked in over 20 years. 2. Reducing demand – One way to improve performance is to discourage the use of transportation infrastructure. Joel Kotkin reports the work of demographer Wendell Cox on the new migration to America’s “Efficient Cities” – resulting in net outmigration from America’s most congested cities. Smaller populations are one way that 40 | CSR Today | August 2014

the demands on infrastructure may fall naturally – but with potentially undesirable consequences for economic growth. While American’s do more driving than any other nation on earth, there is some new evidence that the long standing trend of increasing driving is tailing off. 3. Increasing user fees – Unfortunately, user fees are wrought with difficulties. First, “congestion pricing” fees are used to reduce demand rather than as a way to generate a revenue stream (with the obvious exception of some toll roads). There are several specific challenges: federal barriers to implementing fees and transaction costs are the most obvious. While the impact of fees as a revenue mechanism may be modest, there are additional implications for land use patterns and policies. Urban Land Instituteprovides an important cautionary note on tolling that could be applied to user fees in general. If the fees are permanent and not limited to rewarding investors in a particular facility, local policies will need to be established regarding the distribution of income beyond the designated payback pe-

riod. The alternative, of course, is to tie the period of the fees to the reward and repayment of investors. 4. Public-Private Partnerships – Also known as PPP or P3 – cover a spectrum of financing options ranging from private concession operators to privately owned roads. At the lowest level on the PPP spectrum are private operators who raise their own financing for upfront costs and ongoing operations for concessions such as food service on highway plazas or newspaper stands inside train stations. Their revenue generally comes from sales. At a higher level, risk is allocated between public and private partners (e.g., public carries demand risk, private carries construction risk). Financing is often shared and comes in the form of both equity and debt. The revenue stream to repay debt (or reward equity investors) comes from user fees. In “build, operate, transfer” (BOT) cases, the government’s role changes from manager, operator and financier to regulator. Effective government controls on safety and security, anti-competitive behavior (access, pricing, service quality, etc.) are critical to the success of these projects. The final level is a purely private project which is used for public purposes. The private owner/operator builds the facility. A revenue stream is necessary to service debt, repay financial loans/borrowings, and reward capital investment. Freight railroads in the US are a good example of privately financed infrastructure in the US. There is no lack of private money – especially under the current conditions of Federal Reserve intervention in the economy. According to a 2013 study by consulting firm McKinsey, an additional $2.5 trillion will be made available for infrastructure financing by 2030 if institutional investors meet their target allocations. The trouble is finding ways to direct revenue back to the private investors.

Other Revenue Streams How do we create that revenue stream to attract private investment into public infrastructure? Americans are notoriously opposed to paying for public goods. Branded revenue opportunities are just coming on

csr | capital the table in the US but have been used wide and far in other countries. Branded revenue streams – or private advertising in public spaces – has come a long way since realtors put their faces on benches or lawyers put their names on the backs of city buses. Branding now extends to the infrastructure itself. New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority added branding to turnstiles and train doors. More opportunities exist, including entrances, escalators, stairs, trains, overpasses, poles, walls, and even floors. Phoenix and Denver expect to earn up to $1 million in annual revenue from wrapping light rail trains in advertisements. Branding is not limited to print, either. New York, Chicago and Santa Monica are exploring LED advertising on the sides of busses. Dayton, Champaign-Urbana, Toledo (TARTA) and Kansas City (KCATA) have audio ads timed to promote businesses along routes. Just as advertising in metro transit is no longer limited to framed posters on subway platforms, highway advertising is no longer just for billboards. Why not, as pictured here, allow branding on overpasses? In November 2010 (USA Today November 22), cash-strapped California considered generating a much-needed revenue stream by allowing advertisements on emergency (“Amber-alert”) highway signs. But even these signs are virtual antiques. Ideas for where and what can accommodate an attractive yet discrete opportunity for a branded revenue stream are only limited by the number of pixels that can be used in an electronic display.

The Way Forward All is not doom and gloom. There is a new, improving trend in the performance of transportation infrastructure in the United States. These improvements are a reflection of broad-based initiatives on both the supply and the demand sides. Meanwhile, the US continues to decline in the global rankings for poor transportation infrastructure (World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Index, shown earlier). Although US road, rail and even port rankings manage to stay in or near the top 20 in the world in the rankings, the US airport infra-

Table 2: World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010 Basic Infrastructure

Score (1 to 7) for Quality of:

Global Rank:

Rank

Country

Overall Score

Roads

Railroads

Ports

Air Transport

GDP

Per Capita

Switzerland

6.8

6.7

6.8

5.4

6.5

Singapore

6.7

5.7

6.8

6.9

Hong Kong

6.7

6.6

6.5

6.8

6.9

Austria

6.6

6.4

5.5

5.0

6.2

France

6.6

6.5

5.9

6.3

Germany

6.5

6.3

6.4

6.6

Finland

6.5

5.9

6.5

6.3

Iceland

6.3

5.1

n/a

6.2

6.3

142

Denmark

6.3

6.1

5.4

6.2

6.4

Sweden

6.2

5.7

5.4

5.9

6.0

U.A.E.

6.1

6.2

n/a

6.2

6.7

Luxembourg

6.1

5.8

5.1

5.5

5.4

Canada

5.9

5.7

5.2

5.6

5.9

USA

5.9

4.8

5.7

6.0

Belgium

5.8

5.6

6.3

6.2

Barbados

5.8

5.1

n/a

5.5

6.1

157

Japan

5.8

5.6

6.6

5.2

5.1

Netherlands

5.8

5.4

5.6

6.6

6.4

Taiwan

5.8

5.6

5.5

South Korea

5.8

5.7

5.1

6.0

* The European Union economy is the largest in the world (CIA, 2013). Scores are the result of responses to questions in the format: “How would you assess the quality of [X] in your country? (1 = extremely underdeveloped; 7 = extensive and efficient by international standards),” where [X] is “Basic Infrastructure”, “Roads”, Railroads”, etc. Scores for 2009-2010, US rank for transportation infrastructure was little change in 2012-2013 (13th). Details available at http://www.weforum.org/

structure quality ranking fell from 9th in the world in 2007-2008 to 32nd in 2010-2011 (currently at 30th). The underlying question is not how much to invest it is how that investment can deliver improvements in infrastructure. Analysts at McKinsey estimate that streamlining infrastructure delivery alone could generate 15% in cost savings. Clearly, additional funding alone is not enough. We also need innovative ways to fund, build, maintain and operate the vital transportation structures that support economic activity. Acknowledgements: Some of this material was previously published as STP Working Paper 2014_02, Calculating the Real Economic Payoff of Infrastructure. The Let’s Rebuild America initiative at the US Chamber of Commerce is headed by Janet Kavinoky. Funding for the project was also pro-

vided by the National Chamber Foundation in Washington, D.C. The original project team for developing indices to measure the performance of infrastructure in the United States was led by Michael Gallis and Associates of Charlotte, NC. The author is grateful to Kamna Pandey in New Dehli (India) for her slide show on revenue streams. [Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of IO Sustainability.] Susanne Trimbath, Ph.D., Senior Advisor, IO Sustainability and CEO and Chief Economist, STP Advisory Services, LLC. Source:http://iosustainability.com/real- econ o m i c - p a y o f f - f r o m - i n f ra s t r u c t u r e / ? u t m _ source=ZohoCampaigns&utm_ campaign=June+Newsletter_2014-06-09&utm_ medium=email August 2014 | CSR Today | 41

csr leadership

Philips’

EcoDesign Pays Off

Aside from positively affecting sales, the Philips EcoDesign philosophy is helping the company’s public image by heather clancy

42 | CSR Today | August 2014

Photo Courtesy: Countdown Entertainment, LLC (haascrea.com/NYE/book/78)

ne decade ago, Royal Philips embraced a development philosophy called EcoDesign with the broad aim of minimizing the impact of its products on the environment. The strategy isn’t unique: its fiercest rivals ranging from General Electric, Matsushita, Sony, Siemens and Pansonic all boast mature eco-strategies. Still, Philips’ focus is paying off demonstrably not just in sales, but in brand perception. Last year, for example, Philips consumer electronics, lighting and healthcare technologies created under that green products umbrella accounted for 51 percent of its approximately $16 billion in revenue – beating its internal goal by more than two years. During the previous year, the company invested close to $700 million in “green innovation” to keep up that momentum over time although that number pales in comparison with the $4.2 billion that GE has invested in its “healthmagination” research and development over the past several years. To be fair, Philips has been focused on greening its product portfolio for quite some time. LIke some of its biggest competitors, it started methodically driving out toxic chemicals and minimizing the environmental impact of its operations way back in the 1970s; it adopted its first formal EcoVision program and corporate goals back in 1998. Now, the company is shooting for its green products to account for 55 percent of revenue by 2015, according to a senior sustainability executive. “It is challenging, I can tell you, especially as the

csr | leadership overall market pushes and stretches the bounds of what is possible,” said Thomas Marinelli, senior director of Environment Health and Safety, with the Philips sustainability group.

Six pillars of green innovation The focal areas within the EcoDesign creation process include energy efficiency, packaging, substances, weight, recycling and disposal, and lifetime reliability: Philips worked out the methodology in collaboration with the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. “We want our products to be significantly better compared to the predecessor lines,” Marinelli said, also pointing to technology from the company’s closest competitors. Excerpt from a Philips infographic The improvements catalyzed by EcoDesign differ depending on the area you’re talking about. For the highly specialized healthcare portfolio, which includes medical equipment and where it competes fiercely with GE, Philips introduced 12 new products during 2013 with a big focus on energy efficiency. An example is the latest EPIQ ultrasound imaging system, which reduces both energy consumption and product weight by 30 percent compared with the previous generation. Its new X-ray systems and patient monitors offer similar improvements. GE has been pushing similar improvements of between 20 percent and 25 percent for its own medical systems. In its consumer lifestyle line-up, Philips is prioritizing avoidance of substances of concern, along with the use of recycled materials and reducing power consumption. Consider the new 24-inch and 27-inch PowerSensor Displays introduced late last month, which use sensors to detect when someone is nearby to automatically reduce screen brightness if someone gets up and walks away from the screen. This helps cut energy usage for the LCD, EPEAT Goldcertified monitors by up to 80 percent compared with alternatives, according to the company. The technology is also TCO Edge certified, which means that it also uses a minimum of 65 percent postconsumer plastics, and comes in 100 percent recyclable packaging. This sort of innovation, of course, is now table stakes for technologes such as displays but over the years, Philips has managed a number of firsts in this area. Although it’s not in the television market any longer, it was one of the first companies to release a TV free of polyvinyl chloride plastic and brominated flame retardants. Historically, Greenpeace has gotten on Philips’ case for being slower than other manufacturers to develop a robust global recycling and product takeback program. But it actually was early to the game: its first producer collection programs emerged in the 1990s, and in 2013, it collected an estimated 31,000 tonnes. (That compares with 22,500 in 2010.) Most readers are familiar with Philips’ extensive business in LED lighting platforms, where it is one of the market leaders along with the likes of GE, Toshiba, Cree, Osram and Lighting Science Group.

One relatively recent addition to its lineup is the Pacific LED Green Parking system, which includes integrated luminaires, wireless controls and presence detection applications. The company pitches the platform as both a safety play and a cost-effective replacement for traditional fluorescent lamps that can pay for itself in less than three years. To that end, Philips introduced a financing model that encourages garages and businesses to invest in ongoing improvements to its technology. “We’re selling access instead of ownership,” Marinelli said. This mantra is actually part of Philips’ advocacy of a “circular economy” that stresses “maintenance, reuse, remanufacture and recycling” of products rather than the ideas of “take, make and dispose” as the world heads toward a population of 9 billion people in 2050. Marinelli noted: “We’re aiming to decouple economic growth from the use of natural resources.” Research from McKinsey estimates that $1 trillion worth of value can be recovered by reusing resources that otherwise would be wasted. Across its product groups, Marinelli said Philips’ teams

This sort of innovation, of course, is now table stakes for technologes such as displays but over the years, Philips has managed a number of firsts in this area are encouraged to ask: “Can I upgrade a product? Can I remanufacture it or give it a facelift? Can I take it apart and harvest pieces?” Aside from positively affecting sales, the Philips EcoDesign philosophy is helping the company’s public image. It was a U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2014; Panasonic Eco Solutions and LG Electronics, were among the companies named for Sustained Excellence. What’s more, among all the high-tech players featured on Interbrand’s 2014 Global Green Brands ranking, Philips moved up the most on the ranking, jumping nine spots to No. 14. (Among its competitive set, Panasonic and Sony scored higher; GE was No. 23.) Over the past two years, Philips moved up 17 spots. “We believe that adopting a circular economy approach to our business models, materials reuse and design will further give us a competitive advantage, while making the world more sustainable,” said Henk de Bruin, head of Group Sustainability at Philips, in a statement. Source: www.greenbiz.com Heather Clancy, GreenBiz senior writer, is an award-winning business journalist specializing in coverage of transformative technology and in translating techspeak into business benefits. Her articles have appeared in Entrepreneur, Fortune Small Business, the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times. August 2014 | CSR Today | 43

Book Review

The HIP Investor

he HIP Investor: Make Bigger Profits by Building a Better World talks about a new breed of investing that combines making more money and making a difference. First there were the “Profiteers,” investors who sought to make money regardless of the cost to society. Then came the “Do-Gooders,” investors who avoided “bad” companies and supported “good” ones, based on philosophy over financials. Now this book introduces a brand new breed of investor: The HIP Investor. Written for those who want to profit handsomely while also building a better world, it will help you discover companies that are boosting the bottom line by solving key human needs through innovative products and services-benefiting customers, engaging employees, and delivering sustainable, profitable growth for their investors. That’s the Human Impact + Profit, or HIP, approach, according to the author R Paul Herman. There are five main ingredients – health, wealth, Earth, equality, trust – that make up a HIP Portfolio.

A person can customize their portfolio by ‘voting’ or weighing an ingredient higher than the others, according to a review by CSRwire. Proving doing good can be good business to sustainability contrarians, companies in the HIP Portfolio have remained strong and increased investment returns. Sustainable companies have now historically proven to be more efficient and better investments than traditional funds. In many cases the HIP Portfolio companies increased in value by 20% during the 2009 economic downturn providing a safe haven for investors with a conscience. Looking into the future, Herman takes a peek at disruptive opportunities such as featuring resources as services; e.g., software as a service referencing Salesforce (CRM), transportation as a service as seen with Zipcars (ZIP) and energy as a service, which in the short time looks like natural gas, with the long term opportunities pointing to innovative battery technology. Herman proves being sustainable is cool and ‘hip’ investing offers an easy way to transfer wealth to what matters most – us.

The New Sustainability Advantage

he New Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line shows how the benefits of the “triple bottom line” can increase a typical company’s profit by at least 51 to 81 percent within five years, depending on the company’s size and industry sector, while avoiding risks that could jeopardize its financial wellbeing. The book clearly demonstrates that, by focusing on seven powerful yet easy-to-grasp sustainability strategies, businesses can – increase revenue, improve productivity, reduce expenses and decrease risks. Expressed in clear business language and presented in an appealing, graphically rich format,

44 | CSR Today | August 2014

this practical guide and the accompanying online Sustainability Advantage Simulator Dashboard enables executives to enter their own data and quickly identify high-leverage benefit areas for their organization, a review by CSRwire says.. More detailed downloadable Sustainability Advantage Simulator Worksheets help them drill down into specific areas of interest and fine-tune the assumptions to their specific situation. An indispensable tool for both sustainability champions and senior management, The New Sustainability Advantage, authored by Bob Willard, proves that the quantified business case for sustainability is more compelling than ever before.

Presents

The New Companies Act 2013 and Designing of CSR Strategies & Reporting (Open Workshop for One Day)

21st August – Kolkata n 23rd August – Vadodara n 26th August – Chennai n

28th August – Bangalore n 30th August – Hyderabad n 17th October – Nagpur n

CONTACT FOR MORE DETAILS: +91 98672 10670 cc@iccsr.org OR +91 22 27788481 / 82 ea@iccsr.org

Program Rationale

training Objectives

Audience & Duration

The New Companies Act 2013 makes it mandatory for Indian companies to spend 2 per cent of their profits on CSR related activities. The bill also emphasizes the need for the following: • Creation of CSR Division • Appointment of Independent CSR Directors • Creation of CSR committees to supervise and monitor CSR • Mandatory reporting to the Government of India for the CSR activities undertaken and expenses made with respect to the same on year on year basis.

The herein program presents the scope and curriculum for the CSR & sustainability training, specifically for professionals. The training is developed according to international trends in the sector, as it pertains to sustainability, aiming to provide a holistic and systemic approach. The training aims to address the needs of professionals across diverse business functions, who wish to instill greater efficiency in their operations and communication. The overall training objective aims to: 1. Increase awareness on key CSR & sustainability topics and areas of concerns 2. Integrate a “common thinking” on sustainability across the organization 3. Enable participants to develop their organization’s sustainability strategy and report. 4. Enable participants to develop a sustainable brand

The program is estimated to take 1-day, 5.5-6 hours, of consecutive learning time. Audience: • Executive Management from all Industries • Executives from CSR, Planning / Budget, Marketing, Finance, HR departments

Training Cost For Corporate: The cost for each participant is estimated at INR 8,900 plus Service Tax (applicable by the government) For Education Institutions and NGOs: The cost for each participant is estimated at INR 7,900 plus Service Tax (applicable by the government) Note: For group discounts please contact 9867210670