Resilient Business & Society

CESD has been conducting CSR workshops since 2014. The focus of the workshops is on CSR legislation, recent amendments, disclosures, CSR strategy, impact measurement tools and sustainable development goals. Participants from diverse functions ranging from CSR, environment, sustainability, finance, company secretary, corporate communication, legal and human resources from over 100 companies including TCS, Tata Steel, ITC, Ambuja Cement, Parle Agro, Tata Chemical, Tata Capital, Tata Sons, Mahindra & Mahindra, DSM, JSW, RIL, Aditya Birla, BPCL, SAIL, Ericsson, Canara HSBC & TATA Power across India. Since April 2014, 50+ workshops have been conducted reaching out to over 900+ professionals.

CESD undertakes baseline and needs assessments of project beneficiaries and concerned stakeholders using participatory approach. Assessments are done using primary and secondary research techniques such as household surveys, interviews, focus group discussions and participatory rural appraisal. Both qualitative and quantitative inputs are captured and analysed that provide vital inputs to CSR project design. We also develop business drivers linked CSR plan and stakeholder management plan in project design.

Impact measurement is important to understand the effectiveness of CSR projects. A well- designed impact study can also provide insights into stakeholders’ expectations and feedback on the projects conducted. CESD deploys before and after, control group and global approaches and methodologies to conduct impact assessment of CSR projects. Impact study provides insights on long & short-term changes, sustainability, and areas of improvement.

CESD also helps with valuing social capital that a company creates via its CSR activities. Primarily using the methodology of social return on investment, social capital valuation helps boards take informed decisions on social investments. CESD has been trained by Social Value International on measuring social value. The team has been helping leading organisations to measure social value using the SROI framework. CESD deploys principles of SROI as defined by Social Value International.

CESD builds capability on CSR vision and strategy and also develops CSR strategy and CSR annual plan for companies. The whole process instils thinking and culture of long-term sustainable CSR planning and practice, and companies are able to better manage ad hoc and varies stakeholders’ expectations.

CESD conducts monitoring and evaluation of CSR projects. Variety of tools and approaches are used to monitor, review and evaluate short term and long-term projects. A site visit is organised after data review to check the current status of the project against the objectives and indicators set for the project at this stage.

CII-ITC Sustainability Awards – CSR Domain Excellence recognise companies that have positively impacted both business and society by taking a strategic approach to CSR through collaborative programmes with government and civil society.

Over a period of six months, applicants undergo a rigorous evaluation process that is based on principles of business excellence. The findings of this assessment, presented in the form of a detailed Feedback Report to every applicant, further help applicants by providing insights that improve the impact of their sustainability initiatives and drive overall -performance by identifying opportunities for improvement.