Grasim’s Staple Fibre Division wins award for CSR

Grasim Industries (Staple Fibre Division- Nagda), a flagship company of $48.3 billion Aditya Birla Group has been named as the winner of the prestigious Golden Peacock Award for CSR in the Textile and Apparel sector for the year 2019.

Golden Peacock Awards, instituted by the Institute of Directors (IOD), India in 1991, are now regarded as a benchmark of Corporate Excellence worldwide. Grasim Industries, SFD, Nagda bagged the 14th Golden Peacock Awards 2019 for CSR in the Textile & Apparel sector, for the project “Integrated Rural Development”, which highlighted the work done in watershed management, animal husbandry, agriculture and horticulture, community health, infrastructure development and addressing social issues.

Rajashree Birla, Chairperson, Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, in her address, stressed the criticality of integrating the CSR vision into the business vision. In her words, “At the Aditya Birla Group, Kumar Mangalam, my son and Group Chairman, has mandated compassionate capitalism. He says, Leadership, in every sphere, has to be about compassion. Even in business, we cannot adopt a system of unbridled capitalism. We have to work, towards a system, of compassionate capitalism, which implies, managing organisations, in a manner, that they work for everyone – employees, shareholders, the community, and the ecosystem. Growth for growth’s sake can never be an end in itself. When we pursue this path, there is increased employee commitment, and customer loyalty, where there is even the willingness, to shell out more bucks.”

She added, “Customer value is an important link that can in turn, impact financial performance. And of course, the reputational lever, that such a philosophy, provides is beyond compare. In the recent past, there has been a tectonic shift, in the mindsets of business houses, and in the very concept of business. Businesses have increasingly realised that, they have to earn the respect, and the goodwill, of the society, in which it operates. There is mindfulness, among corporates, on the inequities in society. There is an accent, on a shared vision of development. Businesses have to earn, the license to operate, and this they can do, only by having a purpose, that resonates well with all of its stakeholders.”

Grasim has been one of the pioneers of ‘Make in India’ success stories with its first viscose staple fibre manufacturing plant in Nagda. Right from its inception in 1947, Grasim has been committed to giving back to society, leading to an impressive transformation of Nagda town and its surrounding villages, Grasim’s unrelenting focus has had a significant impact on villagers residing in proximity to the plant, added Mrs Birla. Over decades, Grasim Industries have provided state-of-the-art education and health facilities at their three schools and two hospitals.

Dilip Gaur, Managing Director, Grasim Industries said, “Our aim is to uplift the level of socio-economic status in Nagda and villages in its vicinity. We are working aggressively for the cause of Education, Health Care, Sustainable Livelihood, Infrastructure Development and Women Empowerment at the community level” He informed “The community engagement program at Nagda spans 55 villages and 25 urban slums, reaching out to over 1 lakh people”

Justice MN Venkatachaliah, Chairman, Institute of Directors and former Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India was the Chairman of the Golden Peacock Awards Jury and Justice (Dr.) Arijit Pasayat, former Judge, Supreme Court of India the Co-Chairman of the Golden Peacock Awards. The Award applications are assessed at three levels by Independent Assessors and finally by a Grand Jury.

Grasim sets up RO plant in Nagda MP
Safe and readily available water is important for public health. Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost countries’ economic growth and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction. United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target six calls for universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water. Also the Jal Jeevan Mission announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to provide tap water to all of households by 2024. In a bid to provide clean and safe drinking water to the villagers of Parmar khedi in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh, Grasim Industries has constructed a state of the art modern Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant at a cost of Rs 20 lakh with a capacity to process 1,500 liters of drinking water in one hour.

Grasim Industries has been one of the pioneers of ‘Make in India’ success stories with its first viscose staple fibre manufacturing plant in Nagda. Right from its inception in 1947, Grasim Industries has been committed to giving back to society,leading to an impressive transformation of Nagda town and its surrounding villages.

On February 23, 2020, Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, Dilip Gurjar, MLA – Nagda and Khachrod along with Dilip Gaur inaugurated and dedicated the first RO plant to the villagers of Parmarkedhi.

On the auspicious occasion, Gaur said, “The welfare of the local community at Nagda is core to our strategy. For decades we have been investing in the economic and social transformation of the region. As part of our relentless efforts to improve living standards we are pleased to dedicate a new RO plant to the people of Parmarkedhi. Excellence in water management practices is integral to our commitment towards water stewardship. With the new RO plant in Parmarkedhi, we are confident of positively impacting several lives in the region by providing safe clean drinking water.”

In Parmarkedhi and surrounding villages, Grasim Industries has been actively supplying 70,000 liters drinking water through 14 tankers on daily basis from last 2 years. It has also installed three water drinking tanks of 2,000 liters for the benefit of villagers.

Grasim Industries has already constructed four dams in Nagda on the river Chambal, which benefits over 2,00,000 people. In the last three years, Grasim’s Pulp and Fibre business has reduced water consumption by over 50 per cent through focused water management efforts.

Grasim Industries state-of-the-art technologies, such as membrane processes help in the clean-up and recycle of wastewater. These innovations improve the efficiency of processes, which allows reuse of water several times over and provides additional water to the villagers. Today, the plant meets daily water requirements of the entire city and kachrod along with railways through 30 billion liters storage capacity built by the company. Grasim Industries unrelenting focus has had a significant impact on numerous villagers residing in the plant vicinity.

Along with providing clean water, Grasim Industries has also been committed to community engagement in areas of education, healthcare, sustainable livelihood, infrastructure development and social reform. The community engagement program spans 55 villages and 25 urban slums, reaching out to over 1 lakh people. In healthcare, Grasim Industries every week provides free health services and medicines through Mobile Medical Van. In sanitation, it has supported the construction of individual toilets under “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” drive.

Grasim Industries has also provided LED streetlights and school furniture, as well as conducted cattle vaccination and treatment camps in collaboration with veterinary departments. The women are also trained on tailoring skills, and stitching machines have been distributed to empower them.