CSR activities of Pepsico India and Amul India Essay

Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business/ Responsible Business)[1] is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Holmes and Watts (1999) defined CSR as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large. With Indian consumers becoming more ’cause’ conscious, their brand preferences keep shifting to favor the brand that is socially more responsible. The phenomenon directly creates a connection between the sales and the CSR. The trend suggests, ‘the better the CSR policy, the more the sales. ‘ The trend affects most product categories that are bought on a daily basis, with consumers making a purchase decision almost every day. This could be one of the major reasons why Indian FMCG companies are most actively engaged in responsible activities and rank on top in the latest Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) report on CSR by Indian corporate. The report says that of 175 Indian companies studied, 52 companies in the FMCG sector have taken the maximum of CSR initiatives. This was followed by the chemical sector and then the IT sector. [2] This paper highlights FMCG’s Corporate Social Responsibilities in Pepsico India. and Amul India. Keywords: CSRFMCG Introduction Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business/ Responsible Business)[1] is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. The new Companies Bill in the Rajya Sabha on 8th August 2013, has guided in a new regulation towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) in India. The Bill, which should get enacted into law soon, lays down mandatory requirements in regards to CSR for larger companies (those with at least Rs5Cr net profit/Rs500Cr net worth/Rs1,000Cr turnover), which includes a requirement to spend annually at least 2% of average profits of the previous three years on CSR activities. An estimated 7-8,000 companies in India will be covered under the CSR legislation and the total annual spend, if companies were to meet this norm, could be equivalent to US$1-2bn. [3] With Indian consumers becoming more ’cause’ conscious, their brand preferences keep shifting to favor the brand that is socially more responsible. The phenomenon directly creates a connection between the sales and the CSR. Objectives 1. To study CSR activities of Pepsico India and Amul India. 2. To examine the benefits of CSR activities of these companies to the society. Research Methodology This research paper depends on secondary data. Review of Literature 1. INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CALCUTTA, WPS No. 729/ June 2013, Corporate Social Responsibility for Social Impact: Approach to Measure Social Impact using CSR Impact Index by Ramendra Singh and Sharad Agarwal. This paper discuss the broad patterns of CSR practices among top 200 Indian corporations and also explain the concept of CSR in the Indian scenario, the social issues addressed by the Indian corporations, and methodologies adopted by them to address those issues. 2. African Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences 4 (3): 95-105, 2012, Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives of Major Companies of India with Focus on Health, Education and Environment by Anupam Sharma and Ravi Kiran This paper highlighted CSR initiatives in context to health, education and environment sector to be rated by the interviewee were identified from the literature. 3. Issues in Social and Environmental Accounting, Vol. 3, No. 2 Dec 2009/Jan 2010, Pp 180-201, Corporate Social Performance of Indian FMCG Companies by Saeed Khan. This paper highlights on various Indian companies CSR ratings and actives. 4. School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal – 2010, Corporate Social Responsibility in Rural Development Sector: Evidences From India by Sanjay Pradhan, Akhilesh Ranjan. This paper examine do the corporate consider rural people as a stakeholder? If so, what CSR initiatives taken for development of rural areas and how the corporates implement their CSR initiatives as a part of their business strategy? Finally it evaluates impacts of CSR actions on the socio-economic development of rural people. 5. Corporate Social Responsibility as a determinant of market strategic issues: An exploratory study by Prof Vijaylaxmi Iyengar. the research focuses on the Corporate Social Responsibility as a determinant of market strategic issues , with the various dimensions of CSR and its relevance for emerging markets , it also throw light on redesigning marketing paradigms for the global competition. Business benefits of CSR: The scale and nature of the benefits of CSR for an organization can vary depending on the nature of the enterprise, and are difficult to quantify, though there is a large body of literature exhorting business to adopt measures beyond financial ones (e. g. , Deming’s Fourteen Points, balanced scorecards). Orlitzky, Schmidt, and Rynes[24] found a correlation between social/environmental performance and financial performance. Businesses may not be looking at short-run financial returns when developing their CSR strategy. Triple bottom line People planet profit, also known as the triple bottom line, are words that should be used and practiced in every move an organization makes. People relates to fair and beneficial business practices toward labour, the community and region where corporation conducts its business. Planet refers to sustainable environmental practices. A triple bottom line company does not produce harmful or destructive products such as weapons, toxic chemicals or batteries containing dangerous heavy metals for example. Profit is the economic value created by the organization after deducting the cost of all inputs, including the cost of the capital tied up. It therefore differs from traditional accounting definitions of profit. [28][29] Human resources A CSR program can be an aid to recruitment and retention,[30] CSR also helps to improve the perception of a company among its staff. CSR has been found to encourage customer orientation among frontline employees. [31] Risk management Reputations that take decades to build up can be ruined in hours through incidents such as corruption scandals or environmental accidents. [32] Building a genuine culture of ‘doing the right thing’ within a corporation can offset these risks. [33] Brand differentiation CSR can play a role in building customer loyalty based on distinctive ethical values. [34] Business service organizations can benefit too from building a reputation for integrity and best practice. Developing an engagement plan Commit to coming up with and improving on your companies goals. CSR commitments communicate the nature and direction of the firm’s social and environmental activities and, will help others understand how the organization is likely to behave in a particular situation. License to operate By taking substantive voluntary steps, they can persuade governments and the wider public that they are taking issues such as health and safety, diversity, or the environment seriously as good corporate citizens with respect to labour standards and impacts on the environment. Supplier relations By establishing a strong supply chain, companies are able to push for continuous quality improvements, and price reductions. The long-term benefits of the relations create a better value for stakeholders.