Socially Responsible Enterprise: Walking the Path Together for a Sustainable Planet

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”- Robert Swan, Author

Gone are the days when social responsibilities were only attributed to not-for-profit organizations or social activists and environmentalists. It’s now everyone’s business to act responsibly for the sustainability of their own existence and the planet! The liveability of the planet we leave behind for our posterity will hinge on how well nurtured our Nature. And brands have been quick to glean their learnings. Whether it is Adidas in the war against plastic turning their waste into high-performance sportswear, or Apple committed to educating and empowering girls as a Laureate partner in the Malala fund or IKEA using sustainable materials like cotton, wool, and wood and planning to recycle plastic by 2030, all are joining the wave to be that change they want to see in this world.

Sustainability is serious business at CSM Tech

At CSM Tech, we are aligned with the vision of a sustainable world. We have been advocating the use of clean technologies and have successfully deployed solutions that have enabled our clients to prune their emissions. We are committed to bringing about a change in the three pillars of sustainability – economic viability, environmental protection, and social equity.

In sync with the UN Vision and the Indian government’s roadmap for a climate neural landscape, CSM Tech has pledged to contribute to a net-zero world. The United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) secretariat has enrolled CSM Tech as a participant in its Climate Neutral Now initiative.??CSM is also one of the proud signatories of the Climate Pledge by Amazon! CSM have initiated the ground work on Sustainability- roping in a consultant, setting the ball rolling on GHG profiling, articulating a roadmap with staggered timelines for a net-zero.?As opposed to the standpoint of myriad corporates investing on carbon offsetting projects, CSM is committed to reducing the carbon footprint across our business cycles and focuses on decoupling growth from business. “The switch to greener technologies doesn’t mean tempering your business growth. Being sustainable can go hand in hand with being profitable.”, said the CEO, Mr.Nanu Pany.

CSM’s Sustainability platform-SUSTEN is a great enabler for any government to achieve its aspirational goals set in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. CSM’s SDG Monitoring and Dashboard is designed for the Odisha government, helps in mapping and tracking the blocks, districts and national indicators, and objective goals in calibration with the SDG goals.

The race is on to get to net zero by emissions reduction, carbon sequestration and offsetting programs. The transition to net zero is central to investors’ investment decision-making. With sustainability being increasingly valued by investors, customers, and employees alike, building new green businesses could be the key to meeting rising expectations and staying competitive. The addressable market size for green businesses in Asia is expected to reach between $4 trillion and $5 trillion by 2030 ( Pitchbook, McKinsey team analysis). We at CSM Tech have embarked on an ESG exercise so that we can evaluate ourselves and figure out a structured approach to sustainability.

Not just limited to the cause of environment preservation, CSM expands its CSR efforts for the welfare and development of human talent also. In its endeavor to empower aspiring students who struggle economically, CSM thought of giving away scholarships to smoothen their journey to fulfill their dreams. It has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIT Delhi. The agreement is for instituting an annual scholarship worth Rs Two lakh for a meritorious student of IIT Delhi drawn from the economically weaker section (EWS) enrolled in any undergraduate or postgraduate course at the institute. This was planned to run for next 10 years.

A CSR initiative that connected the brand CSM with the aspiring young erudite school community was of an Inter-school Quiz competition called CSM SYNAPSE 1.0 .With an objective to inspire and develop scientific temper in the young minds, CSM Synapse 1.0, the biggest School Quiz in Bhubaneswar, was organized jointly with Quizcraft Global Knowledge Solutions and Business Standard as the Media & Outreach partner conducted by India’s ace quizmaster,?Adityanath Mubayi. The theme of the quiz was aligned to ‘India @75, Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Apart from this many welfare activities are carried out by the Social Stewards club of the company round the year, where employees volunteering extend their help and serve the people in need. Starting from clothes donation in winter to blood donation camps, many such activities are conducted. Recently, in the 25th?Foundation Day, the logo of CSM Foundation, the CSR wing of CSM, was launched by the renowned author, business leader, and Chairperson of Skilled in Odisha, Mr. Subroto Bagchi and IT Secretary of Odisha, Mr. Manoj Mishra. Mr. Bagchi beautifully explained the meaning of the three colours used that represent action – red, sacrifice- yellow and imagination- blue and the hand expresses the love of a mother holding her child. Mr. Mishra added to it and said the hand shaped in an infinite loop indicates endless possibilities.

There should be no end to the good we offer back to society. Conscious of social responsibility, CSM has always been at the forefront to contribute back to making the world a better place for future generations, justifying the quote below!

“How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ― Anne Frank

Author: Tapaswini Swain