Of 500 companies graded for their performance for Corporate Social Responsibility, only 12 companies emerge as substantial contributors
Yogesh Sadhwani
Only 12 of the top 500 companies in the country have come out with flying colours in the Karmayog Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Ratings.
The Mumbai-based resource non-profit agency that co-ordinates with NGOs, citizens and government agencies across the country, has been grading the top 500 corporate houses for the past four years on the basis of their performance in the CSR sector.
This year the overall performance of the corporates has improved with only 113 companies securing 0 in the study. Neither of the houses reached level 5, while 12 were at level 4.
The CSR study rates the corporate houses between 0 and 5, 0 being for the companies that do nothing at all, or deal in products that harm the human race. In the past four years, starting from 2007, none of the houses have been able to reach level five.
“We don’t grade the corporate houses simply by the amount of money they spend every year on CSR but several other parameters. To begin with, we look at their businesses which bring in revenues.
So if the business pollutes the environment or harms the human race, the corporate house gets negative grades,” explained Vinay Somani of Karmayog. His colleague Tanya Mahajan added that if the corporate takes special efforts to mitigate the harm caused by actions of the company, their products, etc, it automatically gets brownie points for it.
The next parameter is the corporate house’s contribution to the community at large. “We give points to corporates whose CSR activity is helpful to governments, NGOs, or others in tackling issues of the society,” said Somani.
Corporate houses that have CSR activities that form a part of the daily business score the highest. “For example, one of the companies that is in level 4 is in the business of making paper. Instead of cutting down forests, this manufacturer has joined hands with farmers who have barren lands and grows trees there.
After five years the trees are cut for paper. Over the span of five years, the company works closely with the farmers and helps them lead a better life. Essentially they are not just helping the community, but also the manner in which business is done is with the intent of minimalising the harm to the environment. Most importantly, they are extremely committed to their CSR activities,” said Mahajan.