“We follow the business philosophy of ‘Clean & Green is Profitable and Sustainable’ and endeavour to create positive environmental and social impacts.”

Dalmia Bharat Foundation, popularly known as DBF, is a registered not-for-profit organisation set up under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Foundation started its journey in the year 2009, as the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the group companies, along the lines with UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is committed to carry forward the eight-decade long legacy of Dalmia Bharat Group through conscientious corporate citizenship. The foundation operates in 18 districts across 12 states and covering vast regions in the South, North, East, North-east and some areas in the West as well.

Vishal Bhardwaj is a Deputy Executive Director and Group Head, CSR, at Dalmia Bharat Group. He has been in the Social Development and CSR circuit for the last 20 years and during this period, he has worked with the Government of India, a leading NGO, and 2 leading Cement companies before joining the Dalmia Bharat Group. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work and a Diploma in CSR from the Swedish Institute of Management, Stockholm.

Vishal has also undergone a Management Development Program at the prestigious SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. He is a Certified Sustainability Assessor of the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development. He has been awarded the Responsible Business Leader Award at the Responsible Business Summit and has also been amongst the 100 most impactful CSR leaders (Global Listing) listed by World CSR Day and World Sustainability.

In an exclusive interview with Marie Banu, Vishal Bhardwaj tells about Dalmia Bharat Group’s CSR programmes.

What was the philosophy and vision of Dalmia Group setting up a separate foundation for its CSR initiatives?

The Dalmia Bharat foundation as a separate entity was set up in 2009. Prior to that, the CSR projects were implemented by collaborating with NGO partners. However, with expansion in programs, expansion in geographical areas and coverage of projects, the company felt the need of setting up an institution which could take care of their work in a large scale in the future.

It also gave the opportunity to directly connect with community. Also, it increased the opportunity in networking, partnering more conveniently with government, NGO’s and community based organizations. These were some of the advantages of setting up a separate entity.

How has the CSR & sustainability program evolved at your company?

CSR and sustainability have evolved historically in our group companies and we have had the privilege to experience various phases of CSR evolution in India. We have had the honour to rise to Mahatma Gandhi’s call for Trusteeship and serving the community through various philanthropic projects. Transitioning through various phases, presently, our CSR is more aligned to the principle of ‘Shared-value’.

In what ways does Dalmia Bharat Group contribute towards global sustainability efforts?

Dalmia Bharat Group is committed to the environment and consistently focuses on sustainable practices. The group’s cement business is globally ranked No. 1 by CDP in 2018 on business readiness for a low carbon transition and has achieved the lowest carbon footprint in the cement sector globally. We follow the business philosophy of ‘Clean & Green is Profitable and Sustainable’ and endeavour to create positive environmental and social impacts. We are replacing conventional fuels and raw materials with alternative solutions to expand our overall renewable energy portfolio. Our blended cement portfolio and continued investment in technology reduces any adverse impact on the planet.

With a clear thrust on improving efficiency in all practices and technological innovations, we are dedicated to operate our facilities with the utmost respect for the communities and environment it exists in.

Can you tell us about your key CSR programmes? 

CSR to our Group  means “Giving Back to the Society” so when we were strategizing on the focus areas, we analysed how the ecosystem is  getting impacted due to our businesses. We realised that the issues of water, energy and livelihood are both material to the sustainability of the community as well as for the company. Therefore, we chose to focus on three major areas of concern for our CSR programme  – Livelihood where we could  skill the people on farm and non-farm sectors and develop human capital of the community to improve their livelihoods and income.

Our second focus area is Climate Change where we focus on harvesting and conserving water for productive use and also ensure access of clean cooking and solar lighting solutions to the communities.

The third focus area is Social Infrastructure in which we focus on addressing basic health, sanitation and infrastructure needs of these communities.

About the programmes coordinated in partnership with government?

All our programmes are designed and driven in partnership with our stakeholders, especially the government. We partner with local government bodies like District Collectorate, BDO, Health department, Agriculture department, etc and National level government bodies like National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC), National Backward Classes Finance & Development Corporation (NBCFDC), etc.

We collaborate and work in convergence with government schemes and ensure last mile delivery of these schemes. Our programmes have contributed to many government schemes like National Skill Development Mission, More Crop per Drop program, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan among many others.

What is the level of employee engagement in your CSR activities?

Right from our promoters, top management to all the functions and departments across all plants, our employees pitch in for CSR activities. Management at plants are very proactive towards CSR projects of their areas and guide the team in the execution too. The accounts, civil, commercial department personnel help in the design and implementation of these projects.

We also have an Employee Volunteering programme, ROSHNI, under which employees volunteer with Dalmia Bharat Foundation’s community initiatives and also with other Civil Society Organizations. Recently our employees volunteered in Covid-19 awareness and relief campaigns during the pandemic and Jal Shakti Abhiyaan.