BEING A HERO IS ABOUT CARING AND SHARING FOR A CAUSE
HERO
At Hero MotoCorp, they follow a philosophy: A company's performance must be measured by its Triple Bottom Line contribution to building economic, social and environmental capital towards enhancing societal sustainability.
It is reflected in the vision of the company’s
founder Late Dr. Brij
Mohal Lall Munjal, “We must give back to the society from whose
resources we generate wealth.”
The auto major undertakes its Corporate Social
Responsibility
(CSR) activities under ‘We Care’ program which it literally does in all
its CSR activities across the country. The company runs four flagship
programmes under ‘We Care’: Happy Earth, Ride Safe India, Hamari Pari
and Educate to Empower that are aimed at fulfilling the CSR vision to
have a Greener, Safer and Equitable world.
“Over the years, Hero MotoCorp has charted its own special journey as a socially conscious and responsible corporate citizen, one with deep understanding of their obligations towards all stakeholders – essentially the society as a whole,” says Vijay Sethi, Head CSR, Hero MotoCorp. A discussion with employees of Hero MotoCorp about CSR, will reveal their commitment and conviction towards each of the activities they are involved in and the pride they take in doing it. It stems from the company’s belief, that in the strategic context of business, enterprises possess, beyond mere financial resources, the transformational capacity to create game-changing development models by unleashing their power of entrepreneurial vitality, innovation and creativity. Its CSR projects are far more replicable, scalable and sustainable, with a significant multiplier impact on sustainable livelihood creation and working for a cause of humanity.
Introduction of Tablets has improved the attendance in class.The digital education is a boon for these kids
Ek Pahal is an initiative with multiple objectives--to remove gender
inequality, creating economic opportunities for women form
marginalized sections and increase the mobility and confidence of girls
and empower them to be mobile for work and personal requirements.
Hero
MotoCorp Ltd and United Nations Development Programme
have joined hands to increase mobility of young girls in Haryana. In
association with Government of Haryana, a two-wheeler
training program has been initiated for girls studying
in government institutes.
This initiative over the years has increased their mobility resulting in enhancing their employability led to manifold increase in their self-confidence. As part of the program Hero MotoCorp has built training tracks in 11 women it is. The ITI’s at Sirsa, Ambala, Gurgaon, Hisar, Jhajjar, Karnal, Mahendergarh, Narnaul , Rewari, Rohtak and Sonipat have till now trained more than 3000 women to ride a two wheeler. In addition they have benefitted from this programme, in form guidance in securing driving licence, importance of road safety. Many women who participated in Ek Pahal are now working in beauty parlors, administrative jobs in private firms, as ayurvedic doctors and teachers. Some have bought scooters and feel a sense of independence and at the same time have access to safe and easy mode of personal transportation. Women who did not know how to ride a bicycle also learnt two-wheeler riding through this program.
The free eye checks up and cataract operation facility has attracted many to study the success of this model.
The constant moral support provided by the trainers helped the women to believe in themselves and overcome their fears. Across all training centers it was observed that trainees have high regard for the trainers and view them as their role models, said Ajay Chawla, a member of Ek Pahal initiave of Hero MotoCorp.
The initiative along with All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) has helped the elders in the village to get eye (cataract) treatment free of cost. The clinic which is held every Monday has benefitted many senior citizens. According to Aditya of Hero MotoCorp CSR division, the whole region has become cataract free.
The process involves indentifying the elders with cataract, when the number of patients reaches around 10, requiring cataract operation a day is fixed at AIIMS for the operation and a vehicle from Hero MotoCorp ferries them to AIIMS, Delhi. Post operation they are brought back to the villages and after two months post operation tests are conducted at AIIMS, for which the company again provides the bus facility.
The initiative has been a game changer for people in and
around the area. An intervention by ‘We Care’ has ensured
that the school has digital class rooms. It has provided
tablets to children to be prepared digital education which
is implemented by Ramankant Munjal Foundation for the
Saksham program, a pilot project of Haryana government.
Each of the 10
schools has been provided 30 tablets each by
Hero MotoCorp. A science lab and support to make the walls
lively in primary department has attracted more kids to this government schools.
Hero MotoCorp also has introduced
Mobile Science Labs (Lab on Bike) in Schools (6th-10th Class)
to cover 17 schools that they have supported.
A unique feature in this school is the children clean their
desks (provided Hero MotoCorp) each day and maintain it.
Cleanliness of the toilet in the school is managed by a batch of
four student committees of five students, supervising it.
The community women to repair LED bulbs has brought major change in their lives in the village
The village is an example of the correct behavioral change an intervention can bring about. Under the 7W LED bulb projects, which is a campaign for "Energy Conservation and Self Employment", this village became India's First Gram- Panchayat which is fully LED powered with all houses having only LED Lamps.As per the latest statistics, the company has completed similar project in 332 villages of Uttarakhand in the districts of Haridwa r,Dehradun,Uttarakashi,Hanol(Scheduled Tribal area of District Dehradun) and Kedat Ghati Ukhimath Block at Rudraprayag.More than 108308 LED bulbs have not only been distributed but used and it has benefited 25799 families in Uttarakhand.
The company said that, through this project they are saving 3.01 Crore units of electricity each year. These bulbs are repairable and are also contributing in Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan. These bulbs are simple to manufacture and assemble and are made by school/colleges students and prisoners in Haridwar Jail. The highlight is Women SHG groups, belonging to very needy families in the villages, who have also taken up this initiative. Another outcome of this was--the Kedar Ghati, Ukhimath block district Rudraprayag, became the first block in India fully LED powered, with all houses fitted with LED Lamps.
Generations that have lived with energy consuming bulbs are now enjoying the benefits of low power consuming LED bulbs, illuminating their homes
Tapping the most clean and powerful energy source –solar, the company has ensured multiple outcomes in this and many villages. At Dharuhera, the villagers can’t stop applauding the initiative. “The women and elderly can walk on the streets or move from one house to another without fear or paranoia of falling because of the thick darkness, thanks to these solar lamps,” says Sunder Lal a resident of the village. The group has ensured that the maintenance is undertaken by the village panchayat members. The street lights have sensors and light up as the natural light decreases. This has been a boon during period of dark clouds and winters when the sun light disappears fast.In addition under ‘WeCare’ skill development centre (tailoring) has been set up in this village. This has helped many women in this area to learn this skill for generating additional income for the family.
Thanks to the solar LED bulbs, the children can now enjoy their summer vacations and play long through the night, with parents assured of their safety and security.
The project ‘Enable’ helps differently abled. It is an initiative that supports para athletes to create an inclusive and motivating environment for the differently abled. The intervention has helped the participants to bag huge medals at the Rio Paralympic 2016, World Para Athletic Championships London 2017 and the recently concluded Asian Youth Para Games at Dubai. In the financial year 2018-19, the groups facilitated free of cost surgery and prosthetic limbs to more than 2300 poor and disabled individuals.
The intervention to help physically challenged sportsperson has had the desired outcomes with many of the India players bagging medals at major competitions. It is a positive initiative form Hero MotoCorp to promote sports among the physically challenged.
The area was around Tilpath valley was an unutilized piece of land. Locals remember as an area, which was a den for drug peddlers and anti- social elements. After intervention by Hero MotoCorp, the whole area was planted by more than 10000 trees of different species that have high survival capabilities. It has been welcomed by the locals, as they can safely do their morning e xercises both in the morning and evening. The park is managed with gates and security guards.
Vijay Sethi
Head CSR Hero MotoCorp
How do you see CSR activities as a reflection of Hero MotoCorp’s way of giving back to society?
Over the years, Hero MotoCorp has charted its own special journey as a socially conscious and responsible corporate citizen, one with deep understanding of their obligations towards all stakeholders – essentially the society as a whole. The idea of giving back to society has always been embedded in our business strategy, which follows a fundamental guiding principle – we must give back to society from whose resources we generate wealth. This concept has its roots in the conviction of our founding chairman Late Shri Brijmohan Lall Munjal.
Hence, it is not just our CSR activities, but all aspects of our business – sustainable manufacturing facilities and supply chains, responsible partnerships, employee volunteering initiatives, philanthropic engagements of our founders and the board – that are creating real social value at the grassroots and these complement our CSR vision, which is to have a Greener, Safer and Equitable World. As we go forward, in the next 10 years Aster Volunteers will become a major force multiplier for the health volunteerism in India and abroad.
What critical outcomes do you wish to see in the CSR activities that the company has undertaken till now?
As far as outcomes of our CSR projects
are concerned, we are already witnessing
way more in terms of impact than we had
expected. Most of our programmes, which
were begun about three to four years ago,
are entering an expansion and scaling-up
phase and more than numbers, it is the
stories of our direct beneficiaries which
bear testimony to their success.
To really understand the outcomes
of our education-focused interventions,
one only needs to take a walk around
the villages near any of our plants. Most
schools will defy the image of a typical
sarkari school. Truth be told, people are
withdrawing their children from private
schools and admitting them in Herosupported
schools.
Most of our beneficiary schools have
witnessed higher enrolments year-onyear,
especially of girls, and dropouts are
negligible. Academic results too have seen
major improvements.
Communities across villages near
our plants avail of our medical facilities,
potable water, better roads and more such
interventions that are bringing prosperity
in their lives. Talking of environmentfocused
initiatives, while we achieved a
record increase in green cover through
mass planting, we also managed to
give India its first fully LED-lit village (Misraspatti village in Vikasnagar
Tehsil,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand). The LED project
has been expanded to more village clusters
and today it collectively saves over 30
million units of electricity per year.
Another noteworthy outcome has been
the highest-ever medal tally in Paralympics
and World Para Games after we supported
Indian Olympic Association under our
Project Khelo. As part of the project, we
have also developed sporting facilities in
schools, starting from constructing courts
for basketball, volleyball and badminton
as well as football fields, to providing
necessary sporting equipment. As a result,
thousands of children who had hardly
engaged in sports are playing every day
– the best-ever outcome we could have
expected.
Please elaborate, how the company's CSR work has improved the lives of women, where interventions have been done?
Let’s start with an example. If you go to some star-rated hotels in areas around the international airport in Delhi – including Lemon Tree, IBIS and Pullman around Aerocity – you will find that some recent employees in housekeeping, desk jobs and kitchen jobs are girls who have graduated from one of our skills centres. Several girls from similar centres supported by us are also gainfully employed at twowheelers dealerships of our competing brands. Many girls who have passed out in the last few batches are physically challenged yet specially-abled. Today these girls are not just financially independent and way more confident about building a positive future for themselves, they have also become ambassadors of change at the grassroots as they motivate and encourage more girls to go out, work and become independent. Ek Pahal, the first-ever two-wheeler riding training programme of this scale and focused only at woman, has broken several stereotypical social barriers. The ability to ride a scooter or a motorcycle has given wings to over 3,000 girls in the heartland of Haryana. No longer do they have to depend on the men in the family to give them a ride to the next village or town. Go to Halol, a small cluster of villages in Panchmahal district (declared one of the backward districts by the government) in Gujarat, and you will see that women who once did not leave their houses and were mostly under a veil have become inspiring entrepreneurs – engaging in making and selling local snacks and pickles, trading in saris, or running their own grocery stores. The self-help groups that were created in the villages a couple of years ago have not only made women financially independent, but have also brought about a social transformation in the whole cluster. Women are treated as equals, participate not only in school management committees (SMC) but also in panchayat meetings.
Deshraj Sharma principal Government sr. secondary school kapriwas Haryana: The Hero MotoCorp has provided the basic infrastructure for students to get the right environment for studying. We have motivated student to take care of the facilities provided by Hero MotoCorp. Each student contribute Rupee one per month to take care of the toilet's infrastructure. A committe of students also monitors it daily.
Nikita: I am fortunate to get trianed in two wheeler driving. It has given me mobility and confidence. I can now accept employment in far off place. My parents were a bit reluctant in the begining about my driving classes. But now they support it.
