Over the last two years, the Indian business landscape has seen a prominent shift towards becoming more responsible, with CSR becoming a leading indicator and an integral strategic priority for businesses. Today, corporates have realized that a business cannot succeed in isolation and that direct engagement in social development and social progress is necessary for sustainable growth, employee retention, and shareholder satisfaction. There is an urgent need to look beyond our silos to make a positive social impact through collective action.
Driven by this concept, the Embassy Group Community Outreach team has established a number of practises that are setting standards for the industry and changing the game for society.
1) Embassy Group’s Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – Embassy Group contributes to 9 out of 17 SDGs through its three pillars of Education, Sustainable Infrastructure & Community Engagement, under the overall approach of Corporate Connect.
Underpinned by the philosophy “together we can do more,” the Corporate Connect Program aims to bring together the 200+ corporate occupiers of our business parks with a shared vision for our communities. A strong, aligned focus on partnering together, identifying innovative solutions, executing projects, and bringing in the involvement of stakeholders is the path we see towards sustainable impact. Till date, we have partnered with 34 Corporates for 63 projects in the areas of educational infrastructure, public infrastructure, health, and Covid-19 relief.
2) Sustainable Infrastructure Impact – With a focus on developing structures and systems, Embassy Group promotes grassroot solutions to complementing global problems of Environment Sustainability and Community Healthcare, thus addressing two different targets defined under the Global Goals.
– The Anonymous India Charitable Trust (TAICT) – Embassy has partnered with TAICT to create a unique model for waste management called EcoGram. The TAICT project demonstrates how a Panchayat (basic unit of administration) in peri-urban areas adjacent to a metropolis like Bengaluru can propagate sustainable waste, water and soil management. Till date, TAICT has managed over 1573 metric tons of wet and dry waste, having segregated over 596 metric tons in 2022 alone. The initiative is also bolstered by the “Ecogram Shakti Program,” which empowers over 50 women from these villages to drive environmental sustainability in their communities.
– Under the EcoGram program, Embassy provided a brand new Integrated Waste Management Centre for the Bettahalasuru Panchayat. Built with an investment of ₹1.74 crores from Embassy and a contribution of ₹10 lakh from the Bettahalasuru Panchayat, the project will benefit around 4000 households across 10 villages and will be instrumental in providing decentralised, sustainable solid waste management services to the Bettahalasuru Panchayat as well as large commercial establishments in North Bangalore. It has also created employment and livelihood opportunities through waste stream management.
– Continuing to support community health, Embassy Group supports the running of the dialysis centre and administrative costs for the clinic at Sarvagna Healthcare Institute. Over 3838 patients received free and subsidised consultations, as well as free and subsidised dialyses, in 2022.
3) Education & Healthcare Intervention – Embassy Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Education, Government of Karnataka, in 2022 to create model schools for the all-inclusive development of government schools in Bangalore. The scope of the MoU is to provide educational resources, infrastructural support, and holistic health program for 22 government schools.
– Over 42,000 students from 43 Government Schools benefited from our health & hygiene program over the last two years.
– Over 18,764 students from 158 Government and Tribal Schools have benefited from our educational support over the last two years.
– 103 individuals benefit from Skill Development programs
Forward-looking outlook – As responsible business leaders, our endeavour should be to collaborate with other corporates and the government to utilise our expertise to actively contribute to the social, economic, and environmental development of the communities in which we operate. The idea is to pioneer a collective CSR approach by undertaking projects in collaboration with the government as well as other industry leaders and making the better world for everyone. We will also see the rise of an important trend: an emphasis on measuring impact related to a company’s CSR initiatives. More developers will report on energy and emissions, participate in ESG benchmarking, and commit to global targets. With India critical to the success of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, greater investments in sustainable infrastructure, biodiversity, and diversity & inclusion will meet the evolving needs of investors, tenants, and other stakeholders.
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