January 20, 2005
Among the Asian countries, community development program is one of the greatest concerns in corporate social responsibility. This article introduces a prominent community support program conducted by Tata motors, the largest automobile company in India.
Tata group including Tata motors is one of the largest industrial groups in India, holding tens of large companies such as automobile, steel, chemical, engineering and Information system companies. Along with the founder's mission, the group is well-known as active social and community supports programs. In addition, Tata steel, the group company, releases good CSR report last year and is a single Indian company ranked among top 100 companies of CSR reporting by SustainAbility.
Tata motors conducts social and community support program to make their "Responsible Profit" and appreciate it their "cost" instead of a part of profits distributed to the society. Among numbers of community support program, one of their well-known programs is "Mobile Medical Unit," a Health and Sanitation program. The medical team regularly visits villages with the Mobile dispensary and provides curative and preventive services with the treatment of illness, introduction of immunization program, and waster purifications. Starting from 1977, the project covers 63 settlements at the present. Because the number of conjunctivitis and communicable diseases has considerably reduced, the program which was used to focus on curative and preventive services now gradually has shifted to its focus on health education program.
Especially, for the areas where medical doctors were not available, they train "Village Health Workers" as first aid treatment providers. The company provides special training programs to the Village Health Workers and conduct regular health surveys for village residents in order to effectively arrange medical and education programs when the medical team visits. In addition, diseases and health education program is implemented to support local people to understand symptoms of diseases in general.
Presently, some of the programs such as immunization program is handed over to the government organization. The company called these health activities "joint efforts of the villagers and the Company" rather than the Company's one-way support to the communities.
In contract with individual donation or volunteer activities, corporate social and community support programs aim to cultivate long-term relationship with communities and so the society, along with answering their needs. However, it is not easy to understand community needs precisely.
Ideally, like the community support programs introduced above, with well-shared knowledge on local customs and their needs, long-term flexible activities reflecting to the local situation, the company would be able to increase their trustworthy relationship among their stakeholders.
Mizuho Information & Research Institute, Inc.
Business Innovation Center
Miki Mitsunari
