Project Sukanya -story of a Kolkata-based enterprising woman

 SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Ms.Aparna Banerjee. An alumnus of the prestigious Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) in Jamshedpur, Bihar, Banerjee, retails her goods under the name of Project Sukanya.She is giving big retail chains a huge competition.The Project Sukanya retail chain is also patented.


The goods are not sold from huge showrooms, but from 54 roadside mobile kiosks, manned by 141 women who work in shifts. Another 3,500 women directly benefit from this project by making products such as handicraft items, edibles like 'papad' (wafer thin potato/rice paste snacks), pickles and jams.
Packaged spices and ready-to-eat lunches are also sold. And in the coming six months another 500 'bou carts' (women carts) would be deployed across 18 districts, again manned by women.


It was the realization that women need financial independence to get freedom from restrictions, abuse and social taboos,that spurred on this lady to come up with this project.

"I found that retail was the only option. But setting up huge retail space was beyond my capabilities. I hit upon the mobile kiosk idea and worked on it for two years, getting all required permissions and licenses to place them on the roads. No loophole was left open. The carts are manufactured at our own unit," said Banerjee in an interview.


The attractively designed sleek kiosks, which are placed at most major crossings in the city, easily catch the eye. The apron-clad women manning them are polite and knowledgeable about the products.

The turnover for the Project, which started rolling in early 2007, had already reached Rs 10.5 million by mid-2008."The organised sector never bothered to tap the potential of the cottage industry, but we are giving a brand identity to these products," says Sudakshina Sen, 43, Chief Coordinator, Project Sukanya.

Project Sukanya has a 20,000 sq. ft. common facility centre at Topsia. The rural, women who supply the products, come here with their samples. The products are graded into three categories. Under A category, the product is immediately bought with a 10 per cent advance. For the B category products, Sukanya gives support for better packaging and then it is bought. Falling under the C category are products that have market saturation.

The success of the venture is obvious from the fact that several big retail chains made offers to buy out Project Sukanya as well as the patent for the mobile kiosks.

All women associated with the project are happy. Jayanti Chatterjee, 49, who is in charge of the Sukanya Tollygunge kiosk, earns about Rs 3,000 a month.Swapna Dutta, 50, an urban poor, was dumped by her husband during the initial years of their marriage. The Sukanya project came to her rescue and she now earns Rs 2,800 a month.

source:WFS,2008

CSR- Introduction

Hi & Welcome to my CSR blog.

Apart from initiating yo0u the basic concepts and prevailing ideas related to CSR, I will also be sharing news /articles/videos on CSR as is practiced by the corporates.Much of the data is already available on the net.I will only try to collate the materials of interest to spark off the discussions.

CSR (lesson 1)

The growing role of CSR in day-to-day business operations has led to an increased need to re-understand the role, implications as well as application of CSR to a wide array of business practices.

Simply put: CSR is the concern for the social impact of the company’s operations,

a) Deliberately focusing the business activities to create value in three aspects - people, profit, and planet - and therefore also contributing to longer-term prosperity and welfare in society;

b)Maintaining relations with the various stakeholders on the basis of transparency and dialogue, answering justified questions that are raised in society.

CSR exists in three dimensions:                 

It concerns the balance between social (People), ecological (Planet) and economic (Profit) aspects.

Everywhere in the world, CSR should be enforced wherever the activity is taking place and at every stage of the product life cycle,extending across multiple generations (the dimension of time). CSR is a long process of implementation; however, it will eventually provide the organization great reward (for example the use of halogen lamps or solar panels will reduce companies’ costs in the long run).

There is a growing awareness that corporate social responsibility pays, that it benefits businesses, people, animals, society and the environment. Integrating CSR into business processes and product development ensures better loyalty in customers, investors and employees, and contributes to both the reputation and the competitive edge of the business community. This carries CSR beyond just meeting the existing national and international regulations, which by definition means that CSR assumes voluntary participation and goes beyond the law.

The government formulates specific policy in response to many concerns in society. For example, there is environmental policy, policy to protect social society, policy to promote the integrity of and respect for human rights and basic human liberties, and policy for development cooperation. Companies are often affected by the measures taken in these fields of policy. Thus these policies do not only clarify the legal position, but also support the incorporation of CSR.

So how does CSR work? 

At every step, the enterprise needs to ask itself how that step will influence the surroundings and then take that influence into account in its actions.

Over the years, this consideration framework has been summarized in a number of (international) points of reference or standards, such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Global Compact and the ILO Tripartite Declaration on Multinational Enterprises, in order to see organizational behavior in perspective. It is essential to realize that the consideration framework is constantly subject to new developments and ideas, not least because national and international regulations are also in constant flux. The national and international points of reference are also continuously under discussion.

In addition, these discussions are often defined by regional and cultural factors. Western ideas of CSR may not always be automatically applicable in the East, and vice versa. Moreover, every sector faces different social challenges. Major corporations face different challenges than small and medium-sized enterprises. CSR in the blue-jeans industry works differently than in the tropical hardwood sector. The business-to-business segment is different from the business-to-consumer segment. Hence, CSR means customization.

Finally, CSR is all about the core activities of the enterprise and how value is added to its products or services. This could concern a company’s choice for a supplier that has a social plan for its employees, or a company’s choice to (re)locate its activities to a site where the operations will cause less or no damage to the environment.

Satisfied employees, customers, suppliers, local communities, shareholders, government authorities, trade unions, banks, accountants and NGOs are all vitally important to every company. A healthy company knows its stakeholders, is aware of their wishes and demands and is transparent in its communication and cooperation with respect to its core activities. The importance a company puts on its shareholders, stakeholders and the society will influence its long-term success. CSR has become a means for companies to protect and create value; for investors to encourage business to do well while doing good; for governments to share the burden of producing public goods and achieving greater corporate accountability; and for civil society to shift the balance between market and authority.