“BPCL’s CSR mission is to kindle the spirit of selfless service and spread the energy all around.”

Bharat Petroleum recently announced the Energising Bharat Awards, a unique crowdsourced exercise to identify and acknowledge unsung heroes in different social sectors. Open Avenues caught up with S. Varadarajan, Chairman & Managing Director, to get his perspective on BPCL’s work in Corporate Social Responsibility and the Awards in particular…

Bharat Petroleum’s focus on Corporate Social Responsibility has been increasing in recent years, especially after you took over as the Chairman and Managing Director. What has led to this change in emphasis and by how much has the CSR budget gone up in recent times?

Actually, Bharat Petroleum has been actively involved in CSR right from its inception. However, the nature and approach of CSR activities has been continuously evolving over the years. We have consciously leveraged our diverse experiences from all the projects completed and have charted a robust system for learning and implementing innovative practices in our CSR interventions. As a result, BPCL has been able to adopt a comprehensive and well laid down CSR policy well before the revised guidelines on CSR in the Companies Act 2013 became mandatory.

As per BPCL policy, our Management has identified five thrust areas: Quality Education, Water Conservation, Skill Development, Health & Hygiene and Community Development for better focus and sustainable quality differentiation in our CSR projects. With the implementation of the minimum 2% of Profits outlay mandated by the Companies Act 2013, our CSR budget has increased substantially in the last three years and has been steadily growing from Rs. 34.38 crore in FY 2013 -14 to Rs. 76 crore in FY 2014-15 to Rs. 112 crore in the current FY 2015-16.

I must add that our commitment to giving back to society should not be viewed only by the lens of budgets but also the depth and spread of activities and increasing involvement of the entire BPCL family.

What is BPCL’s approach to CSR? Which are the areas that BPCL Concentrates on in CSR and why?

As already stated, our CSR policy has identified five thrust areas:

· Education
· Water Conservation
· Skill Development
· Health & Hygiene and
· Community Development (Rural Development, contribution to corpus/relief fund and seven other scheduled activities)

Further we adopt a three-tier system for executing CSR projects:

– CSR projects are undertaken for stakeholders in the value chain of our business: This addresses the underprivileged and the needy community in, or around, the BPCL value chain.

– CSR projects are largely executed in, and around, our business units mainly in the thrust areas: BPCL has four refineries, 50 LPG plants, 127 depots/dispatch units/installations and 36 aviation stations across India. We try to design the projects for the marginalised community around these facilities of BPCL.

– Furthermore, certain initiatives are carried out in rural or tribal areas for backward, underprivileged, SC /ST/ OBC population as well. These are with the sole intention of nation building.

These thrust areas were identified based on our interaction with various stakeholders like implementing partners, communities, beneficiaries, management and employees of company. Additionally we also had brainstorming sessions with stalwarts in the social sector through various platforms to decide on our CSR strategy. Going forward, BPCL shall revisit the thrust areas and explore the possibility of revising these should the social scenario so warrant.

What are your main considerations when it comes to funding social projects? How do you ensure that the funding translates into real change on the ground? Who monitors this since your activities are spread across the country?

There are 2 important considerations for selection of social projects:

– Whether the project is in line with BPCL’s strategic focus
– Credentials and capability of implementing partner

Our policy has provided for appropriate CSR committees that decide on selection and approval of the projects based on the financial outflow. We have also put in place well defined processes for submission of proposals, vetting of proposals and approvals thereof.

BPCL does not see itself as merely a funding partner but more as a collaborative and active partner in every project that we take up. We continuously monitor the project at the field level through our Corporate CSR officers with the support of our Regional CSR nominees and respective location business officers. Periodic visits are made to project sites for interacting with various stakeholders and review meetings are held to address any gaps in the project deliverables as also to decide on strategies to derive intended social impacts. The fund disbursement is also linked to the deliverables of the project so as to ensure better control over envisaged results.

Another area in which we also facilitate our partners is on the capacity building aspect that is the key element for ensuring continued success and sustainability of our projects. We share best practices which we come across through our interactions across India; working with different partners. Every year, we arrange formal workshop at S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai, in which renowned faculties train representatives from partnering organisations. The content of the workshop is designed as per the feedback and requirement of our partners.

BPCL has been actively involved in the Swachh Bharat Mission: what is the scale and substance of BPCL’s participation and your strategy to ensure sustainability in it?

Responding to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s clarion call for creating awareness through the Swachh Bharat Mission initiatives, BPCL employees across the country took the Swachhata Oath on 2nd October, 2014. Since then, till date, BPCL has conducted 5429 cleanliness promotional campaigns including cleanliness talks, mechanic engagement/ training programs and plays, 136 competitions including painting, slogan writing, essay writing and debates to spread awareness on cleanliness and hygiene. Further, about 466 cleanliness drives involving 5860 participants and 112 walkathons have been organised by BPCL across the country close to our offices and housing colonies to spread the message of cleanliness/health and hygiene. As a part of this initiative, we have also undertaken regular inspection visits to check and assure cleanliness of toilets for use of our customers and public at our retail outlets. These programs were organised across our locations pan India and involved not only our employees but also the general public and school children.

Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – Swachh Vidyalaya Mission, BPCL has undertaken the construction of 1910 toilet blocks (920 for girls and 990 for boys) in government schools in 26 districts spread across seven states. To ensure sustainability of these toilet blocks, BPCL has also committed to fund the maintenance of these toilets for a period of three years in collaboration with the concerned state authorities.

To spread awareness on clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, we have prepared short films/presentations and showcased them to about 1 lakh students. Audio- video CDs emphasising individual and household cleanliness were also prepared and shared with village communities and at LPG Safety Clinics. Leveraging our CSR network partners (five NGOs) we have undertaken cleanliness awareness activities in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Maharashtra.

Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan beautification and adoption of water bodies’ initiative, BPCL has committed to take up the desilting and maintenance of Chitrapuzha River, in Kochi, Kerala.

Going forward, under ‘Suchitwa Mission’ BPCL (Kochi Refinery) has embarked on a ‘Waste to Fuel Project’ in collaboration with the municipality to treat and dispose 1,50,000 MT of waste accumulated at Brahmapuram, Kochi in the first phase. Subsequently, it is planned to create a permanent solution to treat waste through gasification route in the second phase. This project is under finalisation stage under the aegis of the local self- government bodies in Kerala.

To sum up, BPCL has fully embraced the objectives of the Swachh Bharat Mission and is confident to meet the sustainability vision of the program through the combined zeal and commitment of our partnering stakeholders.

Going ahead, how does BPCL plan to scale up its social activities? What is the kind of change helmed by BPCL that you would like to envision by the time the 50th anniversary comes?

We will continue to draw inspiration from our experiences of all our projects and replicate the successful projects across India. The success of the technological initiatives across our business processes will enable us to work towards strengthening the processes and systems of our implementing partners so as to optimise their operational efficiencies. It would be our fervent endeavour to ensure that each rupee spent by BPCL under CSR creates tangible value for beneficiaries and stakeholders. We will continue to strive towards enabling and empowering our neighbourhood to chase and cherish dreams of an exemplary society. Our reward would be in the realisation of every Indian’s dreams of an inclusive and equitable nation.

By our 50th anniversary we visualise ourselves as being one amongst the crowning pearls of the nation’s corporate citizens, energising our thoughts and actions while always striving to epitomise an integrated socially conscious business entity, viz. to be seen and recognised as a ‘Model Corporate Entity with Social Responsibility’.

What is the thought process behind instituting the Energising Bharat Awards? How does it synergise with BPCL’s brand?

As Bharat Petroleum steps into its 40th Foundation Year on January 24, 2016, it has embarked on a unique exercise to identify and award Indians who are spending their lives to improve the quality of life of others around them.

This is being done through the ‘Energising Bharat Awards’ whose objective is to find and felicitate individuals, or groups of individuals, who have made significant, but yet unrecognised, contributions to society in Primary Education, Skill Development, Water Conservation, Rural Health, Women’s Empowerment , Renewable Energy.

These are areas that BPCL is actively engaged in through its ongoing corporate social responsibility work, and are in synergy with its corporate vision and philosophy. While we strive to make the company a ‘Great Place to Work’, we are equally committed to energising its surrounding communities through various initiatives. Nominations are being invited from Indian citizens to shortlist deserving candidates in these categories.

What is the nominations process for the awards? What kind of change-makers are you looking for?

We are looking for stories of inspiration, commitment, achievement, impact and social change. Instances of selfless individuals who have not necessarily been featured in national media, but their efforts are known, acknowledged and appreciated by the community where they work. At BPCL, we strongly believe that individuals are the real source of inspiration. The Energising Bharat Awards recognises these sources of inspiration, who we think are instrumental in energising everyone around them.

The awards process kicked off on December 24, 2015, with the call for nominations being announced online through a website – www.bpcleba.com – and social media, supplemented with TV commercials on satellite TV and on-ground activation through our own network of fuel stations, distributors, partners and offices as well as Zila Parishads and District Magistrates across India. Nominations ended at midnight on January 6, 2016, after which shortlisted entries are being validated and presented before an eminent jury who will select the final six Energised Indians.

The entire process is being independently audited by KPMG in India while the digital and creative partner is Mirum, a member of the WPP Group. Open Media Network, which publishes Open Magazine, is the knowledge and management partner of the awards.

The awards ceremony will be held in Mumbai on Sunday, January 24, 2016, and comprise of a citation along with a cheque worth Rs 2.5 lakh in each category so that the awardees are funded for further work in their individual spheres. Our intention, as always, is to kindle the spirit of selfless service and spread the energy all around.

Bharat Petroleumcorporate social responsibilityEnergising Bharat AwardsS. Varadarajan