CRY Convenes Summit to Highlight Corporate Responsibility

Mumbai: With an aim to define more clearly a strategy for corporate social responsibility, NGO CRY - Child, Rights and You - organised here a day-long summit which saw participation from various business houses. The summit, through plenary sessions and discussions, highlighted the need to bring a uniform understanding about corporate responsibility in India and ensuring active participation of corporates in creating a more sustainable future for children. John Elkington, a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development opened the plenary session with a discussion on the criticality of corporate responsibility in the context of India's socio-economic situation. He said most of the CEOs are aware of the CSR agenda but what they are doing is only philanthropy. "It is time to look at that kind of sustainability which is not just corporate responsibility, but where business is at the forefront of change." Emphasising the need for involving youth in businesses, Elkington said: "Children and young people are the future. Business has a key role in creating shared values, encourage young people to be entrepreneurs and celebrate their successes and failures." The summit was attended by some of India's most experienced corporate responsibility players, who shared their views, ideas and experiences. Among these were Chairman of Tata Council for Community Initiatives Kishor Chaukhar, MD and CEO of Hindustan Unilever Nitin Paranjpe, Founder of Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN) B.S. Nagesh and Chief Operating Officer of the jewellery division of Titan Industries, C.K. Venkataraman. "Corporate Social Responsibility expenditure is not a cost, it is an investment. Community is just not one more stakeholder. It is the purpose of doing business." Chaukhar said during a session. Through this summit, CRY underlined the criticality of child rights in this context, as children are one the most vulnerable stakeholders when it comes to bearing the impact of factors like environmental pollution, reduced capacity of families to earn or displacement of communities. "When there are sections of society left out of growth and displaced, people who suffer the most are children. If we don't come together or take action in different ways, the situation will get worse," said Chief Executive Officer of CRY Puja Marwaha while addressing another session.