Trust but Verify
Social welfare is an ethical responsibility in which activities or campaigns are developed and launched to benefit society and the environment. It refers to maximizing public welfare rather than profit. In a business, a company’s approach to designing and advertising a product changes with time as the user’s preferences, choices, and behavior evolves with time. Nowadays, in India, people are more cautious about what they are buying. Now, buying is the new investment. People want to see the worth and the effect a product leaves in its afterlife on the environment. For decades humans have produced a ton of waste that is almost not plausible to recycle so, be cautious rather than regretful.
A True Initiative
Numerous business organizations see social welfare as a mere act of charity and do not consider it seriously. They believe social welfare equals loss of revenue generation. For them, this ethic is only a documented policy known as “Corporate Social Responsibility” imposed on all the organizations by the government. Business organizations think only about business expansion and revenue generation thus, they have no relation with the welfare of society or the environment. How unfair does it sound? Resulting in the negligence of fair wages to workers and employees, child labor, overtime and exploitation, reckless usage of natural resources, and no control over greenhouse gas emissions, etc. This kind of ignorance leads to poverty, malnourishment, climate change, global warming, health issues, and diseases, etc. in the long term.
Some other organizations are very well aligned with the concept of social welfare responsibilities in that they take life-changing initiatives to help people in need and the environment. This approach helps them to earn name, goodwill, the loyalty of consumers, reliability of workers and employees, societal and political support, also increase in sales and revenue, etc. The goodwill earned by the company will have an infinite life that helps it to grow constantly in progressive years. One such example is the “Dholakia Foundation” owned by Mr. Savji Dholakia, the founder of India’s renowned diamond export company named Hari Krishna Exports Private Limited in Surat, Gujarat. Mr. Dholakia trusts that living in rhythm with our external factors is crucial for a sustainable future. Thus, the foundation decided and took the initiative to conserve water in the region facing numerous challenges due to water scarcity. The local farmers were only dependent on the open wells for irrigation. This resulted in low agricultural income and a requirement for more employment opportunities especially in the month of summer. The campaign “Mission 100 Sarovar” was launched – a project to plant 2.5 million trees and to develop 111 lakes in Gujarat and India. This initiative was the ultimate evidence of their resolution towards social and environmental welfare. The results of this mission were astonishing as the green cover extended over 18 kilometers. The water table level has risen from 500 feet to a mere 20-30 feet in monsoon. Water quality has vastly improved from Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) levels 1500 to 450-500 and is still improving. Overall 2 lakh farmers were impacted and a five-fold increase in farming output was observed. For their unparalleled contribution, the foundation was honored as the Water Conservation Organization in India in 2023 at the UN Water Conference.
For the Sake of it?
Other companies who follow CSR policy for the sake of it are the real culprits for the pitiful condition of Mother Earth. Coca-Cola is one good example of bad will. Two new products were launched under the campaign “Kuposhan – Mukt Bharat” by Coca-Cola where one drink was a fortified iron and micronutrient supplement mix while another was an instant energy drink with lemon and glucose. This is their understanding of malnourishment. This campaign indicated that the company refuses to address the root cause of the problem i.e. increases in prices of food and daily necessities, much of which Coca-Cola is responsible for itself, establishing a monopoly over many farm produce or destroying land resources.
A recent audit by Break Free from Plastic across 51 countries found that Coca-Cola is the largest pollutant in the world. A large part of it is the plastic bottles and the labels on them, however, there is no innovation in the product’s material. The company believes that the lightweight design attracts consumers. Additionally, with evolving India they have started manufacturing small-sized bottles that are just an add-on in the waste generation for the planet and an increase in sales for them. To challenge the audit report Coca-Cola has initiated a CSR campaign to recycle used bottles which is again a useless thought as reusing the plastic bottles secretes a fatal chemical polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to seep into the liquid leading to various life-threatening diseases.
Organizations should understand that money generation does not mean playing with their consumer’s life or the planet’s balance. They should see social welfare as an opportunity to give back to nature to show their gratitude. They should never advertise greenwashed products in the name of eco-friendly products. If they do so, they can be penalized by the government or be sued by the user for hiding the right information only to increase sales. The idiom- “Like an elephant’s teeth, some are for show and some for eating” concludes it all. Be true to your intentions, all other things will automatically fall in place.
Online sources:
Citations for websites:
Akhilesh Ganti (2024). Social responsibility. [online]. (Last updated 12 June 2024). Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socialresponsibility.asp [Accessed 01 Sep 2024].
Dholakia Foundation (2023). Dholakia Foundation water conservation organization driving sustainable change. [online]. (Last updated 3 June 2023). Available at: https://www.dholakia.foundation/blog/dholakia-foundation-water-conservation-organisation-driving-sustainable-change [Accessed 01 Sep 2024].
Shrishti and Tavleen Singh (2020). Why this not CSR a study of 5 major corporates. [online]. (Last updated 10 Dec 2023). Available at: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/governance/why-this-is-not-csr-a-study-of-5-major-corporates-74587 [Accessed 01 Sep 2024].
