Being good corporate citizen, companies can gain competitiveness: Ashwin Shroff

Excel Group of Industries is known for not just being the leading chemical manufacturer in India, but also for its long history of involvement in philanthropic activities. At the helm of the company is Ashwin Shroff, CMD, Excel Industries, who believes that the corporates have the moral obligation to serve the community. In this interaction with Rakesh Rao, Shroff sheds light on advantage of being responsible corporate citizen and community welfare activities undertaken by the Excel Industries.
 
Why is it important for chemical companies to become a responsible corporate citizen?
Corporates should be accountable not just to the shareholders, employees & customers, but also to the society within which they operate. Responsible corporate citizenship is an important issue for every company today as they seek to work closely with the community around their offices or facilities.
 
For chemical industry, it is critical to open a channel of communication with the society to understand their requirements and use the company’s technical expertise to solve them. This will also lead to creating a positive image of the company.
 
Kindly share with us some of the social activities undertaken by Excel Group.
Excel Group, which is more than 75 years old, has always believed in community service as the company feels that it is a part of the society and as a responsible corporate it has the duty to give back to society. We undertake welfare activities directly as well as through NGOs. For example, we works closely with Shrujan Trust, an NGO, which is dedicated to promote the art and culture of Kutch. Similarly, Excel Group is also active in other areas such as water conservation, waste management, agriculture, income generation, dairy, etc.
 
With our more than 45 years of experience in social work, Excel has been successful in maintaining continuous channel of communication with the community. We have drawn a lot of knowledge over this period which has helped us to strategise, execute, monitor and complete social activities that are needed for the community. 
 
What are the benefits of being responsible corporate citizen?
As a responsible corporate, the company has to ensure optimum utilisation of scarce resources. One has to be use these resources – chemical raw materials or natural inputs such as land, water, energy, etc – in a sustainable and responsible manner. Companies should understand their responsibility and ensure not to pollute the environment surrounding their factories. This will improve their credibility in the eyes of the society, and hence they will receive active support from the community.
 
Companies can also bring down production cost by utilising resources in an efficient manner. For example, during monthly review meetings in Excel, emphasis is always on environment, health and safety (EHS). The company continuously monitors how much resources (energy, water, and raw materials) are being used to make each tonne of production. Every year, we set ourselves a target to reduce resource utilisation and aim for continuous improvements. This enables us to become good corporate citizen and also reduces cost, thus helping us to become more competitive.
 
What were the learnings for Excel Industries?
There is always a give and take relationship between the company and the community. We have learnt good practices in resource management and were able to transfer knowledge gained from one community to another. For examples, lessons learnt in water management in Kutch (which receives scanty rainfall) were incorporated in the Maharashtra, which in spite of receiving good rain faces water shortage during summer.
 
How can chemical industry use its expertise to solve community issues?
Excel Group has been active in providing solutions for managing solid and liquid waste. In solid waste, we have helped community and villages to manage waste better and also re-use by-products generated from the waste treatment.
 
Our environment & biotech division, which specialises in solid waste management, provides decentralised solutions to handle solid waste that can be offered to communities. Waste is converted into organic compost, which is then used in farms. Similarly, our sister company, Transpek Industry, has developed technology using earthworm (vermicomposting) to treat sewage & effluent.
 
A good example of how to use in-house expertise for community service is the development of a waste treatment system in Gangapar in Kutch region by Excel Group, with active participation of the villagers. The system treats effluent and treated water in reused in the farm. It also produces biogas, which is supplied to the houses in the village.
 
Going forward, do you see a rise in adoption of responsible corporate citizenship in chemical industry?
Through CSR committee of Indian Chemical Council (ICC), we are currently in process of formulising codes/policies for CSR activities which the members can follow while undertaking social activities in order to meet the requirements of the new Companies Act. The objective is to collate and share the experiences of organisations who have been involved in community welfare activities for decades with the companies who do not have required expertise in conducting social welfare program. As the work progresses, we expect more chemical companies to take active part in CSR and get involve in many of the social welfare programs.