ACC Limited’s commitment to its CSR initiatives – be it solar power, health, education, environment consciousness or women’s empowerment – has led to happier communities, a proud workforce and a stronger company

Established in 1936, ACC (formerly known as The Associated Cement Companies Limited), is acknowledged as a pioneer and trendsetter in cement and concrete technology. (ACC Limited is part of the worldwide Holcim Group). Since its inception, the company has been undertaking social development initiatives for communities in and around their manufacturing plants.

Among the first companies in India to include environment protection as a corporate commitment, ACC regularly wins accolades for best practices in environment management at its manufacturing plants and mines, as well as for demonstrating good corporate citizenship. The company operates through 18 plants across India, each of which has established its own CSR team responsible for the development of the neighboring community.

GROWTH OF CSR WITHIN ACC

Rather than adopting a generalised approach to CSR, ACC recognises the distinct deficits and requirements of each community and geographical location where the company is present. To ascertain and identify the areas that require assistance, ACC refers to the human development index (HDI) as a decisive tool.

The company actively engages with the communities at the grassroot levels and draws a relevant CSR programme to make each community and village self-sustainable. “The company first assesses the needs of the community around its areas of operations and designs the community development initiatives under the blanket theme of education, health, livelihood, women empowerment and infrastructure,” says Pratyush Panda, Corporate CSR Head, ACC Limited.

For instance, an Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) Centre for HIV/ AIDS treatment in Wadi in Karnataka was set up by ACC when the company observed how the virus is highly prevalent in the villages around its Wadi Cement Works. This was a result of the fact that the area reported a high number of sex workers.

ACC also actively encourages its employees, their families and other close associates to join hands in implementing the company’s CSR activities.

In 2013, the company revisited its CSR policy in view of the emerging regulatory framework. ACC’s Board constituted a CSR committee to focus particularly on the guiding and monitoring of CSR initiatives of the company. A wide range of social development initiatives were undertaken in partnership with local communities, government and non-government organisations.

POWER TO THE LIVES

A recent community development initiative where ACC received success was the Community Managed Solar Power Grid Project in Belkhor Village in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.

Although the government records show an increased percentage of electrification of houses, during its Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in October 2013, ACC found many of the villages receive no electricity between 5 pm -11 pm or are have no power at all. This lapse was also hindering several of the community literacy projects led by ACC.

On an average, these households were getting only six-eight hours of unreliable supply of electricity daily. As a solution, a solar micro-grid was installed by ACC’s CSR team at Tikaria Cement Works at Belkhor in Amethi. This grid supplies power to nearly 50 households who pay for it using a prepaid system via their cellphones. The village now has access to round-the-clock electricity and an intelligent theft-free power distribution network. The surplus power aids village micro enterprises.

Besides meeting the basic lighting and mobile recharging needs, the grid also allows users to plug in televisions, fans, computers and music systems (up to 100 watt load). Not only did the project create job opportunities for the villagers, it also helped in tackling issues related to overwithdrawal of electricity, one of the major challenges in the electrification of remote villages. “The recharge agent ensures that a fixed sum of money is deposited into the service provider’s account in advance and gets a limit for usage of solar power. Customers come to him and make payments for recharging their power supply, explains Panda.

The monitoring of the system is done by the Urja committee of the Panchayat, which meets every month, and includes an official from ACC Limited. The company has plans to extend this project to neighboring villages in UP and replicate it in Katni, Madhya Pradesh.

ACC AHEAD

The ACC AHEAD (Association for Health, Education and Development) umbrella is a network formed by the women spouses of its employees across the company’s 18 manufacturing plant locations in India. It focuses on issues of hygiene; women’s empowerment through capacity-building and livelihood generation; and education and training through a learn-and-earn model, which includes small-scale businesses and enterprises such as glove making, tailoring and embroidery classes, and computer-skills training.

In Lakheri (Rajasthan), AHEAD is encouraging women entrepreneurship through various small-scale businesses. Here, the company has organised 30 selfhelp groups, which enable women to start their own micro-financing model to run small businesses such as cattle breeding, bulb-making and so on.

GOOD HEALTH FOR ALL

Understanding the importance of health for its employees and community, ACC undertakes several awareness campaigns and organises health camps on a regular basis to make them aware of the various diseases and the benefits of healthy way of life.

Considering that many of these plants are at remote locations with little access to adequate healthcare and medical services, ACC supports the local administration in promoting national health campaigns on important health issues, disease prevention and immunisation.

ACC also organises special initiatives for women and children in the area of healthcare and nutrition, with special programmes organised for antenatal care, postnatal care and birth spacing methods. Also, subsidised ambulance facility and hospitalisation is provided to villagers in case of emergency.

EDUCATION: INVESTING IN FUTURE

Providing education in the neighbourhood communities is a major focus of ACC’s CSR activities. The children of employees and those from surrounding communities study in the schools established at all its locations. Most of these plants are situated in remote regions, and often ACC schools are considered to be the most accessible and better, as compared to rest of the schools. Additionally, the meritorious students from weaker sections of the community are provided scholarships to encourage them to study further.

ACC supports about seven government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), in a joint initiative with the Government of India. It also runs two technical training institutes of its own, the Sumant Moolgaokar Technical Institute (SMTI) and ACC Cement Technology Institute (ACTI).

GREENER, CLEANER

Considering the environmentally-intrusive space the company is in, building and maintaining a clean and green environment has been a priority for ACC. The company’s Madukkarai Cement Works bagged the prestigious “Blue Dart Global CSR Award 2013” for its solid waste management initiative under the “Best Environment Initiatives” category. The project was initiated to create complete awareness in the community and implement effective garbage disposable mechanism. Not only did it promote effective garbage management system, but also ensured the community has increased in its greenery development. The project aims to effectively segregate waste, recycle and re-use it efficiently. It is being replicated in Himachal Pradesh now.

CSR AS A WIN-WIN SITUATION

ACC’s reputation of investing in community health and education has made it a welcome partner throughout various parts of India over the years, enabling its expansion to new locations. Investment in education as has also paid off as the company is now employing the second and third generations of families of the employees who have been associated with ACC and whose children benefited from the initiatives.

Investing in the community’s good can be a financially sound decision and socially beneficial too. By investing in health and education infrastructure, ACC has created a generation of healthier, better educated and content employees. All these initiatives created a win-win situation for both the company and the communities, and both have benefitted mutually.