Industry heads root corporate social responsibility ethics

Much before they enter the arena of corporates, the students of Amity College got a chance to strengthen their bond with the industry, with their college  Amity Global Business School (AGBS), Noida, providing the budding managers a platform to interact with corporate leaders at the annual Corporate Meet ‘Goal 2013’.

The one-day event concluded recently. The campus buzzed with activity as experts from various sectors spoke on topical issues and problems faced by the industry. Welcoming the gathering Dr A S Bahal, director, AGBS said, “Corporate Social Responsibility is not a new word. It’s been there even before our country became free.

The father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi quoted and advocated that ‘wealth created by organisations should eventually get distributed amongst common people’.” He also remarked that CSR initiatives by industry are important for economy and society because without equitable distribution of wealth there could be no business growth in
the country.

The Corporate Meet kicked off with a panel discussion on  the theme ‘Corporate Ethics and CSR’ wherein industry leaders such as Anand Seth (Consultant EEPC), Prabhakar Dastidar (scientist, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India), Rahul Malik (director, Amrac Advisors Private Limited), Amit Bhargava (Sr Oncologist, Batra Hospital), Shailender Sarin (Sr General Manager, marketing, Jaqaur), Vikas Jain (regional head, marketing, Pearson Education), and others shared their views.

Addressing the gathering, Achint Rastogi said, “Ethics are basically the differentiation between good and bad and what is good for one person may be bad for another.” He stressed that CSR is nothing but the next step of business ethics and “It’s all about giving back to society what you owe it for running your operations in the ecosystem. Each and every department in the organisation should contribute to CSR activities including Marketing, Sales, HR and Finance in their respective domains.”

Sharing his views on the topic, Anil Bhavnani, director BPO Operations, Global Financial Services, Pfizer said, “Industry, while existing in society, draws a lot of resource from society for its smooth and efficient functioning. Therefore, it becomes paramount for industry to repay the society.” He apprised the audience of the CSR initiates carried out by Pfizer including ‘Get Old’ which aims to enhance the quality and longevity of people’s life, challenging the common notion of people that pharmaceutical companies exist to make profits.

Mukesh Sejwal, national head, British Telecom suggested that CSR activities should be embedded in the Corporate DNA and stressed that CSR is not just about money or resources, but also about sparing quality time for societal benefit.