Case study: the LNJ Bhilwara Group: values, CSR and sustainable development

Read the case below carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Among the country's esteemed and diverse business conglomerates is the LNJ Bhilwara Group, whose roots go back to 1961. The Group's journey began then in a small Bhilwara city of Rajasthan, where the legendary, Mr. L. N. Jhunjhunwala, set up a textile mill, laying the foundation of what in due course would become RSWM Limited, one of the leading textile companies of India. RSWM, which was incorporated in 1960 as Rajasthan Spinning & Weaving Mills, has its business interests in yarn, fabrics, garments and denim. It ranks among the largest producers and exporters in the country of yarn blended from polyester and viscose. Mr. Jhunjhunwala's sheer determination, conviction and vision has led that one textile mill to grow to 17 Companies, with 21 manufacturing units of its own and 9 marketing offices, spread over the textile, power, graphite electrode and info technology sectors.

The Group's guiding business principle has been a marriage of traditional values and foresight. So, while expanding its original yarn business, it has moved into the manufacture of fabric, technical textiles and automotive fabric, knitted and ready-to-wear garments, and denim. The window to the future is opportunity, and the Bhilwara Groups are looking out of it. The Group has diversified successfully into areas into which few players have ventured; one such example is the business of Graphite Electrodes. At Mandideep near Bhopal, in central India, the Group has the world's largest single site plant for manufacturing graphite electrodes. The mantra is Self-reliance. The success of the first Hydro Captive Power plant of the Group led it to set up the first merchant hydro power plant of India. Today the power business of the Group is growing, with many projects already in hand, and the in-house power consultancy firm of the Group consolidates its position within this segment.

The LNJ Bhilwara Group is a band made up of upstanding corporate citizens who have devoted themselves to fulfilling the commitment they have towards society. For sustainable development through an all-round approach, the company's focus areas have been people, society and environment. The company makes a point of applying the best practices of the industry in areas such as ecological consciousness, CSR or other social measures. Its initiatives in the field of social responsibility have mostly been in education, public health and the development of local infrastructure. Drinking water, basic sanitation, roads and primary health care centres are among the facilities the group has delivered in the last few years. The company's CSR initiatives aim at ensuring the holistic development of communities. These initiatives seek to accord priority to activities that relate to the inclusive growth of the society.

The vision of the group includes contributing actively to the social and economic development of the communities where the company operates and to provide customers with the best products and services and build with them a strong and long-term relationship. The company also aims at creating a medical transcription training and production centre that is technologically effective, dynamic and holistic, so that it capitalizes on their requirement of the global health information market, by offering medical transcription services that are accurate, timely and cost-effective. The efforts of the Bhilwara Group are mainly mediated towards improving the quality of life of people who live in and around its facilities. Healthcare, education and environmental conservation are the key areas of focus. The activities are carried on directly as well as through dedicated trusts.

Education: Four schools are run by the Group (in Bhilwara, Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya – Hurda; in Udaipur, Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya – Rishabhdev; in Bhopal, Graphite Higher Secondary School – Mandideep; and at Maral Sarovar, Vivekananda Vidya Vihar – Maral, which imparts education to over 5000 students annually. Inside the existing premises of the Graphite Higher Secondary School, the Group had built a new building to accommodate more students and also equipped the labs with modern facilities. At the Asha Niketan School, Bhopal, the group has waived every educational expense, including the hostel fees and the cost of books and uniforms, for hearing-impaired students. The building of the government primary school has been renovated by the group. The group has held vaccination camps for livestock development, along with artificial insemination for breeding cows and buffaloes and for improving milk production.

Skill development: To make poor women job ready, Jawahar Foundation runs 20 centres for cutting and tailoring. Under this programme, over 500 women in the villages of district Ajmer are being trained so that they can earn a livelihood. The foundation also plans to impart to rural women in Rajasthan training and skill as medical assistants so that they can serve as health workers in their own areas. The Foundation is also working, besides this, to start vocational programmes that help students who have dropped out in the state.

Healthcare: Medical facilities will be arranged for the villagers by visit of expert doctors, and a dispensary/ OPD centre will be set up. Support is given to various medical initiatives for reducing the mortality rate of children, and children in schools of the neighboring regions receive regular health check-ups. Pilots will be run of further initiatives to eradicate hunger, poverty and malnutrition, to promote preventive health care and sanitation, and to make safe drinking water available. Pointing to the findings of a recent study, according to which only about 17% women of the state use sanitary pads even now, the Foundation is working on creating two plants that will manufacture sanitary napkins. Initially the Foundation aims to produce about 4 lakh pads per annum, to be given free of cost to the women and girls of the state. In collaboration with Sewa Bharati, Bhopal, the Group distributes medicines among indigenous people. Provided potable water at Mandideep and the nearby areas by installing water coolers fitted with RO filters.

Environment: A precautionary approach towards environmental challenges is supported, and initiatives will be taken to promote greater responsibility for the environment. The company encourages the planting of trees and create awareness, at schools and also at villages of the surrounding region, of a cleaner, greener environment and of global warming issues. Further initiatives will be added for ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, the protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agro forestry, the conservation of natural resources and the maintenance of the quality of soil, air and water. To lessen air pollution, the group has carried out an afforestation drive at Tawanagar on the NH#12 near Mandideep. Under the aegis of the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board, the group has invested in a state-of-the-art plant for water filtration at Ekant Park, Bhopal.

Community service: The group aims to promote gender equality, empowering women, establishing homes and hostels for women and for orphans, setting up homes for the old, day care centres and other such facilities for senior citizen, and taking measures to reduce the inequalities that socially and economically-backward groups face. Measures will also be adopted for the benefit of the veterans of the armed forces, war widows and their dependents

Promotion of sports: An important aspect of the company's CSR initiatives is training to promote rural sports, sports recognized nationally, Paralympics sports and Olympic sports. The group has invested in the renovation of sites of historical importance and in the promotion of traditional forms of art. The group has funded the training of aspirants in order to promote Paralympics and Olympic sports in rural areas around the plant

Other initiatives: LNJ Bhilwara works across the spectrum to protect national heritage, art and culture, which includes restoring buildings and sites of historical importance and works of art; establishing libraries for the public; and promoting and developing traditional arts and handicrafts. Another major contributor is contribution to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund, or to any other fund the central government has set up for socio-economic development and for relief and welfare of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women. More rural development projects will be added, and in addition any other requirement that arises in this regard from time to time will be considered.

Clean energy: Through Bhilwara Energy Limited, its principal holding company for developing and operating renewable energy in India and abroad, the LNJ Bhilwara Group has commissioned successfully two hydro and three wind power projects, while two solar power plants are at the planning stage, in different parts of India, together amounting to more than 360 MWs. In consequence, the group's average annual GHG emission reductions stands as 9,27,362 (tCO2e) and is generating annually over 1,200 million units of clean energy.

Responsible production by recycling: The flagship company of the LNJ Bhilwara Group, RSWM Limited, offers recycled yarns in its fabrics. Commissioned at the division of RSWM limited that manufactures denim fabric – LNJ Denim, the state-of-the-art Garnett machine efficiently breaks down post-consumer waste fabrics, converts them into new usable fibres and removes excess waste from landfills, so contributing to an environment that is greener by saving: 30 Ton / Month.

Environment friendly sustainable fibers: Made from post-consumer waste PET bottles, are said to rank among the world's greenest fibres in terms of Co2e. As for sustainability, by using postconsumer waste PET bottles that would otherwise have gone to land fill, oceans, or incineration, these fibres help reduce dependence on fossil fuels and natural resources, so offering certified green end-products and meet the need for sustainable apparel from overseas buyers and brands, which is increasing.

Sustainable water management: Fabrics offered by LNJ Denim are dyed with advanced techniques that use less water and chemicals. The whole of the post process water is treated in a plant for effluent treatment and then purified further by reverse osmosis before returning it to the environment, cleaner than earlier.

Questions:

1. Attempt any three:

2. What core values do the Bhilwara Group of Companies have? Discuss.

2. Give an overview, in brief, of the CSR initiatives of Bhilwara group of companies.

3. In the fields of Education, Health Care, Environment and other areas, what initiatives has Bhilwara Group taken? Elaborate.

4. In sustainable development, what has Bhilwara group done? Elaborate.