Form a group

This is the first thing to do. CSR initiatives are always rooted in small beginnings. So, look around and gather a group of people who are interested in such initiatives. Approach your HR department and higher management with your findings and suggestions.

How do you find people? Well, one easy way is to organize a screening of movies related to social initiatives. There are institutions like VisualSearch, FilmsForFreedom and Vikalp, who have social consciousness related films and they would be delighted to give you the copy for screenings.

First, do no harm

Study your business and its impact on people, environment, resources etc. Attempt to reduce the negative impact caused by your business.
• Use eco-friendly packaging
• Avoid or at least reduce the use of plastics
• Dispose waste safely
• Reduce wastage of resources like raw materials, water, energy etc
• Reduce pollution by improving the technology used
• Increase safety at the work place for employees and contractors
• Have some greenery around the workplace

Some things like using individual cabs are clearly a luxury and can be easily reduced.

Create a positive impact

There is only so much you can do to fix the problems your business causes. When you reach that point, start finding out other initiatives your group can participate in. There are a great many organizations that are looking for volunteers.

Most people get stuck here because they don’t know what to do. But there are people you can take help from. For example, iVolunteer is an organization which can help you locate the nearest NGO to your office/home, and give you various volunteering opportunities that are available. You can get Toybank to organize a toy collection drive in your office or you can organize a clothes collection drive or a news paper collection drive. You can help some rural NGO set up an organic foods stall in your company, which would enable farmers to sell directly.

Use your competency and share your skills

How can your firm’s competency be used to help people? Are you in technology? In marketing? Finance? Law? Medicine? Share your job skills. Help an organization to reach more people by creating an informative website. Help someone fight a legal battle. Teach people basic finances and banking. Volunteer to do the PR for some NGO. For example, there is a theatre group called WeMove which does theatre for benefit of old age homes. Be it music, theatre, science, writing, teaching or whatever you enjoy and are good at doing, there will be volunteering opportunity for it.

Subtle ways to make a difference

If you don’t have time for volunteering, then there are more subtle ways to make the difference.

Help employ the differently abled in your workplace.

Take the initiative to create awareness in your HRD towards offering equal opportunities and help employ differently abled people in your work place. Create a disabled-friendly environment-ramps, wheelchairs, accessible counters etc.

Empower the under privileged by using their services. Whenever your company buys bulk gifts for all employees you could ensure that you buy them from various NGOs like Samarthanam, Ananya, and so on. When you print t-shirts, you could buy them from the NGOs.

Don’t waste; Donate. Whenever you have excess food because of some function you could call 1098 – child line number and they will ensure that the food which would otherwise be wasted, reaches some needy children’s home.

Respond to catastrophes

Floods, droughts, earth quakes, fires, crashes happen out of the blue. Help at such important junctures by volunteering your time to help in rehabilitation.

Get others involved

Spread the word and get more people to join. Everyone does not have the time on a regular basis. With more people involved, everyone has lesser pressure and more options. Make the people in your organization aware of the world around them. Encourage one time activities and awareness campaigns. ⊕