ITC to champion social causes

It is not enough to look after shareholders. Corporates have a responsibility towards economic, ecological and social issues, if ITC Ltd is to be believed.

Calling this approach the 'Pursuit of the triple bottomline', ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar on Friday told shareholders at the annual general meeting that he was looking beyond financial performance.

ITC is an organ of the society which uses significant societal resources, he said. The value created could no longer be assessed by financial parameters alone but needed to be measured by the contribution made to improving quality of life, he said.

The initiatives adopted by ITC would henceforth seek to contribute impactfully to the Indian society, over and above creating wealth.

The priority would be to taking India from rural poverty to potential markets. The growth opportunity is in building capacity to induce productivity-led growth by providing cost-effective last mile connectivity, the company said.

Towards this end, the ITC e-Choupals will provide last mile connectivity by leveraging information technology to build capability at the grassroots through empowerment of small farmers. This would enhance farm productivity and income by aligning output with market demand through connectivity, the company said.

The second area of focus would be promotion of forest and wood-based industry. Pointing out that trees ameliorate effects of drought and desertification, Deveshwar said ITC would build grassroots capacities to initiate a virtuous cycle of sustainable development with select NGOs and the government of Andhra Pradesh.

Forest-user groups will be formed among poor tribals with wastelands and they will be aided with best silvicultural practices to grow high-quality timber.

ITC would provide a package of support and extension services to farmers encompassing loans, land development, planting of saplings, plantation maintenance, marketing and funds management.

So far, 66 million saplings have been planted over 19,500 hectares through farm and social forestry programmes, generating employment opportunities for nearly two lakh people, he said.

Had ITC chosen to import pulp for its three lakh tonne mill based on virgin pulp, it would mean foregoing 75,000 hectares of sustainable plantations, 27 million person-days of employment and nearly Rs 600 crore in foreign exchange annually, he said.

The third thrust area will be other social initiatives such as livestock development, women's empowerment and integrated watershed development. Integrated watershed development has already extended to nearly 550 water storages including percolation tanks, check dams and farm ponds.