CSR has long been an integral part of corporates’ efforts to go beyond the usual business and give back to society. The ultimate goal of CSR is to maximise shared value among organisations, employees, customers, shareholders, and members of the community. CEOs are now very closely aligned with their companies’ CSR and ESG activities.
To commemorate World Environment Day, HDFC Bank has released four unique films that highlight the bank’s social and environmental initiatives through its flagship programme, Parivartan. Each film focuses on a different cause with which HDFC Bank is involved and demonstrates how the future can be improved if we act now.
Ravi Santhanam, Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Corporate Communications, Head of Liability Products and Managed Programs, HDFC Bank, speaks extensively with Adgully about the bank’s commitment to delivering large-scale positive impact.
Why is ESG so important for a well-known financial institution like HDFC Bank? How do you intend to capitalise on the same? How will it help the bank’s growth?
HDFC Bank is India’s largest private sector bank and one of the country’s top CSR spenders. We believe that we must be responsible leaders who use our brand to make a positive social impact. Climate change is one of the most serious threats to humanity, with the potential to disrupt both lives and livelihoods. As a socially responsible corporate citizen, we have taken small but significant steps to mitigate the effects of global warming.
Our dedication to making a large-scale positive impact prompted us to make sustainability one of our core values. Today, we design our products, processes, and policies with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in mind. Our ESG strategy focuses on climate change, community, and society, as well as people, customers, lending, procurement, and governance practises. We have a committee at the Board level that sets goals and identifies opportunities for improvement in the areas of emissions, energy, water, and waste.
Our organisational success is defined by the long-term well-being of the people we work with, the environments in which we operate, and the planet we leave for future generations. These initiatives, we believe, will be important growth drivers.
What is the goal of the four films? Who are you aiming for, and how did you come up with the ideas for the films?
For over two decades, HDFC Bank has been involved in a variety of CSR programmes. With this campaign, we hoped to highlight several important issues while also sharing the Bank’s work in some of these areas.
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