Event report
IFCCI CSR Conclave and Awards – Fifth Edition
The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI) successfully organised its fifth edition of CSR Conclave and Awards on 24th November 2023
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The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI) successfully organised its fifth edition of CSR Conclave and Awards on 24th November 2023, that bought together a gathering of 100+ business and CSR leaders and representatives from CSR foundations and non-profit organizations to share their best practices.
The event also recognised the efforts of the most impactful CSR projects by its member companies operating in India by presenting awards for the Best CSR Projects with a focus on six important categories of education, environment and sustainability, healthcare, vocational skills and livelihoods and employee engagement.
Mr. Damien Syed, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of France to India graced the occasion and talked about the dynamism of the French companies in India and how their CSR activities demonstrates the diversity and strength of the partnership between the two countries. He also mentioned that CSR is one of the best examples to achieve concrete results towards the benefit of the community and the society.
Ms. Payal S. Kanwar, Director General of IFCCI, presented IFCCI's CSR Department, the aim of which is responsible CSR by collectively enabling Governments, companies, NGOs, communities, and other stakeholders at large who are committed to creating affecting impact via inclusive CSR. She announced that the Department has already started with its first project with Socomec India and with more companies’ projects being in the pipeline.
Mr. Abdul Azeem, CSR Manager, IFCCI presented the ongoing projects by the Department and the projects that are underway for the next 4 months for this financial year.
Ms. Priyam Dhamankar, Vice Chairperson, IFCCI CSR Committee & Legal & Compliance Director, Servier India talked about the intricacies of the department and encouraged the companies to come forward and collaborate with IFCCI’s CSR Department.
The event included a Fireside Conversation, on celebrating 10 years of the CSR Act, between Mr. Anurag Pratap, CSR Leader, Capgemini India & Chairperson, IFCCI CSR Committee and Ms. Divya Jain, Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), an initiative by Niti Aayog.
This was followed by a CXO Panel Discussion on Contribution of French Companies in promoting innovation and creating impact, wherein Ms. Amisha Shah Dhutia, Head – BNP Paribas Foundation was in conversation with Mr. Meenu Singhal, Managing Director, Socomec India, Mr. Sudarshan Mogasale, CEO, Dassault Systèmes Solutions Lab India and Mr. Sashidhar Vempala, Chief Sustainability Officer & Head-CSR, Pernod Ricard India. The discussions were around important aspects such as the link between CSR and Innovation in a corporate’s CSR projects, the role of technology leading to a transformation of CSR initiatives and improvement in the company’s brand reputation, the importance of skill development and local capacity development in ensuring a sustained impact on the society, emphasising on transparency, accountability and measurability of the impact of the CSR projects.
The award ceremony was one of the highlights of the event with the winners announced as follows:
Education category - La Fondation Dassault Systèmes-India (Project: Made In 3D – Seed the Future Entrepreneurs Program Season 2022-23) and Ennoble Social Innovation Foundation (Cluster of Excellence Program)
Environment & Sustainability category - BNP Paribas India (Project: Heater of Hope: Building Resilience in Communities through Climate Action) and Thales in India (Project: Carbon Zero Challenge (CZC) – an All-India Eco-Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest)
Healthcare category - Accor (Project: Eye See & I Learn)
Vocational Skills & Livelihoods category - Saint-Gobain India Private Limited (Project: Skill Development Center)
Best Employee Engagement Program - BNP Paribas India (Project: Employee Volunteering (1MillionHours2Help)) and Servier India Private Limited (Project: #STRIDE)
Best CSR Project of the Year - Technip Energies India Ltd. (Project: Seed of Hope)
Jury Special - Sanofi India Limited (Project: Social Impact Programme for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D))
Jury members for the Awards were:
· Mr. Benoit Renard, Vice President, IFCCI, Advisory Committee Member, IFCCI CSR Department & Managing Director, Air Liquide India
· Mr. Shad Joynal Abedin, Political Counsellor, Embassy of France in India
· Ms. Payal S. Kanwar, Director General, IFCCI
· Mr. Anurag Pratap, Chairperson, IFCCI CSR Committee, Advisory Committee Member, IFCCI CSR Department & CSR Leader, Capgemini
· Ms. Priyam Dhamankar, Vice Chairperson, IFCCI CSR Committee, Advisory Committee Member, IFCCI CSR Department & Legal & Compliance Director, Servier India
· Ms. Manisha Khosla Sinha, Advisory Committee Member, IFCCI CSR Department & Head of CSR, Brand & Communications, BNP Paribas India
· Ms. Rinika Grover, Head Sustainability and CSR, Apollo Tyres
The event also included a showaround of the kiosks by the NGOs presenting their CSR projects and enabling discussions for exploring collaborations.
Ms. Rishika Roy, Head – Committees & Partnerships, IFCCI presented the vote of thanks and thanked the Event Partners for supporting the event:
- Platinum Partners - BNP Paribas Foundation, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes India and Pernod Ricard India
- Supporting Partners – Ma Foi Foundation and Optimax Aces
- Annual Patron of IFCCI’s CSR Committee – Fuel Group
- NGO Partners – Action Against Hunger, Civilian Welfare Foundation, Ennoble, United Way and Virender Sehwag Foundation
- Media Partners - Asia Briefing, CSR Times and Dainik Jagran
- Gift Partner – Svatanya
