Corporate social responsibility, often abbreviated “CSR,” is a corporation’s initiatives to assess and take responsibility for the company’s effects on environmental and social wellbeing. The term generally applies to efforts that go beyond what may be required by regulators or environmental protection groups.

As the business environment changes, customer’s expectations from a company also change. Nowadays, Customers prefer brands that are socially responsible and give back to the society. Let’s take a look at CSR initiatives taken by the Cafe Coffee Day, one of India’s leading coffee brands.

CSR goals at Cafe Coffee Day

1. Improving livings standards for communities through increasing employment opportunities- CCD believes in working for the people, and working with the people. It ensures that it creates new employment and livelihood opportunities for millions across the globe. This is done through direct employment and contracts, as well as through inclusive business opportunities.
2. Enhancing the health and wellbeing of communities– It works with communities at large and aims to help them become healthier and happier.
3. Reducing environmental footprint– It works towards reducing its environmental footprint by ensuring that it allows the legislation regarding carbon production and release. It works towards designing operational processes that reduce water and land pollution. All products manufactured and distributed come with a disposal method to reduce wastage, and increase recycling.

Corporate social responsibility is an integral part of CCD’s operations. They are committed to offering ethically purchased and responsibly produced products of the highest quality, and serving quality coffee that is responsibly grown and ethically traded. They facilitate UTZ and Rainforest certification for their major coffee supplier’s estates. The UTZ Code of Conduct is a recognized global ‘decency’ standard for coffee and production criteria for socially and
environmentally appropriate growing practices and efficient farm management techniques. The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and improve livelihoods by promoting and evaluating the implementation of the most globally respected sustainability standards in a variety of fields which are designed to generate ecological, social and economic benefits. CCD aims to create the most value in the following aspects:

1. Nutrition- The primary focus remains on ensuring health safety for children and infants.
2. Water- It administers all its internal sewage plants to dispose of waste optimally without risking water life.
3. Air Cleansing- The company also takes responsibility for ensuring that all its industrial sites and operations are placed away from residential areas to reduce maximum exposure of plant operations to the public.
4. Rural Development– It created varied employment and livelihood opportunities for these communities to help them raise their living standards and quality of life.
5. Protecting water- With the high scarcity of clean drinking water, CCD works and strives to provide communities with clean drinking water through having installed filter plants.
6. Protecting natural resources- It ensures that all its operational sites are designed in a way that they do not harm or risk the natural ecosystem. In addition, the company works towards protecting the environment by building green spaces.
7. Safeguarding the environment- The operations of CCD, like other players in the industry, are being affected by the climatic changes, and the weather alterations. To fight this change, and to safeguard the environment, CCD works towards creating safe green spaces through high rate plantations. This is to ensure environmental sustainability and
   enrichment of the ecosystem.

Commitments made by CCD

Commitments at CCD have helped shape its CSR and CSV approach based on multiple trends from across the globe. These commitments have helped maintain focus in giving back to the community as well as in developing a more sustainable environment and workplace. Commitments are the long-term goals that CCD wants to fulfil and
achieve in the following different aspects:

1. For individuals and families
   • Living healthier lives– Helping individuals attain a balance between healthy nutrition and physical exercise as a means of a healthier lifestyle and healthy living. With today’s work style and busy schedules, this is quite a challenge. 
   • Having Nutritional Knowledge- CCD works with the long-term aspiration of enhancing the lifestyles of communities. The company plans to do it by sharing information regarding nutritional facts, and by raising awareness of nutritional intake.
2. For Communities

• Rural Development– It works towards developing rural communities-especially where it is operational and present. The company engages not only in employment creation but also infrastructure development and education deployment programs to help communities improve their living standards.
• Promoting Diversity– It works towards inclusion through its diversity programs. The company has designed programs and policies to ensure the inclusion of all community groups in the employment cycle. In addition, the company also conducts training and skill enhancement sessions for all community groups including disabled and special persons.

Finding the potential in coffee is a key part of success. Similarly, CSR activities focus on finding
the potential in the people, society and environment.

TRAINING
CCD works through a unique partnership model wherein they have established strategic partnerships with various training bodies, non-governmental organizations, and government and leverage their relationship to provide skill training and employability to the under privileged. In states like Jammu and Kashmir and Orissa, they have provided self-improvement and vocational training to youth.

DIFFERENTLY-ABLED EMPLOYMENT
Coffee Day Global has also tied up with NGOs such as “Enable India” to work out avenues to employ more differently-abled people. Over 150 speech and hearing-impaired people are employed at their cafés, popularly called as “silent brew masters”.

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE
During the manufacturing process and value additions, Cafe Coffee Day maintains an emphasis on water, sanitation and hygiene. All plants and manufacturing units operated by Cafe Coffee Day have an authorized sanitation system in place which ensures minimal water wastage. Besides, all industrial waste is disposed of off through authorized channels only ensuring that no natural water body and water source is harmed or polluted.

NATURAL RESOURCE STEWARDSHIP
Cafe Coffee Day is also an active pioneer of natural resource stewardship. Cafe Coffee Day has devised ways to ensure that natural resources are sustainably used for industrial operations, and are not damaged during business processes. Cafe Coffee Day shares this knowledge publicly for the overall welfare of the environment and the planet.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
During its manufacturing process, Cafe Coffee Day also ensures to employ women labour in various managerial and operational level jobs. These women are usually from local communities and are trained for new skill development and enhancement. In doing so, Cafe Coffee Day ensures that women are equipped with the confidence and decision-making abilities that they advance not only in their professional but also in their personal and social lives.

ANIMAL WELFARE
In all its sourcing, CCD ensures that no animals are harmed. CCD makes sure that all animals are fed high quality fodder, and that they are kept in a clean and safe environment. In addition, it also provides safe breeding grounds for
animals and regularly authorizes veterinary check-ups for all animals in partner farms.

HUMAN RIGHTS
CCD is also particularly careful to ensure that all human rights are upheld in its business operations. This
includes no child labour, and inclusive diversity, amongst other things. Also, the business operations of CCD also include high dependence on local workers for labour and management, making sure all local and global human rights are followed thoroughly.

CCD changing lives with Education and Employment

· Their social transformation initiatives are led by SVGH Vocational Training College (VTC) at Chikmagalur, Karnataka and are fully funded by their Promoter. VTC seeks to promote education to economically underprivileged rural youth and supporting them to be independent, responsible and adaptable to urban environment. VTC has trained over 2,500
students, many of whom have since joined CCD Group companies, including Coffee Day Global’s outlets across the country. The entire expenses of the course which includes imparting education, providing food and accommodation, uniforms and transport facilities is borne by VTC.

· The institute provides free education and training to youngsters, with all their expenses being covered by the chairman’s trust. The chairman and founder, V G Siddhartha, was keen to create employment for the rural youth, so that they could lead a productive life and contribute to society. A large number of youths were unemployable due to skill gaps, so it was decided to offer hotel management courses at Yuva (their vocational training institute).

· The institute provides a one-year course in hotel management, which includes six months of theory and six months of internship, where students get an on-the-job experience. Apart from hotel management, the institute also provides courses in audit, micro-finance, supply chain and culinary skills, which depends on the needs and demands of the organisation.

· It provides them an opportunity for personal and professional development thereby equipping them with skills to handle the rapidly changing environment. The college has trained 1180 students many of whom have found employment at CCD outlets across the country. Courses offered include Certificate Course in Hospitality Management & Micro Finance. The Trust bears the entire expenses of the course which includes imparting education, providing food
and accommodation, uniforms and transport facilities. The trained students are guaranteed employment. Current employees are involved actively in SVGH programs and help by conducting modules etc.

· “Communication skills are critical to success in customer-service roles and there is a strong commitment to building job-ready skills.” The focus has been on right skilling and reskilling to keep pace with the dynamic market needs. They aim to groom students who can think, ideate, solve problems, communicate and collaborate. They also provide specialisation studies to the students in the last quarter of the course, so as to place them in various roles at CCD in
accordance with their skills. Placements are done within the organisation. By providing quality education and employment to these students, the organisation is changing their lives and offering them a great career path. 

· Every year, around 350 students pass out from the institute and are employed by the organisation. Almost all of them are hired by Café Coffee Day. This kind of programme also creates loyalty in the minds of the employees and they are likely to stick around for a longer period of time.

· Providing a good career path, professionalism and quality skill training, the institute— which had taken birth as a simple CSR activity—is changing the lives of its students and their families. This is the best way to not only educate the underprivileged but also provide jobs to those who actually need them.