Tag: social

ESG INVESTING

ESG investing also called socially responsible investing and impact investing is a type of investment made by large corporates which prioritizes environmental, social, and governance outcomes. This type of investment is the need of the hour, which highlights sustainable investment. The investment is based on the universal fact that organizational growth and financial performance is due to environmental and social factors. 



ESG investing has started to gain popularity in India. This is a way of investing in companies based on their commitment to the ESG factors. 

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing is an approach that considers not only financial returns but also the impact of investments on society, the environment, and corporate behavior. Here’s a breakdown of each component:

  1. Environmental Factors (E): This includes considerations related to a company’s impact on the environment. ESG investors look at how a company manages its carbon footprint, energy efficiency, waste management, water usage, and its overall environmental sustainability practices.

  2. Social Factors (S): Social considerations involve how a company manages relationships with its employees, communities, customers, and suppliers. It includes aspects like labor standards, diversity and inclusion, human rights, employee relations, and the company’s impact on local communities.

  3. Governance Factors (G): Governance focuses on the leadership, structure, and policies that guide a company. It includes issues such as board diversity, executive compensation, transparency, ethical business practices, and the presence of anti-corruption measures.

ESG investing aims to align investments with ethical and sustainability goals while seeking competitive financial returns. Investors choose companies or funds based on their ESG performance, seeking those with strong sustainability practices, ethical business conduct, and positive societal impacts.

The growth of ESG investing reflects a shift in investor preferences, with more individuals and institutions seeking to support companies that align with their values and contribute positively to society and the environment.

However, challenges exist, including the lack of standardized ESG metrics, varying definitions and interpretations of ESG factors, and the need for more comprehensive and transparent reporting by companies regarding their ESG practices.

Overall, ESG investing represents a growing trend where financial decisions are influenced not just by potential returns, but also by a company’s impact on the world around it.






Job or business

 Many times people get confused What to choose as career like whether to do job or business 

Job demands pretty hard work to sustain while business require hard work in initial building of it 

Also one more disadvantage of business over education is It demands funding which become cumbersome specially for poor people 

Many people do job to gain financial support to start business which is quite good idea to build upon it 

Also doing job make expertise in respective field, treated as experienced wrt society and also it give experience in gaining expertise in team work 

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP


SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

A social entrepreneur is an individual who chases new applications that have the prospects to clear-up community-related issues. These individuals are fully prepared to take on the risk or threats and attempt to originate optimistic commute in society through their creativity and initiatives. 

Entrepreneurs are those individuals who volunteer into new region first and foremost with aim of making revenue out of the same. Of course there they socially responsible also and have the obligation of contributing to the well being of the society in which they operate; but this obligation is secondary. In social entrepreneurship this obligation of contribution to social well being is primary and in a way profit takes a back seat or is more or less secondary but essential to the survival!

A social entrepreneur is somebody who takes up a pressing social problem and meets it with an innovative or path breaking solution. Since profit making is a secondary objective, therefore they are people who are passionate and determined about what they do. They possess a very high level of motivation and are visionaries who aim at bringing about a change in the way things are.

By definition social entrepreneurs are great people recruiters who present their ideas or solutions in a way that many people, who are either part of the problem or surrounding it, recognize a need for change and get onboard the change bandwagon. Thus mobilizing the masses for bringing about change is a hallmark of a social entrepreneur.

Social entrepreneurs operate with an aim of changing the face of society. Be it health, sanitation, education, they are present everywhere. There are people even who work on bringing about change in the modern innovations because their impact has been detrimental to human life. They thus work towards improving systems, creating new solutions, laying down fair practices.



Some of the very famous people who inspire others to take up social entrepreneurship are:

  • Susan B Anthony: was the Co-Founder of the first women’s temperance movement and a prominent American civil rights leader for women’s rights in the 19th century.

  • Vinobha Bhave: is a prominent figure in Indian modern history and was the founder and leader of the Land gift movement that helped reallocate land to untouchables.

  • Maria Montessori: a pioneer in education. Developed the Montessori approach to early education in children.

  • Florence nightingale: she laid the foundation for the first school of nurses and worked to improve the hospital conditions.

  • Margaret Sanger: She was the founder and Leader of the planned parent hood federation of America, championed the family planning system around the world.

These are examples of some people who fought for what they believed in and brought about varying degrees of change in their respective spheres of work.

Social entrepreneurship has witnessed a boom in the past few years with more and more people getting attracted to it. There is now a healthy competition and world class graduates are giving up lucrative jobs to work and contribute in meaningful ways towards the society.

As Bill Drayton would say it aptly ‘Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the entire fishing industry’. Such is the passion and the commitment required to be called a social entrepreneur that it may not be misappropriate to say that it is more challenging that traditional entrepreneurship!

Advantages of a social enterprise that are entrepreneur specific like:


  • Social entrepreneurs find it easier to raise capital. There are huge incentives and schemes from the government for the same. since the investment industry here is ethical, it is easier to raise capital at below market rates.
  • Marketing and promotion for these organizations is also very easy. Since a social problem is being tackled with a solution, it is easier to attract attention of the people and media. The degree of publicity often depends on the degree of uniqueness of the solution.
  • It is easier to garner support from likeminded individuals since there is a social side to the enterprise. It is also easier to get people onboard at lower salaries than compared to other industry.

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Sanitary Napkins: Saviour Of The Day, But Not In The Long Run

Menstruation can be very bothersome all by themselves. Period (No pun intended!). More for some people than others. And any conversation about menstruation is bound to include the topic of menstrual products. And for a large chunk of the female population, their go-to menstrual products are the sanitary napkins. Or as more commonly known, pads. Pads provide binding experience amongst the ladies. No kidding there. So many advantages of pads, doesn’t it seem too good to be true? Well, there is some news for you. Pads can be harmful too!

Under The Surface

Sanitary napkins, or more specifically the synthetic pads, are made up of components which are far from organic. Also, the organic compounds are not fool proof safe either. Going through these components, we have:

  • Dioxin: Contrary to the popular belief, the pure white colour of the pads are not due to cotton. Rather, the extra shine white is the final product of chlorine bleached fibres. A byproduct of this process, dioxin, has been pinpointed as a substantially damaging toxin for the human body, if in contact for a long period of time. The pelvic region has a quite sensitive skin, which has a higher absorption rate in comparison to the other regions. This makes the body more susceptible to absorbing dioxin, which also happens to be a carcinogen. Yup, cancer alerts! Substantial buildup of dioxin in the body increases the probability of having various forms of cancer. Another mention worthy fact is that dioxin stays in the body via fats and may remain upto 20 years. Apart from cancer, it is also the cause of pelvic inflammation, hormone dysfunction and some other problems.
  • Pesticides: Now, the first question that might pop in your head might be, where would pesticides be used in making pads? Well, the answer is, no, it is not used in the actual manufacturing process. But the cotton used to fill the pads sometimes has a substantial amount of synthetic pesticides in them, which unfortunately, is not totally removed during the making of sanitary napkins. Needless to say, they have their own set of adverse effects on the body, especially on the internal organs. On the gynaecological front, it may cause thyroid, hormonal malfunction, endometriosis or diabetes.
  • Plastic: The main purpose of using plastic is to make the pads leakproof and able to withstand a heavy blood flow. But sealing up the pad doesnt let the moisture escape, and combined with the body heat, it makes an ideal place for growth and multiplication of various microorganisms, most common of them being some bacterias and yeast. This in turn, leads to cases of vaginal allergies or infections. Apart from that, plastic is the main cause of period rashes and chafing.
  • Artificial fragrance enhancers: Blood in itself can be a gory sight. Adding unpleasant odour to this equation is a sure formula to have a bad mood through one’s menses. So, producers add odour neutralisers or artificial perfumes to the pads to provide a feeling of freshness. But at the end of the day, they too are harmful for the body. Apart from causing rashes, soreness or chaffing in the pelvic region, it can seriously interfere with one’s fertility, as for they are found to interfere with the foetal development.

All the components, by themselves and together, are also a threat to the environment. Every year, a sizable chunk of plastic pollution is contributed by the used pads. 

Tampons too, have some similar environmental and health effects. Apart from that, tampon use increases the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), which happens to be a rare but serious complication, caused by some particular bacterial infections.

The Alternate End

Obviously, all this information may distraught anyone who swore by these products. Now the next big question is, if not this, then what other options are there? To answer that, at present, menstrual cups, organic pads and reusable cloth pads are some alternatives available, to save the day!