‘Sustainability Development is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.’

The problems we face today demand a creative resolution, the path less taken, in an indirect and unconventional direction. This is where the Mahindra Group presents its unique and socially inclusive business model, or in other words, the ‘alternative’ business model.

Mahindra is an organisation that is in a continuous state of flux, a constant evolution in order to stay ahead of the demands of its dynamic market environments. An active sustainability council comprising of the senior management works with unflagging resolve to institutionalise the principles of sustainability, to reduce the ecological impacts of its operations and to re-strategize businesses to achieve sustainable growth.

In all its sustainability reports the main focus is essentially on the following three points:

‘People’ refers to fair and beneficial business practices with respect to labour, the community and the region in which a corporation conducts its business.

‘Planet’ refers to sustainable environmental practices. It is a TBL company that endeavours to benefit the natural order as much as possible or, at the least, do no harm and curtail environmental impact.

‘Profit’ is the bottom line shared by all commerce, conscientious or not. In the original concept, within a sustainability framework, the profit aspect needs to be seen as the economic benefit enjoyed by the host society.

Today, as we and our world grapple with emerging issues such as climate change, energy, food and water shortages, accelerated loss of biodiversity, persistent poverty and an ever-widening gap between the have and the have-nots, the need of Alternative Thinking is vital. We at MMFSL have been practicing Alternative Thinking across various disciplines and it has been an active endeavour to integrate it into our ethos.

From the year 2008 – 09, we’re a part of the sustainability report released by Mahindra & Mahindra annually. The initiatives taken up by us were as follows:

• Alternative Culture

  Awareness among employees: In the first phase of this program, we covered all on-roll employees across India from offices covered under the sustainability report, generating awareness about the issue of sustainability through numerous presentations. These presentations were delivered to regional offices as well as the head office. In the second phase the presentation was passed on to all branches and employees at the branch level.

  The awareness information is now been included in our induction programme – ‘DRONA’.

  Sustainability Corner: At the Head Office in Mumbai we have started a special sustainability corner where we display updates on the various initiatives mentioned here.

  SPANDAN: On 2nd March 2009, our internal magazine SPANDAN was created around the theme ‘Sustainability’. The magazine was made available to all employees and the senior management.

• Alternative Care

  Lifeline Express: Lifeline Express is a Mahindra & Mahindra initiative which was held at Guwahati where medical services were provided without a cost. Along with Mahindra Auto, Mahindra Finance is a major contributor to this cause having devoted two full time resources from our company towards this project.

  Blood Donation: Mahindra Finance has also been conducting Nationwide Blood Donation Camps and Annual Blood Donation Drives to commemorate its pledge to our society under the banner of Employee Social Options (ESOPS) along with various other social projects.

• Alternative Growth

  Monday Greens: Every Monday, the HR department sends out creative ideas on the concept of ‘Sustainability’ to all our employees to ensure that these values are deeply instilled in them.

  Mahindra Hariyali: The Mahindra Group has taken on an endeavour to plant 1 million trees across the country. This initiative was formally launched in Patna in 2007 by planting trees at the Eco Garden at AN College, Patna. Mahindra Hariyali as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative is aimed at sustainability focusing on the environment. Mahindra Finance has now planted 35,425 trees during this financial year.

• Alternative Reality

  Nanhi Kali - Managed by the K.C. Mahindra Education trust, Nanhi Kali is a focused approach to provide primary education to the underprivileged girl child. It is a participatory project and any individual or corporate can sponsor a Nanhi Kali Education. The highly successful project currently supports over 44,000 girls of which MMFSL has sponsored 201 children.

  Along with this we also have had certain initiatives like saving paper and reducing electricity consumption, which helps re-enforce awareness and also spreads awareness.

 

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