Sustainability

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Choosing the right instructor can be a complicated job as we are unaware about the things we need to ask before selecting the best one. We may not know from where we should start our first driving instructor hunting activity. So, we have come up with some of the prominent questions you should ask before finalizing the driving lesson. Lets’ go through some of these questions fordriving instructor jobs.

How much experience do you have of teaching people to drive?

It would not be rude if as a student, you start your interaction with such a question that will show to the instructor you are a curious and potential student. Every trainer or teacher would want their student to be aware enough so that they can enjoy training them. On the other side, this question would be equally important for you because you should prefer a person with huge experience as he or she will add up their learnings in your teaching session.

 Why should I choose you among other cheaper instructors?

You can ask what qualities make you different and superior than others and so I should choose you for driving instructor jobs. This question will be asked to check the confidence level of instructor in driving. If they reply telling you their experience or explaining you about their high pass rates.

 How is your teaching style?

Every trainer has its own way of teaching. This is an important question to ask because your trainer’s teaching method should match with your learning speed and capability. It will decide whether you learn him quickly and easily or not. If you are comfortable and satisfied enough to get him what he wants to make you understand exactly then you can go with him easily. The training method matters a lot while you are going to learn not the cost of the lesson. So, make sure you pay attention while learn and understand the method of teaching.

 In Which Part of Being Driver you are Most Proficient

Some people are expert enough of driving, but they are not a good trainer as they don’t have trainer skills. While others have the capability to teach their students so generously. You may ask to the instructor which part is his strength and doing so you will get to know the passion of your coach as it will show the expertise of his driving. He will make you curious about learning.

 Ask about Pass Rate that tells you the Most

See on Scoop.it - Driving School Instructor

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If you have recently began searching for Driving lessons crash course in London, you will realize various driving schools and new driving instructors are available all around. The cost of driving lessons will vary from area to area. It’s not an easy task to choose any one instructor on which you can make decisions. There are various aspects on which you can take your decision.

 Driving instructor Eligibility

Do check if your instructor will have a green badge in the window that shows they have cleared the test of instructional ability to a competent standard. They have the eligibility to teach reasonably well. Every qualified instructor has to go through a grading process every few years. Try to pick grade 6 instructor that has proved the best quality instructor. To know how efficient your driver is makes great sense as a good trainer can only tell you the best way to drive.

 Cost and special offer prices

The price is the first thing to check as prices vary as per the total hours of the driving lesson. If you can concentrate actively for 2 hours the having the 2 hour lesson is better value for money. If you find it’s not good then you may choose 90 minutes’ class.  You need to check out all the price and hourly classes wisely and then decide one that suits you the most. Taking up the best Driving lesson deals requires you to be at your best as it needs a thorough check of market. You will find lots of driving schools popping up and leaving promotional messages in the market. Various schools will call you and convince you with their services.

 Check Pass Rates

A 100% pass rate defines that the instructor has got all of his customers through their test. However, it is not advised to opt you’re driving instructor because many excellent instructors specialize in anxious drivers who have much more worry with the test than others. You will see some female candidates conventionally have a lower pass rate than male candidates this doesn’t mean that female instructors are not as good as the men.

 Do the Research

Businesses who follow sustainable practices for production have an edge over their competitors. They are also preferred by their customers and employees since they have an environment-friendly process of working. Unfortunately, there are still many companies in India who do not understand the necessity of following corporate sustainability and they are often causing lots of harm to the society and environment, not to mention their own bottom line as well. These companies need to re-evaluate their business plans and bring changes in the way they are using resources, technology and ethics. It is noted that industries and organisations that follow CSR in India are far more successful than the others in the business.

What does CSR Mean for Businesses?

For any business, CSR involves following law and moral practices in the society and strictly following the International green technology standards. There are few Indian companies that follow the CSR principle. There are many others who participate in other forms of CSR that involves engaging in social service activities and helping the society. These activities need not increase the financials of the company and they are often termed as CSR that is favourable for social welfare and conserving corporate sustainability.

The Role of CSR in India

The concept of CSR is primarily introduced to measure a company’s contribution in the progress of the society that it operates in. The structure of CSR involves achieving the following goals:

Companies must use and manufacture resources which are safe for our environment and which have a sustainable life cycle for the future.

Organisations must work towards promoting human rights, equality and respect for every individual

Companies must actively participate in maintaining and restoring our ecological balance

Companies must provide good value to their customers and not engage in fraud practices to increase their bottom lines

Companies must operate on the grounds of ethics, transparency, honest communications and accountability

These are basic CSR activities that all companies must proactively follow. These are complemented with sustainable business practices that include ecological sustainability, social welfare, management of resources and environmental sustainability.

Need for Sustainability

When CSR was introduced as a concept, it was more focused towards charity drives and helping the society where companies function. However, with the changing times and need for sustainability, the focus has shifted towards protecting our environment and doing our best to leave a sustainable future for our next generations. Every business is now focusing towards green initiatives and doing everything they can to protect the environment and preserve our nature. It is important to make our society independent for energy source without completing using up our non-renewable sources of energy. Companies can maintain the ecological balance by introducing various practices like using hybrid cars for company travel, promoting carpooling within employees, banning the use of plastic in offices, conserving energy, using solar panels for office electricity, etc.

All these simple measures will make a drastic difference in the long-term and help us to conserve resources. Ecological balance can surely be restored if every company and every individual pledges to actively participate in corporate sustainability.

Consider the impact your business is having on the economy, society and environment where you are operating. Doing something good for the society can be good for your business as well. Corporate responsibility must be an integral part of any business, whether it is a small or a large corporation. There are various benefits other than helping the society when you participate in CSR in India. They include an enhanced reputation that increases potential customers, opportunity to indulge in team building, working together towards a worthwhile goal and gaining a sense of perspective and responsibility towards the society we live in. The following are some useful tips that will help in maximising your efforts in CSR:

Be Genuine in your Efforts: Just doing a single PR activity or participating in one project to prove your corporate responsibility will not make an impact to your business or the society. If you want to be truly involved in CSR, you must make genuine efforts towards helping the society.

Define your Objectives: It is important to have a clear strategy about what you are trying to achieve. Understand whether your objective is to offset an impact on the environment that your business is causing or are you trying to connect with the local community or does your company feel strongly about a social issue that you want to eradicate. Well-defined objectives are the key elements of your strategy.

Communicate your Efforts: In today’s world of social media, it is become easier than ever to communicate with your customers and employees. If you are taking steps towards CSR in India, you must talk about the measures that your company is taking. This will help in increasing your reputation as a business and give your employees and stake holders a clear picture of your efforts.

Involve your Employees: This is a great way to build a feeling of belongingness and enhance morale. Your staff might also have some innovative and interesting ideas for CSR that will help you.

Start with your Company: It is great to participate in CSR but it all begins inside the organisation. Save energy in your company whenever you can. Switch off light and fans when not in use. This will save energy as well as money. You can also start using recycled paper as an initiative towards a sustainable tomorrow.

Work with Local Charities: When you work with the local communities in your area, your efforts are seen as genuine and not forced. This will also help to establish a bond with the people where you operate and if you run events with the help of local communities, you can save on money as well.

Listen and Learn: You must constantly keep an eye on the need of the community where you are operational to understand what they might need. You can also learn a lot from the social media and it can help you develop better and stronger strategies.

By effectively practicing these tips, you can definitely ensure better results of your CSR activities and make a positive impact towards the society, your employees, customers and stake holders.

  Large corporations are often so focused about their bottom lines and success that they often forget to consider the most important factor that impacts their profits – the health and wellness of their employees. A business may run on its services, its products or its unique offering. But ultimately, it is the employees who contribute a large amount of time every day to ensure that customers get what they have been promised. Therefore, sustainable healthcare in the corporate world is an important factor to consider and it often goes unnoticed.

The Importance of Employee Health

Wellness is a crucial part of any business. If employees are healthy, it impacts the business since employees are more productive and therefore, it costs less to insure them and it leads to overall better results. Many businesses are focusing their energy and some part of their funds to participate in sustainability. They want to be environment-friendly and embrace practices that lead to a better future. However, if large corporations do not include sustainable healthcare in their initiatives, they will incur major losses in terms of money as well as human resources.

The Rapidly Growing Healthcare Prices

We all know that the prices of good quality healthcare are going up like never before. Treatments have become expensive and hospitals have become a nightmare due to the large bills. At such times, it has become even more difficult for businesses to provide for their employees. With the rising costs, both employees and employers are feeling the impact. The problem is, neither employees nor employers are working for sustainability. The entire system is being operated beyond capacity and hence, the problem of employee health has become such a serious issue.

Steps to Make the Right Changes

Take a Look at your Capacity to Provide Healthcare – Businesses must understand how much they are able to spend on healthcare and provide appropriate insurance plans for their employees. A systematic sustainability reporting format will give a clear understanding of the business capacity for healthcare.

Managing Resources – Employee health management is a crucial cause of concern in any corporation. Companies must take necessary steps to ensure good health of all their employees so that they don’t have to incur high costs of treatment in the future. Companies must dedicate a certain amount of resources for wellness so that they can participate in improving the health of their employees.

Maintaining Employee Health – The best way to avoid future pitfalls is to focus on health maintenance of your employees. You can invest in regular check-ups so that employees are well-aware of their health and they can take necessary precautions before any serious problems arise.

When you apply the principles of sustainability reporting to healthcare, you will understand that if you keep a constant check on employee health and manage resources effectively, you will be able to ensure good health of all employees and thus, positively impact your bottom line. By being responsible for employee health, you will also improve employee satisfaction and retention, making your organisation a good company to work for!

Sustainability is one word that you will hear quite often. Whether you are in the food industry, around the environment or in a social community, everyone is concerned about a sustainable development and therefore, everyone you know is talking about it. The truth is, sustainability is important. It has become the need of the hour and it has brought many groups together in order to participate in combined efforts.

Defining Sustainability

Before we can analyse sustainability and take steps to practice it in the healthcare and wellness aspects, we must clearly define it. Sustainability is a responsible management of available resources and their usage, the capacity to endure for a long-term and managing the impact of our actions on the environment. The five most crucial words related to sustainable development include resources, maintenance, capacity, management and impact. It is important to practice all these in order to ensure long-term success of our society and our environment. Many times, you might notice that a few of the aspects are being covered but the lack of the others will still cause many problems to the environment and society and therefore, it is important to have a global view on sustainability and ensure we all take the necessary steps to move towards a greener and better future.

Practicing Sustainability in Business

In order to ensure that you are a good leader and working towards the betterment of the environment, you must practice these 5 aspects on an everyday basis in your company.

Capacity – How much do you have? How can you serve your customers with existing capacity? How many products can you make?

Management – This is a fundamental requirement when it comes to any business. In order to be successful, you must know how to manage your resources, people, inventory, success, funds, etc.

Maintenance – If you don’t indulge in timely maintenance of your business parts, you will incur long term losses. Therefore, all businesses have certain maintenance crew members and repair people who come forth in times of emergencies. Maintaining a sustainable healthcare for your employees is the key to keep your business operating costs down as well.

Resources –This is another basic requirement for any business to run. You need monetary resources to get started. You need human resources to keep your business running. You provide the necessary resources to employees so that they can serve clients. You also provide resources to clients since that is the core of your business. With the absence of resources, a business will not be able to function.

Impact – You must remember that for every action, there is a reaction. Every move you make in your company will have a certain impact on your clients, customers, employees, business and the environment. You must remember that the size of the impact may be large or small, short-term or long-term but an impact will always be there. For example, if you don’t practice sustainable healthcare for your employees, they might fall sick and your business productivity will go down.

It is important to ensure that you practice sustainability in your business on a regular basis with regards to your initiatives, clients, customers and employees to be truly successful in today’s competitive markets.

Corporate responsibility has been growing over the years and along with large enterprises, many SMEs are also indulging in CSR and ensuring that they give back to the community where they practice their business. The core purpose of CSR in India is to help the less fortunate in terms of funds, resources, time and improve education in our country. Many businesses are supporting various causes like rural education, cleanliness, orphanage support, girl empowerment, healthcare, etc. However, in big organisations, the efforts are limited to a certain group of people and not everyone is aware of the company’s initiatives. With the recession in the industry and cut downs on budgets, many corporations do not have the money to undertake special team building exercises since these are quite expensive. There are also many lay-offs which cause problems amongst the people working for the company. At such times, having a strong team connection and re-building trust with the company is of vital importance. CSR helps businesses to develop this sense of team building and ensure the human resources of the company enjoy their work and have a bond with the organisation.

Here are a few tips to involve employees in CSR:

• Choosing the Right Cause:

When you pick a cause that your company would like to support, make sure that it is in line with the culture and values of the organisation. Also, it must be inspiring to the employees and motivate them to be a part of the initiatives. With so many programs to choose from, you can definitely pick the one that resonates best with your team.

• Plan an Event Where Everyone is Involved:

Other than making only fund donations or participating in few numbers, you can plan an event where every employee can join in and understand how the company is focusing towards betterment of the society. When employees will work together towards a positive cause, they will automatically bond and connect while sharing a similar feeling of giving back.

• Make it Worthwhile:

The event must enrich the lives of your lives and make a long term impact so that they can remember this on bad days of work and continue with the same passion and determination. When employees work on projects that really make a difference to the society, they feel worthwhile to the organisation as well as to themselves, thus creating a strong feeling of self-worth.

• Show Gratitude and Appreciation:

Just like your organisation would applaud the hard work of employees inside the office spaces, you must start rewarding the initiatives of employees outside of office. If a team comes together and does something special to boost CSR in India, you must appreciate their efforts and reward them in a way that motivates other teams to do the same.

If you are planning a team building event, try to connect it with a social event that can benefit your organisation, employees as well as the society to see what a vast difference you can make to so many lives.

Ecological sustainability is the need of the hour and every human being on the planet must do his share to maintain the balance of our environment and give our children a better world to live in. We can start by teaching sustainability meaning to our children and teach them simple habits that will change the way they look at resources and do their best to protect them. However, the best way to teach the next generation is to implement practicing sustainability by ourselves.

Simple Ways to Help our Planet

Change the Light

By just switching to compact florescent bulbs compared to traditional bulbs, we can reduce pollution as much as removing 10 lakh cars from the road.

Recycling Glass

Recycled glass can help in reducing air pollution by almost 20 per cent and water pollution by nearly 50 per cent. If you don’t recycle glass, it can take as long as one million years to decompose on its own.

Use Both Sides of the Paper

Simply by switching your printer settings to print both sides, you can save a lot of paper in offices and ensure that you avoid paper wastage.

Take a Shorter Shower

If you save two minutes of shower water, you can save up to ten gallons of water. If everyone managed to save one gallon of water every day, it would give a lot of water benefits to the under privileged.

Plant a Tree

This is the simplest way to restore the balance of ecological sustainability. Make it a ritual to plant one tree in your neighbourhood every year. You can pick the birthday of your loved one and do this activity so that it feels rewarding and special as well.

Turn Lights off

When you are not present in a room, make it a habit to turn off the lights and you will save on electricity bills and as well the cooling costs since bulbs add to the heat in your apartments.

Indulge in Good Quality Vehicle Maintenance

By maintaining your vehicle, you are saving on fuel as well as reducing air pollution. A clean air filter, inflated tyres and perfectly maintained vehicle can also improve the life span of your car.

Choose Professional car Washes

By going to a professional car wash, you can save a lot of water that you would use when you wash the car yourself. We can save 8.7 gallons of water if everyone who washes their car by themselves took their car once to the car wash.

Choose to Fly with an E-ticket

If you are a frequent flyer, you must opt to use only e-tickets compared to printed tickets since it will save money as well as lots of paper.

Use Rechargeable Batteries

Though one-time batteries may seem less expensive, rechargeable batteries are a one-time investment and they help in conserving energy as well as save on pollution.

Small steps towards a better future can transform the sustainability meaning in every household and workplace to give us a hope that our next generations will live a content life. 

Many times, companies are so focussed towards economic growth that they tend to lose attention to the environment friendly methods. Sustainability often takes a back seat in major corporations and they are seen indulging in many kinds of energy wastage and resource consumption. Sustainable development programs don’t just help the environment or provide brand benefits, they also offer great value to all stakeholders of the company.

Managers who are not thoroughly involved in sustainability programs are considered to have a narrow approach towards the environment whereas those who participate sportingly towards these causes are seen to be exceptional leaders. Read on to understand how sustainability strategies affect different stakeholders of the company:

1.       Investors:

Investors are largely interested in the growth of the company and getting a good return on their investment. Most investors are realising that companies who indulge in environment-friendly policies lead to a better performance of the company and thus give higher returns as well. The sustainability meaning in any organisation is related to saving energy and resources in a way that will reduce operational costs and lead to higher profits and better shareholder value. Smart investors search for companies who are well-equipped to manage risks. By embracing environment-friendly policies, companies ensure risk-management in a way that benefits both, the environment and the investors.

2.       Customers:

Similar to investors who are looking for companies who indulge in environment-friendly packaging, there are also customers who are looking to buy products that reduce the carbon footprint on the environment and therefore, each customer is making an informed choice today. Many large companies like Walmart have adapted the sustainable development approach and with the savings made by the organisations, consumers are highly benefitted as well. As far as the other companies are concerned who still refrain from sustainable policies, it is time that they follow suit or get left behind. Each customer is well aware of the global warming scenario and they have a deep understanding of sustainability meaning. Therefore, they are willing to choose products that help the environment rather than damage it.

3.       Employees:

Few companies actually pay attention to how the employees feel about working with their organisation. If employees are a part of a green-friendly company, they will have a sense of pride and motivation towards the organisation, leading to better performances. A green work place also has many health benefits for the employees and therefore, it can be easier for the organisation to recruit new staff as well. In most cases, salaries of employees is the highest motivating and impacting factor in performances and if companies can save costs by adapting green policies, they can also share the savings with the employees.

Companies must indulge in the best possible sustainable methods to boost bottom lines, increase investor support, delight customers and maintain happy employees. Also, it is important to continuously communicate the strategies planned by companies to all stakeholders so that they are aware of the plans and understand the company’s policies clearly. A transparent approach is the best way to make all stakeholders aware of the company’s sustainable methods. 

With rising incomes and better access to healthcare facilities, the capacity to tackle diseases is slowly increasing in the world. People are living longer but the question of sustainable healthcare is hovering over the world since the last few decades.

Development

On the positive side, there have been advances in medical science, preventive vaccinations have come up and nutrition quality has increased. The overall economic growth on a national and global level has also led us to believe that we are moving towards a better and healthier future. There is a lower infant mortality rate and even though the population rate is slowly reducing, the world still has a population of 7bn people.

Downside of Development

On the negative side, lifestyles have changed, home food has transformed into packaged food or fast food and the overall quality of life is continuously undergoing paradigm shifts at every stage of life. Due to this, a number of illnesses like obesity and metabolic disorders, diabetes, etc. have surfaced and caused trouble in many people, leading to healthcare concerns and raising the need to develop long-lasting healthcare projects.

The Terror of Diseases

The birth rate has declined and population has started aging, leading to cause many more chronic and long-lasting diseases like cancer and dementia. These diseases are now occurring far more commonly than before, making it a major cause of concern for citizens across the world. The ratio of working people to dependent people is gradually shifting towards the latter, making funds for treatments a major cause of concern.

Why Prevention is Important

With so many problems of health coming up in our everyday lives, sustainable healthcare becomes a necessity more than anything. If we want to progress as a nation and be a strong part of the world, the only way to do so is create strategies that will help in developing a healthy nation. Every country needs to focus on the healthcare of its citizens and start policies that involve access to healthcare, good quality healthcare in times of diseases and affordability so that everyone in the country has an equal opportunity to improve their health and get the necessary treatment.

These policies must be incorporated on a daily basis and right from the legal bodies, government to corporations, everyone must extend their support to bring about a positive change in the healthcare sector.

Communicate the Importance of Healthcare

It is vital to spread the message of importance of healthcare and prevention amongst everyone in the country and the world. Through various campaigns, advertising and social messages; hospitals and organisations can contribute towards communicating the importance of healthcare projects. Trying to control smoking, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, focusing on exercise, eating healthy and avoiding packaged food, etc. are some of the factors that need to be highlighted in order to ensure a healthy nation in the future.

The only way to protect ourselves from the terror of diseases is to believe in prevention and manage our lifestyles in a way that we can combat life-threatening diseases. 

In a country where the population is only increasing by the day, the facilities are definitely not developing at the same pace. While we are on the path to becoming a developed nation, we still have to cross millions of hurdles that continue to keep us in the developing nation category. One of the major setbacks for growth is the healthcare facilities available in our country. While metro cities have become the home for technologically advanced healthcare, the smaller towns and villages still suffer from illness that see no cure. The reason being, lack of good healthcare facilities that can be easily be made available to the people in these rural areas.

Scope for Change

The corporate affairs ministry has made it compulsory for organisations to invest 2% in CSR activities. This will help improve the condition of our society and it will enhance the way less fortunate people are living their lives. The major setback in helping the less fortunate has always been finances and therefore, this act that requires companies to invest their profits seems like a good way to change the scenario of our nation. Rather than spending the money on casual projects, companies are advised to invest it in proper projects that truly help people in need.

With natural calamities like floods coming up every now and then in the country, we are in constant need of funds to help those who have suffered tremendous losses. If successful organisations can invest their time, energy and money in helping these people with better healthcare facilities, we will see a stronger nation. With wise investments in community service projects, we will see a healthier nation soon enough.

Why Choose the Healthcare Sector

When companies decide to invest in CSR activities, they are flooded with ideas and areas where development is required. While various fields like education, cleanliness, adoption, women empowerment, etc. have scope for growth the healthcare industry is often missed out by these companies.

Healthcare ensures long life of citizens, giving them an opportunity to create a livelihood for themselves.

Today, we have the technology for better healthcare. We just need resources to make them accessible to rural areas.

By providing healthcare facilities to the less fortunate, we are giving them hope to lead a better life.

If funds are provided for research in the healthcare sector, we can also have cures for diseases that are non-curable as of now.

Medicine is a field that has tremendous potential to change the way people perceive our country. By gaining access to funds, medicine can seek new heights in India.

People are deprived of basic healthcare facilities in times of natural calamities like floods. If companies invest their resources wisely, they can save many lives.

Healthcare projects need to be focused by organisations so that they can at least help in providing primary healthcare to citizens in rural areas. Many children often don’t see their youth only because they are not accessible to good quality healthcare. If we want to create a nation full of smart minds, we need to give equal opportunities to everyone in the country.

While all companies are in the business to make profits, none of them are self-sustained and they all work cohesively with employees, stake holders, society and other organisations to achieve their success. In such a scenario, businesses need to have a strong connection with different elements of the society and human resources to continue in their journey of growth.

One of the most effective and well-established methods to do this is to conduct effective CSR activities. Corporate Social Responsibility is not merely about feeding the poor or lending some money to an organisation, it is much beyond that. In fact, it is a way that defines the culture and nature of the company. It differentiates companies from others and gives employees a reason to bond as well.

How to Improve CSR Activities in your Organisation

In order to become a leader in CSR, companies must have certain plans and strategies in place that will transform their brand image and reputation in the market. Also, effective CSR helps not just the society in which the company progresses, but it also helps the employees and stake holders of the organisation.

Think Long-Term

In order to achieve success in CSR, companies must avoid short-sighted thinking when it comes to conducting effective CSR activities. A long-term plan will enable better use of resources and eventually improve the financial performance of the company.

Connect Employees to your Activities

If you are helping certain people or organisations, conduct a meeting session wherein your employees can interact with the people they are helping. This enables employees to feel valued and they feel like they are doing something worthwhile. It also gives them a sense of belonging to the company and they appreciate their company’s efforts of helping the society.

Inculcate Values of the Company

With every new person that joins your organisation, you must inculcate the values of your company and share them in a clear manner. Even when conducting CSR activities, choose areas that your company believes in, so that your image is consistent in the marketplace. By working in areas that you have a strong belief in, you show the external and internal people that you are a committed organisation. This helps in increasing the trust factor people show in your company.

Reward Positive Actions and Ideas

If you can share rewards to employees who are contributing efficiently in the CSR activities, you will boost employee performance and get additional respect from your employees. It will also act as a motivation for other employees to do a better job in CSR.

In order to become a leader in sustainability, companies must focus on harnessing their resources and strategies for a better CSR performance. With good CSR, companies can expect increased customer loyalty, employee retention, enhanced brand image, better reputation in the industry and improved financial performance as well. This kind of benefits are only the beginning to what can be noted as a drastic change in company growth by conducting strong and effective CSR activities. 

The dream for a developed India can only be fulfilled if every person and organisation extends support to the less fortunate. This involves spreading knowledge, education and resources in a way that can impact our society and create an opportunity for growth. In order to begin this change, the best way is to undertake educational reforms that will lead to an educated nation. The United Nations has also mentioned in their development goals that primary education is one of the top priorities to make our world poverty free.

How Businesses can Change the Educational Scenario in India

Leading businesses are the economic driving forces of our country. In order to create a self-sustained and developed nation, it is important to focus on education that will generate growth for the nation. One of the most promising aspects that can assure better educational opportunities is CSR activities conducted by successful businesses. With many businesses that are flourishing in India, it is a great opportunity for them to connect with the root level of educational problems and do as much as possible to eradicate illiteracy in our country.

Businesses have the necessary economic support, high-end resources and the capability to bring about a change. While many NGOs are trying their level best to teach the importance of education in villages and smaller towns, they are challenged by lack of monetary fund’s and resources. If businesses take up some responsibility and conduct educational transformations as a part of their CSR activities, it can bring about a radical change in the way our country’s education system is perceived.

What are the ways in Which Businesses can Contribute?

While each business and their profit margins may vary, the bottom line remains that if they can spare some time and resources towards better education in India, they can surely bring about a positive change.

Share their Resources

Each flourishing business has a pool of resources that are well-equipped to conduct CSR activities. This includes human resources, funds, technological advances, office spaces and much more. If businesses can contribute by sharing some of their resources, they can help extensively in bringing about a lot of changes in Indian education.

Create a Network for Better Reach

Businesses have offices all over the country and the world, thus giving them an advantage of a strong network. If they can create a similar network for educational growth, more schools can be reached in the villages and smaller towns and every child will get an access to complete his primary education.

Give an Opportunity to Students with Higher Potential

Since companies constantly need better employees, they can also create scholarships or higher education opportunities for students who have the potential to shine. These students can help the company achieve greater heights in the future as well if they are employed by the organisation after completing their education.

In order to generate progress, social development and a strong economic environment for our country, the starting point is to generate better educational opportunities for one and all. Education is the driving force that will transform our nation from a developing to a developed country and this will surely impact businesses as well. One positive step in CSR can lead to excellent growth opportunities for everyone.

Even more so than ever, the era of social enterprises is here. Recent trends show that some of the most successful, respected and desirable brands around the globe do more than just make profits. These businesses are the ones that have been able to leverage their position to solve a number of social and environmental problems.

Studies show that businesses that focus on sustainable development not only work on responsible business models but also experience improved marketing functions, employee retention, satisfaction, legal treatment, customer loyalty, better partnerships and positive brand perceptions.

Here are a few key reasons why it is time for your business to develop a sustainability program –

Employees today Demand that their Employer is Socially Responsible

Only about half a decade ago, all it took was a company to attest that it does not harm the environment. However, the scenario has significantly changed. Employees today, demand that their companies do more than just simply not be irresponsible. Studies show that around the world, 32% of employees will seriously consider quitting if their company supported no charity. 65% would consider quitting of their company was known to harm the environment and a whopping 83% would consider leaving their job if the company used child labor.

Consumers are Willing to Pay More to Businesses with Better Practices

Global statistics suggest that an average well educated consumer will drive an additional 11 minutes to buy a product that is supported by a cause. Over 88% of consumers are of the belief that companies should work towards achieving their business goals while also improving the environment and society. Consumers like to know that the corporation they support is making donations out of their own pocket and not asking for additional donations from consumers. 35% buyers dislike being asked to donate money at a checkout counter.

Achieving Long Term Sustainability

Strategy is essentially about choosing a unique position for your business. It is about doing things differently from the way you competitors do it. This concept also applies to the relationship your company forms with the society. Progressive businesses are able to see that CSR is more than just a cost, a charitable deed or a constraint. If done well, it can prove to be an opportunity, competitive advantage or chance for innovation. In addition to aiding companies in setting themselves apart in a cluttered marketplace, CSR helps inspire innovation that facilitate long term sustainability among businesses.

It is Morally Imperative

Businesses are in the ideal position to create long-term and sustainable change in society. A business that runs well applies its vast expertise, management skills and resources to solve problems it is well aware of and in which the company has stake. Corporations have great influence on social betterment than any other type of organization.

No matter what one’s social views, it is given that the need for a social enterprise is becoming increasingly important. Whether you are a new or existing business, the future of your success is increasingly dependent on your ability to do good on a daily basis.

Adopting best practices in sustainability and corporate social responsibility for your small and medium sized companies is without doubt the final frontier of the learning curve. However, within developing nations, inculcating a sense of consciousness in responsible business practices is still has a long way to go.

When speaking of sustainability and CSR activities in India and other developing nations, experts agree on three key themes-

Generating Consumer Awareness

While western business environments dominate CSR and SME research, in developing nations are yet to adopt this business approach. Experts identify lack of consumer pressure to be a leading cause of failure of SMEs adopting CSR in India. Without pressure for the end consumer, the business case of adopting socially responsible activities and practices essentially collapses. This means that businesses need to first start with generating awareness among stakeholders with regards to the need for a socially responsible approach.

Categorizing Small Firms

Concepts of small businesses and types of CSR may differ in developing nations. Within your own community, you need to ask – what constitutes of a small firm? Given the various complicated social and environmental problems, what would your community consider as socially responsible behavior?

Differing Organization and Collective Activities in Developing Nations

Another key consideration is the fact that in first world countries, SMEs tend to be represented by employee federations, chambers of commerce and trade association. On the other hand, the voice of SMEs in various parts of developing countries belonged to not for profit organizations. However, it is often noticed that the voice of an NGO may be a flawed one considering they are not involve with the day to day operations of the business. An effective CSR strategy for an SME in a developing nation involves using the right group of people with an unbiased voice that is backed by experience and knowledge of your business.

The Power of Language

It has been found that language plays a key role in communicating and encouraging your message to your stakeholders. SMEs in developing nations find it challenging to translate into different local dialects and languages CSR related words without losing out on its meaning. While the western approach may be unhelpful, getting local leaders involved into your CSR initiatives is a great way to spread the word and increase the reach of your program.

Other Themes that cannot be ignored

 In spite of being en route to becoming one of the world’s economic super powers, there are a number of issues unique to developing nations that SMEs could take on for the benefit of their stakeholders –

Gender inequality for instance continues to be a problem even in urban India. Women entrepreneurs and professionals find it challenging to sustain and grow in workplaces that are essentially male dominated and led by a chauvinistic approach.

Race and racism is also often a concern in work places. Regardless of our position as a secular country, racism is often a problem between businesses and potential employees, vendors, investors and communities in general.

In addition to this, there are ways in which SMEs can take on causes such as the existence of informal economies and how family businesses can explore ethics and socially responsible behavior while embedded in a specific community.

Conventionally considered an innovative idea only used by green businesses, sustainability reporting has grown into a best practice that organizations around the world employ. For businesses that are new in the game, chances are that they experience a few bumps along the road. However, the following key lessons can help create a consistent report that is of better quality.

Allowing the Vision and Strategy of your Program to Set the Path

Before you start creating a report, it is important that you are able to detail the program’s sustainability meaning, purpose, ambition, strategy and positioning goals. Your report should be able to elaborate ways in which your business is supporting its clients, people and communities and demonstrate high levels of environmental stewardship.

In addition to this, here are a few key points that you need to keep in mind –

While creating a report, make sure you are accounting for the company’s mission and strategy.

Identify important points of intersection. This includes factors that may impact your financials significantly in the short run as well as the long run.

Take into consideration the ripple effect of your reports through your organization’s supply chain.

Think about which agreements and international standards you wish to follow.

Listen to what expert communities from the outside are trying to tell you.

Constantly ask yourself whether or not there is a social impact.

Do not make the mistake of starting too late

Make sure your business does not follow an ad hoc signoff process

Avoid using tactical decisions over strategic ones

Find ways to connect the qualitative narrative  with the quantitative indicators

Do not over focus on your internal audiences in the report at the expense of your external readers

Make sure you take into account the impact of your sustainability report. Find out how many companies within your industry actually create this report. Also make sure your report helps make a difference

Assure high quality standards in the reporting. Make sure you report as many indicators as possible.

Your report should be pitched as a starting point, a learning exercise, an engagement tool, a celebratory exercise or as a competitive edge.

Integrated reporting is all the talk of the town among business today. This form of sustainability reports provide a comprehensive strategic picture of a business and further elaborates how it creates and sustains value today and in the future. This form of reporting recognizes the importance of positioning itself a steward of more than just financial capital and will also include natural, intellectual, social and other forms of resources that are material to the business.

By highlighting the risks as well as the opportunities across the entire operations of your business through comprehensive reporting, companies are able to position themselves as conscious and responsible entities. In addition to highlighting achievements, such reports are an excellent tool to communicate with your stakeholders your future plans and commitment towards create a sustainable business environment for all.

Much unlike common notions, your organization needn’t switch its business model to help contribute to the environment. Even implementing the simple most steps can have big impact on your sustainability program on the while.

Taking Baby Steps to Sustainability

By making small adjustments in the way you function, you can soon transform you establishment in a green company and find ways to boost your bottom line at the same time. While most companies are required to adhere to a number of environmental standards by law, green businesses are those that go out of the way to implement sustainability management strategies beyond what is already required. By becoming a green business, the company is able to highlight where it impacts the ecosystem the most and what steps it has been taking to change this.

There are a number of other benefits associated with your company going green. Integrating efficiency and streamlined operations also help save significant money, reduce cost of utilities, waste management, etc. Here are some small ways in which you can not only help your environment but also save money for your business –

Going Paperless

Consider forwarding emails instead of printing them. Small measures like using both sides of the paper to make copies and using single spacing as against double can have a significant impact on the environment overall. Many companies today insist that prints are double sided unless specifically ordered otherwise. By decreasing the use of copy paper by 35% within a single year, organizations are able to facilitate significant savings in paper cost.

Investing in Green office Products

Cleaning products that are eco-friendly, items that are made out recycled products and light bulbs with energy saving capabilities are simple examples of things to integrate into your office shopping list. Energy saving light bulbs for instance utilize about 75% less energy than traditional ones and also last about 10 times longer. Furthermore, recycled paper is often 10 to 20% cheaper than regular paper.

Energy Conserving Measures

It has been estimated that by taking simple measures, businesses can cut down cost of utilities by 10 to 30% a year without compromising employee comfort, quality and service. Regular maintenance of HVAC systems, and installing windows and lighting that are energy efficient are excellent ways to facilitate this.

Starting a Composting Program

Businesses such as restaurants and hotels can save significant money and reduce garbage generation by signing up with a food composting program. Instead of throwing away food that is left over, it can be given away to existing composting solution providers.

That said, it is also not uncommon for business to tap into the marketing power that they receive by adopting green habits in the way the organization is run. Touting your status to potential clients and customers is an excellent way to draw in an increasingly conscious set of stakeholders. While looking at ways to boost your bottom line, consider tapping into trends that have global reach to create a positive impression for your business that eventually translates into profitability.