A long history of community involvement: Tata Steel and CSR
Corporate social responsibility is a modern term. But some companies have been practising it for a very long time. Tata Steel is one of them.
Over 100 years ago the Group’s founder Jamsetji Tata wrote that “the community is not another stakeholder in the business, but is the very purpose of its existence.” The principles of this man, who pioneered India’s first steel company and built the garden city of Jamshedpur for its employees, live on. Today, two-thirds of the Tata Group’s holding company’s equity belongs to a philanthropic trust that benefits major medical, academic and social projects.
When Tata Steel expanded into Europe with the takeover of Corus in 2007, it declared that it had acquired a company that held similar values. The history of community involvement is similar for both companies.
The European company today employs around 40,000 people. It has deep roots in the communities surrounding its three main integrated sites at IJmuiden in the Netherlands, and Port Talbot and Scunthorpe in the UK. At its other locations, including the packaging steel plants at Trostre in Wales and Duffel in Belgium, there are also long and proud histories in steelmaking.
“Tata Steel believes that a company should contribute to the communities in which it operates. As such Tata Steel spends 5-7% of its profit after tax on CSR initiatives, such as environmental sustainability and social development.”
Many community engagement initiatives are led by employees. The company supports those who volunteer their time to local hospices, hospitals, children’s homes and many other health projects. Involvement ranges from enabling free wi-fi for children in hospital in the Netherlands to raising money through fun runs.
With much of the focus on young people and education, Tata Steel supports future generations. In Scunthorpe, employees act as education ambassadors, working with local schools to encourage an interest in science and engineering, inspiring youngsters with practical demonstrations and competitions. In the Netherlands the company is a sponsor of the Techno Challenge, a long-term project to encourage children to see technology as an attractive career choice.
The contribution of the packaging business to educational initiatives is particularly strong. In the UK this is led by Tata Steel’s Packaging Recycling based in South Wales. It is an organisation which manages the aspects of the EU Packaging Directive in the UK and is involved in a number of national campaigns to encourage recycling. It gives free workshops to schools – 19 last year alone – to educate the next generation of recyclers. Nicola Bennett, who last year led 19 school workshops, says, “We have been working with schools for a number of years and our courses tie in with the national curriculum.” In the Netherlands the company is an active member of Stichting Kringloop
Blik, championing metal packaging recycling. In 2010, a joint project with the anti-littering organization Nederlands-Schoon and the Hague University looked into drinks can improvements to combat litter.
Further recent environmental community projects range from participating in a light pollution reduction initiative in the Netherlands, to restoring public footpaths in the hills above Stocksbridge, UK, to planting trees along with local school children in Newport and at Port Talbot in Wales.
The Tata Group has always been driven by five core values:
- Integrity.
We must conduct our business fairly, with honesty and transparency. Everything we do must stand the test of public scrutiny. - Understanding.
We must be caring, show respect, compassion and humanity for our colleagues and customers around the world, and always work for the benefit of the communities we serve. - Excellence.
We must constantly strive to achieve the highest possible standards in our day-to-day work and in the quality of the goods and services we provide. - Unity.
We must work cohesively with our colleagues across the group and with our customers and partners around the world, building strong relationships based on tolerance, understanding and mutual cooperation. - Responsibility.
We must be responsible and responsive to the countries, communities and environments in which we work, always ensuring that what comes from the people goes back to the people many times over.
In Port Talbot the health initiative goes very deeply into the community via a drugs and alcohol awareness campaign that Tata Steel has jointly co-ordinated with local authorities and charities, offering information and counselling to employees and local citizens affected by these issues. The area has a 30 per cent higher incidence of alcohol and drug abuse than the rest of Wales.
Corporate level sponsorship initiatives must strongly benefit the community. In the Netherlands, the IJmuiden site has supported the annual chess tournament at the nearby seaside resort of Wijk-aan-Zee for 73 years. The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is a major international event, attracting international chess grand masters, chess fans, and hundreds of amateur enthusiasts including employees. The annual influx of visitors in January each year benefits the local economy hugely.
In the UK, sponsorship involvement with British Triathlon, the country’s fastest-growing sport, has since 2007 included running a series of children’s events known as Kids of Steel. This has given over 25,000 children all around Britain the opportunity to experience triathlon in a fun, safe environment. In July this year the event was extended to the Netherlands for the first time. All events are supported by employee volunteers. Tata Steel has committed to provide at least 50,000 8-13 year olds with a positive experience of triathlon by 2012.
“Tata Steel believes that the primary purpose of a business is to improve the quality of life of people. Tata Steel will volunteer its resources, to the extent that it can reasonably afford, to sustain and improve a healthy and prosperous environment and to improve the quality of life of the people of the areas in which it operates.” - B. Muthuraman, Vice Chairman, Tata Steel.
Tata Steel believes that a company should contribute to the communities in which it operates. As such Tata Steel spends 5-7% of its profit after tax on CSR initiatives, such as environmental sustainability and social development.
Tata Steel’s CSR policy focuses on social sustainability, healthcare initiatives, environmental sustainability, and inclusive growth.