National Conference & Exhibition on Aligning CSR with SDGs

Hon’ble the then President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind during the ceremony of the first National Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India organized by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), announced that henceforth 2nd October may be commemorated as the National CSR Day in India. It was further reiterated by Hon’ble the then Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Shri Rao Indejit Singh to celebrate 2nd October as IICA CSR Day, during the Annual National Conference on Responsible Business Conduct organized by the School of Business Environment, IICA. Accordingly, with the approval of the competent authority, the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs has announced to 2nd October as the IICA CSR Day and has planned to commemorate the first CSR Day in India on 2nd October 2024 through a series of events.

The initiative is pertinent in present time when there seems dearth of philosophical directions towards the way businesses are done. In the new age of responsibility, being responsible today is not an option but it is an unwritten mandate for businesses to be responsible towards society, economy and environment (Dadhich & Atrey, 2024). According to Mahatma Gandhi, “the act of renunciation of everything is not a mere physical renunciation, but represents a second or new birth. It is a deliberate act, not done in ignorance. It is, therefore, a regeneration”. The Trusteeship principle of Mahatma Gandhi shows the world a direction for transition towards socially responsible business practices.

In 2013, India set a global benchmark in by mandating CSR through Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. Inspired by Gandhian trusteeship principle, this mandate requires eligible companies to allocate 2% of their average net profits towards corporate social responsibility. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) envisioned that the CSR mandate would propel the National Agenda to foster inclusive growth, ensuring social, economic, and environmental well-being through CSR initiatives listed as per Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013. The CSR mandate in India was enforced during the same time when Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were in final stage of drafts which were adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The SDGs comprise 17 interconnected goals addressing global challenges: poverty, hunger, clean water, clean energy, quality education, gender equality, and climate action. The CSR activities enlisted under the Schedule VII of the Act provide a broad coverage also encompassing areas under SDGs. Over the past decade, the CSR mandate has significantly shaped India’s CSR landscape. The Economic Survey 2023-24 highlights a major milestone in corporate India’s journey towards societal betterment. From 2014 to 2022, companies spent ₹1.53 lakh crore on CSR initiatives. Compliance has grown, with over half the companies exceeding their obligations. In the last three years, annual CSR spending has surpassed ₹25 thousand crore, increasing 1.5 times over eight years.This increase has driven progress in certain thematic areas such as education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability.

International research, including a study by Oxford University, has praised India’s CSR law for fostering strategic community engagement and long-term social project planning. Recent research, such as the CSR Outlook Report 2022, indicates that leading Indian companies naturally align their CSR spending with SDGs. Approximately 80% of these companies invest in health, education, and environmental sustainability for economic growth, directly contributing to SDGs. ‘The G20 Presidency New Delhi Declaration 2023’, also pledges to tackle global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, trade finance, poverty, inequality, hunger, health, education, digital transformation, and gender equality. These commitments are also aligned with the Schedule VII activities the Companies Act 2013.

Despite these positive trends, the evolving CSR landscape faces several challenges such as compliance, innovation, effective CSR implementation, measurable impact, transparency and accountability, and disparity of CSR spending towards specific regions and thematic areas. The vision behind the CSR law of inclusive growth may need a transition towards more strategic and impactful initiatives, such as need for decentralised and coordinated planning, execution and impact measurement aligned with the local, national and global goals. Such efforts are also crucial for realizing India’s vision of a developed nation by 2047, or ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’. To underscore the critical importance of aligning CSR with SDGs, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs kick-started the initiative with a High-Level Panel as part of its annual “National Conference on Responsible Business Conduct” held on 14-15 December 2023 in New Delhi. For achieving the goals of sustainable development, alleviating the suffering of deprived and marginalised people, get rid of structural social problems in time-bound manner, to follow a collaborative approach in CSR planning and execution with convergence of Government-Corporate-Civil Society initiatives, to guide the corporate to sustain in new age of responsibility by adopting responsible conduct and being socially responsible, there is a felt need to follow trusteeship model of business.

Within this background, the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India) has designed a ‘National Conference and Exhibition on Aligning CSR with SDGs’ to be held on 02 – 03 October 2024 in New Delhi to commemorate the Annual CSR Day in India on Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi to promote the Trusteeship philosophy.