Some of the carmaker’s CSR programmes include enabling better access to water for drought-affected villages, doctors on wheels to serve the local community, and skill development training for students and graduates.
30 Jan 2017 | 11488 Views | By Autocar Pro News Desk
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, Volkswagen is involved in a number of environmental and social projects beyond the factory gates. At present, 100 current CSR projects are highlighted by the Sustainability Report of the Volkswagen Group and featured on an interactive world map
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As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, Volkswagen is involved in a number of environmental and social projects beyond the factory gates. At present, 100 current CSR projects are highlighted by the Sustainability Report of the Volkswagen Group and featured on an interactive world map
This commitment to sustainability in a variety of areas, according to the German carmaker, is intended to contribute actively to realising the global development targets laid down in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030.
Fighting water shortage in India
In India, where Volkswagen makes and markets five models, has a full-fledged manufacturing plant in Pune along with a workforce of about 3,500 and 122 dealerships, the CSR initiative is spread across different parameters. According to Dr Andreas Lauermann, president and MD, VW India, "Our vision is not only to provide mobility made in India. It is also about promoting public and individual wellbeing. This includes clear targets for environmentally compatible car production as well as a focus on helping local communities thrive."
The company joined the fight against water shortages in the state of Maharashtra. It participates in helping drought-affected villages identified by the state government for focused interventions aiming to make them drought-free by 2019.
The village of Naiphad, located in Pune district and home to 500 residents, has suffered serious water shortages in the past. Volkswagen India has now built a series of embankments (bunds) for water storage. The bunds will increase water storage capacity by 7.5 million litres. Besides building two new reservoirs, an old reservoir was repaired and the existing waterway cleaned up.
This support will give the farming community improved access to much-needed water for their fields. Naiphad is the second village where Volkswagen has undertaken a project to overcome water shortages after the recharging of water resources in the village of Gulani in 2013.
Doctors on wheels
In 2015, Volkswagen India started running a mobile health clinic in Kahnewadi Tarfe Chakan and Sangurdi, two villages near the Pune site. The mobile clinic visits these locations five days a week, spending three hours a day in each village. This enables around 2,200 people to receive basic medical care. Previously, the medical provision was very poor as the villages had neither a primary healthcare centre nor a resident doctor – the nearest health centre is some five kilometres away. Among the staff ‘on board’ the clinic are two doctors and a nurse. Examinations and medications for minor health problems are provided to patients free of charge. The service is also available to guests and others who visit the two villages.
Since it was launched, Volkswagen India's Mobile Health Clinic has provided medical consultations and medicines to over 15,300 people, both adults and children. The team has also referred patients to nearby hospitals for further medical consultation and/or hospital admission based on their condition. In addition, the Volkswagen Mobile Health Clinic runs awareness programs on various health-related topics and has conducted blood group testing for children residing in these villages.
Skilling young India for better jobs
Over two-thirds of India's 1.2 billion population is under the age of 35 years. A significant percentage of these young people are not job-ready. Skill development is therefore a national priority.
In 2011, Volkswagen India Academy introduced a 3.5-year dual education Mechatronics Apprenticeship Program. Based on the German dual vocational education and training system, the program imparts theoretical and practical knowledge across fields such as mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering, as well as IT. This is complemented by training in interpersonal skills. Each year the program recruits 16 students who have graduated from class X and meet other eligibility criteria.
A unique feature of this program is its focus on recruiting academically bright students from local towns and villages who are deserving of financial support. The students are provided with stipends for the duration of the program. Volkswagen says it also endeavours to ensure that each new intake comprises at least 25 percent female students. Three graduate year groups of students have successfully completed the program and are now employed at Volkswagen. The sixth class cohort was enrolled in 2016.
In 2011, Volkswagen India also helped to set up the IID Community College in Chakan to provide vocational education to underprivileged young men and women. Over the last few years, the company has partnered with the institute to train participants in basic computing, computer graphics, book-keeping, tailoring, conversational English, and beauty therapy. The college has trained over 500 students to date, and many of them have used the skills acquired to find employment or start their own businesses. Some of the women who attended the tailoring course have started their own tailoring shop.
Volkswagen India in association with the Lila Poonawalla Foundation has awarded scholarships to 20 academically bright girls deserving of financial support in order to enable them to pursue engineering degrees. The signed Memorandum of Understanding covers 2015 to 2019. The girls will be mentored and given additional training and personal development support to make the most of this opportunity.
The company has also provided scholarships to 30 students of the Jagriti School for Blind Girls and is supporting training in orientation, mobility and conversational English for the girls who study at the school. Volkswagen India has also financed the installation of a bust of Louis Braille at the new Career Oriented Education Campus for the Blind, which was inaugurated on 10 April 2016. The model complex houses the school and a skills development centre. Jagriti provides residential and schooling support to about 110 girls.
Promoting safety on India roads
As part of its road safety initiative, Volkswagen India is supporting the setting up a Centralised Traffic Control centre in the police headquarters of Pune city. The Centralised Traffic Control will aim at minimising response time in cases of accidents and emergency situations and provide flexibility in management of traffic signals depending on traffic density at various times of the day.
During Road Safety Week 2017 in early January, VW India hosted a series of sessions on road rules, regulations, and road user behaviour for class VIII and IX students in some schools in Pune.
Volkswagen India has partnered with Hubert Ebner (India) – an Indo-Austrian venture to promote road safety – and the local traffic police to impart education on road rules, regulations and road user behaviour to school children.
Through this programme, students are made aware of the dangers of underage driving and riding, which is a growing menace in the country, and help them to be acquainted with necessary precautions to be observed while walking, riding bicycles, and even commuting by buses. Over 1,000 students are to be engaged through this programme in the coming 12 months along with teachers of the schools, administrative staff as well as the guardians of the students.